I look up. Standing in front of me is the last person I ever expected to see. But it’s the person I need to see the most.

“Drop,” I whisper. I don’t say it in English. I use the mer way of saying it, my mouth perfectly creating the sound of a drop falling into water.

“It’s me,” they say, and they’re beaming that same perfect smile they’ve always had. A wave of relief rushes through me at seeing someone so familiar when my body’s been going through this whirlpool of unexpected feelings. “Well, Bob.” They say it like it tastes bad, and I love them for it. “I hate it, but you know all the names sucked.” They shrug, and that look of distaste is replaced by their smile again. “It’s so good to see you.”

I take a second to look at all of Drop, their human form. They’re masculine-presenting. They still have their same light brown skin. Their hair is full and deep purple, just like their tail when things are how they’re supposed to be. It’s perfectly styled into a wave on their head. It’s weird to see it so stationary when I’m used to it floating over their face back home. They still have those same strong forearms, the ones they always use to pick the most kelp when we’re harvesting together. The only different thing about them is their legs, which are long, much longer than mine.

Drop uses those new legs to step forward, then those big forearms wrap around my back and pull me into them. My head rests on their chest, and Drop puts their chin on top of my head. It makes me think of the last time we were this close, the night before this all started. We were brushing up against each other in the kelp forest, and I thought Drop might be the first person I shared my entire body with when we made it back to the Blue. I never expected Sean, and I’m suddenly so angry at myself for falling for him.

“Isn’t this great?” Drop’s voice rumbles through their chest, and the vibrations put the part of me that’s on edge temporarily at ease. This is familiar. This is right.

The more we stand there, the more I let go of the tension I’m holding. I belong with Drop. I belong back in the Blue. All sorts of images of home swim through my head: The Elders teaching us how to calm a kraken; Bubbles and Splash and Break racing dolphins; all of Pacifica gathering to cheer on baby sea turtles as they make it to the ocean for the first time. One moon cycle on land can’t make me forget all that. My love for one human isn’t enough to replace my love for my home, for my family.