You looked at Clia, wondering if leaving her was truly a good idea. Looking at her eyes, they looked to be full of heartbreak and mourning. She had been waiting for someone like you for ages, yet you turned her down to return to the familiar life on land.
You wonder of the things you would miss should you embrace a life below the surface of the sea. The fast-food, your regular morning espresso, and drinking beer with the boys on weekends. These were all the things you enjoyed on land yet…
Were these things worth more than being with someone who loves you?
It was then that you finally made up your mind and took one small step towards Clia.
The mermaid gasps softly as she saw you take another step towards her, and another step, and another…
It didn’t take long until you found yourself walking towards Clia again. A tearful smile appears on her face as she embraces you once you were right in front of her again.
You returned the hug and whispered in her ear. “I’m so sorry, Clia. I never meant to hurt you like that. I was just clingy to the material things of the land that I never realized what it meant to live with someone caring like you. If choosing this rock would cause us to be separated, then I’m not going to be living on land anymore. Here, I’ll prove it to you right now.”
Clia let go of her hug and her eyes widened at what you did next.
You took your chosen rock and tossed it right in front of the line of rocks that brought you here with Clia in the first place.
The rock shattered into a million pieces and its shards get taken away by the sea.
You turned her head and looked at Clia, her eyes meeting yours. Her eyes sparkled as Clia could feel her heart beating. All of those years spent waiting for you, and now she had seen you returning her feelings by throwing your human life away to the ocean.
Clia looks up to you and smiles, saying, "A choice between water or earth. A starfish is of the water. The rock is of the earth. You rejected the life of a mortal and the life of the earth. Meaning that you chose to have a life of the waves - with us." She holds the starfish out to you for a moment and you took it.
Clia smiles.
"I know it will be a great change from your life on land but I hoped you would choose to stay. I'm so happy you did this. Please, be my mate." She reaches out and takes your hand that holds the starfish and gently guides it over your heart.
"This is not an ordinary starfish; it is magical. It will create a deep bond between you and me and transform you into one of us."
You smile and nod. She gently presses the starfish against your skin. You take your eyes off her for a moment to watch as the starfish melts into your skin, leaving behind a starfish tattoo.
Then you begin to feel the changes...
You felt your legs start to spasm and shiver under the water. You wonder what's happening and, as you look down, you see your legs pull together and go scaly.
Your mind questioned how you can see this transformation so clearly because your legs are underwater and your head isn't. After all, you were only waist-deep into the water, meaning you shouldn’t be able to see underwater so well.
It was then that you realized that your eyes have now adapted for underwater vision.
The scales enveloped your whole lower body, glittering in the sunlight like little sapphires, and they merged seamlessly with the skin of your upper body. Your knees had disappeared completely as your thighs finished merging to form one, thick, muscular, uniform limb.
You saw that your penis was being covered up by your tail under layers of protective scales and skin. You smiled, knowing that your little friend would be still alive and well.
On top of that, slits formed along the sides of your torso and neck. only just barely visible after they finished appearing, but they were clearly gills that allowed you to breathe underwater, which worked alongside your lungs to deliver oxygen to your blood.
To finish your transformation, your feet had completely transformed into two tailfins. You took a moment to process what happened to you but Clia couldn’t help but grin.
You were a merman!