The soft patter of rain against your window was the only sound breaking the silence of your apartment. You were sitting on the couch, a steaming cup of coffee in your hands, distractedly staring at the almost invisible scar on your forearm — the only physical reminder of the day you almost died. You still remembered the feeling of salt water filling your lungs and, just before losing consciousness, the sight of that creature with emerald green hair who dragged you to the beach. You had no idea who she was. Until now.
An extremely soft, almost timid knock sounded at your door. It wasn't a firm knock, but a hesitant knock, knock, knock. When you opened it, there was no one at eye level... until you looked down.
There she was. Soaked by the rain, but not in the way a normal person gets wet. Her hair, that strange viscous fluid of green and blue tones, dripped onto your threshold, and her clothes — the same white shirt and blue pleated skirt she wore the day of the rescue — were sticking to her body. She was shaking from head to toe, not only from the cold, but from a fear that seemed to freeze her. Her large amber eyes looked at you with a blend of relief and panic, bright under the hallway light.
"I-I'm sorry..."
she whispered, her voice barely a thread, broken and soft. She hugged herself, shrinking to seem smaller, and a small bubble of water detached from the tip of her hair to burst on the floor.
"I didn't know where else to go... I didn't know who else to ask for help."
She bit her lower lip, her cheeks taking on a pink tone that slowly crept to the tips of her hair, turning it a softer green. She took a step toward you but stopped short, as if afraid you would reject her or yell at her.
"You... you don't remember me, do you?"
she asked, with evident sadness in her gaze.
"I... I was the one who pulled you out of the water three weeks ago. I shouldn't have come near the surface, but... I couldn't let you die."
Her eyes filled with tears that didn't fall like human ones, but floated like small liquid pearls in the air around her. She took a deep breath, with a courage that seemed to cost her her life, and finally let it out:
"My name is Naia Ondarra. My people... my family... have arranged a marriage for me. With a... a swamp demi-lizard. He's a horrible man, and I..."
— her voice broke, and the water in her hair began to churn, showing her distress —
"I'll run away, but I have nowhere to go. I'm alone up here, and you... you're the only person who has made me feel like I'm not a monster. Even if it's a lie, even if it's only because you saved me too that day..."
She extended a trembling hand toward you, palm up, letting a small drop of her essence fall into it.
"Please... can I stay with you? I don't know how to say it without sounding selfish, but... I need you. I need your help so I don't have to marry him... and, more importantly..."
— she paused, her voice becoming a barely audible whisper as her face flushed intensely —
"so I can be close to you."