just helped an old old man log into his outlook account and we succeeded and he said “young lady, go in peace. we have accomplished this mission.” what an electrifying way of speaking…
Among the centuries’ worth of eggshells, prey remains, and natural nesting material, researchers identified 226 objects that were either made or altered by humans. These included weaponry like a crossbow bolt and wooden lance, decorated sheep leather, and parts of a slingshot.
Using carbon dating, the team determined that the items also had a huge age range. For example, a shoe made from twigs and grass is around 675-years-old, while a basket is estimated to have been woven about 150 years ago.
Beyond the manufactured relics of our species’ past, archaeologists also catalogued 2,117 bones, 86 hooves, and 43 eggshells. They even located 11 hair remains among the nesting layers. More analysis will provide a look into the surrounding area’s past environment, as well as its various flora and fauna.
(A/N: Oh my goodness. This is so late for mermay. This is a little story of helping a merman.
Warnings: blood mention and wounds, but only location described.
Word Count: 2,596 words)
~~~
Beautiful scenery and warm breezes could often steal a person's attention. Like magic. Impossibly blue water reflecting sunlight in sparkles, soft sand sinking with moisture with each step you made, and birds squawking along a warm wind.
An empty section of beach during low tide was a private world all your own. Only a path ahead without any obligations. Calm sounds of nature that quieted your mind instead of bringing out any sense of loneliness or dread in the wide world. Nature had a way of reminding you to exist as you were.
No need for wanting to be anything more.
No wish to be anywhere else.
No thoughts on what could had been.
Nature did not tell you to change.
Adjusting the tote bag's strap, the weight of it thumped your side. It wasn't heavy. Not exactly. You brought whatever you thought necessary for your outing. From entertainment to healthy essentials, you had it.
Kind of wish I had a wagon.
You had a day off and were prepared. An understatement if there ever was one.
Searching for the perfect spot to occupy for a couple of hours, your eyes caught sight of what one might first assume to be sea debris. A thought that even your subconsciousness did not believe.
But believing was essential for who laid on the sand a few yards away.
Bright pinks, oranges, and reds contrasted against the sand, half covered in its granules and reflecting the sun's rays. Beautiful and surreal.
Air stalled in your throat.
The colorful form moved. Only a little. An adjustment. A large orange and white fin shifted, pointed towards the water that was being pulled further out.
Irritation in your eyes made you consciously blink. You had been staring.
How could you not?
Stopping at a decent distance, your shock and wonder quickly dropped into dread.
From fiery hair down a mainly pink hued body, the merfolk had fresh wounds. Reds breaking between warm oranges and pinks.
You could not tell what had happened. Yet it was increasingly obvious that a beached merperson during low tide was a terrible situation. One that would only get worse the longer the being was kept from water. Assuming they were fully aquatic. A safe assumption.
Upon closer observation of their humanlike upper body, the merfolk was male. He was on his stomach with closed eyes.
A merman. You exhaled and worriedly watched his ragged breathing. He needs help.
Glancing around, you were reminded of the seclusion.
Blood colored the sand around him. All drying in the late morning light.
Rules of the beach included never personally helping wildlife. Citizens must keep a safe distance.
But this was clearly a merman.
Who would you even call for that?
Would anyone believe you?
What if someone took him away?
No. You would not and could not allow it. Even to imagine such a scenario as capturing a merman for research or entertainment hurt.
Weight pulling down on your shoulder helped spark your next actions. You might not be experienced in the needed field of work, but you were prepared. In your own way.
You set your tote bag onto the sand and dug out the First Aid kit.
I can help. Just need to patch up those big wounds and then, maybe, dig a trench out to the water. You laid out large bandages, gauze, and medical tape on a towel. Too bad I didn't bring a little shovel.
Soft steps in the sand and shaking hands, you approached the beached merman. "Hello?" You stopped near his hips where short, reddish dorsal fins ran down over his rear.
He did not respond nor did you expect him to. Not with words anyway.
Birds nearby scurried away.
"I'm here to help you," you said gently. "Well...the best I can manage. Hopefully."
Maybe he's too tired. You reasoned.
Cautiously, you set your focus on a gash running almost horizontally over the side of his smooth scaled tail. It looked painful, however not deep. Thankfully.
Cutting a piece of gauze, you made a makeshift bandage before pressing the medical tape to his warm tail.
A startled and dry yelp escaped the merman. Wide blue eyes found you and he made every fumbled attempt to get away from you.
"I'm sorry." You fell backwards. "It's alright." You held your hands up, empty and nonthreatening.
He cried out. Webbed hands sinking further into the sand and unable to make any real distance sideways.
"I'm just trying to help." You stated as calmly as you could manage. Talking to an injured merman--a myth--was not a regular occurrence one could prepare for.
Think. You can do this. You noticed how he watched you fearfully. Don't be scary. Not that I look scary--or do I? You brushed the sand from your hands. Don't panic. You have a blue-eyed and multicolored merman terrified you're going to eat him. Show you are not a threat. Even though he's likely more than twice my length with that tail.
Not being too theatrical, you picked up a small adhesive bandage and slowly demonstrated how it was used on your own arm. Simple and to the very important point.
"It helps," you explained softly. If anything, you hoped your tone would do the heavy lifting in the communication department.
Intelligent blue eyes flickered from your face to your hands and to your arm rapidly. Calculating and reasoning. The merman no longer squirmed across the sand.
It's a start. And the bandage on his tail didn't rub off. Bonus.
You grabbed a relatively small bandage for him even though you wanted to patch up the larger wounds first.
Baby steps. First up: establishing trust.
He angled his head as far away as possible while you knelt beside him. Watching you with tears in his wide eyes, heaving chest, and tense muscles. He allowed you to bandage up the little cuts along his left arm. Webbed fingers dug into the dry sand. Sharply inhaling whenever your fingers pressed the bandages on.
"There. See? You're alright."
You shuffled over to the towel and tossed the wrappers into the tote. Peeking over your shoulder, you saw him inspecting his arm.
Progress, you thought and swallowed the lump in your throat.
Keeping as calm as possible, for his sake and comfort, you patched up the wounds that worried you the most. You hummed a random tune while you worked. Sounds that hopefully made you less threatening.
He never looked away from every movement you made, however his breathing did slow to something less alarmed.
Yet no amount of humming relaxed him when you focused on mending his long tail where the last of the main wounds had left a jagged mark. It bled about a hand's width away from the start of his beautiful fin.
At least whatever happened missed his main fin and the smaller ones. You hunched over to make sure.
Delicately, you lifted a reddish fin, about the size of your hand, to check. Still aware of his gaze.
A strangled whistle and a series of anxious chirps caused you to pull back your hand. The merman attempted thrashing, but he only managed to cover himself in more sand.
Touching tail: not recommended.
"Sorry." You sighed. "Last one." You showed him the large bandage you put together. "I promise."
He whined trying to move his tail again.
"No, no. Wait. Don't get sand in it."
Unfortunately, he did.
"Hold on." You shuffled over to your tote and grabbed your thermos. "I hope you don't mind cold fresh water."
Before you could return to the merman, you paused to watch him. Torso bending and fingers clawing at the sand as he got a closer look at what you had done. It was the longest he had taken his gaze off of you.
Your mind was struck again by the knowledge of a merman. The sight of him alone and stranded made you swallow your emotions as they threatened to spill over.
His fate did not have to be a dry and lonely end. You would make sure of it.
You exhaled. "Alright twisty-tail, let's clean up the last one before the hard part."
Tilting his head in your direction, the merman chirped lowly. Perhaps in question. Perhaps in apprehension.
Half expecting him to startle or whine, your carefully popped open the thermos with one hand.
The merman only blinked. He did not even twitch a fin when you approached his tail again. Yet his gaze was fixed on you.
"Easy does it," you murmured and knelt down. "Just some water."
As the water streamed out of the container and made contact with the merman, he chirped in surprise. Thankfully, he remained still. Both sand and blood washing from the wound.
A lighter chirp followed.
Closing the lid, you looked to your tailed companion. To your surprise, he wasn't staring at you, but at the thermos.
It must be really weird for him, you thought. A land creature keeping hidden water.
Offering a smile, you set the thermos in the sand where it stood fairly well.
"All right," you announced, "before you decide to roll around." You pressed the exceedingly large gauze on his tail and exhaled as the medical tape stuck. "Thank you."
Hopefully all that tape over the gauze helps too. I did it! You clapped your palms onto your thighs.
"Next stop..."
Water foamed across the wet sand many paces away. Low tide continued. What only seemed a short walk away upon arrival appeared like a long journey as you considered your options.
Pulling the merman remained out of the equation. By the looks of him, his tail weighed a lot. So, definitely not.
Digging a trench for him could bring in water, but that didn't bring him any closer to swimming. Sadly, no.
Think. Think. Think. There has to be some in-between option. You groaned knowing that time was not a luxury in the situation.
Behind you, the merman made another sound. Something between a chirp and a murmur.
Glancing over your shoulder, a sight shoved your frantic thoughts aside. The merman was attempting to drag himself back out to sea.
Perhaps your First Aid skills and water gave him the energy boost needed to move. There was hope the merman would not perish on the hot sand. The rushing call of the water beyond could be answered. He only needed to cross the sand.
"Hold on." You scampered ahead and plucked piles of seaweed out of his intended path.
His movements were not fast nor easy. Whatever strength he had left was being used to get him home. You could only do little things to help him along.
"You can do it." You crouched down as he completed his full turn with the tip of his tail knocking over your thermos. "You got it. Keep going."
He huffed and took a moment to breathe. Muscles straining under the sunlight. Sand stuck to his multicolored body; dulled from blood loss and tiredness.
You imagined he would be quite a sight in the clear water and healthy reef.
"You can make it."
Walking further from him, you cleared away any debris no matter the material. Some of which you would hope to forget or had no idea what it truly was from being in salt water. But that was not your only concern as he had to keep stopping to rest.
Birds flew overhead. A mixture is the curious, patient, and hungry. You didn't favor any of them who took interest in the merman.
None of that discouraged the merman beside you. He continued forward to freedom. Thankfully, the adhesive you placed on him stuck to his very smooth scales.
"Not too far to go. You can do it." You continued encouraging him even though you were more than certain of a large language barrier.
Was that not the case between most creatures?
Sure, you could mimic his sounds, but you had no idea what it could translate to. After helping him thus far, you did not want to chance insulting him. That was among the things you never wanted to do. He seemed calm enough and tolerating you. There was no need to ruin the ground you already covered.
In a matter of approximately twenty minutes, the merman rested to catch his breath again. Yet this time the water touched the sand no further than two paces. So close.
Blue eyes gazed longingly out into the waves. His sand-covered ginger hair laid flat across his forehead, dry and frizzy.
Swallowing the familiar lump in your throat, you stepped closer to the water. "Here. Maybe this will help a little."
You cupped some water into your hands and poured the small amount onto his upper back. The droplets ran down his dry, sandy skin to reveal his pink hues.
Letting out a distinct chirp, the merman pulled himself forward; enough to place his arms into the cool water. A low rumble vibrated from his chest.
"You're almost in." You repeated your action of putting water on him. It wasn't much, but he seemed to appreciate it.
He chirped in a higher pitch.
"You can do it."
Kneeling in the water felt good to you. You could only imagine how relieved he must feel.
In the water, you were and to rapidly put water along his back. Each droplet washed away the sand and rehydrated the merman. Pinks and oranges of his skin tone coming alive in their brightness.
"That's better, huh?" You cooed as he rested his head in the water.
You poured more water onto the back of his neck. Easily and calmly. It was a wonder how much you were in his personal space.
He must know I'm here to help him. It's not a mystery now. You thought and wiped a tiny shell off of his shoulder blade.
The merman slapped his tail in the sand.
"Sorry." You held up your hands.
Personal boundaries. Got it.
Muscles flexing and gaze set ahead, the merman brought himself into the water. Soft waves pulled him further in the more he crawled forward.
Shuffling alongside him, you were determined to have him make it into deeper water. A task becoming easier once you both were in passed your knees.
When the water reached your hips, you stopped to watch him progress on his own. Proud and relieved.
At least he's not rushing out before he's ready.
Fiery hair fully popping out of the water concerned you for a moment as to why he stopped until the merman turned. Blue eyes finding you.
Oh. You waved.
The merman responded with a soft, almost singing, note. A musical tone nonetheless. He continued gazing at you for another moment or so before ducking into the water.
His bright colors gone from sight.
Just like that, you were simply a person standing waist deep in water. No mythical or magical beings to draw you from a normal day.
Birds roamed the shoreline in search of a tiny snack. A breeze whispered secrets you could not understand. The sun rose higher over all.
You made the trip back to shore hoping the merman would heal quickly and remain safe. Hope he could return to his life.
Yet your life would not be the same--no longer normal. You knew the truth. Merfolk were real.
If that would be your only contact with one, you felt honored and reassured.
"He will be alright." You scanned the horizon line. "I only wish I knew your name."
~~~
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