On a dark, foggy night a fisherman woke with a jolt. He wasn't supposed to be out on the water, but in a rather uncharacteristic turn, he had fallen asleep as his boat gently dragged two small nets behind it. As he frantically started to drag his nets into the small vessel he couldn't know the enormity of what was to happen to him, for that particular foggy night was a very special one indeed.
The water around him lit up with a spectacular display of colour, the fog doing little to hide the show from someone in the midst of the revelry. Thomas, having pulled his nets aboard and finding them despairingly empty, caught his breath as a dart of colour seemed to brush up against the boat. Being able to see very little in the dark and the fog, he carefully leaned down to the deck of his boat and made his way to the side, peering into the churning water. His boat was being rocked violently side to side, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. He had lived his life on one form of ship or another and the unpredictable bucking was only a minor annoyance, not nearly enough to distract him from what he could see just below the surface. A luminescent fin broke the surface and splashed water all over his already damp clothes. He scrambled backwards in shock before resuming his position near the side. Another fin passed beyond his view. There looked to be dozens of the creatures. And they were creatures indeed, not fish or sharks or even dolphins. These creatures were long and lithe, supple and delicate and unlike any creature he had come across in his twenty-five years.
Something bumped forcefully up against the boat and everything seemed to stop. The lights froze in place and slowly disappeared into the inky darkness of the water. A few minutes passed before one of the creatures returned. Thomas felt its approach rather than saw. After thirty long seconds, a glimmering fin came into view, lit up in brilliant shades of green and gold that seemed to swirl over the surface of the creature. It swam around the boat several times before making contact. The fin disappeared under the vessel and he strained forwards, anxious of another look at the creature. As he watched the water, he almost missed the shimmering gold arm that crept up the side of the boat, latching on to the edge of the ship and gripping as another arm joined. A head followed, moving slowly out of the water. He gasped as he caught his first real look at a mermaid. A creature he had only ever heard about in those distant and faded stories told by a mother that had long since left.
Silken gold poured from her head, a few shades darker than her shimmering skin. Her entire being radiated a soft glow and her eyes captivated him. Dark pools of the purest blue, they pulled him into their depths and held him there.
The mermaid smiled, revealing dainty teeth and a soft pink tongue. Thomas couldn't help himself; he just had to touch that soft-looking skin. Reaching out a hand, he ran a finger down her sharp cheekbone. She shuddered into the touch, one of her hands reaching up to cradle his arm. The feeling of sharp nails and wet, webbed fingers gave him a moment's pause, but everything about the mermaid was so beautiful, so all-encompassing that the faint jolt of alien-ness was quickly eased.
His eyes eased down, as any hot-blooded young male was wont to do, and latched onto the mounds of her breasts. The golden flesh was barely covered by her golden tresses. They were exactly as he liked them on a woman. Just big enough to hold and to confirm that she was most definitely a woman. He caught himself staring and a blush worked its way up his neck. The mermaid did not seem too concerned by this however and her smile grew wider.
