The stream was flowing from the entrance to a cave. Cassandra entered and followed the water further back into the cave. After turning a sharp corner, she saw that the stream originated at a sizable pool fed by water spilling down from a hole in the cave ceiling.
When Cassandra saw that there was a woman in the pool, she quickly, but quietly stepped back around the corner and peeked at the woman. She didn’t seem to notice her; perhaps the falling water concealed her footsteps. What little she could see of her above the water was a vision of beauty. She looked to be the same age as Cassandra with pink-toned skin that glistened as the water from the ceiling was cascading onto her golden hair.
Suddenly, the woman dove underwater, and Cassandra thought she saw a flash of a silvery-blue as she sank. When the woman shot out of the pool, high into the air, Cassandra saw seashells covering her breasts, but more strikingly, her shimmering tail, the woman was a mermaid! The mermaid fell back into the pool again. Cassandra could hardly believe what she saw. She had just seen a real mermaid and she decided she had to try and speak to her.
Cassandra approached the pool slowly, so as not to scare the mermaid should she surface again. She stopped a few steps from the water’s edge and waited a few moments before the mermaid surfaced again near the center of the pool. The mermaid turned to see a smiling Cassandra on the shore.
“Hello.” Cassandra said softly; but the mermaid was still frightened and she backed away to the other side of the pool. “Don’t be afraid, I’m not going to hurt you.” Cassandra said as she slowly crawled toward the edge of the pool. Cassandra tried to appear as non-threatening as possible as she sat at the water’s edge; and it seemed to work, as the mermaid slowly inched toward Cassandra’s end of the pool. “You’re very beautiful.” Cassandra said. The mermaid said nothing as she stared at Cassandra for almost a minute before finally…