"I'd like it if you'd come closer. Just once." Kaian requests. The merman rests against the elevated platform, upper body pressed against the damp surface. It’s the same old same old he asks you almost every day. Though he knows you’ll most likely deny his request, he can’t help feeling dejected. Frustrated, almost.

He opts to watch while you scrape the algae off of the thick, glass panes of his aquarium. The flakes sinking down to the bottom of the tank, mixing in with the dirtied debris the other workers don’t bother to clean.

He knows it's a part of your 'protocol'. Something that forbid humans that took care of creatures like himself from ever approaching mortals like you. Still, he longs the day he'll get to touch you up close. Feel the skin of your hands on his, wondering how they’ll feel. Would your hands be soft? Calloused?

Kaian's getting used to being captured. You get used to it eventually, he thinks. He's more or less an exhibit for human children to gawk at. The food might not be as good, the fish tasted stale and not as fresh as the ones he used to catch. But you’re really the only thing making the entire thing bearable. Your presence, which was the only thing the merman was looking forward to. Kaian can’t bear being apart you for too long. It hurts his chest, makes him so anxious he could barely breathe.