The sun beat down harshly on the Veracruz boardwalk, making everything shine too brightly, almost unreal. People were shouting, running, pointing toward the water.

“He’s drowning! Someone do something!”

I was there. Right there. Just a few meters away.

And I didn’t move.

The boy barely peeked his head out from the waves. His hands appeared and disappeared, as if he were trying to grab hold of the air. Each second seemed shorter than the last.

“You! Get inside!” a woman yelled at me, pulling me by the arm. “You’re young!”

I looked at her. Then I looked back at the child.

I didn’t jump.

The murmur began to change. It was no longer despair. It was judgment.

“What’s wrong with him?”
“Is he crazy?
” “He’s a monster…”

One guy took off his shirt and ran toward the shore. Another pulled out his cell phone. Someone was crying. Someone else was yelling for someone to call emergency services.

And I… was still there.

Still.

But he wasn’t calm.

My eyes were not on the child.

They were a little further on.

At that point where the water changes color.

Dark. Dense. As if the sea breathed differently there.

The child was dragged a little further towards that area.

One more step and—

“DAMN IT, DO SOMETHING!” someone pushed me.

I took a step forward.

My heart was beating so hard I felt like everyone could hear it.

Another step…

The boy disappeared underwater.

The crowd screamed at the same time.

And just as I was about to jump—

A sound pierced the air.

Far.

But of course.

A mermaid.

I turned my head.

And I smiled.

Very slightly.

As if that was exactly what I was expecting.

 

The siren grew louder, cutting through the air like a warning that came too late.

“It’s not visible anymore!” someone shouted.

The boy had disappeared.

An eerie silence fell for a second… and then it exploded.

—It’s your fault!
—You could have saved him!
—Coward!

A hand pushed me hard. I almost lost my balance.

But my eyes remained fixed on the same spot.

That dark stain.

That distinct breath of the sea.

A man, the same one who had taken off his shirt, ran towards the water.

“I do have balls!” he shouted before launching himself.

—NO!—my voice finally came out, dry, broken.

But it was too late.

He entered.

Two steps.

Three.

And then-

He disappeared.

Not like the child.

Faster.

As if something had pulled him from below.

The crowd froze.

Chaos turned into pure fear.

—What… what was that…?

Now they understood.

But too late.

The rescue boat was approaching at full speed. Two rescuers stood up, throwing ropes, shouting instructions that no one could quite hear.

—River current! Stay away from that area!

The word fell like a sentence.

Some retreated.

Others began to cry.

I took a step back for the first time.

The boy reappeared.

Further.

Floating weakly.

The current had spat him out of the dark core.

“There!” I pointed.

The rescuers reacted instantly. One of them jumped in wearing a life jacket and with a rope tied around his waist.

This time…

It did not disappear.

He swam diagonally.

Not direct.

Never direct.

He caught up with him.

The boy was no longer fighting.

But it was still there.

Still.

The crowd held their breath.

Me too.

Eternal seconds.

Until-

-I HAVE IT!

A scream that shattered everything.

They took them out.

First the child.

Then to the rescuer.

The other man…

He didn’t come back.

 

The child coughed up water.

A.

Twice.

And then she cried.

The most beautiful sound anyone there had ever heard.

People ran towards him.

Some people applauded.

Others were crying.

And then…

They looked at me.

Again.

But now it was different.

Not all.

Only some.

Those who had seen it.

Those who understood.

“You knew…” said the woman who had been shouting at me earlier, her voice breaking.

I didn’t respond immediately.

I looked at the sea.

Calm again.

As if nothing had happened.

—I work here— I finally said, pulling a wet ID card from my pocket. —Civil Protection.

The silence returned, but it was not the same.

—That area… appears without warning. Today it was stronger —I added—. If someone jumped straight in… they wouldn’t get out.

I looked at the exact spot where the man had disappeared.

Nobody said anything.

“I called the boat three minutes ago,” I continued. “It was the only way to get him out without losing more people.”

“But the child…” someone whispered.

I closed my eyes for a second.

—I was right on the edge. If I held on… I had a chance.

“And what if not?” another asked.

I opened my eyes.

I looked at him.

—Then one of them died.

Not three.

The wind passed between us.

Nobody ever called me a monster again.

But nobody apologized to me.

And it was fine.

I didn’t need it.

 

The ambulance took the child away.

Alive.

Clinging to a thermal blanket, crying silently.

Before going up, he looked around.

I don’t know how…

But he found me.

She didn’t smile.

He didn’t speak.

He just looked at me.

As if I knew.

As if, somehow, he had understood everything.

I raised my hand to him.

A small gesture.

Enough.

The door closed.

The mermaid drifted away.

And the boardwalk was filled with noise again… with life… with people who already had another story to tell.

I stayed a little longer.

Looking at the sea.

That same sea that gives you everything…

or takes it away without warning.

Today…

He returned one.

And so…

It had to be enough.

(end)