4 CHAPTER 4: THE MAN FROM LAND

When she woke up, Marina was confused. The last thing she remembered was arriving at a beach and hugging Charlotte, but her surroundings were different from the beach she had arrived. She was now on a room with walls colour light brown, and she was laying on something soft while covered with a white cloth. Marina took it off and she could see her tail was gone once again, replaced by human legs. Marina stood up from the bed after making a huge effort as she still did not know how to use her new legs, and once she was standing she started to walk with clumsy steps towards the door. She opened it and found herself in another room, with a table in the middle of it, a cylindrical object in a corner and a window from which she could see the ocean. Next to the table, a man was sitting while drinking something from a little recipient. Marina tried to get closer to him, but as she gave the first step the wooden floor creaked. The man heard this and turned around, and showed a small smile when he saw the siren.

"Oh. I see you are awake. I was wondering when you would be," the man said keeping his smile.

"Who are you?" Marina asked hesitantly to the man.

"My name is Ismael," the man answered. "And this is my shack," he said while signalling the whole room with a hand gesture.

"How did I end here?" Marina asked.

"I brought you here," Ismael answered. "I was collecting supplies and when I was coming back I saw you and your friend unconscious on the beach."

"Charlotte! Where is she?" Marina asked worried all of a sudden.

"Do not worry. She is sleeping in my room," Ismael answered while pointing to a door next to the one from which Marina came.

The siren turned around and tried to walk to the door. She opened it and she could see Charlotte laying on the bed covered with a white cloth, with her clothes extended on a corner of the room. She had the top of her head wrapped with another white cloth.

"She was truly lucky. If I had not seen you and brought you here, your friend would have died for the blood loss caused by the wound on her head", Ismael explained while getting closer to Marina, who kept her eyes on Charlotte. The siren left the room, closed the door and turned around to look at her saviour. "Thank you very much for helping us," Marina said while looking to the man right into his eyes, and he answered "You are welcome. I am glad I could help you," and then he returned to the table, took a seat and said, "By the way, your secret is safe with me."

Marina looked confused to the man and stayed silent. Ismael looked at her and explained "I saw your tail when I picked you and your friend at the beach. I know you are a siren."

The girl was shocked by this revelation. Now another human knew about her existence and she did not know what to do about it. Back at her home, Marina was taught that she could not allow humans to see her, and her first encounter with them was her capture by the pirates. Marina had only been taught not to be seen, but she was never taught what to do in case she was seen. Ismael noticed her tension and said "I will not tell anybody about your true self, I promise. Besides, not much people come around here, and as long as you have those legs nobody will be able to tell you are a siren."

Marina was speechless. The man was pretty confident about his words as if he could know what was going to happen before it happened or had a plan for any emergency. He had also helped her and Charlotte when they were in need, and that told her she could trust him for now. Marina decided to give Ismael a vote of trust and took a seat next to him, waiting and hoping her friend could wake up.

Many hours had gone by. Marina had fallen asleep on her seat and when she woke up it was a clear, sunny day, with the sunlight coming through the windows. The previous night the siren and the man spent the time talking between them, with Ismael being the one who talked the most as Marina did not want to share too much information about her world and reveal something compromising. Thanks to that conversation, Marina learned that Ismael had been living on his own for the last five years, and during that time he learned how to collect fruits, build a shelter, how to cook and so many other stuff. They talked until Marina fell asleep.

By lunchtime, Ismael prepared a salad for Marina using most of the fruits he had collected during the previous day. The girl ate it and enjoyed every bite of it. She had eaten vegetation from the ocean floor all of her life, and tasting these new fruits was a new experience. She enjoyed the fruits of the land more than the plants of the sea.

Once lunch was over, both human and siren stayed in the table waiting for Charlotte to wake up. None of them dared to leave their place because they were aware that it was too risky to stay away from the room if the girl woke up or something happened to her while she was unconscious, so they sit and waited.

By nightfall something finally happened: as Marina and Ismael were lighting candles to light up the cabin, a groan came from the bedroom in which Charlotte was sleeping. Both human and siren stopped with the candle lighting and quickly went to the room. Once they entered, Ismael got closer to the bed and left a candle on the little table next to the bed while Marina went to the opposite side of it to hold her friend's hand.

"Charlotte, can you hear me?" Marina asked while giving a light squeeze to the girl's hand, but she only groaned.

"Please, wake up," Ismael said while pressing a wet cloth on Charlotte's forehead. When the cold cloth touched her skin, Charlotte reacted and slightly opened her eyes.

"You are okay!" Marina exclaimed and threw herself to the girl to hug her. Even in her semi-conscious state, Charlotte was aware of her surroundings, so she hugged Marina backed.

"Be careful. Her condition is still delicate," Ismael said. "Any sudden movements may hurt her." Marina released Charlotte and stood up while her friend laid down again.

"Where are we?" Charlotte asked once she was laying down.

"In a shack near the ocean," Marina answered. "This man was very kind to bring us here," she said while gesturing her head towards Ismael. Charlotte turned her head as much as she could and with her almost closed eyes she could see her saviour.

"Who are you?" Charlotte asked.

"My name is Ismael," the man answered. "I found you and Marina unconscious at the beach, so I brought you to my shack to help you." Charlotte stared Ismael for a moment, thinking if it was a good idea to trust him. His relaxed stance and soft eyes exuded an air of confidence and safety, which was good enough for her to trust him for now.

"Thanks for helping us," Charlotte said while getting comfortable in the bed.

"It was nothing," Ismael answered. "I will bring you a glass of water." Ismael left the room, leaving Marina and Charlotte alone. The pirate took advantage of this moment to ask about the events that took place while she was unconscious.

"How long was I asleep?"

"I am not sure. Two days maybe," Marina answered.

"Two days?" Charlotte asked with a slightly surprised tone.

"I think so. I was unconscious, too, and I have not asked for how long I was like that," Marina answered.

"And can we trust this man?" the pirate asked doing a gesture with her head towards the door.

"Of course," Marina answered. "He tended your wounds and fed me. He even promised to not reveal I am a siren."

"He knows you are a siren?!" Charlotte exclaimed getting up suddenly and laying down again due to the pain caused by her wounds.

"Relax. I am sure we can trust him," Marina told her.

"Not if he knows you are a siren," Charlotte answered back. "My crew also knew you were a siren and they took you as their prisoner. Even my captain told me her plan to show you off around the world to make money."

Marina could not help but tremble when she heard this, but she quickly recovered her composure and said "But all of them were bad people. Ismael and you have proven to me that you are good people, and that is why I am trusting you both. If Ismael was bad, I would have noticed it already."

Charlotte was about to answer back when Ismael came back with a glass of water. "Here you go," Ismael said while holding the glass close to Charlotte. The girl sat up, took the glass and drank the water in a single swig. She did not expect to feel so thirsty. She gave the glass back to the man and thanked him while laying down again.

"Marina, it is late already. I think we must go to sleep," Ismael said. "I will sleep in this room tonight in case Charlotte needs anything."

"Are you sure you want to do that? I do not have any issue with sleeping here," Marina said trying to not cause any other nuisance to Ismael.

"Do not worry Marina. It is not a nuisance for me," Ismael replied, and he left the room before the siren could say something. She looked at her friend and when their eyes crossed, both exchanged a feeling of disbelief; both of them were in a situation totally out of their control.

Ismael came back once again with a bunch of blankets and a pillow, and then he started to place the blankets on the floor so he could lie down. "Everything will be okay Marina. I promise," Ismael said after noticing how the siren was looking at him so intensely while he was getting ready for bed. She did not want to mistrust her saviour, but the pirate girl's words were enough to make her doubt in the man she had her trust on. In the end, she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and left the room, wishing a good night to both him and Charlotte.

Once she got back to her assigned room, Marina got into bed and started thinking about all the stuff she went through the last couple of days: her capture, the shipwreck, the rescue, and her first experiences on land. All the reminiscence made her feel vertigo, which was another sensation new for her. She closed her eyes and waited for sleep to take over her, hoping that everything that would happen to her from that moment was only positive stuff.