With the Lost Tide

Ray swam through the water effortlessly, he glided through the seaweed and schools of fish. He could still hear it calling his name, echoing through the dark aqua.

"Where are you?" He called.

The echoes seemed to get louder.

"Let me find you!"

Ray seemed distraught, he was now lost and could only hear a strange array of an echo around him.

He closed his eyes tight and swished his tail to stay upright.

𝘙𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘺~

An unknown voice echoed.

𝘙𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘺~

It seemed endless.

"What is going on.." He whispered to himself.

"Ray!" The voice shook his whole world.

...

"Gahh!" Ray quickly sat upward in cold sweat, his heart was bound to leap out of his chest.

He looked around and saw a woman staring at him worried.

"Ma?" He spoke with a shaken voice.

"Ray, honey. Did you have a nightmare?"

"Uh.. it was nothing.." Ray felt his legs to make sure he didn't have a merman tail.

He stared blankly and sighed, that repetitive dream was starting to scare him.

"Well, how 'bout I get you some tea?" She smoothed back some of Ray's mid-length, messy hair.

"Um... sure.." He grabbed a tissue and wiped his pale nose.

"I think you have a cold hun." His mother pressed her palm against his forehead. He brushed her hand off,

"I'm fine, ok?" He smiled at her slightly and stood.

"See? It's all good here."

"Well... ok, let me get the tea ready.. you just get ready for work."

"Will do ma'am."

Ray shuffled towards the bathroom, brushing his mismatch socks on the wood floors. He looked in the mirror at his red-pink eyes. He grabbed his toothbrush and brushed his teeth and looked in the mirror at their glossy complexion, pressing his tongue to his pointy canines and sighing.

"Come on vampire just hurry up." He told himself.

He pulled his white hair back into a short ponytail and he opened the closet door in his bathroom.

"What to wear..."

He grabbed a black hoodie and stared at it, deciding that it would just make him stand out more.

He found a pink hoodie and some ripped jeans, deciding this was good enough he got dressed and he slowly dragged his feet down the stairs for breakfast.

"Trying to impress somebody?" His mother sarcastically asked while prepping the food.

"Yeah, my boss. Dressed like this I might get fired though." He sighed.

"Aww hun, you'll be fine. You work in a garage anyways, it's not like anybody cares how you're dressed."

"Uh-huh" He started to eat some of the toast she had made.

"Anyways, it's 8:30, you should head out soon." She was putting the tea in a thermos for him to drink at work.

"Okay, thanks for the meal mom." He exclaimed.

Ray sauntered outside, the frost nipping at his face.

He saw his best friend Lily waiting by the stairs of the front porch.

"Ray!!!" She exclaimed happily.

"Hey Lily..." He whispered.

"So.. I bought the bus tickets to work, but if you plan on stopping somewhere for breakfast beforehand, you have to buy those tickets yourself because I am flat broke." She rambled on.

"... Ma made me breakfast already."

"Oh, I guess we'll go straight to work then..." Her stomach rumbled as she said that.

"Ughhhhhh" He sighed.

...

He looked up at the sign of the iHop that he was regrettably spending this weeks salary at, he glanced at Lily who had a slight guilty smile that said "I'm sorry."

They walked into the restaurant, and a waitress brought them to a dinner-date style seat. Ray rested his head in his arms, trying to hide his tired expression from the surrounding world.

"Hey.." Lily said softly,

...

"You know you didn't have to take me here."

"Yeah, well, your stomach said otherwise." Ray slightly raised his head to look at her.

They were cut short.

A waiter walked up to their table and asked,

"What can I get for the young couple today?"

Lily's face went completely red.

"Oh- we aren't dating..." Ray commented on the awkward situation.

The waiter blinked in surprise and looked back and forth between the two of them.

"Well then, why not? You two look perfect together!" He said with a jolly tone.

"H-he's into g-guys." Lily mumbled almost too softly.

"What was that, love?" The waiter hummed in a British accent.

"H-he likes m-men." Lily said even softer, embarrassed.

"I can't hear you Miss." The waiter said.

"I'm gay." Ray said a little louder than he intended.

Almost everybody in the restaurant looked in their direction, Lily hid her face in her sleeves and Ray rubbed his index finger and thumb along his nose, irritated.

The waiter made an awkward smile,

"Oh.. sorry about that, anyways what would you guys like to drink?"

"A lemonade." Lily stated from inside the hollows of her jacket.

"Ok.. and you sir?"

"I'm not hungry, She just wanted her food before we headed to work." Ray sighed, slouching into the iHop chair.

"Ok, well I will be right back with your drink Miss." The waiter walked off.

"So... today has started off well." Lily suggested.

"Oh yeah, today has started off great. First I wake up late, then I have to take a detour to get my friend breakfast and now I have embarrassed myself in front of a whole bunch of strangers. Today is perfect, wouldn't you agree?" Ray said with an angry sarcasm.

"Look, how today is going so far is neither of our faults!" Lily sighed.

"I know Lily! It's just... I don't really understand how you could've not eaten breakfast before you left the house." He said disappointedly.

Lily murmured something Ray couldn't hear.

"Lily speak louder."

Lily said it again, "My parents kicked me out..."

"What, why?" Ray asked, astonished.

"Ray, we're 22 years old! We should at least have an apartment. You're lucky your mom never wanted you to move out in the first place!" She said, her eyes mixed with emotions.

"I.. I guess-" Ray was cut off by a voice behind him.

"Long time, no see Ray."

...