As the mermaid swam out to sea, I had to wonder about the fate she had left me for making a foolish choice. Would it have been that bad to take the choice she wanted me to take? Would a life in the sea by her side be a much better life than the life I now had? I didn't know. I had passed up that life in favor of the rock she had offered. But as I stood there and looked out to sea, I knew that such a life with her would certainly have been a lot better than the cursed life I was now given. My walk on the bench today had certainly taken a strange turn. My walk today was going to be one of those memorable experiences that would last for an entire lifetime. And that was assuming that I didn't come across a male animal and get changed into a similar animal so that someone else would receive a boon from having me.
Luckily for me, the beach for me was thankfully devoid of any mammalian life. So it looked like I was going to be safe for the moment. I wasn't going to see an animal's maleness. I wasn't going to trigger the mermaid's curse. So I decided that the best way to avoid the curse was to go straight home. I set off on a jog and began running toward the end of the bench where the parking lot was. Minutes passed by and I started to feel myself again.
But then as I got closer to the parking lot where my car was, my hopes for avoiding the curse were dashed. For in the distance, I saw a young man doing some fly-fishing at the water's edge. And I saw that he wasn't alone, for playfully running up and down the beach was a male dog. A huge, playful Newfoundland dog.
Feeling terrified of looking at the dog and triggering the curse, I turned my head away and tried to find a way to reach the parking lot before the dog saw me. I began walking away from the beach toward the shallow cliffside that separated the parking lot from the beach. I didn't look at the dog. Didn't try to see where it was in relation to me and the cliffside. I was halfway to the cliffside where I could now see the wooden stairs that lead up to the parking lot. I was going to make it. I was going to avoid the curse for just a while longer. Just a while longer until I could find a way to undo it and get on with my life.
Just as I was about to reach the first wooden step leading up the cliffside, I heard a bark of happiness come from behind me. It was the Newfoundland dog, it had spotted me and was coming over to meet me.