After a moment of silence, he suddenly curled his lips lightly and repeated softly: "It's a kiss..."
The old grandmother swam over gently, raised her hand and touched his head, and said slowly as if telling a story:
"Kissing is not only an act of expressing love, but also a sacred ritual for us mermaids. If you have someone you like, you will understand the meaning of a kiss. Once a mermaid kisses someone... it means she is willing to devote her whole self to that person."
The little mermaid didn't look at her. She just looked at the swaying water plants and said in a low voice: "I know."
"All of them. Every hair, every inch of skin, every beat of the heart..." The old grandmother sighed slightly: "Child, do you have someone you like?"
The boy did not answer. He raised his thick eyelashes and stared at his grandmother in front of him with his icy blue pupils.
The old grandmother closed her eyes and shook her head slightly:
"My child, you must remember that a kiss should not be given lightly unless you are ready and willing to give everything you have to that person."
An Mor's expression was calm. He turned his head silently and continued to watch the schools of fish swimming around.
The old grandmother continued slowly:
"Your 'all' is different from 'all'. It is what you own, including the things you care about, such as family and friends, and also the things you don't pay attention to, such as health, singing voice... and even life."
She sighed softly. "So, you can only give your kiss when you are ready. But this is only for mermaids. If it is a human..."
The little mermaid's slender eyelashes trembled slightly as she quietly gazed at the beautiful underwater garden. Her clear and pleasant voice was calm and peaceful, as if she was just repeating indifferently:
"What if it's a human?"
"If it's a human, it's a different story." The grandmother looked at him quietly, "Human love is the most unreliable. Kissing is not a holy thing for them, and they don't have to be responsible for it. The same goes for love. Human life is short, but the heart is fickle. A person can kiss many people in his life, and can also love many people."
The little mermaid smiled softly, revealing soft dimples at the corners of her lips, and murmured softly:
"…How unfair."
The old grandmother smiled helplessly and said slowly: "But people have souls. Even if their lives are short, they can go to heaven after they die. We can't. Even if we have hundreds of years to live, when we die, we will only turn into bubbles floating on the sea."
She hesitated, "Unless..."
The child in front of her looked up at her, his icy blue eyes calm, "Unless what?"
"Unless people are willing to share their souls with us." The grandmother said softly, "If a human can gain true love - if he loves a mermaid more than anything else, he will give her half of his soul and half of his joy... But, child, that is impossible."
The little mermaid blinked. "Why?"
The old grandmother smiled and said softly:
"Because of the fish tail."
"My dear child, a fish tail is something that humans cannot accept. It is too strange for humans, and no one would fall in love with a mermaid with a fish tail."
An Mor blinked gently.
His long eyelashes trembled, and finally he asked softly as if he was talking to himself:
"Wouldn't it be possible for a human to fall in love with a mermaid?"
He was answered with a whisper like a sigh:
"Yes, son. No."