“Got fired. Need money for food.”
Keld ribs squeezed his lungs like furious fingers, preventing him from taking a full breath. His mother was unemployed more often than not. That tended to be the case when one failed to show up to work on time, or left early whenever she felt like it.
“You have the entire ocean right there, go fishing,” he retorted.
“You know damn well my joints are no good. I can’t catch shit.” That, at least, was probably true. Prolongedtavrause was known to cause buildup of crystalline structures in a Mer’s joints.
“I’m not sending you money.” Keld sighed. “But I’ll bring groceries. Send a list.”
Hisjieigrumbled and cursed, but eventually sent a list of items—mostly nonessentials Keld would be ignoring.
“I’ll be there in an hour. Just… take a nap or something.” Keld hung up before his mother could start raging. He ground the heels of his hands into his temples, wishing he could crush the fear and anger from his mind. That his mother would just disappear and free him from the burden of being her son. From being the consequence of a heat-induced mistake.
Keld had no doubt that his mother would have crushed him in the egg had the Paeil government not stepped in to incubate him. Apparently his genetics were too valuable to risk. So few Mer nymphs survived long enough to hatch, those that did were more precious than any resource. Though, apparently, the government’s job ended the moment a nymph emerged from the egg. No one had stepped in to save him when he was returned to his mother.
Keld hauled himself from the water, the drops falling obediently from his scales. He didn’t feel like putting on human clothes—night market it was. He left his first floor apartment and crossed the road to the sea. His tail rasped against the asphalt, sending a little flare of pain through his malformed tail fin. The ragged tear was a permanent reminder of his mother’s cruelty.
His mind flashed to the day it happened. A kitchen knife, piercing his fin, nailing it to the floor, the sound of ripping flesh when he pulled himself free—Keld shook the memory away. The Florida sea was warm, even in the dim light of sundown. The days were longer now that April had arrived.
Keld struck out for the night market on the northernmost point of the island. It was one of the places Mer didn’t concern themselves with human discomfort. Miami’s human populace was concentrated on the southeast coast, while northwest catered to the Mer.
The night market stood in the shallows, with vendors and customers alike wading or diving through glowing stalls. Bioluminescent algae painted each structure, adding to the pool of faint, blue glow cast by string lights overhead.
Single Mer hovered around street food areas, perched at submerged tables and eying passersby. Normally, he’d have headed in that direction without question, but today, he had an unpleasant task to accomplish. Perhaps he could reward himself with a pretty Omega on his way home.
As quickly as he could, Keld gathered bags of fish steaks, algae soup packets, fresh kelp, and artificially grown Usoi vegetables. It would be enough to last her the week.
A young male Omega with scales like the sunrise caught his eye and gave his fins a slow, sultry flare. Keld returned the display, then plunged out into deeper water. With any luck, the dawn-scaled Omega would still be there when Keld got back.
The journey to hisjiei’s house was not nearly long enough. Keld splashed to the surface in the dank living area of his childhood home. The only light was coming from a television to his left.
“Took you long enough.” Kioas Vihinu sat sprawled on her tattered sea sponge sofa. A tube sucked water from the central pool and carried it to the sponge, keeping it damp enough for comfort. As far as Keld knew, his mother only left the sofa when absolutely necessary. It was the only functioning piece of aquaconductive furniture she had left.
“Nice to see you, too.” Keld climbed from the pool and strode toward the kitchen without bothering to look at hisjiei. He knew what he would see there—cheeks hollower than before, pale yellow scales slowly dulling to gray, and a pallid complexion on her face. He often wondered if she’d been beautiful once.
“You get everything on the list?” she yelled.
“I got everything youneededon the list,” Keld retorted.
“You’re an ungratefulbiyaug, you know that?”
Biyaug. Usoi grub used for baiting traps—his mother’s favorite term of endearment for her only child. Keld didn’t bother to respond. The water channels between the kitchen tiles still flowed, though blockages of debris caused most of it to spill aimlessly across the floor. He stored the perishables in the cooling unit, wincing as the fans at the back screeched. Hisjieiwould need a replacement soon.
“I want a steak,” she shouted from the living room.
“Would you please sear a steak for me?” Keld mumbled under his breath. So much for his tentative plans to find the pretty Omega at the market.
He set a battered pan on the stove and twisted the knob to light it. Gas hissed out, but failed to spark into flame.
“Use the matches!”
Keld closed his eyes for a moment. “Your stove is broken?”
“No. You just have to use the matches to light it. Works just fine.” A harsh cough rattled through her chest.
Keld bit back his retort and struck a match.
The moon had risen high in the sky by the time he returned to the sea. Every muscle in his body felt weak and ragged, as if he’d spent the evening performing manual labor rather than simply spending a few hours with his mother. His mind was little more than wisps of cloud—devoid of energy.
