#is the love of eddie's life a handsome merperson?

[hippolotamus]

Tagged by @panbuckley @honestlydarkprincess @heartbeatdiaz @spotsandsocks @prince-buck-diaz @alyxmastershipper @buddierights Thank you loves 🥰

Soooo, I, uh, may have started a new WIP today. It in no way resembles how I thought my writing would go today (I know, I know... when does it ever?)

Eddie Diaz is eleven years old when he meets the love of his life.  His parents have finally agreed to take the family on a vacation that isn’t a week away at Abuela and Abeulo’s ranch. They even got to ride on a plane for part of the trip.  From the balcony of their rented house, Eddie stares at the crashing waves of the Pacific, watching the water recede and roll back in again. He’s never seen anything like it in his life. How the sun reflects off the water, making it shimmer, like someone had dipped the ocean itself in gold. The endless stretch of sandy beach is a colorful mishmash of umbrellas, patterned towels and blankets, grown ups laying out, and kids gleefully running through the surf. There’s seagulls taking calculated dives for the chance of snatching someone’s sandwich, and other shorebirds cautiously skittering near the waterline. In the distance, there’s a pier to the left and right that he fully intends to explore.  At his mother’s instruction, he helps get his baby sister changed into her swimsuit while his parents pack bags and a cooler of drinks and snacks. Finally, finally his family leaves the house to search for an open patch to lay their things. An anxious current runs under his skin as he spreads out a large blanket and hastily sets up a folding chair. The sand under his toes is hot and gritty, making him all the more eager to be off dry land.  Before anyone can tell him what to do next, Eddie dashes away from the blanket, grinning from ear to ear. He loves the sound of his bare feet slapping against the cool, damp earth; how the foamy surf bubbles over his skin and blueish, greenish water laps at his shins, occasionally licking up his thighs. It’s warm and pleasant, heated from the midday sun, enticing him to wade in further.  Why did it take so many years for his parents to finally bring them here? Eddie tests out the water in every way he can think of – floating on his back, swimming out against the current, riding the waves back to shore. Out here he feels… free. There’s no expectation to be man of the house (whatever that means), do better in school so he can get into a good college later, or to babysit his sisters. Part of him wishes he could stay here in the ocean, uninhibited. At least he has five more days to just be before it all comes crashing down on him again.  He suddenly becomes aware of a commotion on the beach. People are shouting and he realizes they’re trying to get his attention. They point in his direction, but he’s still not entirely sure what he’s supposed to notice.  When Eddie looks around he realizes he’s drifted well beyond the other swimmers and his feet can’t touch bottom anymore. He doesn’t panic – not yet – he took swim lessons and can figure out a way back to shore. Eddie takes a deep breath and raises his right arm, ready to cut through the water one stroke and kick at a time. He’s just about to reach forward when he feels the wet, heavy smack on the back of his head, plunging him into darkness.

No pressure tagging @shortsighted-owl @elvensorceress @mysteriouslyyounggalaxy @heartshapedvows @911onabc @monsterrae1 @eowon @the-likesofus if you wanna