Ty stood there, feeling the lap of cold sea water against his waist. Staring down at his male body, he still found it hard to believe he was meant to be something else. Yet, it did make some sense. He had always had a guilty obsession with mermaids, their beauty, their freedom. Thinking back to his secret collection of mermaid books and figurines stashed deep under his bed, he began to see them in a new light. Could it be that his subconscious was simply acknowledging his true nature? Well, no doubt he would be finding out any second now. Any second.
“Um, now what?”
His mother laughed softly. “Just do what comes naturally, dear. Inside you is the key to releasing your mermaid self. Concentrate. Do you feel it?”
Ty closed his eyes. He had no idea what to look for, but he tried to focus. To his surprise, he actually did feel something. A warm network of energy spread out from his lower abdomen, covering his insides like a second skin. “Wow! Is…Is that it? It’s all over me!”
“Yes,” his mother nodded sadly. “I had to make the spell quite extensive to hold in your potential. Brace yourself. This may get rather uncomfortable.”
As Ty studied the phenomenon, the spell seemed to react to his scrutiny. Like an old spider’s web when touched, it began to unravel only to leave behind an incredible burning sensation. “Gah! Hot!”
Writhing in agony, he sank up to his chin in the ocean, unaware of a swirling in the waves about him. Around and around, the waters created a whirlpool with the changing boy at its center.
It was at this time that Dustin made his appearance, jumping into the churning currents and bounding towards Ty. On the shore, the mermaid shouted out a warning, but he ignored her. Drawing nearer to the drowning Ty, he noticed that the other boy looked different somehow. Though it was difficult to tell in all the chaos, his hair seemed longer, his flailing arms thinner, and his face…prettier? Dustin’s observations cut short as the whirlpool swept him off his feet and ended his ill-planned rescue attempt. Soon, two figures were thrashing about in the sea.
In addition, Dustin also felt the same burning that Ty did, as if he had just dunked himself in a vat of acid. The pain made him panic and lose all control. Was he really going to burn up surrounded by water!?
Then, long, gentle arms enclosed him, dragging him away towards the shore and away from impending death. With blurry eyes, Dustin turned his head to see long shimmering hair and a gleaming fish tail. The mermaid! Darkness quickly closed in, and he passed out.
---------------
All at once, Ty’s pain faded away. Barely conscious, he floated in the water for a while like an embryo waiting to be born. Slowly, he cracked open his eyes and looked around him. Light played over the sand, and the rippling surface of the water glowed above him. Wait, above? He was underwater! And breathing! Did that mean…
Lifting a hand, he eyed the slender fingers and smooth complexion. Lowering his gaze, he found himself staring at two lovely breasts poking out from a feminine chest, wrapped in a pearly shell bra. Beyond them, a thin waist and cutely rounded hips further marked him as no longer a he. More importantly, his legs had been replaced by a long, tapering tail covered in tiny scales and ending in a wide translucent caudal fin. “I’m a mermaid!” He, now she, gasped in a lilting, musical voice that echoed clearly in the water.
“Yes, my daughter, you are,” a similar voice answered from behind her.
Turning around, Ty saw her mother hovering there, beaming with pride and happiness. Giving Ty a hug, she sighed, “It has been far too long, little one, but now, you are home again. Welcome to your destiny.”
Ty held her close, her own joy welling up inside. This was right. Everything within her knew that this was how things were meant to be.
When the hug ended, Alissa backed up, her face now a bit more serious. “There is one unexpected complication, however. Come, you must see this.”
With a flick of her tail, the mermaid swam towards the shore. Instinctively, Ty did likewise and glided after her. The water rapidly grew shallow around them until they drew themselves up onto the sand. For the first time, Ty felt long wet hair plastering her back as gravity once more took effect on her, and she maneuvered herself into at sitting position next to her mother.
Suddenly, she noticed the delicate figure lying on the beach beyond Alissa. It was another mermaid, young like herself, with deep auburn hair and a lovely face relaxed in sleep. Her perky shell-covered breasts rose and fell with each breath, and she lay perfectly still even as the occasional wave washed over her aqua-colored tail.
“Who’s that?” Ty asked.
“Hm, I’m not sure,” Alissa admitted. “She was once human, though. And male.”
“A boy!? What happened to him?”
“He must have discovered us and thought you were drowning. When he jumped into the water to save you, he was affected by the same spell that released your mermaid self. It would seem that the same happened to him.”
“So, he was also a mermaid like me?”
Alissa shook her head. “I’m not sure. Nothing like this has ever happened before. To be honest, much about humans remains a mystery to us.”
“Well, can we change him back?”
“That is for us to determine later. For now, we must return to our own world. Lemuria needs its princess, and the Queen has waited far too long to see her granddaughter.” Alissa gently lifted the unconscious mermaid into her arms. “We will take her with us and figure this out.”
"What about her family? Won't they miss her?"
"That is sadly unavoidable, but perhaps this can buy us a little time." Alissa gestured in the air, a flicker of light playing over her fingertips. "There. Now, let us go."
At once, a glowing circle appeared in the water. Bracing herself, Ty followed her mother into a new world too meet her true family, and her true destiny.