Before It's Voiced

Memoir

memoir

a collection of memories that an individual writes about moments or events, both public or private, that took place in the subject's life.

When Pete started writing, he thought only of the words in his head and how lonely they sounded up there. When Pete started writing, it hurt. It ached to drag all his pain back out from his body with nothing but a few flicks of his fingers across a page. When he started writing, it was only because he didn't know what else to do.

But Pete's not a writer anymore and he has more important things to think about now.

When Patrick discovered that he could call storms, summon them with just a note from his throat, he discovered the strength he needed to be the king the loyal merfolk deserve. It took time and patience Pete didn't know he had but, together, they spent a better part of the year sneaking up to the surface to practice Patrick's power. Lightning has never looked so beautiful as when it's reflected in Patrick's unbelieving eyes.

Pete's not a writer but that's the story he tells.

He tells of how simple it was for Patrick— two battles, maybe three if they count the one where the mermaids tried to take Pete hostage again— to bring enemy forces to surrender. A flash of storm within his eyes, the boom of thunder in his veins, and mermaids scattered like dirt in the sea. Patrick tells Pete he doesn't know if this power is something he's supposed to have or if it's a new gift given by the stars but the loyal merfolk look at him with awe. They say he's like nothing they've ever seen before.

And they say the same of Pete.

It takes time for them to become accustomed to him, questioning carefully about the human world as they work side by side to build the kingdom back to what it once was. Pete answers them with the same caution, Patrick always in his sight as he tells safer versions of the stories he told on land. It's easier, he finds, when mermaids don't understand parking lots or flickering lights. He spends more time describing those than anything else.

More than that, though, he tells stories of Patrick, of their king.

"— but then I looked into the water and I saw this creature looking back at me. And it was like the water parted for him as he pulled himself out of it, leaning against the rocks," Pete says to the small merchildren huddled near his tail, grinning excitedly as they listen to his words in a way no one ever has before. "Now, where I come from, we didn't know that sirens or mermaids or anything like that were real. And, in all the stories we were told, it was believed that, if they were real, they would drown us."

At this, the children giggle and shove each other, poking and exclaiming "I'm gonna drown you."

"Hey, you laugh now but I was terrified, then," Pete says, successfully recapturing their attention.

One little girl with skin tinged blue raises her hand. "But I thought you two were in love."

Pete grins. "It just took some time for us to figure that out. Now, do you want to listen to what happens next?"

His audience is captivated by his words, gasping in all the right places and laughing at every human word they don't know. They especially find the rubber duck to be a fascinating idea— Pete makes a mental note to tell Patrick they should get started on making the underwater versions he's so adamant on.

Pete's reaching the end of his story, smiling as he details the way the skies look when Patrick tells them to break, when Patrick appears behind him. He rests a hand on Pete's shoulder and a kiss on his neck, grinning playfully when Pete turns to face him.

"I see you have found your people," Patrick teases. Pete rolls his eyes at him but shoves away from the rock he'd been seated on anyway, embracing him to a chorus of aww 's from the children behind them. Patrick laughs against Pete's neck but then raises an eyebrow at the kids, sending them swimming away to find their parents.