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Abrutsi Bistro: Fine Italian Cuisine & Dining

A small Italian Restaurante over looking the ocean.

Relana smiled at Glaucus as he held the door open for her; she was glad she felt better after she took a long shower in her room. Her experience was still fresh in her mind, not to mention the development of her blue scales.

If you weren't there, Glaucus, she thought, I would have died. You saved my life....She shivered at the thought of it.

She wore another pair of her baggy hiphuggers and a black t-shirt with a red heart on it. As well as this, she wore black and red-trimmed armwarmers with several belts wrapped around them; they reached right past her elbow. She was sure she'd be dragged to the nearest doctor to be scrutinized under a knife if her strange scales were in sight.

"I'm sure I will, Glaucus!" she said excitedly, her insides churning. She was almost too excited to be hungry; she was going on a date with Glaucus! She couldn't believe how she and Glaucus clicked; they were good enough friends online, but offline was a completely different story. In person, he could hold her hand and smile at her. In person, she could see his calm, kind eyes.....

The moment she stepped in, she was greeted with the rich aromas of the Italian food as well as a low murmur of voices in the background. Already, she liked this place.

Relana was amazed when Glaucus led her to a private booth; she had not expected him to go to such lengths for her. Relana thought the restaurant was beautiful enough with regular seats, but she was soon proved wrong.

As Glaucus brought her into the private booth, she was awed once more. The booth was quaint in appearance; yet, what made the booth stand out beyond all the other seats in the house was the beautiful scenery. The booth overlooked a tranquil beach that was dyed a rich crimson because of the setting sun.

How ironic, Relana said to herself, blushing a bit. A romantic scene to such a romantic night....

She took her seat, gasping as she saw the beautiful painting of a mermaid and a merman holding each other in unsurpressed ardor. The mermaid's hair was flowing behind her in the oil-painted ocean as the merman took her by the waist, smiling affectionately at her.

"Glaucus....This is so beautiful," she told him, holding a cupped hand to her mouth in awe. "How did you get such wonderful seats?" As Glaucus' stomach rumbled loudly, she giggled quietly.

"Well," she answered Glaucus, "I don't know, really. Everything's fine by me; I'm not very picky. What is the best thing they have here?" She pulled up one of her armwarmers; she wanted to make sure no one would see her scales. The only person she had shown them to was Glaucus, and she wanted to keep it that way. She was assured that he didn't think she was deformed because of this strange occurance...

Relana smiled as Glaucus blushed; he was having the same thoughts as her.

"Glaucus, I don't know....I've been thinking about it for a while." She sighed, tilting her head. "Nothing like this has ever happened before--nothing that I think's been documented, anyway. Glaucus...." She made sure that the waiter wasn't going to come back and pulled her sleeve down. Several glimmering scales shone in the crimson light; she rubbed one of them delicately. "That river was very strange. I don't know if the river did this or not, but it may be a factor. All that I know is that I'm....I don't want to admit it, but I'm scared."

She looked to the oceanfront, losing herself in the serene sunset. "I don't know how to react at all. What if these changes continue and I can't return to the surface? All the things I've taken advantage of will never be in my reach again." She drummed her fingers on the table, eyes still set on the ocean. "Yet....This is what I've always wanted, in a sense. Ever since I heard about the mysteries of the deep sea, I've wanted to explore it. I've felt so connected to the ocean! I've felt like it's always been calling out to me. It's bathed in mystery; humans have only seen less than one percent of the ocean floor..." She brought her dark brown eyes to meet Glaucus' light brown ones.

"You must think I'm positively off my rocker, though," she laughed, pulling her sleeve up once more. She knew that she rambled on far too much; Glaucus more than likely thought she was unstable in the head. "I've never really told anyone how I feel so 'connected to the ocean' and such. I don't know how to feel about these scales, however. They bother me, to an extent. What if they cover my whole body? What if I become not a mermaid, but a hideous monster?"

Then, you may not have feelings for me any longer, she added to herself.

Relana shook her head. "No, Glaucus, you're not crazy!" She giggled as he took her hand suddenly. She still couldn't get used to his hand touching hers; it gave her butterflies every time they touched.

Relana was not prepared for what she heard next. "Would … you like to be my girlfriend? I no this is sudden and you might think that I’m too forward, but I promise you I won’t ever leave you even if the out come of these transformations left you or me as a monsters. And no, I do not think you are insane… your scales are lovely.”

Relana's jaw dropped in surprise; she was so taken back that she could barely speak. "G....Glaucus." She breathed. "You....Actually want to go out with me?" She swallowed hard, her mouth becoming dry.

"Glaucus, I'd love to." She brought his hand closer to her, embracing it. "I don't think you're being too forward at all....And you promise to never leave me, even if I become something repulsive?" She closed her eyes; a great weight was dropped off of her heart.

He won't leave me.....Not even if I become ugly? she thought to herself.

She smiled slightly at his comment about her scales. "You think my scales are lovely? I think you're lovely, Glaucus. I've never been treated with such respect from a man...."

Relana shivered; he was so kind to her! These feelings of passion she had for him couldn't be just a crush any longer.

"Glaucus...." she wanted to embrace him for a long period of time, but the waiter came back in the booth. Slightly annoyed at the waiter's impeccable timing, she kept a mental note to give Glaucus a big hug after this.

They seperated for a moment as the waiter returned with their food. Relana, being even more excited than she was when she came, couldn't even concentrate on the food placed in front of her. All she was thinking about was Glaucus--the foreboding thoughts of her scales seemed to melt away when she stole a glance at him. She could see that all he said was true. When they stared at one another as the waiter left, Relana could see a deep passion within Glaucus' eyes; she hoped he saw the same in hers.

He's not scared about my scales at all....she thought to herself in amazement. I'm not concerned about his gills, either. It doesn't really matter; all I see is Glaucus. She smiled at him; she thought that after the river incident, she'd of never had a chance with him. She had hoped something like this would happen, but she didn't actually believe it would have occured, nonetheless with an online friend of hers.

"Glaucus?" she asked, playing with her food. "Is it always this wonderful in America? The people, the places....It's all so enthralling!" She twirled a lock of her emerald hair in her fingers, smiling once more at Glaucus as he looked up at her. "So, this merfolk thing...." She trailed off for a moment. "You seem to be as enthralled about merfolk as I am." She stole a glance at the beautiful oil painting, imagining herself as the mermaid and Glaucus as the merman. "Have you ever had dreams about becoming one? I remember a very vivid one in which I suddenly grew a beautiful tail....I didn't want to wake up." She shook her head, laughing. "Can you believe that I asked to be a mermaid for my 5th birthday? That's all I wanted that year....I was quite disappointed, needless to say!"

"I'm glad that someone else in the world has dreams like that....I thought I was the only one." She smiled foolishly.
Finishing the last bit of her food, Relana walked over to Glaucus and embraced him, like she remembered she would.

"Well," she whispered to him, "I think that there are some things in this world that people cannot understand. One of these things are the merfolk, I believe. People can't understand the beauty the merfolk possess; others are envious and wish for such beauty, but they know they cannot obtain it. So, they ridicule and spite the merfolk, hoping to make them feel bad." She buried her face in his shirt, inhaling his scent. "I may have to say goodbye to my previous life, should I really become this mermaid, but it's like my grandfather says: 'Life is a journey that takes many twists and turns. Sometimes, the wind does not blow the direction one wants it; sometimes, the rain falls in a different way. One must change the path of your life to make it the best it can be. Some changes in your journey may be undesirable, but it is merely the way of life.'"

She broke off her long embrace with Glaucus, looking into his passionate eyes. "I can't say how much this has meant to me, Glaucus. You meeting me and.....And bringing me to such a beautiful place! I can't express my gratitude. You're such a kind person; I'm glad to have the opportunity to meet you."

She looked out to the sea; the sun had finally set below the calm depths of the ocean. This struck her as symbolic. Her 'sun' had finally set, her fears and worries disappearing from sight. They were swallowed by her sea, Glaucus.

"Hey, Glaucus..." she trailed off. "Do you think we could see the ocean before we go back to the resort? It looks so beautiful tonight."

Relana nodded deftly. "I know so, Glaucus!" She blinked as Glaucus spoke of not missing his life other than his parents. She wouldn't question him too much on his personal life; she didn't want to seem too nosy.

She watched him longingly as he left the booth. She squealed in delight as he was out of hearing distance.

"Glaucus!!!" she said to herself, giggling. "Glaaaucus! You're such a sweetie!" She wiggled in her seat, her excitement brimming over. In her excitement, she completely forgot about having to go back to her country soon; the only thing that was on her mind was him. "Ooh, táim i ngrá leat, táim i ngrá leat!" She began to revert to her native language as her feelings brimmed over; she hoped no one could hear her squeals. "Mo chuisle!!!"

She abruptly stopped her incessant chattering as he entered the booth again. Blushing, she nodded as Glaucus asked if she was ready.

"Yes, Glaucus....I'm ready to go." She wrapped her arm around him, wanting to be near him. She went through the back door and was greeted by the surprisingly warm coastal breeze; she remembered the previous night being much cooler. She could hear the calming sound of the waves hitting the beach in front of her. The moon was just beginning to rise in the darkened sky, its rays reflecting off of the large body of water magnificently.

This is truly the best day of my life, Relana thought to herself, her heart swelling. She took her flip flops off and came to the edge of the tide, letting the seawater caress her feet. Suddenly, she felt the urge to sing softly as Glaucus was beside her, looking at the beautiful scenery. The song that came to mind was an American song; it was one of the first ones she had listened to. It was in a genre she didn't usually listen to anymore. Yet, it felt very fitting for the moment she was in.

"When you’re on a holiday
You can’t find the words to say
All the things that come to you
And I want to feel it, too

On an island in the sun
We’ll be playin' and havin' fun
And it makes me feel so fine
I can’t control my brain..."


She broke off for a moment, sighing. She wanted to stay in this moment forever, looking at the tranquil ocean with Glaucus. She felt so soothed in his presence; she hadn't ever felt this peaceful before.

"Glaucus," she whispered, "I want to stay in this place forever....It's so beautiful."