Over the years there have been many theories about the mysteries of 'mermaids', from sightings to fairytales of these strange, innocent creatures. In some storytelling respects, they were evil, sirens that led fishermen to their watery graves beneath the waves. For the most part… These creatures did actually exist. There were a group of creatures that resembled a human, but they had the features of a fish. Their top half resembled a human body, but then the body from the hips downward would seem to be a large fish tail. The fishtail would have two fins protruding outwards on both sides, and the undersides of the mermaid's arms would have two transparent, thin fins.

Matthew was one of the last of their kind. His hair was around jaw length, it was blonde and it curled around his face when his hair was dry. His eyes resembled the colour of the water he swam in; and his skin was pale, then his fish tale glimmered like silver. Up along his arms and shoulders were blotches of darker skin that may resemble birthmarks on humans, but these blotches of dark skin seemed perfectly circular or oval. Matthew even had some scars and bruises on his body from the sharp rocks. You could say that Matthew was 'one of a kind', and this was indeed in a literal sense. However; instead of sticking to his home in the Atlantic, Matthew decided to go out into the world and find more of his kind.

Matthew had been swimming aimlessly for months now, searching for more of his kind and avoiding any contact with the strange creatures; humans. Matthew was terrified of humans, in fact; he did everything he could to avoid them… However, most storms on the ocean front were strong and rather violent, which ended Matthew washed up on a beach. This was where the theories of fish people had come from, because the humans had seen him.

The more Matthew swam, the warmer it got, and he was very sure that he was no longer in deep, open waters, but more shallow and near land. This meant more fishnets and more humans, which often left Matthew terrified for his life. That fear of being caught in nets was getting stronger and stronger as he never found any more of his kind, he was beginning to think he was better off being caught by humans.
On this certain day, Matthew was swimming along the sea front, occasionally popping his head out of the water to look at the empty docks. It was quite cloudy today, and the water was a little colder than usual. Probably why nobody was about, because it was a miserable day. But when Matthew popped his head out of the water he spotted an odd figure on one of the wooden docks, and he watched in curiosity.

This person at the docks was Gilbert Beilschmidt, a young albino man of around twenty years of age. He was certainly an early riser, and the sun was beginning to rise as he took a small walk along the local docks. As he looked off at the water, it was hard to see the sun as it was rather cloudy and foggy this morning. It wasn't unusual, as it was nearing towards winter at this time of year, and it was very cold in the mornings along with the cold fog as its companion. Young Gilbert walked along the board walk of the empty dock and took a large inhale of the cold air, feeling a chilly breeze caress his pale skin and tousle his white hair. His paradise pink eyes scanned the calm waters, and that was when he spotted something… A head and neck poking out of the water, watching him. He blinked again, just to make sure he wasn't imagining things… But, no. The person in the water was real.

"Pretty hardcore to be swimming in this weather…" Gilbert mumbled to himself, before grinning and waving at the person in the water. When Matthew spotted a short breath of fear seemed to be dragged away from his lips, and he ducked beneath the water.
Gilbert blinked and his smile dropped, "Hm…" He hummed shortly to himself, and tilting his head. He tilted his head back to look at the grey clouds above him, and his pale hands pulled his scarf over his nose and mouth, as he felt them beginning to get cold. He did like taking walks in the morning when they streets were quiet, because it gave him time to think. He often thought about his little brother back in Germany where he came from, and sometimes he'd think about his mother and the sweet desserts she would cook for the both of them… Gilbert missed his home.

The albino man was kicked from his thought train when he heard a small splash in the water, and that was when he saw something in the water approach him. Out of instinct, Gilbert backed away from the edge of the dock and watched the water in interest, and trying to ignore his fearful emotions.
Matthew couldn't even believe that he was trying to approach a human, but he was just… so curious. The person waved to him… So he must be friendly, right? Besides; he didn't look like those evil fisherman that used hooks. Matthew saw the wood of the dock through the muggy water and poked his head out of the water, to be met by the cold breeze. His eyes looked up to see nobody at the edge of the board walk, so he reached up his webbed fingers to grip the edge of the dark, and he pulled himself up.
Gilbert watched the hand grip onto the edge, and what he saw truly made his heart tighten in surprise. A beautiful blonde man with pale skin, and soft pink lips along with bright blue eyes that contrasted to his pale skin pulled himself up. When Gilbert relaxed and approached the other, he noticed the webbed hands and gasped, feeling his heart jump in fright. That was when he spotted the smaller silver fins on the blonde's arms, and then spotting his tail. This caused Gilbert to jump back in fright, and cover his mouth in surprise. Matthew flinched from the sudden movement and dropped himself back into the water again, hiding under the boardwalk.

Gilbert rushed to the edge, "W-Wait, man! I-I'm sorry…" He said softly, feeling weak from the fright. So he sat down on the wooden boardwalkk and dug through his pockets to pull out a chocolate granola bar, "Oh! Er… Y-You like food?" He asked, unwrapping the food.
Matthew poked his head back out of the water and swam back into Gilbert's eyesight blinking curiously. As the food was held out to him, Matthew slowly took it from Gilbert's cold hands, and looked at it.

"Er… Ah! Y-You eat it, man. Nom nom…?" Gilbert said, a small smile appearing on his face as he pretended to eat, making eating motions with his mouth. Matthew did have a slight understanding of the 'Human Language', so he took a small bite into the food, chewing on it.
Matthew's face scrunched into an expression of disgust and he spat out the chocolate oats, "Bleh!" He spat in disgust.

Gilbert laughed a little, "Ah… Guess that isn't your kind of food…" He mumbled softly, digging through his pockets, only to find nothing else. "Well… You just had my breakfast." He sighed, reaching down to touch Matthew's shoulder slowly.
Matthew blinked in surprise and moved back slightly from Gilbert's touch, and lowering back into the water again, feeling the fear build up in his mind again.
"Ah! Nein… Don't be scared. I'm friendly!" The albino reassured, smiling widely at the creature in the water. Gilbert realized that his phone was in his pocket, and he seriously thought about calling someone at that moment in time… But, he didn't want the poor creature to suffer by being poked by scientists for the rest of his days. Gilbert, however, was still afraid.

The blonde mermaid watched Gilbert carefully, and slowly reached his hand out to touch Gilbert's cold hand, and the albino nearly recoiled from the wetness, but remained still. He wrapped his fingers around Matthew's wet hand and grinned, "Hallo." He said softly, shaking the other's hand, "I'm Gilbert. You have a name?" He asked.

Matthew watched Gilbert and blinked, tilting his head in confusion. What on earth was this crazy human on about? Since him and his race only used sign language, he was lost in this human's strange speech. He lifted himself out of the water slightly with Gilbert's support and a small smile spread across his lips.
"Ah… I guess you have no idea what the fuck I'm talking about…" Gilbert said, chuckling to himself before grinning, "Well… I dunno. I'll just call you… Hm…" He tilted his head, "Ozean." He grinned. Of course, German being his home language, he wanted to name his new beautiful friend after the very thing he emerged from.
Gilbert gently pulled his hand away, "I-It's been nice meeting you, Ozean… But I need to go soon… I wonder if you'll be here long…" He mumbled to himself. Suddenly, in the distance he heard the sounds of ambulance sirens ringing out. This caused the merman to yank his hand away in fear and duck under the water again, and swimming away from the docks.

Gilbert called out to his friend, but knew that the creature had swum too far away… So he could no longer hear him. Gilbert reached out his hand pathetically, "Come back! Come on!" He called, frowning. When the creature did not return, he cursed to himself, and cursed whomever was driving that ambulance.

Young Matthew decided that he would not find his family here… But, he would most certainly be back to see the strange pale man. Someone with a kind expression and such a strange native language was someone certainly worth going back to.