The Mermaid's Tale Read online

  She awoke to a strange sound outside her shack. It sounded like someone running away, their feet kicking up sand and stone and as Jessica lay there, warm and half in and out of a dream she listened for anything else out of the ordinary. It was still dark, between moonset and sunrise and she could hear nothing other than the natural sounds of nature around her shack and so, loathe to leave the warm nest she had made under her blanket she closed her eyes and dozed in that twilight realm of sleepy wakefulness.

  Her mind barely registered her loneliness of last night but deep inside her mind the near death experience still stayed with her. Jessica, eyes still closed, smiled unconsciously as the woman’s face appeared in her mind and she felt something she hadn’t felt for a long time. Slowly her hand moved upwards to her breast. What am I doing? she thought drowsily as her palm grazed her nipple and found it hard, harder and tighter than she had ever felt before. Gently she took it between her fingers and squeezed softly, gasping at the soft stroke of pleasure that rippled down her stomach. “My mermaid” she sighed out loud.

  Desperate need took control of her limbs and she felt her other hand move down her body, sliding over her naked stomach and between her parted thighs. Fingers brushed wetness and she sighed out loud. Unbidden her saviours face appeared in her mind once more. The young woman’s mouth was open, tongue moistening her lips and Jessica felt her hands begin to move more urgently.

  The hand pinching her nipple stopped and she cupped her breast squeezing it tight. Breasts that were small and high ached to be kissed but she couldn’t reach them with her own mouth. Frustration added another layer to her fantasy as in her head her saviour bent her own head and started to moisten Jessica’s aching nipples with her lips and tongue. Unconsciously Jessica arched her back, her hand pressing against her wet cunt as she tried to press her breasts into the mouth of her fantasy. “Make me yours” she groaned as a bolt of pleasure shuddered through her.

  Fingers moved in a tight circle around her wetness, not needing anything other than release from her pent up emotions. Faster and faster they moved as her fantasy figure left her breasts glistening in the light and started to kiss her way downwards. Hot breath caressed her taut skin as hands explored, squeezed and slid over her body.

  I would never she thought before her desires overtook her control and in her fantasy the woman who had saved her life looked up at her from between her parted wet thighs. She lay between her legs, her mouth poised to explore Jessica’s most intimate areas and behind her, her mighty tail flicked. Their eyes locked and for a second Jessica’s fingers stopped then she began to move urgently as she imagined the feeling of her saviours tongue on her wetness. “Lick me there” she gasped into the darkness as her fantasy took flight.

  A gasp escaped Jessica’s lips as she imagined what that tongue would feel like. Never before in her young life had she had someone taste her sweetness so intimately and yet in her fantasy that was exactly what she wanted this strange woman to do. She thought she heard a whimper in the air and didn’t know if it was hers or her fantasy. Her hand left her breast and joined its companion. Holding herself open she pressed her fingers furiously against herself in an agony of need. Her stomach muscles contracted as heat blossomed. She gasped as her orgasm rushed to meet her fantasy and then she let voice to a whimper as she stiffened and exploded. Wetness covered her fingers and she fell back in a sleepy glow of confused contentment.

  Jessica laid awhile, her body drowsy still yet her mind raced. Had she really just fantasised about someone she didn’t even know and not only that, had she just fantasised about a mermaid? She was not a stranger to fantasy, it had been her only escape for years and yet never before had her focus been a member of her own sex. Shaking her head she tried to dislodge the thoughts that raced through her mind but found herself failing time and again. Scowling she sat up, her moment of pleasure ruined by anxiety.

  Sighing she left the warmth of her blanket and dressed quickly. She was eager to leave and to be out in the sunlight and out of this shack with its disturbing memories.

  Jessica opened the door, a scowl still on her face but ready for whatever the day threw at her. There on the ground not three feet from her door lay a shell, beautiful in its delicacy. It was one that she had never seen before and picking it up she examined it in awe. Pearlescent colours radiated outwards as the light caught it and her scowl disappeared as she smiled at the unexpected joy she felt at the shell.

  Turning to go back indoors to place her new found treasure somewhere safe she caught a glimpse of something dark against the blue green of the sea. As she moved her head to scan the water it disappeared beneath the water. I must have been mistaken she thought after a few moments of scanning the water. Turning she took her treasure inside and placed it safely on a shelf.

  She emerged a moment later, her confused emotions soothed by the sunlight and the unexpected find. With a lighter heart Jessica set about her days scavenging amongst the sand dunes.

  To begin with the day was like many others. Any wood that was washed up Jessica hauled it back to her shack so it could dry out and become wood for her fire. She gathered shellfish as she walked placing them in a little sack she carried along with anything she thought she could trade. In most respects it was a day just the same as any other.

  As the day wore on however Jessica would occasionally fell the hairs on the back of her neck rise. When this happened she would stop and looking around she would scan the horizons. She never saw anything of note, no person standing watching or any mark of anyone passing by. Yet with every movement she made, every minute that past she began to come to the conclusion that it was not her imagination playing tricks on her. She was being watched.

  By the afternoon Jessica was becoming fearful. The sun beat down on her head as she walked slowly back to her shack. With every step she took her head turned in a never ending search for her hidden watcher. The sea was calm with no boat on the horizon or swimmer enjoying the heat of the day. Turning her head she went to scan the beach but could see no one, no matter what direction she looked.

  There. A stream of black on the water disappearing before she could fully turn to see it. The same inky black trail she had seen that morning. Only the thinnest trail remained on top of the water before it too disappeared under the water. Could that be hair she thought and then shook her head. No, if it was her, if it was the mermaid that had saved her she would wave surely, or Jessica would see some flash of tail. No, the darkness had to be some kind of seaweed that had been disturbed from the sea floor and raised to the surface before descending once more.

  That set the pattern for her days on the beach. Each day she would go out and comb for anything useful. Often during these days she would see a flash of dark before it swam, fish quick, away from her sight. She could never pin down exactly what it was that swam away or what the dark stain possibly was. It always kept too far away from the shore for her to see clearly. Oddly she found it a comfort.

  During the night when the sea was calm and the night full of silence she would hear a whisper of a song on the air. It was never more than a snatch, never more than a whispered melody and on those times she would always go to the door and open it, listening intently and hoping beyond hope that whoever it was would come to her but always she found only disappointment.

  After those nights when the singer sang, Jessica would find a pretty bauble near her shack when she awoke in the morning. Of the things she found by her door, shells and pretty pebbles all, she kept. Imagining she had a guardian angel made the nights that little bit easier to bear and when things became a little too dark or when she felt a little too lonely she looked over to wear she kept them and her heart lightened a little.

  *****

  Two weeks later and Jessica was plagued by another violent night as stormy as the one that had precipitated her meeting with the mermaid that had saved her life. The sea was angry and she could hear it crashing against the rocks, the walls of her shack providing little resistanc
e to the sound of such anger. The walls rattled with the power outside but she knew from past experience they would hold. Tucking herself up on the only chair she sat by the fire and ladled thin steaming broth full of the sea into one lonely bowl and sat listening to the storm.

  Bang, bang, bang went her door as someone battered on the other side. Jessica had few visitors and certainly none that wished her well enough to check on her on such a stormy night. She looked to the door fearfully hoping that it was just the wind. Bang, bang, bang went the door once more and she stood. Picking up her only knife, dull though it was, she slowly walked to the door.

  Opening the door revealed a night black as pitch. Hearing teeth chattering Jessica looked down and there saw a shadowy lump. Taking a closer look she saw, there near collapse, a naked young woman. The woman was crouched and held her arms around herself and as thunder boomed over head she shivered in distress.

  The stranger looked so fearful, so bedraggled from the storm that Jessica could not but take pity upon her. “I have no idea where you came from or even why you are naked but if you stay out here you will die of exposure.” Reaching down she pulled up the girl and pulled her inside her shack. Pulling her towards the fire she settled her on her chair. Picking up one of her few blankets she threw it over the strange bedraggled woman.

  Turning Jessica went to her cooking pot and ladled some of her thin broth into another bowl before giving it to the young woman. “Here, eat, this will warm you up.” She held the bowl towards the girl who slowly reached out and took it. As she did their hands touched for a moment and Jessica felt her pulse jump at that slight touch. Heat rose in her face as she quickly moved her hands and smiled encouragement towards her.

  As the young woman shivered and held the bowl in her hands Jessica watched her eyes. They dipped to the broth and then returned to her before looking around the shack. They moved ceaselessly taking everything in and yet never seemed to stray away from her for more than a second or two. Still she had not moved to eat and Jessica knew it was dangerous to get to cold and she had no idea how long she had been out there for.

  “It’s ok. It’s to eat.” The woman still stared blankly at the food and Jessica wondered if she was addled. The way her eyes moved and quested before settling on Jessica again gave lie to that thought though. There was an intelligence there Jessica realised, and a yearning for something beyond Jessica’s experience.

  Jessica went and knelt by the strange girl. Taking the spoon she dipped it into the broth and sipped it herself. “See, Its safe” she whispered and dipped the spoon once more before holding it up to the young woman’s lips. The strangers head dipped and Jessica watched as her lips covered the spoon. She watched as her throat convulsed as she swallowed and strange thoughts entered Jessica’s head, thoughts she had never given heed to before but now seemed urgent. Pressing the bowl back into the woman’s hands Jessica got up and moved away once more.

  The strange woman began to spoon the steaming sea broth into her mouth and Jessica took her chance to study her. As the light of the fire gently illuminated her features Jessica realised she knew her. The hair was a little lighter in the light of the fire but still dark and now and then Jessica thought she saw the green tinge of seaweed. Her skin was a little whiter, like the foam on the sea and her eyes were grey blue as the stormy sea sky. “I know you” Jessica uttered in surprise. “You saved me from the cave that day.”

  The young woman stopped eating and placed the bowl on the floor and stared at Jessica. “It is you” Jessica continued. She smiled and Jessica felt a flutter in her stomach. “But how did you? You have legs. Who are you?” she whispered.

  The girl wrapped the blanket around her, only her bare shoulders visible as she slipped off the chair to stand face to face with Jessica. A hand appeared on Jessica’s arm and she looked down to see the young woman holding it. “What is going on?” Jessica whispered before sitting down heavily on the shacks only chair. “I thought after a week you were a fevered dream, a creation of my fearful mind. How can you be here?”

  The young woman walked the small space to Jessica and knelt at her feet. Jessica watched in stunned silence as the girl placed her cheek against her lap and stared into the fire. The nearness of the girl and the heat of the fire were becoming oppressive and yet Jessica did not want to move. To move would mean to lose her only contact with the strange woman who had saved her life and for reasons she did not quite understand she did not want to risk that.

  Slowly she placed her hand on the hair of the strange woman and stroked it gently. “Do you have a name” she spoke softly. The woman raised her head and stared at Jessica before opening her mouth. Nothing but a croak came out. She took a deep breath and tried again and again a mangled sound erupted from her throat. Tears started to roll down her face as she struggled against her own body.

  “Hush now its ok” Jessica whispered as she stroked the girl’s hair. As the girl wept into her lap Jessica felt a deep sorrow for her. Something must have happened for her to lose her tail and her voice and whatever that something was, Jessica could only imagine it wasn’t pleasant. “I’ll call you Serena, after the serene blue sea” she said softly and as she spoke the girl became quieter. “Do you like that name” Jessica asked and the Serena nodded against her lap. “Well then Serena, I am Jessica.”

  Jessica continued stroking Serena’s hair gently, giving her the only comfort she knew how to give. Something brushed against her calf and a shock of electricity shook Jessica as she felt fingers against her bare leg. Slowly those fingers moved up and down the bare calf of Jessica. They were light against her skin and as they moved, caressing her bare skin under her skirt, Jessica shivered slightly. It felt so wrong, this woman, this half creature she hardly knew touching her in a way that was so intimate, so wrong and yet so right.

  Jessica could not move, could not stop her. The feeling of another person touching her after so many years of loneliness was too heady a drug and her body refused to let her stop it. She continued to stroke Serena’s hair as she felt the hand become bolder, raise higher, become more insistent in its touch. It stroked her calf, the side of her knee and then yet higher as gently stroking fingers touched the side of her thigh.

  As she felt the pads of those fingers slide against the soft flesh of her outer thigh Jessica could not stifle a small moan from escaping her lips. Slowly Serena rubbed her head against Jessica’s lap before lifting her head and staring unflinchingly at her. Jessica stared into those eyes and felt herself begin to drown once more, a part of her wishing this strange woman would save her again. Hands pressed against her as fingers ran up and down each leg. Jessica looked away as her body began to betray her. Feelings she had never known erupted in her soul and she bit her lip to stifle any sounds as hands pressed against her upper thighs, thumbs moving slowly, leisurely against her skin.

  Jessica shivered as her dress moved, baring her legs to the warm stifling air of her cabin. Insistent fingers pressed her legs apart and as if in a dream she allowed herself to move, to bare herself to this strange apparition. One leg was raised and then lips pressed against her calf and Jessica felt them burn against her skin, seemingly ice cold against hot skin. Her head swam as those lips gradually moved up her leg and as they past her knee she felt her world implode and darkness swam at the edges of her vision.

  She found herself on the floor her skirt up around her waist, her skin bare to the air and Serena’s touch. Her vision was full of the young woman’s face as she peered down at her, a worried look on her face. Jessica however only had eyes for those lips that had kissed her leg so tenderly. There touch against her skin had felt like fire and yet they looked so soft, so inviting. Please kiss me again Jessica thought guiltily as relief flashed across the face of Serena and she began to move away.

  Jessica felt her hand rise, felt the girl’s hair in her hand and looked over at it surprised. She did not tell it to move and yet it had. A look unreadable to Jessica flashed across Serena’s face and then she was
pressing her lips against Jessica’s and she felt the loneliness of years disappear and an altogether deeper yearning arise. Gods Jessica thought as she gave herself to Serena, her lips pressed against the young woman’s. How can this be wrong?

  Naked flesh pressed against naked flesh as the blanket fell from Serena’s body. They entwined on the floor, their bodies pressed together. Jessica knew she was on the floor, could feel the cold of the ground beneath her but her head was still swimming, still twirling around like a marionette as she felt the full force of Serena’s lips on her own. A tongue was forced against her lips and she opened her mouth to accept it without thinking. Her body was moving on instinct now and she had no control over it.

  Soft downy hair brushed against her upper thigh and she writhed on the floor pressing her leg upwards against that feeling. Her hands were at the back of Serena, pulling her down against herself. Her lover’s skin was smooth and hot under her hands and she whimpered at the heat of her. Sensations she had never known assaulted her as their bodies moved against each other.

  Jessica felt a smooth hand on her inner thigh pushing. Without thinking she let her legs fall apart and then fingers brushed wiry dewy tipped hair. A moment of anticipation that stretched seemingly into hours and then those fingers dipped into her wetness as they pushed between her soaking wet fleshy lips. Her very core bloomed into heat as she moaned into the mouth of Serena. Feelings she had clamped down on throughout the years rose again as lust flared through her body.

  Then she felt a finger brush against her moist clitoris. Her mind whirled and then shock broke through as she realised how far she was from what she knew. Panic overwhelmed her and breaking the kiss she shouted “No” and pushed Serena off of her. The two women stared at each other, one in hurt and the other in shock but both with equal confusion. The moment stretched into years.