" Hesitantly Eric pulled something out of his pocket. At first Ariel thought it would be a pipe- it seemed appropriate for someone of Eric's current age and station. But as he placed it to his lips she realized that it was a tiny instrument. Smaller than the recorder he used to carry with him, and fatter. More like an ocarina, the instrument humans used to play in the days they still talked to animals and merfolk.
He took a breath and waited for a moment.
Then he played a few notes. Quietly and slowly.
Ariel's heart nearly stopped.
It was the song she had sung after she rescued him, the song that had burst unbidden out of her heart as he lay there, unconscious. It described the beauty of the sea and the land and the mortality of humans and the wonder of life. It had poured out of her like life itself.
Hearing it again was the sweetest pain she had ever experienced. Far deeper even than having her tail split in twain for legs. It coursed through her whole body, hurt and recognition and pleasure all at once. "

― Liz Braswell , Part of Your World (Twisted Tales)