The Previous Day
The view of the roaring sun hitting the waters every evening as it set never tired Teran out. It was beautiful every day, he thought to himself as he leaned further on his balcony looking over the ocean’s horizon.
Teran’s mansion was a beachfront property that also encompassed his art gallery. Its white exterior differed greatly with the maximalist interior design of the house which included vintage art all over the walls, Honduran mahogany furniture that lay in every room of the house adding a touch of rich brown to the place, Marble floors and expansive ceilings that matched perfectly with the design but Teran’s favourite spot wasn’t all these but the underground part of the mansion which was just as spacious. It included an art gallery that housed his art and various rooms where he kept priceless collectibles, such as books, wine, and secrets that only he knew of. Unlike the upper part of his house that had large windows all over the place, filling it with natural sunlight, the underground space never saw the light of day; it was dimly lit in most areas and had darker colors on the walls and ceilings, even in the decorations, which weren’t as many as upstairs. The art gallery was the only place that had a touch of what you would call normalcy, as people often came there, whether to view his paintings or buy them, and it was separate from the other underground rooms, so no one ever went there. And to further keep that part private, it could only be accessed from inside the house, unlike the art gallery, which had a stairway that connected right to the backyard of the mansion.
“I knew I’d find you here.” Teran heard the voice of his best friend, who stood at the doorway smiling at him. He looked back and smiled slightly before facing the ocean again. Michael knew how much Teran loved watching sunsets over the ocean, not only because he was close to him but also due to his art pieces that were heavily inspired by the sea and all its life forms. No one captured the mysteries of the ocean as Teran did; it was as if he could see beyond what the human eye could, and it made him a renowned artist whose work was known globally. Getting a hold of his pieces was very rare, so wealthy people from all over always sought him out; a few were lovers of art, but some just did it to show how important they were. Something Teran had always disliked, he wanted people to connect to his art, not use it to show off their social status.
“We are going to the island,” Michael said as he approached him. “You promised you’d come this time.” He faced him, trying to get a look at Teran’s reaction to what he’d said. As usual, he held a neutral face and didn’t even glance at him. Michael was used to this, so he continued pestering him. “I’m celebrating the opening of the pub, come on.” He hit Teran’s shoulder lightly and was finally able to capture his attention.
“You’re asking for too much now.” Teran looked at his best friend with slight irritation, but Michael chuckled because, knowing his best friend, getting a reaction from him meant he had won. He had been friends with this man since they were children, and over the years, they got closer and always supported each other. For instance, the private island where Michael was holding his opening party was Teran’s, and he had given it to him that night as a way to support him. This was only one of the many things Teran had done for him, and because of this, Michael was always grateful to him.
Even though they were both from wealthy families, Teran’s family was like royalty, so he was more connected and resourceful than him, but beneath all that, Michael saw his best friend for who he really was. Under the tough exterior he put out to the world, if you looked at him closely enough, you could see his softness from afar. It was so rare though, that even Michael only saw this side of him countable times throughout their many years together. Teran had always been a mystery, even to him; the only thing people knew about this man was that he was a talented artist, rich, extremely handsome, and reserved. If it wasn’t for his best friend Michael, who often pushed him to go out, Teran would never even be seen by people beyond his small circle.
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The music blared as the luxurious white yacht drifted from the shoreline into the dark night. You could see people conversing while drinking from their wine glasses, and amidst them was Teran, who was now surrounded by people, especially girls, who were relentlessly trying to get his attention. Teran wondered why he had again allowed his best friend to drag him to a party he clearly didn’t want to go to. ‘I guess that’s what friends for.’ he thought to himself as he tried to pretend to listen to the endless chatter surrounding him. ‘This was going to be a long night.’ He thought to himself before sighing loudly that even those around him could read his thoughts, but that didn’t discourage them; they still continued with their one-sided conversations because having Teran this close was a rare opportunity for them.
After they had docked at the private island, the party went on until dawn, and as the sun rose, you could see people sprawled out throughout the house, which had actually been built by Teran’s great-great-grandfather and passed down for generations. But now it held an aftermath of endless drinking and debauchery that Teran thought his ancestors were now rolling in their graves, cursing at him. The thought alone made him chuckle to himself as he headed to the yacht to wait for these young people to wake up. At twenty-eight years, he should be at home, sleeping in his bed, not partying all night like this, he thought as he boarded the yacht. He had not drunk much, so he didn’t black out like the rest, including Michael, who was god knows where, so he decided to come wait for them here.
He inhaled the morning breeze and closed his eyes to listen to the sounds of the waves crashing on the shoreline; no matter how many times he had those sounds, they were magical every single time. He leaned further on the rails as if to get a better whiff of the ocean breeze, opening his eyes to see the glistening waters that had always felt like home to him. He loved the ocean, not just in its glistening state during sunrises, but also its violence during storms or peak darkness during the nights; he loved it all. Teran didn’t know how long he had been there when he felt something off. He had actually been feeling it for a while, but ignored it because he knew he was alone on the yacht, but still, you always sense it when you’re being looked at, and Teran knew he was not alone.
It’s like he knew exactly where to look, because he immediately averted his gaze to the right, where there was a large rock, and he thought he saw something duck behind it. Before he could deduce what he saw, he felt a pat on his shoulder that brought him to his senses. It was Michael who seemed to have finally regained consciousness. “Hey, bro, I was looking for you.” This obviously hangovered man said to him, and Teran laughed heartily at the sight of him. His disheveled hair, undone shirt, and breath that still reeked of alcohol on such a bright morning were sights he could never get used to seeing, even though it happens a lot. They conversed about meaningless stuff until the rest of the party members boarded the luxurious boat, then they set off immediately. As the yacht sped off further from the island, Teran looked back, hoping to see something even though he didn’t know what exactly, but he never saw anything. What he was unaware of, though, what he was looking for, was already following him, unbeknownst to him.
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Rawanak’s heart thumped aggressively against his chest as he hid from the man who had almost seen him or already saw him; he wasn’t completely sure which was which. But the man’s gaze falling on him wasn’t what made his heart beat this fast; in fact, without noticing, it had started beating like this when he was looking at him. What was this feeling? he questioned himself as he tried to calm his heartbeat that was now threatening to wake the oceans. “Urgh, not now.” He muttered quietly when he saw more waves begin to form around him. He slipped quietly into the water as he thought it would help cool him down, and with time, it did until he heard what must be the ship-like structure moving.
For some reason he couldn’t understand, Rawanak followed the ship quietly under the water until he heard it finally stop after what seem liked forever. He listened as the chatter quieted down; it seemed the people inside were now getting off the ship. Rawanak poked his head out from the water to check his surroundings, but he could still see several humans running around on the land, right next to where the structure was docked. It was bustling with activities as people seemed to go about the day, but Rawanak waited, he waited until the sun set and the place fell quiet before deciding to get off the water.
His feet treaded lightly on the wooden, polished floors of the yacht as he made his way to where he had seen the human who had not left his mind since. Rawanak, who had now changed back to his god-like form, which was similar to humans, had sneaked into the yacht, hoping to at least catch Teran’s scent. He couldn’t understand why he was doing all these, but he couldn’t control himself, he just knew he had to do it.
Rawanak had been walking around the boat naked when he stumbled upon an open door and saw some clothes hanging in a closet. It was then he realized he had nothing on and his cheeks flushed with embarrassment even though he was the only one there. He quietly stepped in and started looking for something to wear, but there wasn’t anything that fit his style. The fabric wasn’t what he was used to back in Thalassa; it was softer than this. Even the colours were too bright for him; he was used to dressing in more monotone styles. Rawanak kept cursing under his breath as he perused the garments that were now on the floor, and he didn’t notice people approaching.
“I’m telling you, I left it here,” Teran told Michael as he followed him into the yacht, which they had been in this morning. “I looked everywhere in my house, I swear.” Teran continued insisting to an already irritable Michael. Teran had lost his phone since this morning, and after looking for it for almost an entire day, he was sure it was on his best friend’s yacht, so he had forced him to take him there to search, even though Michael kept telling him the whole place was cleaned up and nothing was found.
“shhh.’’ Michael held his index finger against his lips to Teran, who was talking. He had heard a sound coming down from the narrow hallway where his room usually is and wondered who was here at this time because the staff normally checked out early. His best friend kept quiet and followed down the dark hallway to where the sounds that were now clearer were coming from.
The merman god, who now knelt on the floor ramping through the clothes, heard the quiet footsteps approaching and immediately put on a pair of pants that were on his arm without a care in the world. Right after he finished, he dashed through the door, passing the men in the corridor who were now running after him. Where should he go? He wondered as he ran mindlessly toward the outer part of the boat until he reached the edge of the uppermost floor. He quickly turned around to see who was chasing him and couldn’t believe his eyes, it was him. Unconsciously, the right side of his mouth curved upward at the sight of this human, and for a moment, he didn’t want to run anymore; he wanted to get caught by him.
Teran breathed heavily as he bent slightly to hold his knees for support. This man can run, he thought before looking up to see who they were chasing. During the whole fracas, Michael and Teran never caught sight of the person they were chasing until he reached the edge of the boat and turned to face them. “God.” The words slipped out of Michael’s mouth when he saw the being in front of them. He hadn’t meant to say it out loud, but he didn’t seem to care as his eyes slowly scanned what he could say was the most ethereal being he had ever seen walk the earth.
As Teran stood from his bent position, his eyes were locked on this person in front of him. He noticed the wet, long hair that hit this man’s shoulders. It had a very light blue colour that matched his greyish eyes, which had been staring back at him. He had pale skin that seemed to glimmer under the night sky, and his bare chest seemed sculpted by the gods themselves; he looked mighty, Teran thought as he tried to shake off his gaze from what felt like a trance. It was then that he looked at this being’s face and saw the slight smirk on his pink lips. Was he smiling? Was he smiling at him? Teran looked at the being in shock and disbelief, and that was enough to pull him out of the enchantment he seemed to be in.
He headed straight for the guy and slammed him on the wooden floor face down. Surprisingly, the person didn’t seem to resist him and instead looked up at him from the floor with that same freaking smirk. What is wrong with him? Teran wondered as he furrowed his eyebrows and shot a mean glare at him, hoping to wipe that smirk off, but it was to no avail.
The merman god lay on the ground, his heart beating fast at the touch of this human who was now kneeling on top of him. He got goosebumps all over his body at the feeling of his hands locking his arms from behind to restrain him. The excitement rushing through his veins completely fogged his brain, and he found himself naturally surrendering to the human gazing down at him. He wanted to feel this way forever.
