When I was fifteen, I rose to the top of the ocean for the first time.  I’m the youngest of all my sisters and the last to see what lays above the ocean.  For all my life I longed to see what the land was like and how the ships floated and how the people lived, but I wasn’t allowed to see what lays beyond the ocean.  I love my five sisters and my father, but I never felt at home in the ocean. I’ve collected things upon the oceans floor. These treasures belong to the humans, they are so different and more inventive than us mermaids have ever been.  The humans are interesting and all I’ve ever wanted was to watch them from behind rocks and wish I was in their shoes. So as soon as I turned 15 I swam as fast as I could to the top of the ocean. I splashed out of the water and felt the warm sun on my face.  I went back in the water but stayed towards the top of it. I swam towards the boardwalk I’ve heard so many stories about from my sisters. I find a small rock to sit and observe the humans from. I see a young man around my age fishing off the edge of the pier. As I swim closer he had the most handsome I’d ever seen.  He had no imperfection anywhere. He was gorgeous. He had long brown hair with streaky blonde highlights. His legs hung off the edge pier swinging back and forth. His legs were so interesting, I wondered what it would be like to have beautiful legs like his. I wanted to hear his voice and talk to him but how would I with my tail.  I came up with a brilliant plan to talk to the gorgeous boy. I swam deep under the pier and found the hook and bait connected to his fishing pole. I took the small fish, he used as bait, off the hook. Then I pulled on the fishing line as if there were a fish on his line. He quickly pulled his line up to himself. “That had to have been a big one, it took my bait.” he mumbled to himself.  He voice was so deep, it sounded like soft melody. I swam up just enough so he couldn’t see my tail.
    “Looking for this” I said holding up the small fish he was using as bait.  
    “Woah, beautiful,”he said looking down at me in the water.  
    “The fish?” I said confused by his statement.  
    “No, no, you, where did you come from,” he said.  
    “I was swimming and you looked like you weren’t catching much so I thought I’d give up a little excitement,” I said smiling.  
    “You swim out here? It’s dangerous there’s rocks everywhere and the waves can get crazy over here.”
    “I’m a pretty good swimmer trust me.”
    We talked for a while. I stayed in the water while he sat on the edge of the pier.  I learned his name is Sam. he lives right over the hill with his dad and little sister.  He’s sixteen and he loves the ocean a lot more than I do. After that day I went to that same spot everyday at the same time sometimes I would just watch from a fart wishing I had legs other times I would go talk to him.  
    “So are you ever gonna come out of the water?”
    “I feel a lot more comfortable in the water than out of it”
    “Well if you ever want to come out of the water maybe we could go get dinner sometime.”
    “I would love to” is what I wanted to say, but I couldn’t.  I sat there thinking about how I could but there was no way I was gonna let him see my tail.  
Out of nowhere I look up and he’s taking off his shirt and jumping in the water with me.  I panicked and swam. I swam as far away as I could as fast as I could. I was living in a fantasy world, there was no way I could ever be with that boy. Months past and I longed to go back to the boardwalk but I didn’t. I learned about the humans ways and I knew Sam wasn’t like that, but we lived in such different worlds. I lived the rest of my life under the ocean but I will never forget the human named Sam.