Kel smiled as she saw a familiar figure walking down the beach towards her. "Neal, you're back early."
"You missed me? Surely not."
"How was the debate?"
"It was over sooner than planned. It was decided that it would be an offence to the gods to allow him to publish a book on people coming back to life as something else. It's just one of those things that's not debatable, odd as that sounds."
"Maybe it should be."
Kel and Neal both turned to stare at the source of the voice, their jaws dropping at the same time. On the rocks sat a mermaid, her deep green-blue tail glistening in the sun and her long brown hair flowing gently down over her bare chest. She was the most beautiful woman – well, being- that Kel had ever seen.
"What makes you think that people can't come back to life as something else?" the mermaid asked.
Neal crossed his arms. "What makes you think they can?"
The mermaid smiled knowingly. "Because in my other life, I was a lady knight."