It is damp and heavy. The sky spins, the wind flees into the distance, and what about me? The stench of salt is overwhelming, and my stomach churns. The waves dance, indifferent to my plight.

Not knowing the value of money, people, or circumstances, I got heavily intoxicated and just... tumbled off the cruise ship. I'd be lucky not to die, or maybe dying would have been better. Day in and day out, spending money, drinking, spending money, drinking.

I fell from a ship large enough to be counted on one hand. Despite its reputation, those motherf—... the staff really didn't care about safety. I don't know if they're even looking for me. Are they dancing for joy? Or crying because their cash cow is gone? Whatever it was, it was a life full of luxury.

—So, how am I even having these thoughts right now?

I turned my gaze toward the sound of soft breathing. A person? A fish? I feel like I've seen this in a dream. The legs... I must be out of my mind. Did I hit my head when I fell? What a hallucination.

Ah, you should have slept a bit longer.

Right, I saw this in fairy tales. The mermaid loved the human so much she sold her voice and did everything for him.

His brow, furrowed in worry for me, showed no sign of relaxing. The people on the cruise ship have long since been forgotten.

You definitely love me. My memories of being loved are so, so, so faint—scattered even more than I was when I fell into the sea—that I've taken your mouth-to-mouth resuscitation as a plea for me to survive. The line between common decency and love is squirming and invisible, like an octopus—

I just need to learn how to love. Since you already know how, you can teach me and then drift away into the ocean. I'll give you the bait, so teach me love. Grieve for me.

A magnificent fish like you is only a prince in the water.