The three of them were on the wooden ramp when they arrived at the bunkhouse owned by Velvet's family. The beautiful rays of the sun were gone when they got there. Only the moon serves as their light, as if to ensure that they have light.
"I will never do that again! You know, it's your fault that my party was ruined!" Peachy pointed at Aquarius, who was seated in an Indian-seat pose.
"That's enough, Peach." Velvet sighed, patting her chest because of the nervousness she felt earlier.
Aquarius was speechless as she looked at the two. She sweetly smiled at Peachy when she looked at her.
"Your smile is a creep! Please, I don't like it and I don't like you. Do you understand?" Scratching her left arm while franking the girl. Later, she got her phone again as if she had to check something important. "My daddy said the troublemakers have been caught."
"Okay, that's good, so what's your plan?" Velvet asked her friend.
"My plan? —she stopped as if a thought came to her mind— To stay away from that troublemaker." She even squinted her eyes at Aquarius before leaving without saying goodbye. Velvet just snorted, as if she was used to her friend's behavior.
"Come on," she invited Aquarius, but also stopped when she remembered something.
"I'm sorry about Peachy's behavior, you can get used to it, and she's kind. By the way, uhm, next time when someone asks you out, especially if you've just met him, don't go with him, okay?" Velvet assured and pleaded. Aquarius nodded and happily followed her companion.
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Aquarius was amazed at the things she saw in her new surroundings. Starting with, the three wall lamps that were on three separate poles of the house were powered by solar panels, so they automatically lit up when night falls. Even in her mind, those three were magical things in the land.
Her sight directly passed Velvet, who had raised her eyebrows with a confused face. The merhuman girl's attention was caught by the thing hanging on both ends of the pole that was moving spontaneously in the wind. But before that, Aquarius caressed the textured seamless wood wall thinking it was rough like coral but disappointed that it was not. Then her attention was put back on the object.
"Do you want to try riding on the swing?" Velvet pointed at the black-knitted object that Aquarius' eyes were fond of. The girl nodded as she approached it. 'How is it used?' she thought.
Slowly, she bent down and pressed her stomach to the cradle. Pushing it slightly at first, and then she tried to lighten her weight so that she could be lifted. 'How fun!' Her inner thought yelled with excitement. She even managed to close her eyes and smile widely.
"You know that's not—"
Velvet didn't continue what she was going to say because the merhuman girl fell off the floor. Aquarius' body slouched on the seamless wood floor. That fall even created a strong impact that she felt the pain in the cheek she was holding, which landed on the floor first.
"Ouch!" Velvet said with a grimacing face as if she felt the pain as well.
Aquarius held her cheek as Velvet helped her up. As when the latter helped the merhuman girl to sit on the rocking chair. As she was going to sit, she held back and clung to Velvet's arm tightly. The merhuman felt as if she was being slipped and would be eaten by an unknown thing. 'Human tools are terrible.' She thought frightened.
"Just relax, -Velvet said, laughing,- I know the feeling of sitting in a rocking chair for the first time." She bumped her shoulder gently against Aquarius and said. "You're weird, I don't know if you came from a far civilization." -laughing-
I'll just get some food from the kitchen, just wait here." Then the lady left Aquarius.
'Food? But I'm not hungry.' The merhuman put her hand on her stomach, feeling the monster inside if it was awake, but she didn't hear any rumbling from it.
Her eyes were suddenly fixed on the two fishes swimming in a big aquarium. It was just on the side of the stairs, so she immediately stood up to look at it.
'We don't eat goldfish.' Frustrated by what she saw. Her lips snorted when she knew that it was not part of a mermaid's diet. 'The fish look very stunning in clean water, what if…'
As fast as the speed of light, she dipped her hand in the water, causing the fish to panic and hide behind the fake plant. She started scooping up the water with her hand while drinking it. She scooped the water freely as fast as she could. Not only that, but she even savored it because of its unusual taste.
"What are you doing?!" Aquarius looked at the lady who happened to be already there carrying food.
"My fish! Milky! Milk tea!" Velvet hurriedly put the tray down the stairs and quickly went to the pets.
The lady pushed Aquarius, who was splashing water on her face, hands, and body. The silly girl was out of balance but did not fall. Velvet doesn't care if she gets wet, as long as she makes sure the pets are safe. Taking a deep breath when she ensured the fish was enjoying its swim. She furrowed her eyebrows and squinted her eyes at Aquarius.
'I just found out that fishes are given a name too.' Aquarius thought.
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The interior of Velvet's house was kind of messy because of the scattered decorations and balloons when they came in.
"Sorry, it's messy. It's my birthday tomorrow, so I readied the decorations, it's my effort, you know." Velvet laughed at her story.
They were seated on the carpeted floor like they were just school kids doing a project. Aquarius, on the other hand, balled her sight, observing the interior of the beautiful house while brushing the soft towel from the ends of her hair.
''Do you remember why you were on my boat last night?'' Velvet started to ask, but the merhuman shook her head.
"Are you not talking? I mean were you able to talk before I saw you on the boat?" The merhuman shook her head and nodded. Velvet kept scratching her head, perhaps confused by the response.
"Write your name on the paper, so I can know your name." I'm still staring at the paper and patiently waiting for the merhuman to write. Aquarius first smelled the pen that was given to her and held it like glass. Slowly, she moved her hand until the previously blank paper was full. She dropped the pen and looked at Velvet. The lady gaped and looked incredulous.
"A doodle, seriously?" She snorted. "Can you write?" The merhuman shook her head. Velvet's face became unhappy because of her answer.
"I'll help you. I'll accompany you to the police station the day after tomorrow, so we can find your relatives. Maybe they're already looking for you, okay?" Aquarius just nodded, even though she didn't understand what the latter said.
'Posss... Stssion?' The merhuman's brain cells seemed to be tangled because of the new word she learned.
Velvet got back the paper and pen. She stopped urging her to write her name. She looked blankly at her as if she were thinking of a strategy on how to talk to the merhuman so that they both understand each other. Her eyes flew and landed on the clock with the numbers attached to the wall. 'It's 9:45.' In her mind, she yawned and sighed.
There was silence. Velvet just stared at the girl, who was now busy rolling on the carpet. She was interested in its texture, which is soft and tickles the skin.
Later, they both got up when the ringtone message rang on Velvet's cell phone. The lady glanced at the phone. 'Pinkie' is the name registered on the screen. Aquarius, on the other hand, was curious and kept her eyes on the lady's cell phone.
'Thanks, Pi.' Velvet said in her mind as she typed it as a reply to the chat. Then she pressed call on the name Indigo.
"Yes? You've been called, are you going to ask for help?"
Velvet just gasped at what her brother said. "No, I mean, not really."
"Where can I help you? In the video or the one you helped?" She can hear the little chuckles her brother made.
"I don't care about the video if your sister is famous by now, don't worry. -rolling her eyes- As for the girl, she can't talk, she can't even write, so I'll take care of it." She looked at Aquarius who was listening to them.
"But what's the problem now?" said the guy who was on the line.
"Maron is not here yet, please contact him, brother." Velvet made her voice even cuter when she called her brother.
"Please, don't do that, silly." The man ended the call at the same time. Velvet snorted and laughed.
"Hahaha! You know, my brother never rejects my request whenever I'm calling him a brother in the cutest way." —she made her voice even cuter as she repeated the word brother—
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Later that night, Velvet invited the merhuman to occupy a vacant room in her house. Before attempting to open the door, the lady suddenly pulled the arm of Aquarius. The merhuman looked at the hand on her arm before she looked at the lady in front of her.
"By the way, did you know that I own the small boat where I saw you? Locx, my last name, is engraved on the side of it. Good thing someone tipped me off to where it was. I was just wondering who used my boat. —she was silent for a moment— But you're lucky, I saw you." She then let her hand off Aquarius' arm and patted her shoulder.
The young lady remembered the gesture that her friend made this morning, so she repeated it so that she would know that she was very grateful.
"Hey, you're learning -she smiled widely - It's okay, go ahead and rest." It was Velvet who veered the door open for her to enter.
It was midnight when the door of the room Aquarius was occupying opened again. The merhuman didn't realize it had been opened as she was hugging the long pillow.
"What the...?" the lady said. Aquarius had just turned to look when the latter spoke and entered. "Did you watch TV all night?" The merhuman nodded. The young woman also looked at the television as she lay down on the right side of the bed.
'Tv is the thing that is attached to the wall where people have gotten inside.' Aquarius thought.
Aquarius then remembered the first time she met the TV and how that thing tormented her. She remembered the red light on the side of the TV that caught her attention first. Her index finger then pressed it but nothing happened. She saw the remote control, fascinated by the small buttons, she kept pressing them one by one until she managed to operate them.
'It's like magic that people appear there and I wonder how they got inside.' She thought while remembering what happened.
Until this time, she didn't realize that she had fallen into watching. She was so engrossed in the show that she didn't even notice the time.
"You know, I was also hooked on that series, the girl was comatose, and then when she woke up she felt like she was seventeen years old, even though she's in her 30s."
They both yawned and looked at each other and they both laughed. As Aquarius closed her eyes, she already felt sleepy after watching the post-credits scene.
"Oh yes, I remember, that's why I'm here -look at the wall clock first- it's two thirty in the morning, anyway, that's my sister's dress, I'm sure it fits you," she placed a rose gold maxi dress on the bed.
"I told you it's my birthday today and that's what you should wear. Don't worry, I informed her. She's not using it either."
Aquarius caressed the beautiful dress. 'So beautiful.'
"I'll just sleep here. I'm too lazy to go back to my room. Go to sleep, you've grown dark circles and eyebags -Velvet laughed even more when she pointed to Aquarius's face- you will look like a zombie.''
'Zombie? I wonder what that is?' She just shrugged her shoulders at what the girl said and lay down hugging the long pillow again. She faced to the left as they turned their backs on each other. Before she closed her eyes, it caught the object on the side table. She held it and took a glimpse.
'Velvet? How did she shrink and get into this thing? She's here next to me.' She even shake the frame in the air to get the lady out, but nothing happened. When nothing happened, she spontaneously pursed her lips while staring at the man beside the lady.
'I think I've seen this guy. I just can't remember where.'
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