He still thinks of her.
She changed his life, that little mermaid. His little mermaid.
"Are you sure you don't want to come with me?" Simon asked, a concerned look was etched on his handsome face. "It would be better if you do."
Ruess lifted his head from the paperworks he had been trying to finish. It was five in the morning. Thirty minutes more, the incoming batch of staff nurses would be arriving for endorsement.
"I'll be fine." he said, trying to keep his voice even.
Simon shrugged. Ruess knew his friend wasn't at all convinced that he will be fine. After all, five years weren't enough for the wounds to heal. It just keeps getting painful, keeps getting back to him everyday like everything happened yesterday.
He leaned on his chair.
Five years ago, he had fallen inlove with a little mermaid. Her name was Ariel. She has long chestnut waves that she always wore in braid; her eyes were like the sea, blue and deep; she was the good in everything bad and her smile always brighten his day; her laugh was so contagious it almost felt like redemption.
Then there comes the teensy eensy flaw.
She was Kyle's girlfriend, and Kyle was Ruess' bestfriend.
Ariel stayed with Kyle and the rest of the boys that included him, on a rented apartment of four people every weekends in South Salisbury which was a couple of hours from Victoria City where she lives. Her parents separated when she was ten, she told him and she lived with her dad, who was usually out of town for his defense against legal cases made it easier for her to go missing during those days.
She met Kyle online, through Friendster which was the hippest thing on the face of the planet by then. They would stay 'til the wee hours of the morning talking to each other. They were so contain with their bliss that when Ruess would think about it, he couldn't helped but wished for someone like her.
But behind every wish means one have to give up something in return.
Her touch had burned his hand, in a good sort of way. He felt his skin prickle, and when he looked into her ocean-like eyes, they consumed him like wildfire. Everything happened in a slow motion, like the world had stopped for them. He gave her a half smile, and she did too, gave her the most sincere smile that made his heart skip a beat.
Ruess was tall and lanky, with slanted chocolate brown eyes that matched his tousled hair: he has a small pointed nose and thin lips. He was a snob and he kept to himself most of the time but he knows how to have a good time with the boys.
"You're hair brings out the color of your eyes." Ariel's voice echoed through his head. She knew how to always bring out the best in people, how to lighten up their mood, how to cheer them up.
Until she was gone.
"What happened?!" she asked fretfully, ushering him inside with his wet clothes. He sat on the couch, shivering from the freezing water, while she got a fluffy towel and fussed over him. He smiled. He should forget his umbrella more often.
"Are you trying to kill yourself?" she hissed, "Its freezing."
Ruess knew she wasn't angry at all but concerned. Ariel was always like that. Concerned about too many people, except herself. In that moment, he wanted to forget all about the shivering and the freezing rainwater that ran down his spine. He wanted to hold her hand, feel her warmth against his. Feel her touch burn into his skin. He wanted to screw everything and put his arms around her.
