"It's your birthday gift," Meg answered with a smile, "something I got from your father the first day me and him met. Um, I thought that maybe I can bring back a smile on your face with it!" She twitched her face hopefully.
So willing and eager to know, Kevin recieved the object from his mother with two hand and a bright smile watered his face.
"My father!" He sighed excitedly.
"Your father's name was Sean Moore," Meg began to narrate a catchy story from her past for her son to know.
"Like I told you before, he was far different from us, let's say... he never had a tail, scales and fins on his body like we do."
"He was a human."
"Who is a human?" Eager to know more, Kevin asked.
"Humans are creatures which somehow resemble us, however, their two lower limbs are permanent."
Kevin looked a little bit out of his mind.
"For simplicity, what I mean by that is; their legs don't shift into tails like yours and mine; to add on that, humans can't even breath under the water..." Meg's facial expression glowed while she explained.
"Are humans bad creatures?" Kevin asked.
"Your father and his friend Gang Du were wonderful to me. Only that, when he promised to come back he never did," on a downcast face she said, "how I wish I knew much who humans really are."
During the narrative, Kevin got so cought up. Another stubborn idea beyond listening to the story about his father popped up in his head.
Kevin: "Mother...."
Meg: "Am all ears."
Kevin: "I would like to go and find father, please permit me."
Meg: "What! No Kevin, I can't accept that! Besides, where are you going to find him you stubborn child?"
Kevin: "Now that I know his name, I can go around the world asking. Also, think about it mom, this is for both of us."
Meg: "No..."
Kevin: "Within your voice; the butterflies in your smile when you talk about him, It's obviously written all over you that you deeply miss him so much."
Meg: "I said NO Kevin! Forgot about it. Do you even know the risk behind what you're talking about?"
Kevin: "Please mom!"
Meg: "No Kevin! No...! You can't do this to me...."
?...??...???
Since she never wanted to see her son sad, in a heap of thoughts Meg had to make a decision. Question marks multiplied around her face as she nervously looked at her son.
"You're an adult now", she said, "you have your own path to take and if this is the right time, then so be it."
As soon as the permission was granted, like a goat off the rope which has been tied around its neck for a long time, Kevin jumped into the water pond and hugged his mother with too much excitement. It was high time for him to make his own decisions as a man.
"Thank you so much mom," he showed gratitude.
However, the world out there was another complicated puzzle to solve, especially the human world.
"My first minutes with your father were tough. I had to confiscate this object (computer) from them because they had come to our home and disturbed our peace."
"And I remember your father arguing with his friend;
Gang Du : I told you we leave before things worsen, now we're about to loose all data we've spent months collecting in a blink of an eye... we can't go back to Capricon city with nothing Sean.
Sean Moore : On the sea! How far do you think the yacht can run before the coming storm ruins our lives? What's more important is to sail back to the South East safe.
So, go to Capricon city in the South East as my messenger and take the object back to them."
"When I bring father back home, don't ask him why he never returned to see you before giving him a very warm hug," Kevin flattered.
"For all the years I've lived, you've been my only treasure. I cherish you my son and, I don't regret that moment I spent with your father Sean Moore. Make sure you return home safely for me," with her unwavering parental love, as she held into his palms Meg passionately spoke.
Affectionately, she hugged her son and both smiled their approval.
Capricon city
In the slums of a city named Capricon, in the twilight between full night and sunrise, a young lady named Pinky together with her father Jonathan found themselves on the waterfront working hand in hand, picking fresh fish from fishnets where it was stuck while they put it into a boat.
In heavy jackets, Pinky and Jonathan covered their human bodies to protect themselves from very cold early morning weather while they worked.
Jonathan was a fisherman who casted his nets in the night and came back very early in the morning before twilight to collect the catch. Usually his daughter Pinky accompanied him to the waterfront. Her main job was to collect fish from her father and sell it at a retail price down at the local market.
As a poor family of four people namely Jonathan, Pinky, Jonathan's aunt and Jonathan's mother, this is how they survived in the slums on their hand to mouth business.
One fateful morning, a wave crushed on the waterfront with Kevin Moore in a full human form and left him laying down unconscious without a single cloth on his body.
As their daily routine, Pinky and Jonathan were busy at the waterfront sorting their catch. When Pinky stood up straight from over bending to stretch her back, her eyes accidentally saw a human body laying at the waterfront, just a few metres from where they had stationed their boat.
"Dad!" Frightened, Pinky called Jonathan who was squatting in the boat, busy picking fish from the nets.
So focused on work, "let's try to be fast... you wouldn't wish to miss morning customers at the market," Johnathan said to Pinky with a purposeful attitude.
"Dad! look, there's a dead body right at the storefront!" Pinky anxiously pointed a finger.
"Dead what?!" Jonathan startled, standing up straight with a look so curious on his face.