The full moon's light reflected on the river's surface just as it had since time immemorial. Suddenly, close to the water's edge, there came first a ripple, followed by another, and soon, from the centre of the expanding ripple came a swirl of smoke which in turn began to release sudden bursts of popping bubbles, as if the Devil himself had unleashed the fires of hell upon this serene piece of water.
The bubbles of popping water then came to a stop as a shape slowly began to rise from within the water's depths. The shape rose straight out of the water like something on an elevator lift, finally becoming that of a young woman. The young woman – a nubile-looking creature with an admirable slender frame, shoulder-length black hair and unadulterated facial beauty – stood naked upon the water's surface, surveying the darkness that was the riverbank, wanting to make sure there wasn't any sign of human eyes watching her. Feeling satisfied that she was alone, except for the thousands of croaking frogs and hovering mosquitoes, she then strolled over the water, her feet leaving rippled footprints on its surface, till she came and touched earth.
She turned and stared at the spot on the water from whence she had appeared from, a demur look on her face. Her name was Princess Nerfheti, and she was a water goddess. She had promised her mother, the great Water Queen – her mother, her desire to save their kingdom by succeeding to get herself impregnated by a human species. And not just any mere human being, but one with a desirable, clean heart. She had between now and the following morning to accomplish this; if she isn't back by then, she would remain here in this world lost forever, and the world she has always known under the water would then cease to exist. Their sun would shrivel up and all matter of life – her friends, her parents, and virtually every other creature would instantly stop breathing. She wasn't going to let that happen, not if she did what really needs to be done.
She opened her left palm. At first there was nothing there, but a moment later a furry brown substance in the shape of a ball began to take shape till it became physical. Ak-sera, she thought to herself, tonight you and I will accomplish what needs to be done. She closed her palm and opened it again, and this time the brown substance was no longer there. She would summon it next time when she felt ready to use its portion.
Making her way towards land, she pushed tree branches and leaves of tall grasses from her sight as she made her way up the soggy earth. Hordes of mosquitoes and dragonflies seemed to avoid her, as if they already felt an essence of who and what she was and knew quite well that if any one of them even ventured to touch on her skin, it would instantly turn to a spark of dust and become nothing.
It didn't take long before she pushed past the last hovering branches and came upon a lonely stretch of road. Nerfheti stood there for a moment, turning her head first to the left and then the right, wanting to know in which direction she ought to be heading to. It didn't take long – she decided on the right, and started walking.
As she walked, a transformation began to take shape around her. One minute she was as naked as a newborn child with her voluptuous breasts jutting erect in front of her, the next minute, a shimmering brilliance of colourful energy danced and swirled around her body from the crown of her head down to her feet, covering her for a brief moment of a transparent gossamer cocoon. The energy wave didn't last more than a few seconds before it evaporated into the air just as it had appeared, this time leaving her fully clothed, wearing a pair of jeans shorts and a tank shirt covering her upper body with the words TEDDY BEAR emblazoned over her chest, and a pair of high-heeled sandals on her feet.
She must have walked for about ten minutes or thereabouts before there came a circle of headlights and the sound of a vehicle from behind her. She stopped and waited, sticking her right thumb out as the car approached where she was. It came to a slow halt a foot from where she stood. She didn't need to say much before the driver invited her to get in and then the car resumed its journey. The owner of the vehicle, a bulbous and untidy-looking man in his fifties, did try to make an attempt on her, but she easily smacked his hand off her lap, giving him the excuse that she wasn't 'safe'. It was more than enough to take the fun out of his face and for him to keep his hands to the steering wheel.
Less than two miles later, they passed a large signboard that announced: Cape City Ahead – Next Exit.
****
The vehicle owner dropped her in the middle of De-Rocha Square. She got off, thanked him for the lift, and went in search of a lone taxi. Already she had a map of the city's layout in her head, so she knew where she had to go. The Moonlight Club was what she told the taxi driver when she eventually found one. He noted the clock on his dashboard announced the time as 9:34 P.M. With any luck, she would come across a desirable mate by the next hour; she most certainly was dressed to impress.
The city's traffic is mild usually during this time of the day, on account that most people were already in their homes by now or had arrived at whichever impeding destination they were heading to, thus less than ten minutes later, her taxi had arrived at the gates of the Moonlight Club. There were a cluster of street girls hanging around the parking lot, sporting their wears to the incoming clientèle, or whoever would be willing to have them for the night. Most of them didn't have enough money to pay the club's gate fee entrance, thus they'd begun their hustling bid in earnest, hopping to snag any man around who would invite them inside for even a drink. Nerfheti didn't have such misfortune as she took out a wad of notes from her pocket and slipped them into the gate man's awaiting hand while he then made way for her to pass through.
The club was in full swing: there was a live band on the stage, playing local Fuji music, while all around the tables were virtually all occupied by the clientele for the night. Nerfheti stood by a corner and scanned the numerous male faces, trying to decipher which one she felt was edible for her choice. Already she could pick out several, but it was unfortunate that they all seemed to be occupied with their ladies sitting beside them. The last thing she wanted to do was leave here in a scene.
She approached the bar section, deciding best to wait till her man – whoever he was – came around. Her only fear was that he wouldn't take too long to show, or else she'd have no other choice but to resort to more desperate measures. She got a few stares and lingering glances as she placed her rump on one of the barstool. She fished out a pack of Menthol from her jeans pocket (like the money before, it hadn't been there until she dipped her hand into her pocket, summoning in her mind the image of what she wanted to bring out), and took out a cigarette from it. Inserting it between her lips, she was about requesting a lighter from the bartender when from her right came a sudden flare of a matches as a hand drew it towards the tip of her cigarette. She paused for a moment to look at the smiling features of the man who had just lit the match before inching her cigarette to it's burning flame. An instant was all it took for her to obtain the required insight she needed concerning her stranger, and it brought a ready smile to her face. Here was the man whom she had been expecting to find.
He appeared to be in his early thirties, wearing a jacket with a loose shirt inside – like someone who'd just stepped out of the office for a breathe of fresh air – tall and broad shouldered, a handsome face carrying what could only be a two-day stubble of beard around his chin. But what really captured Nerfheti's attention was the fact that he bore no signs of a wedding ring on his finger, nor was there any hovering female beside him. He was here alone, just like she was.
"Thank you," she said to him, after taking a drag on her cigarette while the man blew out the flame from the match.
"My pleasure. I am Daniel, by the way," he extended his hand and shook hers. Nerfheti introduced herself to him as well.
