Its hair was midnight black, but I was unsure whether it was the darkness surrounding it or its actual hair color. One eye was a stormy grey and the other milky white with a scar running across it. Its nose, slightly crooked but pointed. Its plump lips thinned out into a grin, hiding the rows of shark teeth. Its jawline was so sharp it could cut paper, a grey 7-foot-tail gently danced behind him, and I could see the connection from his abdomen to it. It was horrifyingly beautiful.
I stumbled back as the creature moved impossibly closer to the glass wall. It pointed a webbed finger at me then slithered its long tongue against the glass wall. To say I was shocked was an understatement; in any form, some creatures are still disgusting. No matter how beautiful you are, at least have some self-respect.
I flipped it off and closed my curtains; I heard a repeated banging noise against the window. I searched for my phone to call my aunt, but I knew she would say I told you so. Instead, I called reception for me to change rooms. I could hear scraping sounds at this point, and I was terrified.
"Hello, this is the reception."
"Um, hello. I was wondering if it was possible to change rooms."
"I will check the system and inform you, ma'am," the receptionist responded, putting the call on hold.
At this point, it was screeching, and I was shaking in fear; I was afraid it might be able to break the window even though I knew it wouldn't be able to.
"Sorry, ma'am, but there are no more available rooms," she said in a sad tone.
"Oh, ok, thank you. Enjoy the rest of your evening."
"Thank you, same to you, ma'am," the lady responded.
I couldn't sleep; no matter what I did, it wouldn't go away. I thought if I closed my curtains, it would go away, but it won't leave. I felt so sleep-deprived, and the jet lag was not helping. After some thinking, I begrudgingly opened the curtains, and it ceased the noises and banging. It just stared at me, and that devilish grin appeared once more.
"What could you possibly want from me?" I asked, exhausted.
"I will pretend I never saw you if you leave quietly."
"If I see you here by morning, I will call the government on your ass."
I think I'm going crazy talking to a fish-man.
All it did was tilt its stupid head at me; I was beyond frustrated. It wouldn't let me sleep; even if I go to the bathroom for a few minutes, it starts shrieking like those damn annoying alarms. I just stood there about to die from cold as my night dress was see-through and mid-thigh. I was freezing, and my nipples were poking out like mountains.
At this point, I was tired enough to sleep through its screeching. I slowly walked to my bed and laid on it with the curtains open for it to continue staring. As I lay on the bed, I immediately fell asleep to an unknown harmony.
The next morning, I woke up like I had just had a century-long sleep. I've never felt so refreshed. I looked out the glass wall and was blessed with the sight of colorful fishes. The sight before me almost made me forget about last night, but his beautiful face still managed to invade my mind. I sat on the bed pondering whether I should tell anyone what I saw or not; then a knock sounded on my door.
"Who is it?" I asked.
"It's me, Julie."
"Oh, I'm coming." I stood up, walking towards the door, and opening it for my best friend.
"How was your night, sweetheart?" She said and jumped into my arms.
"Why are you so excited early in the morning?" I groaned out while letting her in.
"You look like it took you a while to sleep," she said, landing on my bed.
"So why are you here?"
"We were getting ready to go to the beach, and you weren't there, so eat and get ready; let's go!" Julie said excitedly.
"OK, let me get ready." I stood up and walked up to the bathroom.
I took care of my hygiene and all other necessities. Julie gave me a peach-colored two-piece, which made my skin pop. Seeing my reflection against the mirror almost made me tear up; for the first time, I consider my body beautiful even with a few stretch marks scattered on my body. I didn't feel hungry, so I skipped breakfast and went to the beach.
We reached the lobby, and everyone was already present.
"Good afternoon, sleepyhead," my aunt said, kissing my cheek.
"Thought the glass had broken and your ass had drowned," Zekien chuckled while scrolling through his phone.
"If you are not so careful, it's your ass she might be drowning," Amelia inputted.
"Can we go to the beach alreadyyy," Julie insisted.
"Fineee," I said.
By the time we turned around, my aunty was already on the way to the car, and we had to run after her. She was truly tired of us; now I believed it. We ran after her and jumped into the car.
The beach was stunning; I have seen 'beautiful,' but this is possibly beyond. The sand was so white it created an immense contrast against my skin, and the sea blended from a light blue to dark blue, which was just mesmerizing. The palm trees danced with the breeze while the sun beamed down on us, and it felt amazing.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" my aunt asked us all as she made her way to a spot on the beach and planted an umbrella with a blanket underneath it.
"It is," Zekien agreed, but his attention was completely on Amelia, who was oblivious to his staring.
"Let's go swim," Julie said while pulling me along with her. In all honesty, I was scared of going into that water, but when I think about it, it was significantly far from the hotel, so the chances of seeing that fish were low, plus I was not going far into the sea in case one of those man-eating things gets hungry.
"Stay close to the rocks, sweethearts." I could hear my aunty's voice from the distance.
We swam for a while, throwing water at each other. I sat on one of the rocks present while I waited for Julie to bring over the snacks. My foot was dipped into the water, and I felt something brush against it. I immediately retreated my foot from the water when I saw a gray hand reaching out of the water.
Midnight tendrils emerged from the water, and two muscled arms caged me against my rock. It pulled itself at a towering height above me; I had to look up at it as that grin extended to a full bloody smile. I wanted to scream, but looking at its eyes, I knew I shouldn't; otherwise, I would be signing my death sentence.
It reached out an arm to my fear-stricken body, and its webbed fingers forcefully grabbed my throat, pulling me towards it.
Fuck, I think I'm gonna die.
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