Ann picked up the jar of the "Mer Ointment" and decided to purchase it for her 17 year old son as a gag gift. He had always had an interest in mythological creatures and thought it would be good for a laugh. She paid the nice Chinese man for the ointment and left the store, unaware of what she had really purchased.
When her son, Nate, unwrapped the present later on that night, he let out a good chuckle and unscrewed the top. He took a whiff of the stuff.
"It smells like my Ocean Mist shampoo," he remarked with a smile. "Thanks Mom."
As his Mom and brother cleaned up the dishes, he read the label.
"To Use the Mer Ointment: Gently rub ointment into entire lower body region and allow to soak in. When immersed in salt water, user will transform into a mer person and remain as such until they leave the salt water and dry off again to return to normal."
"What a cool gag gift," he thought. Still, the what if gnawed at his brain. What if this was real. He had to know.
Nate went into the kitchen and grabbed the large, yellow jar of sea salt from the pantry and jammed it in his pocket. He grabbed the ointment from the table and went into the main bathroom. He turned on the bath and put the plug down. As the tub filled with water, he liberally poured the sea salt into the water and set the container on the tiled rim.
He removed his pants and underpants and rubbed the ointment all over his lower half up to his mid waist. He also rubbed some into his hands and forearms, just to see what would happen. After waiting a few moments for the ointment to soak in, he slowly slid himself into the warm bath water. When nothing happened right away, he felt like a huge idiot.
Suddenly, a tingling sensation started running up and down his legs. He looked down and watched in awe as small, royal blue scales pushed out of his skin, covering both legs and his feet stretched out into two fins. He let out a gasp as his two legs slowly fused into one long tail. He was even more shocked to watch as his previously flabby tummy pulled in tight, exposing six well defined abs, with pecs and biceps to match.
He reached down under the water to feel his new tail when he saw the ointment have an effect on his arms as well. A thin patch of webbing grew between his fingers and two small matching fins grew from his forearms. He pulled his arms out of the water to get a good look at them.
"Oh boy..." he whispered taking it all in. "This is so cool!"
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, snapping Nate out of his daze.
"Honey? How long are you going to be?" it was his mother.
"Umm...not long," he replied as he moved his tail around. Just the sensation seemed weird and foreign to him. After a little more playing around, Nate decided it was time to get out. He pulled himself out of the tub and landed on the floor with a heavy thud.
"Nate? Are you okay?" asked his Mom, walking towards the bathroom.
"I'm fine," he replied, grabbing a couple towels off the rack and started drying himself off.
"Are you sure? Let me come in..." she replied.
Nate watched in horror as the door knob turned and he quickly cursed himself for not locking the door. He desperately started trying to dry off his lower half as the door opened.