The Sea in our Veins
growing up it made me numb

Virgil followed Ivan out of the room with Jack closing the door behind them. As they got closer to the kitchen, the hallways got more crowded and Virgil noticed more people staring at him.

Ivan noticed as well and said, “Why don’t me and Virgil wait here. Jack, you can check if the kitchen has any food and bring us back any food that you replace.”

“Fine,” Jack replied, “But don’t blame me if all of the food is gone by the time that I make it back to you.”

With that, Jack turned and continued swimming down the corridor, leaving Ivan and Virgil floating by the wall. “Let’s go,” Ivan said as he started swimming upwards towards the ceiling, where there were less people.

The two of them floated right below the ceiling before Virgil broke it, “Tell me about Rafael,” he said.

“If I’m going to tell you about Rafael, it would probably be best if I started with mer,” Ivan said, “What do you know about them?”

“Not much,” Virgil replied, “Except that Wesley did something to me and now I’m one.”

“It’s impossible to turn a human into a mer,” Ivan said, “If you are a mer now, that meant that you had to be a mer before. Mer live in different seas and oceans. The water provides us with everything that we need. We can also presume a more human appearance and walk on land. The marks on your back are something that all mer have and what was probably the first thing that cued Wesley to who you were. The marks are something passed down through the generations to show what family bloodline you’re a part of. Because you have the same marks as Wesley and Callum, it means that you must be related to them. The only person in their family that you could be is Rafael. Twelve years ago, Wesley’s little brother, Rafael, was kidnapped. He was only three at the time. Callum’s old General kidnapped him and held him for ransom. The negotiations quickly fell through, and Callum lost contact with the General. The General’s and Rafael’s bodies were found not long after. Rafael’s body was hardly identifiable and Callum, Wesley, Jack and I never gave up hope that we would replace Rafael alive. So that’s why everyone thinks you’re Rafael. It’s because you look so much like him.”

“Do you think I’m Rafael?” Virgil asked.

Ivan took a moment to think, “I do,” he admitted.

There was a moment of silence before Virgil asked, “What was Rafael like?”

“You,” Ivan replied honestly, before he added, “You remind me a lot of Rafael. I can see why Wesley became friends with you. When he first met you, he wouldn’t stop talking about you and it only got worse when he started to think you were Rafael.”

Their conversation dissolved into silence before Ivan said, “I noticed that you have a lot of scars. Can I ask you where you got them from? You shouldn’t have that many scars for someone your age.”

Virgil looked down at his chest and arms, at the various scars that littering them. Most of them were nothing more than white lines but a few were larger and Virgil could still remember how much pain he had been in when he had gotten them.

Virgil traced a long scar down the length of his arm, “I was born and raised in a lab. I was experimented on by many different people. Some of them were nicer than others. The scars are from the various things that they did to me.” Virgil stared off into the distance, “Depending on how good I was, I would get food. I still have nightmares about some of the things that they did to me. But another lab technician, named Roman, saw what they were doing to me. He bargained with the directors of the lab and I got to stay at his house and the testing slowed down. Then Roman and I ran away and we broke free from the lab. I got to finally go to school and live my life without being treated like a lab rat. Of course, I can never really fully stop looking over my shoulder but I can’t really complain.”

“And what happened with Roman?” Ivan asked.

“He just disappeared one day. I don’t know if the lab got him but I just kept going. I’ve been managing on my own for the last couple of years,” Virgil paused, “I never did replace out why the lab was experimenting on me.”

Just then, Jack swam up to them, interrupting their conversation, proudly brandishing three bundles wrapped in a green looking leaf. “I found food,” he exclaimed proudly before shoving a bundle into Virgil’s hands. Virgil was afraid to touch it, unsure whether it was still alive or even if it was safe to eat. He watched as Jack took a large bite out of it, eating like it was a burrito and Virgil copied him.

His eyes lit up, “This is so good,” he sighed around a mouthful of food.

“I know,” Jack said, as he took another bite. Virgil watched in amazement as shoved almost the entire thing into his mouth and took so large a bite that it didn’t seem possible. The three of them finished their snacks, with Virgil attempting to lick his fingers before almost stabbing himself with a claw.

“We should head back,” Jack said, “Wesley’s probably wondering where we are.”

“Thank you for the snack,” Virgil said.

“No problem,” Ivan replied, “Our food is probably way better than anything you’ve ever tasted. You know, if you want, you can always come back and try some more.”

“I’d like that,” Virgil replied as the three swam back to the study. Virgil hesitated in front of the door to the study for a moment before he pushed it open and swam inside.

Inside, Wesley and Callum were talking quietly but stopped when they saw him. Wesley’s father kept staring at Virgil, “You look exactly like Rafael.”

“Oh,” Virgil looked down, embarrassed, unsure what to say.

“Do you remember anything?” the king asked.

“No,” Virgil replied, “Not really.” He felt disappointed for some reason, “I actually didn’t know I was mer until a little while ago.”

“Really?” Callum asked.

“I always just avoided water because when I got wet, I felt pain,” Virgil explained, “But I never felt the urge to grow another limb.”

“And how did you reveal your true form?” Callum asked.

Virgil looked at Wesley, “It was actually Wesley who did it. He held me under the water until I grew a tail.”

Callum turned towards Wesley and Callum’s expression made Wesley shrink, “You tried to drown him right after we got him back?” Callum demanded.

Wesley stood strong, “I thought that if I could force a shift that I could prove to him and you that he was Rafael.”

“Fine,” Callum said, “But I’ll talk to you later.” Callum turned back to Virgil, “I’m sorry about that,” he said.

“What does shifting mean?” Virgil asked, curious.

“Mer are born human they stay in caves filed with air until they are around three or four. They, alongside their families, are encouraged to shift, or reveal their mer form, and join the ocean. Rafael hadn’t yet shifted when he was kidnapped. To spend fifteen years not shifted wouldn’t have been good for you and it was probably the reason why you felt pain when going into the water,” he said.

“I’m sorry for trying to force you to shift,” Wesley replied, “It wasn’t right of me.”

“It’s okay,” Virgil replied, “I mean, it worked.”

“It did,” Callum replied. There as a moment of silence before Callum said, “Wesley, why don’t you finish the tour and then bring Virgil back to his friend, Michael. Michael’s probably wondering about him.”

“Can I show him around the city?” Wesley asked, excited.

“You don’t have to ask me.” Callum replied, “How about you show him the market as well?”

“Do you want to come?” Wesley asked Callum.

Callum glanced at Virgil, “It’s okay,” Callum replied, “You guys probably don’t want to spend time with an old fogey like me.”

“I’ll bring you back something,” Wesley promised, before he and Virgil swam out of the study. Virgil noticed that Wesley glanced back at the study with what Virgil thought was disappointment.