The promise

The sun had already begun to sink lower, painting the horizon with strokes of amber and rose. Reiner lingered at the edge of the sea, his toes buried in wet sand, the water curling gently around his ankles. His small hands still tingled with the memory of holding Annette, the strange and beautiful creature who felt so impossibly fragile in his arms.

For a while, he wondered if it had been a dream. But then, the sea stirred. A shimmer of turquoise broke the surface, and Annette rose once more, her wet hair clinging to her shoulders, eyes bright despite her injuries.

Reiner gasped softly. “You came back!”

Annette tilted her head, her lips curving faintly. “I said we’ll… didn’t I?”

Her voice was like a soft ripple—delicate, but steady. She floated just beyond the waves, her tail lazily flicking beneath the water, scales catching the fading light.

Still, Reiner could see the bruises on her arms, the small cuts across her skin. “Does it hurt?” he asked, almost whispering, as though the question itself might wound her.

“A little,” Annette admitted. “But the sea will heal me.”

Silence fell between them for a moment, broken only by the cries of gulls above and the lapping of the waves. Neither of them truly understood what was happening, yet they felt something—an invisible thread pulling their hearts closer.

Reiner crouched at the edge of the shore, studying her carefully. His curiosity outweighed his fear, and finally, he asked the question that had been pressing against his lips since the first moment he saw her.

“What are you?”

Annette blinked, then smiled faintly, as though she expected such a question. “A mermaid,” she said simply.

Reiner’s eyes widened. “So… you live under the sea?”

“Yes.” She glanced behind her, where the horizon stretched endlessly. “That’s my world. My family, the corals, the fish… everything lives down there. But we’re told not to come too close to humans.”

Reiner tilted his head. “Why not?”

Annette hesitated. She thought of her mother’s warnings, of the dark tales whispered about nets, ships, and human greed. “Because humans take,” she said softly. “They don’t understand us.”

The boy frowned. “Not all humans.” He pressed his small fist to his chest, eyes shining with a sudden fire. “I wouldn’t take you. I just want to… be your friend.”

Annette’s lips parted slightly in surprise. She studied him, trying to see if he was lying, but his face was open, earnest, filled with a light she had never seen before.

Her heart fluttered, a strange warmth blooming in her chest. “Friend?” she echoed, tasting the word.

Reiner nodded eagerly. “Yes! We can’t be the same, but we can… still care, right?”

For the first time since she’d been trapped in the net, Annette laughed—a soft, tinkling sound that blended with the sea breeze. “You’re strange, Reiner.”

“Strange?” he grinned. “Maybe. But then again, you’re strange too.”

They both laughed this time, the sound carrying over the waves like a secret song only they could hear.

When the laughter faded, a quiet calm fell over them. The world seemed to pause—the ocean holding its breath, the sky waiting.

Reiner leaned forward, his voice serious now. “One day,” he said, “we’ll meet again. When we’re older. When I’m stronger. I’ll find you, Annette.”

Her eyes softened. She didn’t fully understand promises; in her world, time flowed differently, days melting into tides. But there was something in the way he said it, firm and bright, that made her believe.

“One day,” she whispered back. “We’ll.”

The waves swelled gently between them, like a vow sealed in saltwater and sunlight.

Annette gave one last glance at his small, determined face before the sea pulled her back into its embrace. Her tail flashed once, twice, then she was gone, swallowed by the deep blue.

Reiner remained on the shore, his little fists clenched at his sides. He was only eight years old, yet already he felt the weight of something larger than himself. He had seen her, touched her, spoken to her. And now, he carried her name like a treasure against his heart.

“Annette,” he whispered into the wind.

The sea answered with a soft sigh, as if promising it would keep her safe until the day they met again.

And so, under a sky turning violet with night, a boy and a mermaid parted ways—bound forever by a fragile promise, carried on the tides of fate.

End Episode 3 ...

Thanks for reading ❤️ Support me so I can write for novels in the upcoming days ✨

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***