Work Text:
His Doctor had recommended a quiet summer by the sea to see if he could finally shake the cough and so here he was at a small cottage a mere stone’s throw from the rocky beach with only his manuscript and an endless supply of tea for three months. It hadn’t been too bad for the first week or so, endless time to write and relax, but he was a social creature and the lack of interaction had started getting to him. That’s how he found himself down on the beach, strolling along the water’s edge and hoping to find some company. After all, it was a seaside town in the summer - surely someone else would be around. However day after day went by with only the seagulls for company. It wasn’t until well into the third week that he found out why.
She was stretched out on a boulder soaking up the early morning rays when he reached the beach and she showed a great deal less surprise than he did, especially after he caught sight of the seafoam green tail reflecting the sun. He thought about retreating, clearly the time alone was playing tricks on his brain, but he was also lonely and she looked friendly and so he approached, introducing himself and remarking on the weather. She was friendly and remarkably easy to understand, speaking a broken mix of English and Mer-ish. He spent the rest of the day there, seated on an adjacent boulder and conversing with her.
He was back the next day and the next and pretty soon he was spending every day down on the beach. Some days she was on her boulder, others she was resting in the surf and always she was ready to talk. It wasn’t long before he knew that leaving her was the hardest thing he was ever going to do and he was seriously considering just moving to the seaside for the winter when she proposed an alternate plan.
It was the last day of summer when he packed his belongings into neat boxes, left a note, and walked down to the water’s edge. There was no one waiting for him really and anyway, he felt better than he had in ages. With a last glance back at dry land he followed her into the crashing surf, ankle deep, thigh, chest, and finally under. He was going to follow her anywhere.