'If it wasn't for her I probably wouldn't be in this wonderful place today.' Aquarius was still smiling sweetly as she looked at herself in the mirror wearing the dress that Velvet had given her.
It's about past two in the afternoon. She woke up at noon because she was very tired after yesterday. Meanwhile, Velvet left early and told her to follow afterward. Decorating the bistro for her party was her top priority.
Aquarius now faces a window with a purple curtain. Looking at the sea with big waves makes her calm. She pulled back the window curtain and opened it. From where she was there's a small bridge and underneath is a river that connects to the sea. She never missed the clear sky with large cloud clusters passing one after the other. The cold wind kissed her skin. And by the movement of the sea, she sensed a bad storm coming.
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PIC-A SEAFOOD DINER
The diner is close to the bunkhouse where Aquarius is staying. It faces the sea with only white sand in between. She was already at the door but was shy to enter, so she huddled in the trunk of a coconut tree so as not to be seen.
She looked at the rose gold dress that Velvet had given her. It's floral and has ruffles at the hem. Almost the same as the female guests.
'Land women love these designs.' She turned her eyes to the red doll shoes. Repeatedly, she stretched her feet because she was comfortable with what she was wearing.
''HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" The loud and happy song of greetings from the guests inside. She snorted when she saw that the girl had blown out the flame from the small candle on her cake.
'So this is what a birthday looks like. Velvet is happy today and even invited me.' She thought. After greeting the guests, they handed out the gifts to the celebrant one by one.
'Something has to be given when there's a birthday.' She thought about what to give to the girl. Nothing, and she ran to the sea, sat on the sand, and closed her eyes.
'Come little one, hear me please,
A happy soul on my list,
Give me a treasure that I'll cherish,
Hope it'll last and not perish.'
Aquarius sang a happy song in her mind. Later, the wave slowly hit her legs as if it heard her mind. After the sea returned to being calm, she smiled at what she saw. She picked up those two things and ran back to the diner.
Rubbing her arm when she saw Velvet looking in her direction. Waving to her as she invited her in. Aquarius shook her head, ashamed to be mingled with them.
Suddenly, she felt her face heat up when she saw Velvet move to meet her. 'She's beautiful.' The latter thought.
Velvet's clothes are not flashy, she just wears high-waisted shorts and a crop top with sakura petals and puff sleeves. But in the eyes of the merhuman, she is the most beautiful. It was like her eyes were twinkling.
''Come on, don't be shy, I'll take care of you. Besides, there were only a few guests.'' Velvet grabbed Aquarius by the shoulder and led her inside, but the girl suddenly stopped. Opening her palm and showing the lady the object in her hand.
"How cute!" Velvet said in the cutest tone.
Two pairs of small pink starfish are in Aquarius' palm. The girl stuck it to Velvet's ear, then it moved slowly.
"It's moving, I'm tickled!" Velvet was closing her eyes due to the feeling of something that was moving in her ear.
A happy face registered on Aquarius when the lady appreciated what she had given. "Thank you," she said, along with its sign language counterpart.
Aquarius held her chest because his heart was pounding at the small gestures made by his friend. The beating of the drum became even louder when they entered the diner. He looked around the place, there were many wolf decorations on the floor and ceiling.
A black balloon hangs upside down from the ceiling, while rose gold, purple and pink hang together on the floor. Velvet said there were only a few guests but the correct number was around fifty. The guests who attended were also close family members. Aquarius was overwhelmed by the number of people inside. 'A lot of humans are like sardines.' In her mind.
The guests were looking in their direction. Aquarius does not know what expression to show, whether to smile or not. She wanted to smile but some people raised their eyebrows.
'Why am I right here now?' She thought.
''Thank you for coming guys!'' Velvet said. ''I want you to meet my new friend, she's uhm, -she scratched her cheek and closed her eyes tightly- she's Tangerine, by the way, she can't talk, right now.'' Aquarius suddenly turned to her, confused.
'Is she talking about me?' She felt Velvet's soft squeeze on her shoulder.
''Nice meeting you, you are so beautiful.'' A not-so-elderly woman approached her. She has short, shoulder-length black hair. Her lips were red with a slight blush on her cheeks.
Fascinated by the woman's appearance, she smiled sweetly while touching her cheeks, wondering why she didn't have those.
"So you're the girl." said the man who approached them, holding a cocktail glass with a drink familiar to the girl.
"Yeah, she's the girl, brother," Velvet said, then smirked at the young man.
"He's my brother Indigo, but don't mind him. That one is a bit of a clown." Aquarius just nodded at what her friend whispered while looking at the young man.
'Why doesn't she look like Velvet?' She was wondering why the siblings were not so alike.
"And that girl talking on the phone, that's my sister Violet." The lady pointed to the female standing near the island counter whose left hand was holding a fork and in the right hand a cell phone.
Like Velvet, they are both slender. The sister was wearing a black and tight dress that was slightly above her knees. There were three colors of her shoulder-length hair; green, hot pink, and purple. She was wearing black high-top wedge shoes that fit her slender legs. Her eyebrows furrowed when she looked in the direction of the two. Then she stared at Aquarius from head to toe. The merhuman swallowed a bit because the pretty lady looking at them looked grumpy.
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Velvet's birthday celebration had reached its end. They spent a long time with her brother, who the merhuman thought would be rude, but she was wrong. They laugh and tell stories, especially Violet, who is always busy working as a nurse. Indigo is a happy-go-lucky who boasts that he knows how to operate a yacht.
That night, the other guests were already busy enjoying the soft music with wine. Aquarius was sitting near the large glass window facing the direction of the ocean. The big lighthouse that she used to see every time she came out of the water to catch a glimpse of the sky was visible from there.
'The ocean is still calm, I get nervous when it's this calm.' She thought while gazing at the food that she had not touched because the chocolate cake was not familiar to her.
Because she is not used to human food, she easily gets an upset stomach. Mermaids like her only eat seafood once and it will take thirty days before they eat again. Of course, there is an exemption, the most vital one to make them stay strong and healthy, taking the soul of people who have hatred and greed hearts.
''Hey, you're spacing out.'' Indigo sat in front of the merhuman. ''Sorry, I left you alone, I was trying to call the clown who was going to perform.'' She raised her eyebrows in confusion. Aquarius didn't understand what the guy told her. 'Is he referring to a clownfish?' She gaped.
"Velvet is afraid of clowns, I want to scare her on her birthday." The young man grinned. Even the girl frowned because she did not understand what he meant.
'Is she afraid of fish? But she has a pet at her house.' The merhuman gave the guy a completely questioning face. She squinted her eyes as if there were lots of imaginary question marks above her head.
The two turned in the same direction at the same time when the shells hanging on the door rang. A woman holding a gift box entered, wearing a peach-ruffled top where you could almost see the large bulges on her chest and her stomach.
'I will never forget her. She was with us the other day. Peachy.' She thought.
''Babe!'' The girl kissed Indigo's cheek. Also, the young man wiped it with a handkerchief in his pocket.
Aquarius smiled at the girl who changed her expression. Irritated, the girl immediately took back her smile when she glared at her.
"I told you that I don't like your smile, so don't bother smiling at me. -She put the box on the table- Why do I have this feeling that you're a bit of bad luck? Or should I say, a walking disaster? The nerve, replacing me with that goatfish face?'' Peachy said while looking at the girl from head to toe.
"Peachy, sorry to burst your bubble, but we're not uhmm -fingers stuck together- couple. Excuse me, ladies, can I take this call?" The young man even showed the phone that someone was calling. He left after answering the call with a 'Hello'. Before the young man had gone far, he came back and took Peachy's gift box with a smirking face.
"What the heck?!"
Aquarius smiled at Peachy again as if she understood what the other person said. The beautiful girl's sweet face was wrinkled in anger as if her blood was boiling for the girl from the ocean.
Her hand was still shaking when she was about to touch the face of the person she was disgusted with. Aquarius' pupil, an instinct, unconsciously constricted like the eyes of a cat when stricken by a light.
''Hsss!'' she sounded and showing her teeth ready to bite and in an instant, her eyes returned to normal.
Peachy flinched a little at what she saw. "M-Monster!"
Aquarius turned to the window when she remembered that she was no longer a mermaid, so her teeth would no longer be sharp.
"You're a monster, your eyes... I can't be wrong!"
"Tangerine! Come with me, I'll show you something." The merhuman stood up when Velvet held her hand. She couldn't say no anymore because she also wanted to get out of Peachy's presence. And the birthday girl seemed to have forgotten the newly arrived guest.
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Now they were standing at the end of the access ramp from the diner. Aquarius can't help but look at the water. The latter was amazed at the light pole's reflection in the water.
''You'll like what we'll be seeing now,'' Velvet said.
The two slowly boarded the boat while the merhuman's legs were shaking. Her elbow rested on the ramp so she wouldn't fall into the battered boat.
"Don't be scared, you'll just fall hahaha." Velvet laughed.
Aquarius was already frozen in place. 'What if I fell and suddenly my tail appeared? But it's impossible because the water hit my feet but nothing happened. Pss, maybe I'm just too worried because of what the mysterious woman said.'
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