Despite Nikki insisting several times that she was fine, Elena was convinced that Nikki had a concussion and it was only after a tiring barrage of questions about what seemed like everything under the sun that Elena seemed convinced that Nikki was in a healthy mental state.
Even so, Elena insisted that she take care of everything, and so Nikki sat on one of the lawn folding chairs they had brought with them, deep in thought as Elena set up the tent, built the campfire and now was sharpening roasting sticks for the both of them. She had told Elena of her painful cramp that had almost caused to her drown, but altered the part of how she got back to the beach, making it sound like she had swam back to the shore and passed out. Elena had believed it all. That had been the easy part.
The hard part was Nikki coming to terms with what had actually happened. She swore that there had been aâŠwoman? That had rescued her and brought her to shore. She remembered vaguely hands on her, and when she had opened her eyes she had seen a woman with blue skin and the most violet eyes she had ever seen. But there couldnât just be a blue skinned woman just wandering around the lake, could there? Of course she couldnât tell Elena about this bizzare event, Elena would probably freak out and take her straight to the emergency room. She wouldnât have believed herself if she hadnât seen it with her own eyes.
As she munched half-heartedly on a hot dog that Elena had cooked for her, she decided that she needed to know if the blue skinned woman was real, that she hadnât been a hallucination from her near death experience.
It was nearly two before she could coax a very drunk Elena into the tent, the woman had been keen on regaling Nikki with several tales of events that happened back when she was in high school. While they were hilarious, Nikki was eager to get rid of Elena. It was as if the lake was calling to her, wanting her to know of its secrets.
Amarisaâs instincts told her to swim away, to get as far away from the lake as she could. She was certain the human had seen her. But after the sunset the darkness emboldened her and her curiosity drew her back to the shore. She had never seen a female human before, the brief times she had glimpsed a human being they had all been male, and their raucous laughter had kept her far away. She wanted to see the human female again; she was intrigued by the femaleâs anatomy which seemed so similar to hers.
This is stupid, Nikki thought to herself as she clutched a just-roasted hot dog in her hand, complete with bun and dressed with ketchup and mustard. She wasnât even sure if the mermaid, yes, she had decided the creature she saw was a mermaid, maybe couldnât even eat human food, but she felt like she need to do something for her rescuer. If there had even been a rescuer at all. Now she stood on the shore, waiting.
Even if the creature had been a figment of her imagination, the scenery was worth stay up for. The full moon had never looked so clear, shining down at its counterpart in the lake, and the sky shone with stars like a sprinkling of diamonds in the sky. Every once in a while, a shooting star would streak across an area, so fast that it was like it had not been there at all. She sat down on a boulder, admiring the night view, something that she could never see in the city thanks to light pollution. She took a glance back at the lake and then froze. There was a very distinct shape in the lake a few meters away, the shape of a head.
âYouâre real.â She whispered quietly, staying completely still, almost as if she was watching an animal and the slightest movement would cause the mermaid to leave. She stayed still for a full minute and was rewarded with the head moving closer to the shore, soon the mermaidâs shoulders and chest emerged from the water as she walked? along the lake bed, moving closer and closer to Nikki, whose heart was beating so hard she felt like she was going to have a heart attack.
The mermaid was almost the exact color of the lake, a turquoise color all over except for the mermaidâs aerolas which were a darker color, and her hair, which was a lighter blue. She couldnât help staring at the mermaidâs breasts, which bounced gently as she walked towards her. Soon the mermaid was stepping onto the shore, and her entire body was exposed. Nikkiâs eyes took this sight in hungrily, having never seen anything like this mermaid before. Well defined shoulders led down to those mesmerizing breasts and then a muscular stomach, which Nikki saw did not have a belly button. Her eyes flickered over the area between the mermaidâs legs, seeing that the area was bare there. She looked down, marvelling at the webbed feet before she looked up at the mermaidâs face again.
âHello.â She said, not knowing how to begin. âYou saved my life earlier today, didnât you?â The mermaid looked at her silently. âWell umâŠâ She felt flustered now. âThank you.â The mermaid looked over at her for a second, almost hesitant, then she emitted a low whine, it was like no sound Nikki had ever heard before.
She was certain that this human was the one from before, but the coloring of the humanâs skin was different now, baggier with different colors and to her disappointment the soft supple breasts were nowhere to be seen. She didnât like the new version of the human as much, but she was still curious. The human was emitting some kind of sound but she couldnât understand it. It annoyed her, her first contact with a human and she couldnât control the situation. She let a whine, frustrated. Then she spotted the object in the humanâs hand. Sniffing it, she identified it as food and took a step forward. âDo you want this?â She looked over at the hand reaching out to offer her the food. Cautiously she took it, taking a bite. It was like an explosion of flavour in her mouth, she had never tasted anything like it. She rolled the morsel around in her mouth, savouring it. She couldnât help but let a happy grunt. âYou like it, huh?â She couldnât understand the sounds the human was making but they sounded good to her ears. She finished the food in two more bites, licking her fingers to get all of the liquid.
Nikki watched the mermaid devour the hot dog with enthusiasm, not believing her eyes. Maybe this was the first time any human ever saw a mermaid before, this could be a scientific discovery of some sort. Now that the mermaid had finished eating the hot dog, she saw the mermaid look at her, thinking. The mermaid took another step forward, and then, so did Nikki, the two women quickly closing the remaining gap between them.
The mermaid was the first to reach out slowly to touch Nikkiâs sweater, letting out what sounded like a confused gurgle. She tugged at Nikkiâs sweater, her short claws snagging on the fabric. With a short laugh Nikki untangled the claws, feeling more at ease with the situation now. âOhâŠyouâre confused by my clothes?â It didnât make sense for the mermaid to be naked while she was dressed, and then after a spur of the moment decision so she slipped out of her sweater, then her shirt, and then unhooked her bra. She dropped her pants and then her underwear too when the mermaid seemed to perk up. She stood there holding her clothes, feeling slightly exposed.