Chapter 16: Cherished Touch

"Nathaniel! Oh no! What's that?" I utter being afraid.

"What is it, Alexandra?" "Near the river. Oh no! What's that now?" As I speak, he jumps near the riverside to check what it is actually. I go near him from behind and push him into the water with one blow.

He gets ferocious by my action but I just start laughing at him after making him fool successfully.

As he hasn't taken bath for few days, suddenly, a thought comes to my mind making me smirk. I needed to make him bathe that's why I push him into the water. I keep laughing and teasing him to the fullest. "Gosh, it's so fun." But my laughter disappears instantly seeing him walking up near me being coloured in full and pure rage.

I guess I've messed up pretty badly. He didn't enjoy it at all. As soon as he comes near me, taking me bridal style he throws me into the water. Now he starts laughing at me. "How's it feeling dear? Good, huh?" "You're so annoying!" I say looking at my wet dress. "What about you?" "You needed to take bath that's why I pushed you." Seeing his face, it feels like he's not convinced at all by that.

"Look! Now I'm going to wear your clothes." As I try to get up from the water, he push me again into the water and says, "You can give it a try sweetheart but I bet I won't let you win." "Let me get up from the water?" "What if I don't?" "Strange! Will I stay in the water?" "You're a mermaid, right? Stay here." "You're not doing right, Nathaniel."

When I say this, he starts walking into water and threatens me saying, "From where you got the courage to insult me?" "What're trying to do Nathaniel? I'm warning you don't come closer." "Or what if I come?" His dark aura makes my heart beat faster as he starts coming towards me.

I close my eyes instantly being embarrassed. "Don't do anything bad to me? I'm just eighteen." "Well, enough mature to do that." "Eww! Shut up. It's not funny at all." "For me, it's fun."

When I open my eyes finds him swimming happily making me a statue. "Ahh, that's a relief. A good man indeed." "Cub, let's have a competition. If you win then you'll get the food but if you fail then you'll get nothing."

My mood brightens immediately, this is a very good opportunity. "You bet! I'll love that." "Okay, let's start the competition."

He fixes a good spot far away from where we're now and then we start our race. I start swimming like my life is depending on it but unfortunately I can't win it at all. He laughs at me. "Seriously! You're a mermaid?" "I would rather break then bend." "I saw you're cheating. You haven't swim at all." "You're not a good person, Alexandra." His face saddens in a moment after listening to me. "Hey, I was just joking. Don't take it seriously."

Ignoring my words, he starts swimming. "Oh no! I messed up." I hurl on his back instantly. "I'm so tired, Nathaniel. I can't swim now." "Get down, now!" He roars making my eyes teary.

Being afraid I get down and apologize to him. He doesn't listen to me and plunges into water. We're getting farther apart. I'm standing still, but he keeps going without stopping. As time passes, he gets harder to see in the dark water until he disappears, leaving me alone.

Starting to swim slowly, it dawns on me why being a mermaid wasn't in my destiny. The journey from where I began to where I need to reach isn't a walk in the park, yet I persist in swimming. Eventually, I reach the shore. Climbing up, a sharp pain shoots through my feet. With very little visibility in the dark, I slowly walk to my designated place.

Nathaniel has already changed his clothes and still sitting there putting on a frown on his face. I go and change my dress in the dark ignoring the fact that the leg pain is starting to intensify.

I sit in front of him and start charing, "Congratulations, Nathaniel. Congratulations, Nathaniel." Then I hand over the food bag to him. "Take your trophy. You've won the against a very strong opponent." He scoffs listening to me. "Take it, it's all yours. I promise I won't ask a bite from you." "Huh, let's see then."

Finally I've lightened up his mood successfully and that's all matters to me.

Then I move away and sit on the mattress again. My legs hurt a lot, but I'm also very sleepy. I lay down in a corner. No matter how much I ignore it, I can't get over the way that monster tore my clothes in front of everyone. It's like a lifetime trauma for me. I am broken inside after all this pressure.

There might be some connection between me and Nathaniel's Alexandra, maybe she looked exactly like me! Ah! I'm tired of thinking about these kind of stuffs.

I wish I could return home, bidding farewell to this journey. If I could survive, then I would spend a whole day lying down with my head on my sister's lap. I would tell her to run her fingers gently through my hair and kiss her forehead, telling her how much I love her. I wish I could hold the children tightly once and tell everyone, including my annoying brother-in-law, how much I love them. Maybe then I could find some peace.

As I dwell on these thoughts, tears well up in my eyes and trickle down my cheeks. I want to cry out loud, but I can't. I can't bring myself to cry. There's no one here to wipe away the tears from my eyes. Who will understand the pain more than me of not having loved ones around and who will be able to grasp it?

Right now, there is intense physical pain in my body, but the pain in my heart is so heavy and suffocating that the bodily pain seems to have lost its significance to it.

I keep tearing up until I feel a gentle touch on my face specifically underneath my eyes.

I try to have a clear look and finds Nathaniel in front of me. He removes my tears affectionately. I get up quickly.

"What's bothering you?" He asks me. "Nothing." "What's the point of hiding your pain from me?" As he says, I just smile. I'm not in the mood of sharing my problems with him. Sometimes he treats me so well that melts my heart but in a moment, he starts insulting me not caring about my heart.