The Lost Mermaid [Zhongyingmei]

"I see." Hockley decided to break the silence in the room.

Doris paused holding the cup, raised her head, and looked at him.

Hockley took a deep breath, grabbed a cup of black tea, and drank it down.His hands trembled a little, and Doris looked at the veins on his hands without looking away.

Hawkley finally made up his mind, and whispered: "I know...your identity. Doris—can I call you that?"

Doris nodded weakly.

The words came to his lips again, but Hockley still couldn't speak out quickly. He bit the tip of his tongue and stood up abruptly, which startled Doris.Under her suspicious gaze, he walked up to Doris and slowly squatted down.

Doris' hand clutched the crutch beside the armchair.

Hockley sat down on one knee, raised his head, and looked at Doris.This kind of action made her feel that the pressure was not so strong.He said softly: "You and my mother should be of the same race—I mean, mermaid race, right?"

Doris' eyes widened suddenly, and she forgot to breathe.

"You and I know it well, Doris. Even though there were so many misunderstandings between us before, I believe we have reached a consensus on this point."

Doris nodded, and the scene she had seen in her dream came to her mind. The crying boy stumbled away from the nanny's arms and ran down the spiral stairs. His not-so-strong legs tripped easily, and he rolled down the stairs, just in time to meet the mermaid's desperate and terrified eyes.

"Were you scared back then?" Doris's voice was so small that Hockley wondered if it was an auditory hallucination.

"what?"

"Were you afraid then, Mr. Hockley, when you saw her fishtail--"

Hockley's breathing was stagnant, his hands were tightly pinching the armrest, bloodshot eyes appeared in his eyes.

"No, I'm not afraid." Hockley shook his head, "She is nobody else, she is my mother."

"Where's your father? He knows, is she a mermaid?"

Hockley showed a puzzling expression. After a moment of contemplation, he said: "That night, he was stabbed in the heart severely by her, and he lost consciousness. I watched her body gradually dissipate, from the bottom At last, she wanted to hug me, but her arms gradually disappeared into the air, and I wanted to kiss her face, but nothing could touch her...Doris, I never dared to do that kind of thing again remember."

He lost his strength and sat on the carpet like a lost child, crying blankly in the vast world. There were no tears on his face, but Doris clearly felt that his soul was crying.

"She left and left nothing behind. I couldn't find even the scattered hair on the head of the bed. It's as if, in this world, there has never been such a person—such a mermaid."

Doris's eyes were also filled with tears. She didn't know whether she was feeling sympathy for what happened to her tribe, or feeling distressed for the pain of the man in front of her, or she was also afraid that one day she would It will also disappear without a sound, and even the memories will not be left behind.

Hockley swallowed his tears, tried his best to maintain his dignity, and said in a hoarse voice, "I don't know if he already knew the identity of his mother. After that day, she disappeared, and he——I never saw him have any abnormal behavior. Behavior, after he recovered on the hospital bed, he lived as usual, with banquets, drinking parties, and dances, as if she had never appeared in his life."

His voice became smaller and smaller, and his pitch took an uncontrollable turn.Doris' hands trembled slightly, and her body couldn't help shrinking back.

"Maybe I'm the only one still thinking about her." After Hockley was silent for a while, he finished speaking, as if all his strength had been taken away.

Doris didn't know what to say, she nodded messily.

Mermaids are stubborn and dedicated creatures. Once they admit that they are in love with someone, they will not look at others.The loyalty of their lovers is their only nutrient when they are on the shore.

They live by this kind of love, restraining their cruel cannibalism.

They can tolerate many things, poverty, pain, contempt, but they cannot tolerate the betrayal of their lover.

It seems that such a tragedy has already written the ending. The man's sweet words may not be a lie at the time, but human beings are fickle, and they cannot guarantee eternal loyalty, no matter how firm the wedding vows are.

When the temptation comes, the hypocritical masks are torn off by Yan/ghost, and they breathe like blue, blowing away the phantom of happiness like smoke.

Doris did not have the confidence to resist her nature, she withdrew her sincerity in the face of provocation and betrayal, and retaliated decisively.

Therefore, when she realized her special feelings for Hockley, even if the feelings were so strong that she was almost desperate, she tried her best to avoid them—nature is not open to temptation.

Doris lowered her head, but Hockley easily caught her gaze.

There seemed to be a storm gathering in Hockley's black eyes, ready to sweep her hesitation and sadness into it at any moment.He just looked at her steadfastly, he didn't defend himself too much, and he didn't vent all his emotions impulsively like before.

Such silence made Doris both moved and relieved.

The rain outside the window poured down completely, but the wind slowly stopped.Hockley stood up stiffly, his feet were numb from the long squatting posture, as if he was stepping on soft pins and needles, he walked to the window and pushed open the stained glass window.

The cold and fresh air scrambled in, cooling their drowsy heads.

Hockley leaned against the window sill, letting the raindrops splash on his face.There was another burst of lightning and thunder overhead, illuminating half of his face.Doris looked at his profile and shivered.

Hockley switched to a supporting foot, and felt the fine numbness and pain spread from the sole of the foot to the root of the thigh.He thought of something, and asked: "The mermaid's leg... How serious is this injury? In my thin memory, I don't seem to have seen my mother stand up."

How deep is your pain?

"We drank the poison and forcibly turned the fish tail into legs. Of course, we have to pay a price." Doris said lightly, "Maybe the pain is stronger than when your feet are numb."

Hockley shook his head, obviously in disbelief.

"Such pain is nothing, Mr Hockley."

What makes it easier to defeat a mermaid is often not the physical disability, but the cold stare it suffers from.

"We're born with amazing voices and I'd love to sing it to you...or you won't believe me."

"I'll believe what you say."

"You're flattering, sir."

Doris sneered lowly, but secretly prayed in her heart that his words were sincere.

Hockley didn't laugh. He recalled that when he was a child, he couldn't walk upright at that time, and he didn't feel any difference from his mother.And when old Hockley was busy at work, his first toy was her wheelchair.

He lay on her feet with both hands and feet, and without noticing her frown in pain, he babbled and crawled onto her lap.Her voice was always very small and gentle, and thinking about it now, although it was hoarse, it was not harsh.

Just like the young mermaid lady in front of me.

Perhaps it is precisely because of the experience he had in his subconscious memory that when he faced Doris's "flaws" that were different from ordinary people, although he didn't immediately think of the vague shadow in his memory, he only felt distressed subconsciously.

Doris watched Hockley walking slowly again, and sat beside her, the warmth of approaching dispelled the coldness in the air.

Her eyes were also hot.