"Mermaid Story" by C. L. Corbin

The sailor stood at the bow of his small boat, looking over the sea. Every time he went sailing, he did this- savoring the salty sent of the foam that crashed against the waves, the squeaky cry of the dolphins that swam alongside him.

He then saw that his boat was nearing a small cluster of rocks, each no longer than five feet wide, but still possibly dangerous if he ran into them. He started to turn the boat away but then noticed a figure on the largest of the rocks. He moved closer and saw a small woman. But—wait—she had fins instead of a tail!

The sailor watched the mermaid, entranced. He had never seen anything like her before. She sat on a rock only feet away from his boat, combing her hair with a delicate mother-of-pearl comb.

She was the most stunning thing he had every seen. She had creamy white skin that had a hint of blue in it, and her long blonde-green hair hung in ringlets down her back. She wore a tunic woven out of a beautiful shimmering material that matched the color of the scales on her tail. And oh, her tail! It was light blue, the color of the sea, and had two delicate lacy fins at its end. It shined in the light as she sat there, looking him over.

Neither said anything and neither moved- except for the mermaid’s arms, combing her hair. Suddenly, the mermaid started to sing.

Her voice was smooth, like honey, and her song had no words- it was just notes, up and down the scale, melding together into one long tune that made the sailor’s thoughts stop- all he could think, feel and hear was the song. He stared climbing down off the boat, unable to control what he was doing. He splashed into the water and swam over to the rock the mermaid was on.

The mermaid stared at the sailor, and then she set her comb down and slowly held out her hand in the sailor’s direction. Her hand was thin and finely shaped, with long fingers and a thin flap of webbing between each one. The sailor set his hand on top of hers. Her song then stopped, and she held onto him tightly.

Before the sailor knew what was happening, the mermaid had slid off the rock and underwater, taking him with her. She had a strong grip on his hand and wouldn’t let go. His eyes stung from the saltwater as he tried to free himself from her grip, but he found he couldn’t. All he could do was hope she would let go of him.

Suddenly, the mermaid stopped looking so beautiful. In fact, she looked frightening. Her long hair was now wild, her eyes had narrowed into determined slits as she swam steadily downward, and her long tail was now beating the water with frightening strength and force. The sailor’s lungs were on fire. He knew he couldn’t survive much longer.

He tried to struggle, to get away while he could. He was a strong young man- he should be able to get his hand away from a little mermaid! But he couldn’t.

A few seconds later, the sailor blacked out. Still, the mermaid didn’t stop swimming. On and on she went, into the depths of the sea, until she was no more than a silver speck in a universe of blue, swimming on and on and on, her prize’s hand still held tight in hers.