24.Alin
Alin
I get out of the bath in Luca’s apartment after a long soak, wrapping myself in a robe and tying it with its belt.
I quickly dry my hair with a hairdryer and then head downstairs to the living room in the apartment, the place I can now truly call home.
Waiting for me there are the three crazy brothers, staring at me expectantly.
From the moment we returned to the apartment, they went into Luca’s office in awkward silence. I didn’t expect to see them waiting for me like this now, but I really do owe them answers.
Anxiety starts to creep in as my eyes meet theirs, knowing how much they are thirsting for explanations I never thought I would have to give. How do you even begin to explain an entire world they never imagined existed?
I glance at them nervously and sit down next to Luca, who seems to read my thoughts. He responds by placing his hand on my thigh, gently massaging it. It’s his personal way of calming me down, and it helps my confidence return to the surface.
I kiss his cheek quickly as a thank you for his gesture and look at the curious men sitting across from me.
“I know you probably don’t understand…” I start quietly, trying to organize the speech I’ve prepared in my head again, but Pedro interrupts me before I can finish. “What the hell was that?”
Mariano immediately smacks the back of his head like a child, and he goes silent.
I laugh at the silly scene and relax a bit, remembering how good it’s been with them lately.
I decide that ripping off the band-aid will be easiest for me, so I take a deep breath and blurt out, “I’m a mermaid.
” Then I immediately look down at my bare feet in embarrassment, waiting for their reaction.
Silence fills the room, and I lift my head to look at them, preparing myself for any response.
Luca holds his head, trying to contain his laughter but failing. His laughter bursts out. “Now I really understand how ridiculous it sounds when you didn’t see it firsthand,” he says, continuing to laugh.
Mariano and Pedro look at him and join in with chuckles.
“Yeah, funny, good joke,” Mariano responds sarcastically. “Now, could we please take this seriously? How the hell did you do that? What exactly happened there?” He throws questions my way, his brows furrowed in seriousness.
“I am completely serious,” I look at him with a deadpan expression and continue.
“My mother is a mermaid, and my father is a merman. There are entire royal lineages under the sea that you don’t know about, whole pods of mermaids and mermen,” I explain briefly, trying to decipher their expressions.
“Our worlds were never supposed to meet, but I decided to rebel,” I add and sigh.
It seems they are still waiting for me to say “I’m kidding,” but of course, that isn’t coming.
“The only time a mermaid is to set foot on land is when she gives birth and no more. My mother gave birth to me on a beach outside of New York. During the birth, she was vulnerable and exposed, and a rebel group took advantage of the moment to attack her. She’s the leader of our pod, part of a royal lineage, and they wanted to take her place.
They attacked her right after I was born.
She was badly injured, and my father had to drag her back into the water,” I continue, watching their impatient expressions.
“And where do you fit into this whole fairy tale?” Pedro asks with a disbelieving chuckle, but I cut him off and keep going.
“When my father came back to get me, he saw an elderly couple who found me on the beach, searching for the parents of the orphan. My father took the opportunity and asked them to keep me until he could return safely. He appealed to their hearts, and they agreed. It seemed like fate—they were a childless couple and raised me until I was eight years old. The only life I had ever known wasn’t in the sea, but on land.
My adoptive parents made sure to tell me everything, they wanted me to grow up knowing my story, my roots, and they were always surprised when I discovered new powers within me and had to learn to stay dry at all costs.
“At eight years old, I opened the door to a big tall man claiming to be my father, wanting to take me back to the sea with him. I wasn’t surprised; my adoptive parents had prepared me for the day it would happen, though so much time had passed we weren’t sure it ever would.
I remembered leaving with him and saying a painful goodbye to my adoptive parents.
It was a hard farewell, but since then, I’d lived in the sea.
“I snuck back to land many times to see my adoptive family without my parents knowing, but during that time I fell in love with my underwater world too,” I tell them, smiling as the memories come back to me.
“So what are you doing with us now?” Pedro asks impatiently, still not seeming to believe my story. It seems no matter how detailed it is, he won’t be convinced easily.
“Almost a year ago, they wanted to marry me off to a merman from another pod, to combine forces,” I answer, looking at Luca, who seems to start understanding all my lies.
“I wasn’t ready for that, so I left everything behind and came back to live on land.
I knew the first place my parents would look for me was with my adoptive family, so I avoided meeting them.
I sold sea treasures I found, got a lot of money for it, and lived in a small apartment in Manhattan until I met you all.
And from there, you know the story.” I finish and take a deep breath, feeling a heavy weight lifted from my chest.
After pouring my heart out for a few minutes, they remain open-mouthed, still trying to process all the new information. Luca tightens his grip on me, seeming to finally piece together all the lies I’ve told.
After a few more seconds of silence, Mariano speaks up, “You live underwater? You look like a completely normal human! If I hadn’t seen what you did today, I’d think you were insane.”
He holds his head in confusion, and I give him a warm smile. After all, I’ve just confirmed that the ancient myths are true.
“We’re the mafia, not freaking Peter Pan and the lost boys. Where the hell did you come from?” Mariano adds, and I laugh.
“Peter Pan is a fairy tale and I’m not, as you can see, I am right here in front of you,” I reply with a glance full of anticipation.
“All I see is a five-foot-tall girl with otherworldly beauty who I’d love to take for a spin upstairs,” Pedro joins the conversation, and Luca immediately shoots him a paralyzing icy glare. “If you don’t want to die right after being saved, you better shut up,” he threatens.
Pedro clears his throat and quickly corrects himself, “I mean, I don’t see anything special beyond your beauty. I’m sorry, but it’s hard for me to believe.” He glances at Luca and clears his throat again.
I hear Luca sigh beside me as he leans closer to my ear and whispers, “Do you want to show them?”
I stretch from the protective ball position I’ve adopted over the past few minutes. Fear tingles in my body again, but I quickly silence it. I feel the need to pass this test in front of them.
I want to stay here with them, and I want them to accept me, but my secret must be kept at all costs.
I nod to Luca and turn to Mariano and Pedro.
“I’ll show you both. But first, I need something from you, The day I found out about you and the mafia, Luca explained that you maintain an oath that cannot be broken.
I want that to apply to me too. You said I’m part of the mafia now, so I’ll ask you to swear to keep my secret, however you do it.
Because, as you taught me, your word is ironclad, and my secret cannot leave these walls. ”
Luca looks proud of my display of knowledge and request, gazing at them with confidence, knowing they would never disappoint him.
They nod in agreement, and I immediately ask Luca to hand me a glass of water.
He quickly gets up from the couch, fills a glass of water at the bar kitchenette by the entrance, and returns with a full glass in hand.
I confidently remove my robe, as if nudity is not an unusual thing in their world.
But it seems Luca didn’t expect this at all.
He immediately jumps forward in his caveman possessiveness and quickly covers my body.
Pedro’s eyes widen with curiosity, and a sly grin spreads across his face. “Pour it on me,” I quietly ask Luca.
“I always thought you’d say that in a different context, but oh well,” he follows and laughs as he does it. I give him a gentle push for his comment, and slowly, my body begins to change as my legs transform into my tail and my body fully shifts.
I look at Pedro and Mariano, trying to understand the storm that must be raging in their minds right now. They sit in silence, scanning my body with intense focus, their faces revealing nothing.
I try to break the ice with a bad joke, “The tail is from Mom, the gills are from Dad,” I chuckle nervously. But it seems to be in vain; they’re not even listening.
After a few moments of silence that feel like an eternity, Mariano stands and walks toward me. “I think you spiked my drink; this can’t be real,” he declares as he bends down and touches my tail, trying to confirm with his touch what his eyes are seeing.
Suddenly, I hear his laughter cutting through the silence and tension that had filled the room in the last few minutes.
“Why does everyone laugh when they see my tail?” I wrinkle my nose, trying to understand, but I smile back at him anyway.
Luca whispers in my ear, “It’s some people’s way of dealing with things they don’t understand,” he explains and kisses my nose.
“Well, that way certainly runs in your family,” I reply with a chuckle. I can sense that Luca is still in shock, but he’s trying to keep a steady face to make it easier for me and his brothers, and I appreciate him for that.