The Mermaid's Tale Read online

  Realising that I had left a favourite bauble in the cave, a stone of deep blue that shimmered in the light I turned and went back towards the cave. I had found it deep on the bottom of the sea and it reminded me of the sky on those few times I had left the safety of the ocean during the day and I was loath to part with it.

  Swimming back towards the cave I easily navigated the currents darting from one to the other easily. It had been hours since I had seen the stone and as I suspected the water was rising, filling the cave with the tide. Still that would pose no problem for me who could swim and breathe the water like it was air.

  I felt a disturbance in the water and saw a young woman sink beneath the waves. Her eyes were closed and even though her cheeks bulged with air she was not fighting. Blond hair streamed in the water, so light compared to mine and then blood from a cut on her head mingled with the water and I knew it would call the fish you should run from. If I did not help her she would die.

  I swam a little closer for although I had seen people before they had always been far away. My father had said no one would want me like this and who was I to disbelieve him? So if this was my chance to see one up close I wanted to take it. I had not understood how lonely I was until then, how much I had missed simply being around others.

  I was inches away from her but she had no idea for inside she was already ready to die. Her face was serene and so beautiful in the water as it floated there I knew I had to do something. I had been given a chance at life by others and now it was my chance to repay that grace. She was thin and should be light but her clothes I knew would weigh her down. Still I had to try and I grabbed her wrist before flicking my tail and swimming to the surface with all the speed I could reach.

  My hair trailed behind me like a long dark wave as I swam upwards. I heard the woman gasp behind me and she swallowed a lungful of water. I had little time to do anything so I did what I could and continued swimming for the surface. I saw the sunlight coming towards me, streaming down like a spear and then we broke the surface and the woman coughed before taking a deep lungful of air.

  We bobbed there in the water and I felt strange having this woman so close. I was naked, I had no need for clothes as I never felt the cold in this form and hers were strange to me. She was a land dweller, had legs and yet every time my tail moved against her she did not shudder, she did not cry out in fear. She looked at me and did not scream in terror. She simply tried to keep afloat and so I helped her. Eventually she got enough strength back to thank me even though her teeth were chattering with the cold.

  My first interaction with another person in ten years and she thanked me. I felt I had to respond and I replied “you are welcome.” I was shocked for I had no use of speech when I had no one to talk to so my voice sounded odd, stilted to me.

  We looked at each other and I saw her eyes were dark, like my hair and then she turned looking towards the beach. I heard a groan and moving on an instinct I did not understand I found myself next to her, holding her up. I understood that groan was not because of me. She had not shrunk from me, had not screamed in terror. Was I perhaps not as disturbing as my father wanted me to be or was this land dweller unique in some way?

  “I have to get to the beach” she said. I did not understand, if she wanted to go to the beach why did she not simply swim for it? She pointed towards the beach before saying “There, I have to get there.” Was there something I did not understand? I thought to myself as she pointed to the beach again. Then I finally understood, this woman was no good at swimming. She did not think she could make it.

  I reached out and pulled her close to me with my arm and I felt her gasp silently. I did not think I had squeezed her that hard and adjusted my arm before I started swimming for the shore. As I swam I kept an eye on the strange woman who seemed to be staring at my tail with a strange look on her face. It was not one of horror or disgust, those I had seen from my father and knew what they had looked like. No, this was something else and my pulse quickened at that look.

  As we travelled through the water I felt her place her hand on my arm. Her hand on my arm felt strange and I felt a thrill go through my body at her touch. My heart beat faster and we were at the shore all too soon. I could not go in to close for I would get trapped but I let her go when she could feel the sand under her feet so she would be safe. Turning the woman thanked me again and without thinking I darted in and pressed my lips to hers.

  What was I thinking? I broke the kiss and turned for the open sea before ducking under the water so she could not see me. I could feel my face becoming a deep red as I thought of how embarrassed she must be. I had reacted without thinking and turned my first real contact with another person into a scene of intense awkwardness.

  I swam underwater so that she could not see me and came out behind some rocks. Close enough I could watch her but not so close that she could see me. She was simply kneeling on the beach looking into the ocean and she stayed that for what seemed like hours. Was she looking for me I wondered or simply tired at her time in the ocean? Eventually she got up and walked down the beach and I followed her.

  I watched as she came upon a building on the land between beach and grass. Here she went inside and I stayed wondering what I should do. She had not run away in fear or screamed at my presence. She had looked at me with something other than disgust. I needed to know more, find out if she could be my friend. I decided there and then to stay and keep an eye on this woman.

  *****

  The night rolled relentlessly on and I found myself unable to sleep. I was excited at the possibility of having a friend. My voice though when I had replied to her had been rusty, croaky and I knew I would have to practise if I was going to stay here, especially if I was going to talk to this woman at any point. And I very much wanted to talk to her.

  I found a rock that I could sit upon and with tail dangling in the cool night time water I started using my voice once more. I began reciting poems that I had learnt as a small child and then went on to passages from books of childish tales I had read. My voice was odd to my ears but I gained confidence quickly. I had talked to her and she had not shrunk from me after all so my voice could not be that bad.

  I started singing, a lullaby that my mother had sung to me in my own land. As my confidence grew so did my voice until I was singing and what was more, I was enjoying the sound. I rarely sang as a child but now my heart filled with joy as my voice rang out and I realised with a shock that I was happy.

  For once my life did not seem quite so terrible. My future did not seem quite so bleak. The very nearness of this woman who had not shrunk in fear from me had given me hope it seemed.

  I heard the buildings door open and I slipped into the water becoming as quiet as possible. I did not mean to wake her up but clearly that was what I had done. I was quickly becoming a nuisance to this woman when I only wanted to be her friend.

  I looked over and in the moonlight I saw she was as naked as me. I felt my heart pound a little faster as I looked at her. She truly was beautiful I thought. Why would she want to be friends with something as ugly as me?

  Her light hair was dishevelled and it hung over breasts that were small and proud like my own. Her face had a questing look as she searched for the noise that had awoken her but my attention was drawn to her legs. She stood on them so easily and they were smooth like her face. As I watched she moved a little and the moonlight lit up the light triangle of hair in-between her legs. As I stared at that place I felt my face turn hot.

  She stared out into the darkness with something like...longing? Then she took a step back and I lost sight of her. I sang her a snatch of the lullaby I was singing earlier, but much quieter and then had an idea. I should make apologise for waking her I thought. That is what a friend would do and so I dove under the water and began my search.

  I wanted something nice, something that would remind her of the sea and so I dove deep to the bottom of the sea. There I found a shell, discarded by some creature and not yet taken by another. I picked it up and turned it in my hands and as I did I noticed it was made up of many different colours. It was a fine gift and so I determined to give it to her. The moon was still out, enough for me to change, and so I swam to the beach and allowed my true form to emerge.

  After ten years the change between had become second nature and less painful but it was still uncomfortable. I endured it for the few seconds it took and then ran up the beach towards where she lived. Once there I carefully placed the shell where she would see it, but not where she would step on it and ran away.

  It seemed that I had not disturbed her and becoming bolder I quietly tiptoed over to her home. I stood outside wondering if I would ever have the confidence to enter when I heard the strangest noise. I heard her voice quietly sigh out “My mermaid” and I went hot. Mermaid was what the servant had called me. Was she talking about me? She had said “My.” Did she then want my friendship so badly? I had so many questions.

  I heard rustling and then the woman spoke again. “Make me yours” she said and I was shocked. Someone wanted me. The nipples on my breasts tightened and I felt my legs shake. I sat down by the side of her building, my legs outstretched in front of me. I had not much experience of love or lust but the triangle between my thighs was wet but not like the wet I got when I was in water and I touched it gently.

  As my finger slid against that wet flesh it felt so good I nearly gasped myself. But I had to be quiet. I didn’t feel confident enough yet, couldn’t see her like this. I pushed one hand against my mouth and continued to touch myself, running my fingers up and down the moistness they found. With each passing second my pleasure grew and I silently whimpered into my hand as I bit down on my knuckles.

  I suddenly wondered what the woman’s flesh wo
uld feel like under my hand. Would it be the same? Would she feel the same pleasure as me? So many questions invaded my head and then I heard her gasp once more. “Lick me there”. She wanted me to kiss her there? The thought of nuzzling her between her legs was closely followed by the thought of her nuzzling between mine. I felt my breath quicken at the idea and as I continued to touch myself I thought about her kissing me there which made me feel even more excited.

  Slowly I removed my hand and saw in the moonlight it was covered in wetness, some of it sticking to my fingers. I sniffed at it and smelt the sea. Would she like to taste this? I had to know and slowly I stuck my tongue out and licked my own fingers. I tasted of, something strange, something exciting and I wanted to taste hers. Clearly she also wanted me to taste hers and I suddenly wanted her to taste me.

  She was mere inches away, a wall separating us but it might as well have been an ocean. I pushed my fingers back against myself and began to move them in times with the gasps I could hear coming from her. She had called out to me, was thinking about me and getting such pleasure from it. I wanted to pleasure her, taste her, be hers so she would think about me and call out for me once more.

  My breasts were tight and my hand left my mouth to touch them. I stroked along the skin underneath and then around the nipples. They felt tight and were standing high in the moonlight. I wondered what hers looked like felt like, tasted like and on instinct I pinched my tight nipple lightly.

  A whimper escaped me and floated into the night and I clamped my lips shut. I closed my eyes as I felt a tightness grow in my stomach with every movement of my hand. The gasps came quickly from the object of my fascination and I imagined myself next to her, touching her between her fine legs and making her feel what I was feeling. I heard a loud gasp and I let out another small whimper as I felt wave after wave of pleasure.

  Then my fingers were covered in my own wetness as my body shook. My eyes opened wide and I looked up to the heavens as my mouth opened wide in panting shock. Pure pleasure overtook my body and I lay there panting almost in time with the woman on the other side of the wall. If I could only make her feel like this I thought.

  I shakily got to my feet and staggered to the water. As I went I stuffed my fingers into my mouth and tasted myself once again thinking of her all the time. My mind sang with the knowledge that she wanted me in some small way and I felt happier than I had in a long time. Now I wanted to explore her, to give her the pleasure I had just experienced.

  Once in the water I changed back as the sun rose and I lay bobbing, my body still at the mercy of my mind. Even the change had not felt so uncomfortable, seemingly coming quicker to my call. I lay with my head on the rock I had chosen to use to spy on my new friend and floated listening to the world, the sea and my heart beat.

  I don’t know how long I was there so lost was I in my mind. I heard the door go and I peeped out in time to see her bend down and pick up the shell I had left for her. Her face, which had been strangely unhappy, turned into a huge smile then and it made me sing with joy inside. I could make her smile when she was unhappy and now I had to gather the confidence to go to her properly.

  She turned to go back indoors and as she did I saw her eyes. She could see me! Dipping my head I went underwater and prayed she had not seen me. I did not want her to think I was spying on her. Instead I swam around the rocks and came up where she could not see me. When she emerged once more from her home she looked happier and I knew I had done that.

  As she walked the beach I followed a little behind and underwater and watched what she did. I wanted to know everything about her so I could make a good impression. I watched as she struggled with wood that washed up on the beach. She seemed so strong, refusing to give in to her struggles and I felt a kinship there for had I refused to give in to my own problems? Still I thought, she shouldn’t have to work that hard. I wondered if I could find wood for her but there were no shipwrecks around to take wood from.

  She also gathered the little shellfish. I had learnt to eat raw fish and I wondered why she did not do likewise. Were we really so different? I could certainly catch fish for her as I was faster than most fish in the sea when I put my mind to it. Or did she need the shellfish for something else? The more I watched her activities the more fascinated I became. There was so much to learn about my new friend.

  I had to be careful though. She seemed to sense she was being watched and every now and then she would stop and look around. When this happened I would duck my head so she would not see me. Still I determined to try and be more careful. I did not want to scare her away from the beach for I may never get another chance like this.

  I spent the next days trying to help the blond woman who had affected me so. When it wasn’t raining I would softly sing her to sleep with songs from my homeland. When I did she always came to the door, sometimes clothed and sometimes not and on those times when she was not clothed I would wait until she went back inside and then touch myself.

  I always imagined it was her that touched me. That she whispered to me that I was not ugly and that I would never be alone again. On those nights I would feel alive and then more desperate than ever to feel her fingers on my skin once more.

  On those calm nights when I would touch myself I would always find something that I knew she would like. It was homage of sorts, an act of worship perhaps. She had become something I knew I had looked for ever since I had been abandoned to the sea. She had become my saviour.

  *****

  I lost track of time as I watched my saviour go about her daily chores. Time became a stream that endlessly stretched out as day and night blended together. Each night I practised using my voice and touched myself to the thought of the light haired woman so very close to me and each day I watched and hunted and found objects that I thought she might like, leaving them as offerings to her beauty.

  This night however brought with it a storm, the first for many days, and it stood out from the normal nights starkly. I had seen very bad storms in the open ocean and this one felt the same, tasted the same on my tongue. There would be no singing tonight, no luring my light haired saviour out for me to touch myself to. Tonight was a night for staying under cover and safe and so I swam to the cave that I had been using for a shelter and made myself comfortable.

  I lay floating in cool sea water amongst those that made their home in such places, my mind wandering. From nowhere I wondered how my fair haired saviour was doing in such a storm and I saw her home in my thoughts. Her home was not sturdy I thought and this was such a fury that it might get damaged. She might get damaged. I felt fear.

  Without thinking I found myself swimming out into the sea and approaching the beach and once outside I could see the full fury of the storm. Lightning arced down and split the seas and the heavens thundered. Rain fell so quickly and so hard that it stung when it hit. It truly was a night to be afraid of.

  And yet all I could think of was her. Was she ok? Was she in trouble? I swam and raced for the closest part of her home. I hit the beach with some force and felt the rain as it pelted me with its anger. It took me a moment to realise I still had my tail and I had to switch and I suffered the storms wrath while I did so. When I had finished changing I shivered with cold. I had rarely felt cold before but now I felt it all over.

  I ran for her door and thumped at it desperate to make sure she was ok. The thunder rolled over head and lightning hit the beach behind the little home. I crouched and banged on the door again before wrapping my arms around myself trying to keep the warmth inside. I was becoming frantic and I prayed she was ok.

  The door opened and there she was my radiant saviour. She said something but I didn’t hear what she said thanks to the thunder. Then she reached down and I felt her hand on my arm pulling me up and into her home. I was inside her small home and I looked around me as she pulled me towards the fire. I saw the small trinkets I had found her, all placed neatly and kept together and I smiled inwardly even through the shivers.