A Mermaid's Song (Giovanni)

[daliah]

Daliah’s voiced echoed through the trees and she sang one of her favorite songs. So far today was a good day. No one had tried to bother her, and only a few people came to ask her to sing. It was a relaxing time for her. A time when she could do whatever she wanted. She had already counted all her treasures and rearranged them to suit her. The thought of becoming human and taking a walk had crossed her mind a couple of times, but she decided it would be best to stay in the lake for now.

Someone was watching her, which was the main reason she had decided to stay where she was. The person watching was no one for her to fear of course. It was her protect her, the one who always came to her aid when the humans would taunt her. She had never seen her protector before, but she hoped that maybe today would be the day that they could meet.

She stayed close to the edge of the lake, singing for him in hopes that he would come out of hiding. She braided her hair and tried not to seem like she was looking for him, but her eyes kept looking towards the trees for any kind of movement. When her song ended there was still no sign of movement and it made her feel a little disappointed. She really thought that today would be the day. “I know you are out there somewhere.” She twirled a strand of hair around her finger nervously. Speaking wasn’t as soothing as singing but singing didn’t seem to work. “Will you please come out where I can see you?” Everything around the lake was still; making her wonder if she had been wrong about him watching. Or maybe he just didn’t want to come speak with her. “Are you there?”

[Giovanni Ignazio]

Giovanni ran at a full gallop. He had to get there in time. He could not believe his stroke of luck as he carried the shiny silver object in his hand. He felt like grinning but this was serious business and Gio very rarely grinned. The object had fallen from a parade float.

He never understood what the brightly colored vehicles were that sometimes passed the park in a long row with people watching and smiling, but today, one was silver colored and a shiny silver object shaped like a rose fell off one and rolled under a fence. He had heard a child gasp at the site of him when he quickly stepped out of the cover of trees to grab it.

“Look! Its Giovanni! Mama! I saw him!” there were gasps of alarm and delight and people ran to the fence, trying to get a glimpse of the only known centaur in existence as he ran. He couldn’t think about why people always got so excited when they saw him. Right now he was just focused on getting it to where he wanted it to be, before the time that he knew it absolutely had to be there.

The few humans, who were allowed in the park during the day, looked to the sky and wondered if rain was scheduled for today when they heard the rumble that filled the air when he got close enough to hear. But the creatures of the small forest knew the sound of thunder meant Giovanni was running. His powerful hooves hit the ground with a heavy thud and hurled him forward with every powerful stride. He had to hurry, he was going to be late! He took a mighty leap over a fallen log as he plunged through the evergreen brush then broke into the meadow surrounding the small lake. He skidded to a stop then ran for the cover of the willow tree.

He slowly peaked out to see if she was there. For he could not let her see him place the object on the small stone where he always left little gifts and trinkets. Usually it was just small objects that had been discarded by the humans. Colored strings, beads, shiny coins, poker chips and the like were most common, but this…this was different. He knew she would love it.

It was shiny like spun silver but it was light, like the material poker chips were made of, and best of all, it was shaped like a rose but it seemed indestructible. Yes, she would love this. But as always, he was too shy to let her know it was him who left it. As he approached the little lake, he heard her singing.

It was the sound of angels singing and it made his heart swell with love and adoration for her. Surely she must be blessed by angels to have such a gift. The problem was, he was holding the trinket in his hand and if he brought it out, she would see him. When her song was over, he heard her speak.

“I know you are out there somewhere.”…….his heart skipped a beat…

“Will you please come out where I can see you?” ……. He stomped at the ground nervously and his eyes shown wide in his chiseled face.

“Will you please come out where I can see you?” …..He swallowed nervously.

Giovanni looked down at his human chest then further down at his second chest, his equine chest… He suddenly felt as if he could not breathe. She was so petite and so beautiful. How could she ever love him the way he loved her? How could he show himself to her, like this… Even if he wanted to, he could not answer.

He had no words to speak. He only spoke through telepathy and not everyone could hear him. Not everyone would allow his thoughts to enter their heads. He heard something at his feet. A mule deer was trying to reach berries that were just too high…an idea sprang to his mind and he turned and picked several berry branches that were full of berries from the bush.

He communicated to the deer that he wanted him to take the gift to the mermaid and in return, he would give him the berries. The deer gingerly took the trinket from Giovanni, carried it slowly to the water’s edge near the mermaid, and gently put it down. It turned expectantly toward the tree line.

Giovanni sighed. It was not going to return to him. It wanted to see her receive her gift. He had no other recourse that to keep his word by tossing the branches out from behind the bushes and into the small clearing near the lake. The deer nearly pounced on the berries and ate them delightfully while watching the mermaid.

[daliah]

Daliah waited patiently for something to happen, but it didn’t look like he was going to show himself. Why wouldn’t he show himself to her? Did she do something to make him want to keep a distance? It didn’t seem fair that he could see her but she could never see him. If only she could figure out where his hiding spot was. Knowing where he watched her from would at least give her a small chance of seeing him.

She was about to give up for now and return to the water when she heard something coming towards the lake. She turned quickly, hoping that maybe he changed his mind, but was disappointed when she saw a deer carrying something in its mouth. “What do you have there? Clever of him to get you to come out in his place.”

Moving closer to the edge, she watched as the deer dropped a shiny trinket in front of her. Her eyes lit up as she picked it up. She had gotten gifts before. Simple gifts that she loved and treasured. But none of them compared to this. The silver was so beautiful and shined when the light hit it.

She fell in love with it instantly, not just because it was beautiful, but because it was a precious gift from her protector. She held it to her heart and smiled, “Thank you, I love it and will treasure it always.” As she was thanking him she managed to see the berries flying over the bushes to the deer. So that’s where he had been hiding. “Though there is nothing I would love more then to thank you in person.” She had a general idea of where he was now. Perhaps it would be better if she was the one who went to him. If she tried it then the worst he could do would be to run away from her. “I would like to sing for you as a thank you gift, please stay and listen.” After this song she was going to try and see him.

[Giovanni Ignazio]

How could he deny her anything. He loved her more than he loved anything else in the world. Her voice had stolen its way into his heart and had lived there since he first heard her sing and saw her swimming gracefully in the lake. He could never tell her she could not have something she wanted if it was in his power to give it to her. But she would want him to talk. That was a problem. No one ever taught him to talk and he was too shy to try it himself. He had never made a sound with his voice. He looked at the ground. She would never want him if he could not speak. But she was pure and good, maybe she would at least be his friend. Even if he could not hold engaging conversations with her.

He listened to her sing. It was so beautiful, a tear rolled down his cheek. He wiped it away when the song was finished and suddenly fear gripped him. What if she tried to get out of the water? What if something happened to her. Well, if he could not be her love…he would be her protector, her champion, forever.

Slowly, Giovanni stepped from the brush. His massive equine body twitched and shuddered with anxiety. He lifted his hand to hide his face, not really knowing why. He did not let her see his face but she would be able to see the stallion’s body. He needed to let her know he could not speak so he sent images of people talking then and image of his hand over his mouth to her, in the hopes that she would let the images into her mind. It was his only way of communicating. He really needed to learn how to talk.

[daliah]

Daliah sang patiently even though she was anxious to see him. She would never try to rush a song, especially when he was the one she was singing for. He was always watching over her and making sure she was safe. Her song was the only thing she could ever give him in return, though it never felt like it was enough.

When her song was over she got ready to push herself out of the water, but when she heard movement coming from his direction she stopped. Was he really going to let her see him? If she was going to see him then she didn’t want to be stuck in the water. Slowly she pushed herself up out of the water, her tail melted away leaving her legs to take its place. Of course clothes were unheard of for her. She hated them and didn’t see the need in wearing them, even though a vampire offered to leave her a robe.

When she stood she looked up to find him standing there, hiding his face with his hand. He was much more impressive then she imagined him to be. She had always known he wasn’t human, but didn’t know exactly what he was until now. At least now she knew why it sounded like thunder when he ran. She stayed where she was, studying him. “Why hide your face from me? Is my protector afraid of me?” Why hide from her at all? Had it been because he was a centaur, or did he have another reason for staying hidden from her all this time?

After gathering up her courage she took a few steps closer towards him. It wasn’t that she was afraid of him; she knew he would never hurt her. It was just in her nature to be cautious. When the strange images appeared in her head she was confused at first, not sure where they had come from. It only took her a minuet to realize where they had come from and their meaning. “You can’t speak?” It surprised her that her strong and brave protector was a mute. “I find it surprising that such an impressive and protective man cannot speak.” She smiled at him. “though with your gift I can see how it isn’t really needed.”

[Giovanni Ignazio]

Giovanni had a reason for not letting people see him. Only certain people were allowed to see his face, ever. He felt he should tell her why. He felt that if he told her why and she wanted nothing to do with him then he could go back to keeping guard over her. He had been lonely a very long time, it was something he was prepared to feel his whole life, as long as he kept his garden safe, his life would be fulfilling.

He carefully chose the images he wished to show her. The first images were the first memories of his life. His mother was screaming about him being an abomination, begging his father to take the monster away. The next image was of the blonde man finding him and the look of awe and wonder on his face, obviously Giovanni was not normal. The next image was of that same look on the face of the old black woman who came to the park to cut his hair in return for a few budding blooms. Lastly, was the angel who came to the park and shaved is face because he was afraid to look in a mirror to see what hideous vision he would find there. He could not help but return to the image of his mother as his head dropped in shame. “It’s hideous!” he let his mother’s voice echo in the mermaids mind.

[daliah]

Daliah felt her heart breaking as she watched the scenes play out in her head. The way his mother had screamed was terrible. How could she say something like that about her own child? Did all mothers do that if their child? Perhaps that was why she had been alone at first. Then again her adoptive mother had loved her and always said she was beautiful so she refused to believe all mothers could be like that.

She smiled a bit when the familiar face with blonde hair appeared next. He had given her the same look of awe and wonders when he saved her from the lab. He had even called her a goddess. Her protector had more in common with her then she thought. She paid close attention to everything he showed her, frowning when he once again showed her his mother. He thought he was a monster, after what he had been through she guessed she didn’t blame him for seeing himself that way. But how could he really believe that was true.

“You are not a monster.” She told him as she stepped closer to him. “You are no more a monster then I am. Do I look like a monster to you?” She looked up at him and smiled, “You are the most amazing person I have ever seen, and I would never lie about something like that.” There was no reason for her to lie. She really did think he was amazing, anything but a monster. “You are my handsome protector, and no vision you could show me would change my mind, My eyes see no monster.”

She wished that that was some way she could prove it to him. “You don’t have to hide from me anymore. You can even come out by the water when you want to hear me sing. It would make me very happy to see you more often…” She felt safer when he was near, safer and happy. His presence always made her feel that way. it was even stronger when she was actually close to him. She didn't want him to go back to hiding from her.

[Giovanni Ignazio]

She was so kind to him. He really would have like to see her face clearer. Perhaps she could be one of the people that he let see his face. She seemed like she would not be horrified if she saw him. He never let anyone but three people see his face. It was hard but he wanted to see her. Her sentiment that he was not a monster made him blush. He wondered if he turned his head and looked at her, would she change her mind and begin to scream as his mother had.

He had to do it. He had to let his defenses down, even if it was just for a moment. The hours of being human were close at hand and he didn’t know if he could let her see him during that phase. He usually just curled up in his cave and waited for it to pass. He could not walk on two legs and wondered how anyone could.

Slowly, he lowered his hand and turned his face toward her, his eyes cast to the ground. Slowly he lifted his pale eyes which were the color of the sky during a sand storm surrounded by a ring of dark chocolate brown up to meet hers and make contact. He tried to smile but it came out a shy smirk and he lowered his eyes again. He stepped out of the brush further so she could see his magnificent stallions body, still quivering nervously like a horse about to bolt. He pointed at the silver rose in inquiry, as if to ask if she liked it. He envisioned the parade float it fell off, that was covered in the things, but this was the only silver one he saw and when it fell, he knew it was for her.

[daliah]

Daliah was afraid that he wouldn’t give in and let her see his face, but he surprised her by moving his hand and facing her. He was really going to trust her and that meant a lot to her. There was no way she was ever going to break that trust.

The moment her eyes finally met his she blushed. He was even more handsome then she thought, and his shy smirk only made it better. For a few moments she was speechless, but seeing him pointing to the rose snapped her out of it. “This?...Oh I love it! It’s the most beautiful gift I have ever gotten…It makes me very happy to have it, Thank you.” It was her precious gift from him; of course she would love it. The rose itself was beautiful, but what she loved the most about it was that it had made him think of her.

She could tell by his quivering that he was still nervous. It made her a little afraid that he would run away from her. “You know, you really are very handsome.” She said shyly as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I only have a little bit of time before I have to return to the water, and I would love it if you would spend that time with me.” She hoped asking him to spend the time with her would show him that she didn’t think he was a monster. "We could take a walk, or maybe relax under the willow tree if you want."

[Giovanni Ignazio]

Giovanni stiffened and looked at the sky. He had completely forgotten about the time. He did not realize the changing hour was so close at hand. He immediately wrapped his arms around the tree closest to him and held on for dear life. It was just in time for his body to begin to transform into that of a human. He closed his eyes tightly. He hated this part of the day. Sometimes he would fight it but this time he had no time to prepare.

He shook his head 'no' as his body shifted and changed from having two chests and four legs to having only one chest and two legs. He never learned to walk this way. It was emabarassing that his legs trembled and wobbled as they tried to hold him up. He looked at the mermaid woefully. He had seen babies in the park who were just learning to walk, stumble around and fall then get back up and stumble more. He send that image to the mermaid in hopes that she understood that he just could not walk on two legs. It just felt...too different.

It didnt bother him that he was completely naked. Why would it? He ran around naked all the time, with a horses body. But to him it was no different. He let go of the tree with one hand but held tightly with the other, turning to face her. He had a perfect physique and was, quite literally, hung like a horse. He had no hair on his body other than around his genitals and on his head. He shrugged slightly as if to apologize that he would not be able to take a walk with her. He blushed with humiliation.