She submerged into the water and I disappointedly assumed she was gone. But all of a sudden, in the distance, I witnessed a dolphin-like form shoot 50 feet into the air like water from a broken fire hydrant. She was spinning and leaping backwards and forwards atop the still waters. Compared to her, the seals, whales, and dolphins that perform at Sea World looked like they were in preschool. But as quickly as it began, it ended. She didn’t come back. I stayed until dawn to be sure.
The following night was an even bigger tease. I climbed up the embankment and there she was sitting on the rocks… waiting for me.
She allowed me to come within 10 feet of her before nervously edging backwards. I wondered if she could hear my heart beating because I could certainly hear it. Still, I managed to casually sit down on the rocks and spoke to her in very low soothing tones. I’m sure she didn’t understand what the hell I was saying, but it appeared to relax her somewhat, although I could tell she was still on edge. She scrutinized me with her unblinking eyes while I checked her out as much as I could without getting any closer.
Still, I couldn’t get past the sight of that astounding fish tail splayed against the rocks, moving as subtly and as naturally as me wiggling my toes. The upper half of her body was completely human in every way and her small breasts evinced her femininity. I couldn’t see her hands. Her hair hid them. I wondered if they were webbed, but thought it might be rude to try to ask, just in case she did understand me.
Unintentionally, I made one very human mistake — I flashed my teeth in a smile. She reeled back in fear and emitted a shrill screech that penetrated the tranquil night air as she plunged into the waters and frantically swam away. Night over.
“What do you think that was all about?” Victorio asked.
“I figured the act of displaying my teeth threatened her. I mean, think about it… who knows what that means in her world?”
“Her world… I can’t believe I’m even listening to this, let alone discussing it,” he sighed and leaned back in his chair.
“Yeah, but now you’re intrigued, aren’t you?”
He sighed, but reluctantly nodded so I went on with my story.
The next night, I was so relieved to find her perched back on that plateau again. Maybe too relieved but, this time, I made an effort not to commit the same error. We fell right back into our conversation, speaking without words. I sensed she wanted to communicate with me as badly as I did her. At one point, she folded her arms and opened them and I mimicked her actions. I raised my hand, she raised hers, which weren’t webbed, they looked normal… five fingers, thumb… the same as ours. And so it went back and forth. We had discovered a way to greet each other.
Several times she dipped her tail into the water, glancing back, almost coyly, to see if I’d follow her into the water. Although I was tempted, I thought better of it. I’m a fair swimmer, but not a great one. Plus, I really wasn’t sure how she’d react to me being in the water with her. I only waved and stifled a grin when she awkwardly copied my gesture.
As the night passed, she eventually grew more at ease. Sometimes she was full of play, hauling herself up on the rocks and sliding forward like a seal. It was difficult to keep from laughing because it was cute, but I forced myself to exercise patience. I didn’t want to frighten her. I wanted her trust. And I can’t begin to tell you how much I wanted to just touch her… and see what she felt like. And you know what I didn’t expect? She had these very full, inviting, and so kissable lips.
I knew it was weird, but it was such an insane fantasy, all I wanted was to get lost in it. And I did. I had the chance to touch, maybe even hold a mermaid. I’m not ashamed to say I was obsessed. My fixation with her increasingly grew more and more absurd. When she finally swam away, I couldn’t sleep without dreaming about her and seeing her exquisite face.
It got so bad, I had a snit fit when I caught this little surfer couple making out on our spot. I immediately interrupted their dalliance by introducing myself to them as a cop watching out for a murderer killing couples on beaches. They told me they had never read or heard anything about it and I told them the police didn’t want to disclose the information yet.
Victorio eyed me with amazement then burst out laughing. “Are you serious? And they believed your cockamamie sordid tale?”
“They got the fuck out of there! But it was pointless; my girl never showed up. I was unbelievably pissed off at this stupid ass couple for scaring my mermaid away.”
“I believe you were on heroin, not painkillers,” Victorio teased.
“Makes you wonder, doesn’t it? The following night I sat on the edge of the rocks. I arrived there several hours earlier than my usual time after midnight because I’d been feeling anxious all day. I desperately needed to see her. If I could have rented a fucking submarine to go search for her I would have done it! I prayed for her to show up just one more time.”
“What were you going to do — propose?” he teased, but I heard the worry back in is words again.
“In the frame of mind I was in, I don’t know what the hell I wanted to do. But when I heard something stirring in the waters below me, I almost toppled over the rocks into the sea in anticipation. And sure enough, there she was.”
She rested there, just below the surface of the water, peering at me, her hair moving about like zillions of wiggling sea snakes. Soon she floated upright, balancing on her tail. Her face was more animated than I had ever seen. She appeared to be just as excited to see me as I was her. She slapped the water playfully with her tail and held her arms outstretched as if she wanted to hug me.
At that precise moment I thought, is this an invitation? A rendezvous? I wanted her so badly my adrenaline pumped like an oil derrick. My fantasy was on the verge of becoming a reality.
I wanted to do a Tarzan dive into the ocean, but instead, and less romantically, scrambled down the steep embankment. She watched as I quickly stripped down to my shorts and eased into the chilly water. As soon as I was in, the chilly waves lapping at my chest, a heavy mist materialized and gradually enveloped me like a spider’s web. While I treaded water I had second thoughts about whether this was the smartest move in the world. I was being driven by my passion and I worked hard to relax in the freezing water. It’d grown colder since I slid into it and my teeth chattered.
I shivered from the freezing temperature and my own anticipation and considered getting back out, but her pull kept me there. It shocked me when her face unexpectedly sprouted about three feet in front of me. I pitched backwards in the water. I tried to quickly regroup because I realized I had probably ruined a prime opportunity and scared her away.
She was hardly afraid. A sick feeling crept into the pit of my stomach as she erased the gap between us. The widening and unblinking opaque eyes that fascinated me from afar were now as hard and cold and as unfeeling as a reptile. They no longer studied me; they targeted me. She was so happy to see me she even smiled.
And that’s when I knew I had screwed up.
Fear paralyzed me before I got smacked with a blow so powerful it should’ve knocked me from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic. The bitch clubbed me with her tail. Everything after that was a blur.