The air in the research sanctuary was cool, filled with the faint hum of machinery and the gentle trickle of flowing water as you followed Luis through the sterile, dimly lit corridors. After your much-needed vacation, the bustling atmosphere of the sanctuary felt almost foreign. Luis, a brilliant biologist and your ever-reliable coworker, kept you up to speed, a clipboard balanced in his hands.

“You know you missed quite a bit while you were away,” Luis said with a grin, handing the clipboard over for you to read. “We managed to get ourselves another subject. Our third one, actually…”

Curious, you raised an eyebrow and began flipping through the pages of notes, scanning the details carefully. As you absorbed the information, Luis’s words trailed on, but something in the tone of his voice made you look up.

A brief pause, followed by Luis’s brown eyes meeting yours with a spark of excitement. “A merman,” he revealed, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

He led you through a set of wide doors into the aquarium section, where the space was dark and expansive, illuminated by the soft glow of blue lights reflected in the massive tanks. Fish drifted lazily through the water, their forms disappearing into the shadows as you scanned the waters.

And then, you saw him.

Behind the thick glass, a figure swam fluidly through the water. His blond hair floated like strands of seaweed, two tendrils trailing with the gentle current. His clawed hand, dark blue at the tips, pressed lightly against the glass. Your gaze followed the long, sleek blue tail that rippled behind him, but it was his eyes that truly held you. A piercing, almost ethereal blue, both calming and unsettling as they locked onto yours.

For a moment, you and the merman—Leon—simply stared at each other. His hand remained against the glass, as if testing the invisible barrier that separated your worlds. He didn’t know you yet, but something in his gaze hinted at recognition, as though he sensed something familiar in you.