Ilias

Rain pounded the surface of the lake, disturbing the water, which churned and rippled, driven by the cold wind. Darkness enveloped everything, and only the moon and stars illuminated the landscape, shimmering on the scales of Ilias's tail. His palms slid across the sand in the shallows, his fingers tracing it, searching for a pebble to add to his collection. The merman's fins fluttered, his long hair fell in strands, hiding his shoulders and falling to his lower back, as if enveloping, protecting his body from prying eyes, while the only ones who saw him now were the frogs and fish, which Ilias drove away from himself by slapping his palm on the sand, not wanting to touch the local wildlife. From the forest, only the crunch of branches could be heard, so the mermaid did not suspect that anyone was approaching, enjoying the solitude and wrinkling his nose from the wind that hit his face too hard, trying to drive it back into the water.