The next night, Hope leaves her half sister Myrnah at Mersea South, and swims to the largest rock in this ocean, Terra. Her dear father, Aquator Merez, has yet not returned from following their mother, Shimmere, as she is swimming away to die.
When Hope reaches Terra, the Sailor is there on his tiny beach waiting, just as if he is expecting her this very night. And for the first time in her life, Hope grows legs! And she can walk out of the water!
Walking on the cool sand for the very first time, is a strange thing to do! It's difficult to breath, but she will manage! Because there is the Sailor and she never felt this much in love with anyone, it's just like in a fairytale, for sure! Ahem.
They embrace, and he says something that Hope can't easily understand, and she realizes that she doesn't speak the human language! She needs to learn those strange, opposite sounds. She says something back, something that not a single Sailor in the entire world would understand.
But right now the embracing is enough for both of them. Hope even forgets to look back at the top of Portal of Mersea South, where she used to live.
As they kiss for the first time, it's like the skies fall down. Hope thinks it is a good sign, she brings love, and now she also brings water! She is used to be underwater, and now she won't dry up as quickly. Maybe the rain won't ever stop?
Heavy rain falls not only on Terra, but on the entire Mersea! It could be a sign of the great changes that are to come. Those drops could be Hope's ancestors crying from seeing her leaving the waters.
Or it could simply be bad weather.
Weeks pass by, and Hope is getting used to her new feet. She needs to swim in the ocean daily to keep her scales and skin healthy. There's no more heavy rain.
The Sailor's name is Rasmus Klinge. He is still very curious to Hope's life as a Mermaid, and when she dives into the waves and regain her fishtail, Rasmus will normally stand there on the beach gazing. Switching between fishtail and feet feels more natural by now, she doesn't think of it as much, but there are still times when Hope thinks the changes are yet not quite settled.
Hope and Rasmus learn to talk together, that is Hope learns the human language because no human can ever learn the Mer People's language. Hope finds it hard, but communicating with Rasmus feels easy.
Then the moment of sealing their love comes. Hope is the one proposing, she is wearing her orange ring according to the Mer People's tradition, and offers a smaller ring to Rasmus. He wants them both to be named Klinge, but Hope explains that it must be Merez for now, but that they will make use of his family name later on. Actually, their names won't matter a lot as they are all alone. Rasmus doesn't care a lot about the rings, there and then, but is thrilled to get married to his love, even if it's not a strict ceremony and there are no witnesses - he thinks.
Because the Mersea group does indeed stay updated! Many Mermaids and Mermen have paid way too much attention to Terra these weeks. Especially at night they swim as close as they dare without getting noticed. The rumours are true - Hope Merez walked onto land! Look at those legs!
The only one just hanging there watching, without making much fuss of it all, is Hope's father, Aquator Merez. He is a widower now, but his grand plan keeps him busy. He loves his daughter Hope above anything in these waters, and every night he brings something useful to the tiny island, Terra. Material, furniture, treasures, shells, bottles - anything that he can fnd in the sea is left there on the beach as a gift to Hope and her human Sailor.
Weeks go by and Hope and Rasmus make a living from what Hope's father secretly brings them, and the fish that Rasmus catches. Hope can catch fish with her hands, but she normally eats them right away, leaving Rasmus to think that he provides all of their food. Hope has told him about the underwater toxics that is a huge problem for the sea ground, but doesn't seem to poison the fish.
Little by little Rasmus is introduced to the Mersea group's traditions. Like if a Sunday brings out the sun it's swimming day and good luck! She doesn't tell him about the rings, though, somehow she wants to save that for later. Her orange ring brings them both the power of growth, leading to food and control.
Then the time has come for Hope to visit her father Aquator and her half sister Myrnah, near the Portal of Mersea South. It's been several months since Hope left them, and it turns out that Myrnah has left the Mersea group to marry some disrespected merman, as Aquator puts it.
Hope has some trouble communicating with her father, because she learned to speak human. After some time she manages to understand him, but she has no idea that this counts as one of the three times she can return as a true Mer.
Merman Aquator encourages Hope to get a big family on Terra. He tells her that if they will be able to breath like the humans and to swim like the Mer People, the kids will come to the Mersea for spouses, and after a couple generations the entire Mersea group will learn to sleep on Terra, and still benefit from all what Mersea has to offer during the day. By sleeping on Terra, the poisoned sea ground will no longer be such a dramatic threath to them all.
Some days are hot, and poor Rasmus gets easily burned. But he tells her that the air is getting more chilly and that Winter might come soon. Hope never paid much attention to changing seasons, because the temperatures were always rather steady at Portal of Mersea South.
They agree that it's time to build a shelter away from the beach.
Hope likes it on the beach, it's very close to the water, and she longs less to the group down there, as someone from the group will swim pretty close occasionally. Rasmus never notices them, but Hope can quickly tell when a friend is hiding in the water. Walking away from the beach, means seeing her friends more rarely. It also means her friends will see Hope's legs more rarely.
Rasmus declares that this is where they will settle, and he names the little island Hope Terra, to honor his lovely mermaid wife. There isn't a lot of land, but at least it seems fertile, and there is even a second beach up northwest. The seabirds are screaming, and the ocean already practices on making those heavy sounds that will be performed during Winter. Hope knows those sounds from underneath.
Rasmus is not very handy, but still he manages to build a small hut for them.
Hope is not very satisfied though. She thinks the hut is too small, and she worries it will get too cold for them in there when most walls are open. The region is not as tropical as Rasmust might think. She needs more clothes or a better home! Secretly she also wants to impress her mermaid friends, what will they think when they see this tiny shed? It might sound snobby, but Shouldn't a mysterious human provide her with something bigger and nicer?
Rasmus picks her some flowers, and because it's yet early Autumn, they made the best out of the shed.
Then Rasmus finally built them a better house. There's still some open walls, but with the help of mats and curtains there will be ways to stay warm during Winter storms. And that's a good move, because Hope gets pregnant!
Even the raccoon that lives on Hope Terra seems to admire the new house. And the west view is breathtaking! Hope feels like she is in a tall tower, she never saw the ocean from these heights until she grew legs! The western sky is so red and shimmering at night, it's like she wish she could somehow save the view to hang it on the wall. Rasmus promises that he will look out for some paint for her, and then she can learn to paint the sunset!
They read a lot, and when they sit on the wooden bench outside, flapping their naked toes, Hope can see all the way over to the Portal of Mersea South. She has pointed out the huge rock and told Rasmus that she used to live out there, but he has already forgotten which rock it was.
The pregnancy goes fine for the most, but Hope worries a lot about giving birth. Will the baby have a fishtail? Will she or he look like father Aquator or mother Shimmere? Or like Rasmus?
Others wonder, too! Outside the northwest beach, two mermen are guarding the little house on the tiny island. They are all black - sent there by the Mudder group!
Next update: February 10th.
Because there is a new main household, the fact cards are replaced on the Hope Terra main page. There you can always see the current household. Let's add them here as well:
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