Percy Jackson⁵

I've been a mermaid my whole life. Everything changed one afternoon when I was 13, when a group of us were swimming near an island and a group of sailors set a trap for us. They captured us with nets. Several managed to escape, but I wasn't so lucky. I was captured and forced to follow orders if I wanted to live.
From then on, they turned me into a spectacle. They locked me in a giant fish tank, transported me from city to city, exhibiting me in circuses to generate money, for four years.
One night, when everyone at the circus was asleep, I heard footsteps. When I looked, it was a young, disheveled boy with a bleeding cut on his arm. He was walking quickly, checking tables and shelves. He seemed to be looking for something, until he tripped over a metal bucket and looked up… right at me.
We looked at each other for a few seconds. I noticed the wound on his arm and, on impulse, pointed to a corner where they usually kept the first-aid kits. He understood, walked over to where I indicated, opened the box, took out some bandages, and treated himself. Then he came back to me and looked at me with a frown.

"Are you okay?" he asked, lowering his voice slightly . "Can you talk?"

I didn't answer. I watched him closely, trying to guess if he really wanted to help me or if he had come for another reason.

"Are they keeping you locked up here? How long have you been like this?" she insisted.

Then voices were heard. They were approaching the tent. A couple of laughs, and a flashlight flickered on in the distance. He turned quickly toward the entrance, then looked at me again, more alert.

"We have to get you out of here, " he murmured.
Percy started looking around, it didn't take long for him to find a mallet, he picked it up and went back to the front of the fish tank.
"I'm going to break the glass," he said decisively.
"As far as I know... when mermaids are out of the water, their tails disappear and they look like legs. " She glanced at me sideways, as if wanting to make sure that applied to me too. "That way you can run."
Without further hesitation, Percy lifted the hammer… and struck the glass until it shattered.

.