Mermaid’s Lust

[Nina’s Perspective]

Upon boarding the boat, Andy and I sat together while Kathy sat in front of us. 

“Are you really okay Nina?” Andy asked.

“Yes. I’m okay now.”

“By the way, who were you talking about earlier?” Andy asked again. 

“Earlier?” I replied, confused. 

“You said you saw someone before boarding when no one was there. Who was it?” Andy continued to ask. 

“Oh. It was a poor old lady.”  I replied.

“What? Someone approached you when you were alone?” Kathy said in surprise. 

“Yeah. When you went ahead a while ago, she approached me and talked about mermaid tales and curses of the sea. She told me to respect the sea.”

“Maybe she was just trying to scare you. Mermaids aren’t real.” Andy said. 

“I agree.” Kathy said too. 

“I think she approached me to get money for food, so I gave her some then left” I replied to both of them. 

After that, there was a little moment of silence before Andy spoke again. 

“It’s so sad that we have to go back today.” 

“I know. I’m sorry. If I had not been in that accident, we could have stayed longer.” I said apologetically. 

“It’s okay Nina. We can just go back next time. It’s your island after all.” Kathy said jokingly, trying to lift the mood of the group. 

“Yeah. You are right. Let’s go back when we have time again.”

“Really? Do you promise that?” Andy asked. 

“Of course I do. You are my best friends. Whom else would I take there?” I asked them playfully. 

After that, we all giggled then settled down afterwards. We still had a long way to go, so we decided to sleep until we reached the port of Garin. Today’s events were really exhausting and draining so a little nap would really energize us again. 

A few moments later, someone woke us up. It was the helmsman of our boat. 

“Ma’am, Sir, we have arrived at the port” He said calmly. 

“Oh! Sorry! We overslept.” I replied shyly. 

“It’s okay. Thank you for boarding our boat!” He replied. 

“Thank you for our safe trip! Captain!” I said cheerfully. 

The helmsman gave me a genuine smile and waved to us.

We unloaded our luggages and waited for mom’s driver to pick us up. We first dropped Kathy off since Andy and I are practically neighbors. 

“Goodbye, Nina! Goodbye, Andy! Text me when you get home okay?’ Kathy said as she was unloading her belongings. 

‘Okay. Goodbye Kathy! Take care!” Both Andy and I replied. 

After that, Kathy waved us goodbye before walking away and going home.

Since our neighborhood is a little far from Kathy’s, I decided to talk to Andy.

“A lot happened today.” 

“Yeah. I almost had a heart attack.” Andy said. 

“A heart attack?” I asked curiously. 

“Yes. A heart attack. When I saw you unconscious under the sea I panicked so bad. Even up until they were trying to revive you at shore. I was really worried about you, Nina.” Andy replied. 

“I’m sorry Andy. I didn’t mean to scare you. I just really wanted to get the pretty coral that I saw.”

“A pretty coral? That’s the reason you decided to take off your life jacket?” Andy asked amused. 

“Yeah. It was really pretty. It looked like a flower under the sea.” I explained. 

“If it looks like a flower then it must be a fox coral Nina. I can’t blame you. Fox corals are really pretty” Andy said while giving me a small smile. 

“Oh! So they are called fox corals…” I said while looking at the window. 

We are both marine biology majors yet I did not know what that coral was called. I heard Andy laugh which made me laugh as well. Seconds later, the car stopped in front of our house already. 

“Thank you for the short trip Nina. I had fun.” Andy said before leaving.

“Thank you for everything today. I owe you one.!” I replied while smiling at him and waving goodbye. 

After that, I settled in our home too. I unloaded by luggages and carried it to my room. Upon opening my door, I immediately ran towards my bed and plumped into it. I was so tired. Everything that happened today was really tiring. 

A few moments later I decided to call my mom again. 

“Hello, Mom?”

“Honey! How are you? Are you home already?” Mom asked me in a worried tone.

“Yes mom. I’m at home already.” I answered. 

“Okay honey. I’m sorry I could not be there for you right now.” 

“It’s okay mom. Uh… where are you by the way mom?” I asked. 

“I’m in Maldives. We have a 7-day tour here.” 

 I scoffed at mom’s reply. Apparently, mom is not in Heldi again. She is always never here when I need her the most. 

“Oh. Okay mom.”

“Do you need company there? I can ask Kevin to keep you company for a while.” Mom suddenly asked me. 

“No mom! Don’t. I’m okay here. I can just call Andy if I need company.”

“Are you sure?” Mom asked again.

“Yes mom. I am one hundred percent sure!” I said with an encouraging tone. 

“Okay then. I will be home soon okay? Just call me if you need anything.”

“Okay mom. Take care there. See you soon! I said before ending the call. 

I laid back in bed as I tried not  to remember what happened at the island. That was no joke. It was a moment of life and death for me. For a moment I got scared at sea because I thought I would already die there. It is a good thing that Andy cared enough to look after me. If he did not get there in time, I think I would really be in a casket right now. 

I let out a heavy sigh. I tried to calm myself down but it wasn’t working. I tried to play some of my favorite music to keep my mind off of things but it did not work. I tossed and turned on my bed and tried to sleep it off but that wasn’t working either. As time passed by, the more frustrated I became. 

Moments later, I heard a knock on my door.

“Nina? Are you awake?” Our housekeeper called me.

“Yes I am.”

“Dinner is ready downstairs.” 

“Oh! Okay. I will go down shortly, Thank you.” I replied.

I fixed my bed and checked my phone before I went downstairs to eat. After eating, my Shiba Inu approached me. The sight of him trying to get a belly rub from me instantly made me happy. My Shiba Inu’s name is Chai Chai. I got him as a present from my dad. He has been with the family for almost two years now. 

I carried Chai Chai up to my room to train and play with him. I tried to train him to shake hands and sit. I even prepared treats for him so that he’ll do the tricks properly. After that, I decided to play with him by letting him chase after me. We ran and ran around my room until both of us got really tired. 

Since Chai Chai and I ran around so much, I got all sweaty. I decided to take another bath because having good hygiene is a thing for me. After taking a bath I sat down in front of my vanity mirror to apply my skin care products. I started applying the skin care products on my face before I proceeded with my body. 

I was applying lotion to my legs when I felt that my calves were a little rough. Upon looking at it, I saw fish scales. My eyes widened and I screamed. I looked at it again, thinking that I might have been seeing things but I wasn’t. The fish scales were still there. 

I thought that maybe I was still hallucinating with what happened earlier so I wanted to confirm if the fish scales were real. I reached towards my calves to touch the fish scales. As soon as my fingers touched the fish scales, my mind went blank for a moment. They were really real. 

After that I stood up to go to my bed but before I could arrive, Chai Chai suddenly bit me. He bit the part where the fish scales were. It must have been because he was curious. He bit my foot harshly that is why it left a mark and bled. It’s a good thing that Chai Chai is fully vaccinated for rabies or else I would be going to the hospital right now. 

I placed some towel over my wound first before I went to carry Chai Chai and put him in his cage again. After that, I went to the bathroom to wash my hands and get the first aid kit. I sat on the edge of my bed and slowly lifted the towel on my wound. The blood had dried up a little so some parts of the towel were already stuck in the wound. A few seconds passed with me excruciating in pain. 

After that I cleansed the wound with some hydrogen peroxide and then placed some anti infection ointment on it before bandaging it. When I was done with treating my wound, I decided to lie down and sleep. My foot was still hurting but it was bearable because of the medicine. It did not take long before I drifted off to sleep.

The next day, I woke up at the sound of someone knocking on my door. 

“Nina! Breakfast is ready dear”

I heard our housekeeper say. I tossed my blanket aside to get out of bed. As soon as I was supposed to stand up, I stumbled on the floor. I was shocked to see that my legs turned into a mermaid tail. 

“Nina? Dear? Are you okay?” Our housekeeper asked. 

“Yes. Yes. I am fine. I’m just still a little sleepy.” I lied. 

I looked at my legs again in disbelief. I’m panicking again. I do not know what to do. 

“Are you sure dear? Do you want me to come in?” Our housekeeper asked again. 

If she comes in and sees this, I’m sure she will be really shocked. 

“No need. I’m fine. I will follow you soon after.” I lied again.

“Okay then. I will set the table for you.” Our housekeeper said and left. 

I heard her faltering footsteps so I knew she left already. I tried to stand up again but the scales were too slippery for the floor so I ended up stumbling again. After a few more tries, I started to become helpless. I needed help from someone who would not judge me, someone I trust sincerely. 

I immediately called Andy. After a few rings, he picked up the phone. 

“Andy?”

“Yeah? What’s up Nina?” He asked right away. 

“Can you come over? I have a little bit of a situation at home right now.” I said indirectly. 

“Oh! Are your parents fighting again?” He asked.

“No. That’s not it. Can you just please come over?” I persuaded him.

“Alright. Just wait. I’ll be coming over.”

“Okay. Thank you.” I said with a sense of relief. 

“Ah! Andy?”

“Yes?” 

“By the way, when you arrive, come directly to my room.” I instructed him.

“Oh okay. Let me just wash up and change my clothes okay?”

“Okay. I will be waiting.” I nodded while talking. 

After that I ended the call and crawled my way towards my door. I needed to unlock it so Andy could come in directly. After that, I crawled back to my bed and placed a blanket on top of my mermaid tail. 

Moments later, I heard someone ring our doorbell and it wasn’t long before I heard a knock on my door.

“Nina? Can I come in?”All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

“Yes you can.”

Andy pushed the door and looked at me right away.

“What’s up? Are you sick?” Andy asked worriedly.

“No but I have something to tell you.” I said.

“Okay. What is it?” Andy was all ears. 

“Promise me first that you won’t be shocked.” I tried to make him promise. 

“Okay. I promise.”

After he said those words, I hesitantly pulled my blanket away and prepared myself with Andy’s possible reactions. 

As soon as Andy saw my legs…

“What a realistic fish tail! Where did you get it?” he said while holding back his laugh. 

I was furious when I heard what he said. He thought I was joking. 

“This is not fake Andy, and it can’t be removed. What can I do?” I looked at Andy worried.

Andy’s expression suddenly changed. He instantly became serious. After a few seconds he spoke again. 

“Please tell me that you did not take the fox coral with you Nina.” 

“I did not. I just pulled it off but I did not take it. I actually dropped it when the jellyfishes surrounded me.”

“Maybe the sea is punishing you Nina. For disrupting their ecosystem.” He tried to joke.

“Stop it Andy. It’s not funny.”

“Okay…Okay. But, when did this fish tail appear on you?” Andy asked again.

“Last night. After I took a bath, I had fish scales on my calves. But I didn’t pay much attention to it, I thought it would be gone right away. I never imagined it would turn into an actual fishtail overnight” I explained.

“Should we try pulling it then?” Andy suggested.

“Okay.”

Andy tried to pull off the fish tail with all his might. As soon as he started pulling, I screamed out loud. Every time he pulled, it would hurt really badly so we decided to stop it. 

After that we searched the web for possible ways to remove the tail. While we were searching for other methods, I suddenly started to sing. 

“Woah. Nina?”

“I do not know what’s happening Andy” I sang my response again. 

Andy looked at me worriedly and told me to calm down. We continued to search possible ways to remove the tail but we still failed. 

When nothing seemed to work, Andy suggested something to me.

“Why don’t we go to the hospital Nina?”

“What? No!” I immediately refused the idea. 

“Why not?” He asked.

“It’s because my situation is unreal. They might take me into a laboratory and study me.”

To be honest, I was really afraid of going to the hospital. I wasn’t sure if the doctors would treat me or turn me into one of their experiments. They might keep me locked in somewhere so that they can explore my situation longer. I felt scared at the thought. 

“Oh you’re right.” Andy said while sounding defeated.

“But we have to do something with that, Nina.” Andy said again

“Something with that?” I asked curiously.

“You are my friend but an unbearable fish smell is coming out of you.” Andy said while avoiding eye contact.

“Oh my… I’m sorry Andy. I did not know.” I said while looking shyly at him.