The first thing that caught my eyes was the marked water tank, which contained a monstrous creature. The half-human and half fish body resembled that of the legendary mermaid despite the ungainly scars on her waist.
“Wait. It’s her!” I couldn’t believe my eyes. Who performed this kind of ruthless and unethical experiment on her? I knocked the glass and received no reply. Suddenly, a loud striking voice traversed the door. It was them, the horrific scientists. I needed to take her with me. I could not lose her again. With an unaccountable strength, I carried that big water tank on my back and escaped from the back door.
With great effort, I was running through an ancient alley. Sad to say, I fell over. The tank was broken, and she slid out with glass fragments. I wanted to hold her in my arms, but it seemed like the magic power has gone. She finally opened her vacuous eyes with faint breath and a colorless face.
It started to rain heavily as if the gate of the heaven cistern had been broken. The water began to gather promptly and the surface got higher and higher. I was at the edge of drowning. At the last minute of my conscience, I saw her smiling. She was swimming happily in a sea consisting of rain. The kind of pure and radiant smile on her face that I once saw the first time we met.
I was woken up by the rain sound outside. Sitting in the chair, I stared at the raindrop puzzled. Why did she try so hard to rescue that weeping skeleton? Why did those bizarre scientists have no mouth and demons’ eyes? Why did she turn into a mutilated mermaid? Why did she feel relief after she jumped off the building?
I remembered that she had cried right before my dream. Ah! What she wanted so eagerly to save was her true self! It seemed like everyone in class interacted with her normally and she was pleased with where she was, but, in fact, she was overwhelmed by the rumors and harm caused by her criminal father. Those whispers were what made her into a maimed mermaid. She thought that the only way to fulfill her dream and displayed her real self was by devastation.
This couldn’t be the end of story. I couldn’t be stuck in the irresolute status anymore. I couldn’t let her destroy herself as I watched. I should get contact with her in a more implicit way, which she could accept.
At last, I decide to write a letter to her.
The letter worked. I revised the ending of my story.
“Don’t depict yourself as a hero!” Rose laughed when I told her my story.
“Stop teasing me! You just can’t be genuine about yourself, can you?” I retorted back while we are heading back from the violin class.
“Alright, be honest, I can never be what I am now without you. It is really heart-warming. I mean the letter.” She started to find something in her bag.
“Oh, you are so sweet when you are honest to yourself. I should award you for this.” I joked.
“You already did.” Surprisingly, Rose took out the letter I wrote for her.
“You carry this with you every day?” I was surprised by her deed.
“To take the important thing with me makes me feel more secure. Whenever I feel upset or depressed, your letter will always give me power. Look, here is the most touching part: ‘In reality, there is no ice-cold in the world, for it is just a lack of warmth; there is no darkness in the world, for it is just a lack of brightness. For me, you are the gorgeous sun lacking glow. I will help you to find back the light the belongs to you. I am the only one who has seen your true identity. I have faith that no matter how you disguise yourself, you will never abandon what you hold most valuable. You are afraid that if the vulnerable parts of your heart are exposed, you will get hurt; you believe that accepting the sympathy from other people equals to admitting yourself as an ignoble and miserable person who needs compassion to survive. That is why you become a totally reverse person in class. You want them to be terrified. Thus, you can protect your true self. However, you are my radiant girl when playing the beautiful melody. There are many fantastic things around the world waiting for us and explore. Come to the violin class with me! I have talked to my violin professor already. She is looking forward to teaching you. You should regard today as your birthday, which not only represents your day of birth, but also stands for the day of regeneration. From now on, you will go ahead to pursue what you value most and what you really love. I will always be with you.’” Rose read the letter to me, emotionally.
“Thank you.” She hugged me tightly, as in the dream. But it was a good sign this time.
“I should be the one to say thank you. You saved me.”