#tiny!janus

Logan's eyes shot open as he sat up. Did he fall asleep? Had it all been a dream? He was still floating on the open sea, but the shore wasn't visible from that point. Perhaps he only got dragged away. He decided going back home was the best… even if his compass wasn't working… Well, he could figure out his way back based on the position of the sun and the estimated time he had spent outside.

Hours had passed since he started rowing back, Logan had to remind his dad to fix the motor before he went out to fish again. Should he try another direction? No, he was quite sure this was the right way, and the sun setting only helped to further prove his point.

Logan stopped abruptly as something tugged on the boat. Oh right, he forgot to pull the net up. Something must have gotten stuck while he floated around. He took the edge of the net and pulled, quite confused as to why it was heavier then usual. He froze once he saw what it was.

There was a tiny person tangled in the net, was this a kid? No, it looked too old to be a kid but was the size of one...and they had a tail.

They were tugging the net trying to get out, as they muted several words in a language Logan couldn't understand. By how they sounded, he could only assume they were curse words or something of that nature. They hadn't noticed Logan's presence either. “Uh… I can help you, if you want.”

The, mermaid? Yeah mermaid seemed like the best term to use to describe them at the moment. The mermaid looked up at Logan, fear invading their eyes… no it wasn't fear, it was more like confusion? Whatever they were feeling right now, it only made them tug harder on the net.

“Hold on, you're only going to hurt yourself.” Logan didn't even know if talking to them helped at all, if he couldn't understand them it was more than likely they couldn't understand them.

Logan had to do something since talking clearly won't work. He reached towards the water to gently scoop up the mermaid, dragging the net along with them. He got his arms all wet but he was used to it, “try to stay still please.”

Of course they didn't listen, or didn't understand at least. It only made the process of untangling them longer, which apparently made them understand after a while.

Logan tried to be as careful as he could. They couldn't be more than a three feer tall taking their tail into consideration, which was more than half their body. Yellow and green scales decorated their tail, scales that reflected the sunlight which made them look like they were shining. The tail’s shape reminded Logan of a catfish, though he had never seen a yellow catfish.

Getting lost in his thoughts didn't mean that Logan had stopped working, he could definitely think as he untangled the net. He did however, become self conscious of the way he was staring at the mermaid’s tail. “I apologize in advance if I’m making you uncomfortable in any way.

Logan wasn't expecting an answer. “You speak English right?”

He froze, but was quick to shake off that feeling and keep working.“I do, and I wasn't aware you could understand me, let alone speak it.”

“I’m not great speaking,” they replied. “Or getting big hard words.”

Well, clearly the way they worded those sentences demonstrated that, “Then I’ll make sure to simplify my vocabulary,” the mermaid gave him a confused look. “I’ll speak with easier words,” Logan corrected himself.

It didn't take much longer for the mermaid to be free from the net, Logan left them on his lap as he put the net away. “You don’t have a tail,” they mentioned.

Logan looked down at him, “I do not. You’ve never seen a human before have you?”

They shook their head, “some like you?”

“Someone like me indeed, I’m kind of surprised you don't even know what a human is.” Logan was hoping they would help him get back to land, but it didn't seem like that was going to happen.

“A human… we don’t have humans here.”

Logan raised an eyebrow, “what do you mean you don't?”

The mermaid moved on Logan's lap to look over the edge of the boat and point at the sea. “We all live down there, no land on the surface.”

Logan felt the color draining from his face. He looked up, desperately trying to spot the shore or an island or something. What was going on? Had that… black hole been real? Where was he then?

A tiny hand on his chest brought him back to his senses. He looked down at the mermaid who looked at him with concerned eyes, “something wrong isn't it?”

Logan nodded, “if what you're telling me is true, I think I’m not supposed to be here.”

The mermaid hummed. They used the edge of the boat to impulse themselves back to the water.

“Wow, thank you I suppose.” Logan sighed and took the paddles again, thinking they had abandoned him.

He stopped when a hand got out from underwater, “I can help. Like you help.”