Mermaid’s Lust

[Nina’s Perspective]

I fell asleep next to my prince after hopelessly shouting for hours. 

“Good morning, my prince.” I said as I looked at him again. He was unconscious but it was a good thing that he was still breathing. 

I need him to be alive. He is the only one who can save me from having this fish tail. 

I angrily flicked my tail and looked down as soon as I said those words but I was shocked to see my legs back to normal. I could not believe what I was seeing. I haven’t had my true love’s kiss yet but my legs are back. I screamed happily because my beautiful long legs are back. I was so excited to the point that I ran around the seashore.  My voice was also back to normal because it slightly changed when I became a mermaid. 

“I’m okay! I’m finally okay!” I thought to myself. 

I danced happily for a couple more times before I realized that I was missing something. As the sea breeze brushed against my skin, I instantly felt cold. Now that my fish tail is gone, I became naked down there. 

I urgently looked for a big leaf that I could use to cover my body. As I was looking for something to hide my lady part, I heard a loud scream from a group of people. 

“Nina! Kevin!” I heard people simultaneously say. 

It took me a while before I realized who they were. I jumped up from excitement. They are a group of rescuers. 

“Nina! Kevin!” I heard them scream again. 

I could not shout back because I was practically half naked. Their voices get louder and louder as they approach our location. 

“Nina! Kevin!” They shouted again. 

They are coming closer and closer to our location yet I still have nothing to cover my lady parts. I started to panic again. I did not know what to do. If I don’t let them know that we are here, we might be stranded here for days. 

“We are here!” I finally decided to shout. 

“Nina?” I heard a familiar voice say. 

“Andy we are here near the shore!” I shouted again. 

I could not let Andy see me this way. He might think that something happened between me and Kevin. I looked around to find a place where I could hide. I scanned the area and saw a big rock in the middle of the sea, just a couple of meters from the shore. I quickly ran there to hide.

A few moments later, I saw Andy come out of the tropical forest with a group of coast guard personnel and some medics. They first saw Kevin lying on the sand helplessly so they gave attention to him first. They replaced the improvised bandages that I did before carrying him in a stretcher and walking away. 

“Where is the girl” One of the personnel asked Andy. 

“I don’t know, but she is definitely here. She was the one who shouted back at us a while ago.” Andy said with full determination. 

“Okay let’s split up then. I will look for her around here. You go look for her the other way” Another man suggested. 

“Okay.” Andy replied. 

“If you find her, call us right away, okay?” 

“Yes, okay.” Andy replied again. 

As soon as the coast guard personnel were far from Andy. I tried to call his attention. 

“Pst!” 

“Pst!”

“Pst!” 

I tried three times but he could not hear me. At that moment, I decided to pick some stones under water and throw them towards him. 

“Pst!” I said again while throwing a rock. 

Finally, Andy noticed the sound the rock created when it hit the water. I waved at him hysterically.

“Nina?”

“Andy!” 

He quickly approached me. When I heard that he was near, I crouched down so that my lower body was submerged underwater. 

“Nina! Thank God you are safe” He tried to hug me but I stopped him. 

He looked at me with puzzled eyes. I then slowly stretched my legs so he could see them underwater. His expression immediately changed from being puzzled to being happy. 

“Your legs are back to normal!” He excitedly said. 

“Yeah they have. But I have a problem…” I said in a soft voice. 

“Problem? What is it?” Andy asked with concern. 

“Half of my body is naked Andy.” I said and looked at him awkwardly. 

He was only wearing a coat, a shirt and a pair of shorts. 

“Can you lend me your coat?” I asked shyly. 

He immediately gave me his coat and turned around to give me some privacy. I tried it on but it was too short to cover my pearls down there.

“It’s too short. It can’t cover my legs.” I said helplessly. 

Without saying another word, he removed his shorts and gave them to me. 

“Wear this too, then.” He said to me while handling his shorts and still looking away. 

I grabbed his shorts and wore them immediately. 

“Okay you can look now.” I said. 

After I said that, he immediately hugged me and I heard him give out a sigh of relief. 

“I am really happy to see you safe.” He said. 

“Thank you for saving me again.” I replied. 

“Let’s go? I’ll tell them I already found you.” Andy said. 

“Wait, will you be okay?” I asked out of concern. 

He was only wearing boxer shorts now. 

“Uh… yeah. They brought towels anyway. I can just get one once we get back on the rescue boat” He said partly confident and partly ashamed. 

I gave him a small smile and mentally thanked him. It was a good thing I had a friend like him because I don’t think that other people can do the same thing he does for me. 

We walked towards the rescue boat silently but Andy cleared the way for me. He shoved off some twigs and branches that might hurt me. He also pushed some big plants out of the way. 

Upon arriving at the boat, I immediately went to see my prince being treated. I felt a sense of relief when I knew he was okay. After that, the boat then sped off towards the port of Garin so we could all go home after everything that happened. 

When we arrived at the port, an ambulance was already waiting for Kevin. The coast guard personnel quickly transferred him there and sped off to the nearest local hospital. 

After that, Andy and I quietly went home too. 

“Do you still need company Nina?” Andy asked before parting ways with me. 

“Uh… Nope. I think I’ll be fine. I got my feet back after all.” I replied with a wide smile.

“Okay then. See you when I see you Nina!” Andy said happily. 

After that, we both went home to rest after this long and tiring day. 

The next day, I woke up from the sound of my notifications. A lot of people were messaging me on my social media accounts. I got flustered with all the messages I was receiving but I patiently opened them one by one. 

“Good day Ms. Nina! We are from SBS news. We would like to invite you for an interview regarding Mr. Kevin. It has come to our attention that you are the one who saved him at sea so we would like to cover your story. We will wait for your response. Thank you.” One message said.

“Greeting Ms. Nina! Your heroic act at sea is truly inspiring and we would like to cover your story. We are from TVN international. Please reply with your available day and time if you are interested. Regards, TVN international staff.” The other said. 

“OMG! Ms. Nina! I admire your courage!” A random person said. 

“I think she saved DJ Kevin to gain popularity. She is a fake.” I hater commented. 

I got confused with all the messages I was reading. Who told the press that I was the one who saved him? 

I immediately searched for the trending news on my cell phone. I read the article titles one by one again. 

“DJ Kevin saved by a courageous woman”

“DJ Kevin and Pilot were saved from sea” 

“Wonder Woman in real life? Who saved DJ Kevin and his pilot?” 

Things started to settle in my mind. I am getting all these messages because apparently I am on the news for saving DJ Kevin. 

After pondering upon whether to do the interview or not, I decided to do it. I messaged one of the TV stations that wanted to do the interview with me. 

“Thank you for response Ms. Nina. We will expect you tomorrow morning, 10 A. M. here at our building. We look forward to our interview with you.” The TV station messaged me back. 

I was excited for the interview so I called Andy and Kathy. After I broke the news to them and a little bit of catching up, we ended the call. 

The next day, I woke up early to prepare for the interview. I picked out my best dress to impress the crowd, I would be on TV after all. When I was done picking my dress, I proceeded to take a bath and do my make-up. After I was done with fixing myself, I got my keys and drove off to the TV station. 

Upon arriving, most of the staff immediately helped me with my mic and quickly briefed me on what to do. I also met the anchor and had a little chit-chat with her before we went live. All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

“Okay! 3, 2, 1 Action!” The director said and the cameras started rolling. 

“Good morning everyone! This is TVN news and here are our headlines for today!” The news anchor introduced and then a quick pre-recorded video of the news.

They first finished all the other news before airing the one where I am involved. 

“Now for our celebrity news. Yesterday, DJ Kevin and his crew suffered a devastating accident. The plane of him and his crew crashed at sea. This happened around 7 in the morning. Now, what happened to the search and rescue operations? How were they saved? Why is the media telling that a brave woman saved DJ Kevin? To know what happened more clearly, we have Ms. Mina, here with us today to tell us her story.”

The anchor mispronounced my name. 

“Oh. It’s Nina by the way.” I corrected the anchor and then said hi to the viewers. 

“I’m sorry for that Ms. Nina. So can you tell us what happened yesterday?” the news anchor asked. 

“So, yesterday, my friend and I were on our way to Pulgy Island to find someone. Unfortunately, upon arriving at the port of Garin, the fisherfolks told us that we can’t go to the island because an accident happened” 

“Oh, so that’s what happened. After that what did you do next?” the anchor asked again. 

“We asked who was in the accident and the folks said it was a celebrity.”

“After telling you that it was a celebrity, what did you say next?” The anchor kept the conversation engaging. 

“Naturally, I asked who that celebrity was. And then they told me it was DJ Kevin.”

“When you knew it was the famous DJ Kevin, what did you do next?”

“Actually, I quickly told the search and rescue team that I would like to join the search. I happened to know DJ Kevin because he was the DJ on my 18th birthday just a couple of days back” I partly lied and told the truth at the same time. 

I couldn’t tell them that I turned into a mermaid and I needed true love’s kiss to break the curse. 

“Oh so you already knew DJ Kevin before everything happened. That’s interesting.”

“Yes, it actually is.”

“So after that? What did you do next?”

“My friend and I borrowed a boat and sailed at sea. We first found the pilot and he was unconscious so I told my friend to get the pilot treated first while I looked for DJ Kevin.” I lied again.

“If you and your friend parted ways? Then how did you survive at sea?”

“I swam. I am a pretty good swimmer and I know the island somehow so I knew where to go.”

“Know the island? How so?” The anchor asked again.

“Ah! It’s because my family owns Pulgy Island. My father bought it for me for my birthday.”

“Wow. That’s incredible.” The anchor exclaimed.

“Okay. Now let us go back to the part where you already found DJ Kevin.”

“So, when I found him, he was actually lying on his stomach. When I turned him around, that’s when I saw his injuries. The tidal waves were strong so he probably got hurt with one of the coral reefs around the island.” I continued the story. 

“I was told that when you saw the injuries, you quickly bandaged them. The doctors even said that if you did not do that, he would not have survived. That is why they call you a hero.” The anchor mentioned. 

“I think being called a hero is too much. I believe that anyone in position would do the same if they are faced with that kind of situation. But, I sincerely appreciate everyone who thinks I am a hero.” I politely said and smiled. 

“Wow, you are even humble.” The anchor commented. 

I laughed. 

“Oh thank you.” I said again.

“Alright folks! That’s it for today. Again, we thank Ms. Nina for lending us a few minutes of her time to share her wonderful story.” She paused for a while and then continued. 

“This is your loyal TVN anchor saying, have a wonderful day ahead.” She said as closing remarks and then smiled. 

“Cut!” We heard the director say. 

“Okay guys! That was a good live session. Thank you for your cooperation.” He addressed everyone on set. 

The anchor and I moved away from the set to have our mics removed. We had a little chat again before we bid our goodbyes. Before leaving, the director also thanked me for coming and participating in their show. I just smiled at him and thanked him too for inviting me.

After all that, I decided to go home right away. 

When I got home, I was surprised to see Andy and Kathy sitting comfortably on our couch. 

“Hey guys! What a surprise!” 

“Hey babe! We really wanted to do this for you. Your housekeeper let us in” Kathy said.

“So? Start talking!” Andy said. 

I told them the story of what happened on set and how the staff treated me. Later on, we opened the TV to watch the delayed broadcast. While watching, Kathy and Andy constantly teased me for looking a little fat on TV. 

“OMG girl! You are now popular on social media! Look, hashtag HeroGirl is trending” Kathy looked at the information in her mobile phone.

“Yes! You are very popular now, and your followers have increased by more than 5, 000 in just a day” Andy echoed.

I quickly snatched Andy’s phone and looked at it in surprise

“Is this true? This cannot be real.” I said in disbelief 

“Well it is, so suck it up.” Andy said.

“I’m famous!” I suddenly shouted out loud. 

Both Kathy and Andy covered their ears because my voice was too loud but we all ended up laughing together. 

To be honest, I enjoyed the feeling of being recognized as someone who did a good deed. 

Moments later, Kathy asked again. 

“By the way, why did both of you want to go back to Pulgy Island?” 

Andy and I started looking at each other awkwardly. We haven’t really talked about how to answer that question. 

“We just wanted to leave the city temporarily and it was the closest place to go” I said. 

“Yeah. We really did not plan it at all. It was just an impulsive decision.”

Kathy’s eyes showed a hint of disappointment.

“I hope you can have me on your next trip. You know that you can take me with you anytime. Andy, you know that I will come right away when you send a text message right?” Kathy said. 

After that, she threw a wink at Andy, and Andy turned to look at me awkwardly.

They were teasing each other again. I guess bickering is a part of their love language. I stood up and turned to leave but I suddenly wanted to do something with them. 

“Can you stop fighting? Why don’t we all go shopping?” I suggested.

Kathy jumped off the sofa happily. Kathy immediately thought about what clothes to buy and then went to the toilet to go get ready. 

Meanwhile, Andy said that he wanted to contact a photography company for his internship, so he didn’t go with us. 

At the mall, we have only been here for 30 minutes but Kathy was already carrying five to six bags of clothes, bags and jewelry. I haven’t even bought anything yet. 

We kept on walking around the mall and she kept complaining about how heavy her shopping bags were. 

“Why don’t you leave them at the baggage counter first? I suggested. 

“Hey! That’s a good idea.” Kathy smiled.

“Let’s go to the second floor. The baggage counter is located there.” Kathy quickly pulled me towards the escalator. 

After getting off the escalator, Kathy suddenly laughed at me. 

I looked at her confused.

“Why are you laughing?” I asked.

Kathy then looked at me from head to toe

“Are you tanned? Your face and legs are totally different in color.” She said while laughing. 

I looked at Kathy a little angrily.

“I know why…it’s because I wasn’t there to help you apply the sunscreen right?” Kathy said jokingly. 

I smiled at her remark.

“Anyway, I was just shocked with the color difference. But you are still pretty.” She added to say. 

After leaving her shopping bags at the baggage counter, we went to a pretty shop. They were selling shorts, miniskirts, loose pants, dresses and tank tops which are great for summer. 

I carefully looked around the shop until I found something I like. I quickly grabbed it and went inside the changing booth. I changed my clothes right away to check if the skirt fits. After I zipped it up, I looked in the mirror and I was satisfied with the way it looked on me. 

I decided that I will take this skirt with me. While taking off the skirt, I suddenly froze. I saw some fish scales starting to appear on my legs again. I panicked. I know that Kathy is just right outside. 

I stayed inside the changing booth for quite some time until I heard Kathy knock. 

“Nina? Are you done?” She asked.

“No not yet. I am still trying on a lot of outfits.” I lied. 

“Hurry up! It’s already five o’ clock. I’m hungry.” She whined. 

“Why don’t you head first to the restaurant? I will follow you shortly.” I suggested, so that she could go. 

“Okay then! Should I order for you?” 

“No. It’s okay. I will order one myself when I get there.” 

“Okay. See you there!” Kathy excitedly said.

As soon as I heard her steps faltering, I opened the door of the changing booth and peeked outside. When Kathy was nowhere to be found, I quickly grabbed the skirt I tried on and grabbed a tank top and a loose pant and paid everything at the counter. 

After paying, I went back to the changing booth to change into the tank top and loose pants. I need to hide the scales that were visible. I can’t go roaming around the mall in a dress where people could see the scales. 

While I was changing, I noticed that the scales were appearing faster and faster. I quickly ran to the nearest exit until I reached the parking lot. I was desperately looking for a place to hide where nobody could see me because I might turn into a mermaid any moment now. 

I went inside the parking lot’s comfort room. A few people only use this comfort room because it is too far from the main floors of the mall. I locked myself in one of the cubicles and I placed the cover of the toilet seat down so that I could sit on top of it. A little later, as soon as I sat down, my legs turned into a fish tail again. 

My mind stopped working for a moment. I did not know how to get out of the mall. I don’t even have anything to cover my tail. I was getting frustrated so I cried hard. 

After a while, I decided to call Andy again. After all, he is the only one who knows that I am a mermaid. 

He picked up the phone after three rings. 

“Hey, what’s up?” He asked. 

After he said those words, I hastily explained my situation and told him that I needed his help while crying. 

“Stop crying okay? I will get you there. Just wait for me” Andy said to soothe me before ending the call. 

I know I am a little selfish right now because I called Andy away from an important internship but I really needed his help. 

A few minutes later.

“Nina?” A familiar voice asked. 

“I’m here. Third cubicle from the door.” 

Andy gently knocked and I opened the door. He gave me a blanket to cover myself before he leaned in to carry me. He quickly placed me in his car and drove off.  

When we got home, Andy carried me again from the first floor to the second floor. While he was at it, he kept complaining that I was too heavy, teasing me every time he took a step forward.  Since I did not want to lose, I said that I wasn’t heavy, he was just too weak. 

After I said those words, he pretended to throw me down the stairs so I hung on to him tightly while both of us laughed at our silliness.