Stacey

Both my sister and I shriek as I try to free myself from the boy's grasp. It is hurting. Reflexively, I undergo my fight-or-flight reaction as my nerves are triggered. And then, I slap the boy hard on the cheek, setting the side a crimson burn. Eventually, he faints on the spot and this gives Sally the chance to pull me out of the bubble.

"Are you okay, little sis?" asks Sally as she holds onto my wrist, stroking the part where they boy had gripped on. It is bruising and turning as purple as the wound on the boy's neck.

Is it the poison? If it is, am I going to die?

"Come, let's dress up your hand. It's just a bruise, don't worry," says Sally reassuringly which leads out my sigh of relief. Pulling my long sleeve gently, she leads me to her living room and settles me down on the couch.

Soon, Kyle knocks on the wall. "Hey girls, may I come in?" he asks in a cheerful manner which contrasts with our current mood. "Oh my tails, what happened to you little sissy?" Obviously, Kyle and Sally care mucher about me than themselves. While seeing Sally takes out a first-aid-kit from under the seaweed couch, his anxiety grows.

"I'm fine, Kyle. Just a little bruise," I say, trying to reassure my overprotective brother. Kyle takes the empty seat on my other side, which makes me sit in between the both of them. Then, he begins to examine my wrist when Sally applies her medicine on the wound.

"My, who did this to you?" He sounds a little angry.

"I tripped," I prefer to lie because Kyle will dash into Sally's bedroom and slap the boy to death if I tell him. This is how he had protected me when we are children. The way he treats my enemies makes them leave me alone in a distance. However, his overly aggressive protectiveness also scare my friends away most of the time.

"There," utters Sally in satisfaction as Kyle ruffles my periwinkle hair.

"So do you like the surprise?" The boy really surprises me back there. So yes. "I mean the boy in which your sister picked up this evening."

"Mind your words okay. I saved him. He's not a toy to be picked up," corrects Sally with her arms akimbo. "Stace," She turns to look at me with her tone suddenly sounds serious. "This boy needs someone to take care of. So, I need you to nurse him starting tonight." Her demand strikes me like a lightning that I freeze. I want to protest but the words are stuck in between my throat.

"But he is not stable." I finally find my own voice and I'm glad for this incredibly short moment. Yes, his descendant somehow is erasing his good side and resurfacing his evil side. I just know it and I can feel that he was fighting against himself when our skin touches each other. "What if he kills me in his dream?" That's a foolish excuse I must say.

"What do you mean he's unstable?" Kyle asks in confusion. "I thought the boy isn't awake yet." He shrugs and I keep my mouth shut, noting down Sally's intense warning glare.

"I'll tell you more later, Kyle. And Stace, I'm sorry because I have to go to the human's town during the day and you are the most suitable person to watch him all day," admits Sally with her pleading eyes. "I know he is dangerous for some reason, but something in my gut is telling me you are going to be okay." She is just finding an excuse to push this responsibility towards me, making the role mine. Sally is the one taking the boy back, she is supposed to treat him until he is good.

"Sally, you knew that the boy is dangerous. And yet, you still wants our little sister to handle him?" Kyle stands up and here goes his interrogation.

"She's 18 now. She knows how to take care of herself," debates Sally while distances away from me. Her tail swings elegantly. "Don't you remember that she can roam all by herself in Roclime's unharmed?" Her question stops the quarrel. At some point, she's right. I have turned 18, but sadly, my mind is still a little girl because I've been receiving too much love and care from my elder brother and sister. Maybe this is why she wants me to grow up.

This is a quest and I am destined to solve it. Alone.

The three of us calm down before sitting back on the couch. Then, Kyle and I listen carefully to what Sally knows about the boy's condition.

It turns out the boy is really an angel. But since he had fallen from where he was supposed to live, his soul will turn dark no matter what.

Why?

Because demons are fallen angels and he is undergoing a turning process from an angel to a demon faster than the records written in the history book because of the venom.

Sally tells us that the venom is coming from the serpents of dragons in Egypt, namely the Jaculus. Once bitten, the victim's most powerful part of the body will be paralysed or erased. Hence, this is why his wings are gone. My sister's medicine can only control the venom but not curing it, so she hands in a big bag full of different medicines to me.

"These are for scratches. These are for bruises and..." Pausing, she takes out a pack of smashed blue leaves and looks straight into my eyes. "The leaves help control the venom by turning it from bad to good. Thus, you need to boil them in a pot alongside with the seed of Job's tears for about 5 minutes," she states clearly in order for me to understand, since I'm a bad cook. "If he refuses to drink, a little bit of your blood should do."

"Wait, you want our little sister to cut herself and give him her blood? No way!" Kyle stands up to argue again as Sally furrows her eyebrows to control her rage.

"Well shut up if you don't wish to give any help!" It's been a hard time for Sally to bear Kyle's over consideration upon my safety all the time. Now both of them are already stood up, towering me without noticing. "You'll only make her weak if you keep being so protective like this. She needs to know how to care, how to befriend." The last word is the most sensitive for us.

But instead of bursting out at my big sister, Kyle lowers his head and sighs, "I-I'm sorry. I just can't bear seeing any of you getting hurt again..." he admits in a soft voice, almost turning it into a whisper. Grey curls dangle around his forehead and covers his eyes. "I don't mean to be this way. If I really do influence your life much, I must say that I'm truly sorry." Before I open my mouth to call him, he has already turned with his legs changing into merman tail before exiting through the narrow entrance.

***

Kendrix

It is 6 o' clock in the morning I suppose. Neither chirping of sparrows nor Kenjax's cheerful morning calls is awaking me from sleep. Honestly, it was an unpleasant sleep for me since I found myself underwater. Nightmares keep washing through me and injecting me with tonnes of fear. Heaving out a shaky breath, I shudder my eyelids and draw myself to a sitting position.

Looking around, I find myself, this time, lying in a different room. The burns and scratches covered all over my body are healing. Out of curiosity, I reach to touch my neck but end up hissing upon the sharp pain.

Why doesn't the jaculus bite healing? Is it because of the poison?

Setting the questions aside, I get off of the bed but wait, a bed? With mere surprise, I turn and stare at the mattress again. Indeed, it is a Queen sized bed surrounded with bubbles. Like me.

Such a luxurious room, unlike the previous one. I wonder who owns it.

Soon, I can smell something delicious coming from outside the room. Someone must be cooking. My stomach begins to growl, reminding me that I hadn't have my dinner yesterday until now. To be honest, I am craving for breakfast. Hence, I sneak out of the room quietly and head towards the smell source with my tippy toe.

As I am about to reach the corner, somebody bumps into me. "Ow...!" A girl's voice slides into my ears. She backs away, rubbing her aching forehead while looking up at me. Her frown turns into a bright smile. "Oh, good morning," she greets with her lively tone while trying to hide her panicked expression. Honestly, she looks a little scared.

"G-Good morning," I say in a surprisingly unsteady tone, which doesn't suit my usual self. My throat goes dry and I nearly choke on my words.

"You must be thirsty," she guesses before leaving to grab me a glass of water. Overwhelmed, I can believe someone has served water to me under the sea. But due to trust issues, I've hesitated. "It's fresh water. From The Clearest," the girl must have noticed the perplexed expression plastered on my face.

Also not to miss the point out, The Clearest is a river's name. Only animals and elements who belonged to the Wonders can discover it. This river holds the cleanest water on earth, making sure the continuation of lives which are undiscovered in this planet.

"Thank you," I thank her with a smile after reaching out to take hold of the glass of water. Maybe it is because of seeing me smile, the girl seems to look more relaxed as the horror lies behind her eyes disappears.

What was she scared about just now? Is it because of me? Did I frightened her before?

Again, questions which will never meet their answers circle around my mind for about two times. Although I've tried to retrieve any memory I have with her, but there isn't any of it that can explain why she fears me.

In fact, she is a complete stranger to me now, not having memories about scaring her is considered normal. Soon, I open my mouth trying to say something, but the girl has already turned her back against me while heading deeper into the kitchen.

Out of curiosity, I follow from behind only to see her checking on something in a pot. There isn't any misty fumes floating out but gurgling bubbles covering the surface of the content. Tipping my toes, what goes through my view is the gurgling black liquid filled in the pot. It seems to be boiling as I can smell something sweet wafting around the atmosphere. "What is this?"

"It's almost ready," says the girl in relief, leaving my question unanswered. The way she stirs the condensed liquid is careful. As she scoops up the content, a wave of disgust swarms through me, making my stomach churn. My conscience eventually tells me not to drink it despite how hungry I am right now. "You didn't eat since last night, right?" She confirms, hearing my stomach's betrayal growl.

Clearing my throat, I answer, "N-not really."

"Okay then," says the girl while she tastes the liquid from the ladle. It turns out the black thing I see is the seaweed. And the liquid itself is, well, light green? Or pale green? "Well," she turns towards me with a satisfied smile. "It's ready." My stomach rumbles again at the great smell of this... soup. I couldn't stop imagining the taste of the soup until the girl asks me to open my mouth. "Come, feel free to taste it?"

I can feel the spoon poking my lips to drive them apart. Groaning slightly in reluctance, I accept her offer. The soup tastes fresh and sweet, like the seafood steamboat which I'd last eaten back in Zyton. But this one tastes unique maybe because this is the first time I've ever tasted something originally made by a girl.

The soup slides down my throat alongside with the slippery seaweed, warming my chill body. "Tastes good," I comment absently, which is rewarded by her giggle.

***

Back to Stacey

The volcano steam stops gurgling bubbles as I've switched it off. I serve the soup into two bowls and both of us are seated at my living room. There is a waterproof coffee table put in front of the couch, which is where I eat my meals every day.

"What's your name?" The boy asks me when I am about to take my first spoon.

"Stacey Gems," I reply. "What about yours?"

He snorts and replies shyly, "Kendrix Leon. Drix for short, if you may."

Kendrix.

Such a special name. Like a name of a phoenix or... an angel.

Instead of praising him, I continue to ask him more about his stories. "So can you tell me, what had happened? Why did the jaculi attacked you?" His eyes turn wide as he hears the word 'jaculi'. His breath becomes unsteady when his eyeballs focus on nothing particular, just averting from side to side. He looks scared more because of being traumatized by the hideous creatures.

"H-how do you know that?" he finally recollects his breath and asks in bewilderment.

"My sister figured this out when she bandaged your wounds," I shrug, slurping down another spoonful of hot soup. The seaweeds are so smooth and delicate beneath my taste buds. I lick my lips unconditionally. "She told me something quite serious about you yesterday," I state a little seriously and Kendrix raises his head to look at me. Sure enough, my words have gained his attention.

"...that I am going to turn bad?" he guesses and surprisingly, it is correct. The only answer I can present to him is my nod in concern and pity. "I know," he whispers miserably. "This is our weakness as angels. Once we are fallen, our dark side will surface and time is what matters," his tone shows me how vulnerable he is, despite the fact that we've just properly known each other a few minutes ago.

Sighing, I pat his back gently to comfort him. "I'll cure you. I promise." And I regret saying that. If I don't even know how to cure him, how is this going to work? Not only that, the next thing I say totally scares me out. Even Kendrix looks taken aback by my words. "I'll never let the dark side consumes you!"

This is insane. I will break the promise.

As our conversation pauses over the dominating silence, Kendrix's cheeks blush slightly and he ruffles my hair, reminding me of Kyle. "Thank you, Stacey." His smile bright as the orange sunshine, warming my heart and completing the shredded parts.

To be honest, my siblings always think that I have walked out of the dark shades caused by the memory of our parents' death. But they are completely fooled by the mask I've put on to hide those scars. They will never know that I'll always hide in my room and cry on my parents' birthdays and wedding anniversaries. Indeed, I miss them so much until my heart hurts. The same gash would reopen every year and every time I meditate about them.

"Stacey?" Kendrix's voice pulls me back to reality and that is when I can feel my cheeks being stained and wet with tears. Both of his arms are grabbing my shoulder when he's trying to shake me back to consciousness. "I'm sorry if my appreciation upsets you. I'll take it back if-"

"No," I interrupt with my harsh but dry tone. "It's just-" I sniffle before continuing. "...there are rocks entering my eyes, rocks you can't see," I force out a chuckle while wiping my tears away a little hastily.

"Liar," disagrees Kendrix while reaching out his hand to wipe the non-stopping tears from my cheeks with his knuckles. His action gentle unlike how he was last night. "You are depressed. I can see it through your windows of life." I suppose what he means are my eyes. "Somewhere deep in your heart," he pauses with his tongue licking his lower lip. "...must be so desperate to find a friend to talk to."

Although it is just a random guess based on his observation on my facial expression, it hits the jackpot of the secret I hide quite well.

"I already have," I say, still trying to deny his statement which covers most of the truth.

"That's an animal. Not a person. Carrots told me by the way." His answers are like electric current which shoots impulses down my nerve without stopping. I can feel some of my synapses have snapped, making me freeze on the spot and unable to respond. "I saw your face through his memory, but he never tells me your name," Kendrix admits with his fingers forming a horizontal pyramid in front of his stomach.

"That is because he wants you to figure this out by yourself," I state matter-of-factly while standing up with my empty bowl, intended to head towards the kitchen. "By the way, you have medicines to take later," I remind him, which makes him grunt in disgust. "I'm sorry if you don't like it, but this is for your own good. You currently have no choice aside from trusting us," I add with pride until Kendrix narrows his eyes at me, speechless.

"You little-"

"Mermaid," I say, filling up the blank with a naughty smirk. Kendrix stands up and follows me to the kitchen. "A beautiful mermaid," I add sarcastically as Kendrix pretends to vomit. "I am Stacey and people falls for my beauty...." I continue to get myself indulged in my narcissism while doing the cleaning.

"Could you please stop that, young lady? You may need therapy," Kendrix argues with his eyes rolling in annoyance. How rare when an angel knows about therapies which is mostly done by humans. "It's a pity that you use your beautiful voice on such songs to let men fall in love with you. Too bad because I won't fall for your tricks." His words contain both compliment and insult, making me furious as he is making the wrongest judgement about my family and me. Feeling furious, I put down the cloth before turning to face him with my angry face. "What? You're gonna slap me?" Now he triggers my temper, letting my sharp stare pierces through his arrogant yet beautiful face.

I grab his thin, white T-shirt, pulling his face nearer towards mine. Seriously, an angel in white T-shirt and stylish jeans looks hotter than those who cover their sensitive parts with thin, white cloths. But I manage to redirect my attention back to the most important focused subject because the eagerness in me to clarify is intense. "Listen angel boy, I may have inherited my mother's voice. But I'm not the type you'd just described. We are pure mermaids, not our evil relatives you'd mentioned. If you insult me, you're doing the same on her. So I won't mind killing you for your wrongdoings." Actually, I'm just joking to him since he fears me so much due to the stories he heard before about sirens.

"Alright, alright," he surrenders with both of his hands raised up in the air, sounded a little scared yet he is hiding it with his cool tone. His eyes are glued on mine when he looks downwards at me due to our different heights. His hot breath lands on my forehead when I let him go.

Sighing in disappointment, I turn away from him to check out the medicine. The other pot which I use to steam a bowl of blue leaves with Job's tears' is humming. The herb tea is ready and it's time to be consumed. As careful as I can manage, I take out the hot bowl from the steaming pot using my favourite mittens and put it on a tray.

The herb tea will taste bitter and I hope Kendrix won't deny it later.

With the tray in my hands, I walk out of the kitchen and much to my surprise, I can see Kyle sitting in the living room, talking to Kendrix. But their conversation ceases to continue when they sense my presence.

"Time for medicine, angel boy," says Kyle in a surprisingly casual way. Taking in both of their facial expressions, I can see the difference in between – Kyle's looks gentle with his welcoming smile while Kendrix's looks tense especially when he stares at the bowl with worried eyes. He swallows in fear when I place the tray down and take the bowl towards him. I wonder whether he has trauma towards bitter herbs before dropping into the ocean.

Tutting, I urge, "Come on. You have to drink it for your own sake." I am supposed to convince him with my soft tone like a nurse. But, my tone turns out rough as sandpaper which in turn makes his head shakes. "The jaculus venom won't stop eating your soul unless you fight back." I try again, this time, in my softest pleading tone.

In a meantime, I scoop a little of the tea in a spoon and shove it towards his mouth, which remains shut.

Reluctantly, he takes a small sip of the content and ends up making a face of disgust. As I go on with another small spoonful for him, he seems to be avoiding me by jerking his head away. His eyebrows furrowing. But what happens next is out of our expectations and consent, in a flash, my brother is pulling Kendrix's hair, forcing him to look at me. The moment he appears behind the angel never to be noticed.

***

Back to Kendrix again

"Ugh...!" Reacting upon the pain that Kyle gives by pulling my black hair, I can't stop shuddering upon his ever-changing mood and actions. The difference is way too big. Soon, his other free hand begins to forcefully jerk my face in order for me to face his little sister.

"Kyle, you don't need to do this. I can persuade him by myself." It is Stacey who is convincing him to stop his bloody actions. However, Kyle is not buying her words. In fact, his grasp on my hair and jaw harden until a choked groan vibrates through my throat.

"He will not listen to you, little sis. I can already predict it out," Kyle states firmly before snatching the bowl of herb tea from his sister's hands. My jaw is free from his firm grasp but my hair is not that lucky. In this fleeting moment, I have a bad feeling that he will force the content down my throat against my own will. I want to fight back with my free hands, but the fact that the merman is still sitting behind me inhibits the strength instead. Consequently, my body ends up not being able to move but trembling hard.

"K-Kyle," I call the merman with my teeth chattering. Resultantly, Kyle pauses his actions to listen to me. To be very honest, I'm doing this by trying my luck as I will never expect Kyle will listen to people. "I'll drink it myself."

Saying nothing, Kyle hands me the bowl with a smirk full of satisfaction which I won't bother sending a punch on. The blue liquid does not look like a proper tea at all. Again, the same nauseous feeling invades my brain and stomach but I've suppressed it. Taking in a deep breath, I drink up the whole liquid once and for all.

"Good boy," coos Kyle as he strokes my hair and I shiver upon it.

"Stop scaring him, Kyle," snaps Stacey as she slaps her brother's hand away from me. "Just give him some space, prince," she says with her hands akimbo, showing high disagreement upon her brother's actions.

"Okay, okay," Kyle agrees to disagree in surrender while moving away obediently. His tail flapping my bubble. "Sorry, for being rough towards you." And he doesn't forget to apologise to me before leaving Stacey's place. By the time his figure is gone from our sight, I cover my mouth again to stop myself from vomiting the tea out. An uneasy groan is clear and audible as I try my best to suppress the disgusting feeling from rising up my tummy.

"It's hard to swallow this whole actually," Stacey admits sombrely. "Because we usually consume it spoon by spoon."

Gasping badly for air, I can see twinkling stars scattered all over my head. Then, my body turns limp until I tumble onto the couch, breathing roughly with my stomach churning. The bowl falls off from my hand and it smashes onto the ground, turning into bits.

Instead of scolding me upon my carelessness, I can feel Stacey's warm hands on my forehead. "Kendrix." Her expression holds worry the most. Yet, she manages to whisper to me in a voice so soft, "It will be okay. Trust me."

Soon, I've calmed down with my breath steadying to a rhythmic rise and fall. My eyelids turn heavy until I've succumbed to a deep sleep.

First updated: 13 March 2017.
Last edited: 18 June 2019.