Revelations - Chapter 3 of A Meeting of Mermaids


Once Paul had wandered off the three friends pulled themselves carefully up on the beach and started to dry off. After changing back into human form they split up and made their way back to the hotel alone. Rowan made it all the way up to her room without seeing any of the guys, but shortly thereafter Paul came in.

"There you are; the desk girl said that she had seen you," Paul said, giving Rowan a kiss. "I've been looking for you all over. The rental guy said he thought he had seen you going up the beach so I looked but couldn't find you."

"Um, I was out with the girls," Rowan said, trying to figure out how to tell Paul.

"That's okay; I was just worried," Paul replied.

Paul and Rowan sat down together on the couch and Paul put his arm around his wife. He noticed a locket hanging on a chain around her neck.

"Hey, where'd you get that locket?"

"I found it in the ocean," Rowan answered, "I think it is pretty!"

"So do I. So you did go swimming this morning."

"Uh, yes we did. We actually went back to that island we were at last night."

"You took another boat?"

"No, we swam all the way."

Paul smiled, thinking Rowan was joking.

"I bet you are worn out then; need to take a nap?"

"Paul, I need to tell you something and I need you to be open minded," Rowan said.

"You know me; always open minded," Paul replied.

"So what do you know about mermaids?" Rowan asked.


Paul didn't know how to take that question from Rowan.

"I was expecting something more serious," he said in response.

Seeing Rowan's serious look he decided to play along.

"Well, a mermaid is a mythical creature half fish half woman," Paul said.

Paul picked up his iPad from the table and did a quick search.

"Here are some drawings and pictures and some legends."

"You said mythical, right?" Rowan asked.

"Mermaids don't really exist; you know that!" Paul replied. "Why are you so interested in mermaids; do you girls think you saw a real one?"

"Paul, I am a mermaid," Rowan said.


Paul started to laugh then saw that Rowan was serious.

"Since when?" he asked still with a little bit of a grin.

"Promise you'll listen to me and not laugh? Oh, and not tell anyone?"

Paul nodded.

"So remember how we were so late getting back last night…" Rowan said.


Rowan told Paul the story of exploring Mako Island and sliding down the chute and encountering the moon pool.

"Something about that pool in the moonlight and the bubbles and tingles changed us somehow; now whenever we get wet we turn into mermaids," Rowan said, finishing her story.

"You guys are playing a joke on me, right?' Paul asked, looking around. "Is Tanya going to jump out from somewhere?"

"I'm serious, Paul!" Rowan exclaimed.

"So let me get this straight; if you guys get wet you turn into mermaids?" Paul asked. "We can test this simple enough; should I get a glass of water?"

"Let's go down and get some snorkel gear," Rowan suggested, "and go for a boat ride instead."


Rowan pulled some shorts and a top on over her swimsuit and then she and Paul went down to the rental shack near the beach. Luckily Jack wasn't working there that day.

"We'd like to rent a boat," Rowan told the man working the shack.

"And some snorkel gear for both of us…" Paul started to say but Rowan cut him off.

"Actually just for Paul; I don't think I will need any."


After filling out the paperwork Paul grabbed the gear bag and they walked out onto the pier to the indicated boat. Rowan looked at it; the interior was dry so she carefully stepped into it and sat down. Paul followed her in and after sitting down started the engine and headed out away from the beach.

"Head out to the reef," Rowan told Paul who steered the boat in that direction. At the reef Paul killed the engine and put out the sea anchor.

"Ready for some swimming?" Rowan asked Paul.

"Just got to get my fins and mask on; I take it you don't need anything," Paul said, still thinking Rowan was pulling his leg.

Rowan smiled at Paul and dove in fully clothed.

"Crap; wait for me," Paul said.

After Paul hurriedly pulled on his fins he grabbed his mask and was about to put it on and get in the water when he noticed that Rowan was resting her upper body on the side of the boat and was watching him. Rowan then pushed herself up so that Paul could see her seaweed bikini top. Paul moved closer to Rowan when suddenly a big splash of water came over the side of the boat, completely soaking Paul.

"How did you do that?" Paul asked.

"Come and see," Rowan said.

Rowan then flipped backwards off the boat. As she did so Paul got a glimpse of a golden fish tail that appeared to be attached to her. By the time Paul got to the side of the boat Rowan was nowhere in sight. Paul pulled on his mask and snorkel and got into the water. Once in he started looking around. Below him there were many patches of coral and a few rocks, surrounded by fish. Paul knew why Rowan had brought him there; he and Rowan loved snorkeling at that spot because of the colorful swarms of fish. Looking down Paul finally saw Rowan; she was swimming around the rocks. And from Rowan's waist down was a large golden fish tail; from the way that she swam it was obvious that it wasn't a costume. Rowan turned and waved at Paul, then with a flip of her tail she darted off, leaving behind just a burst of bubbles.

Paul swam after Rowan, finally realizing there was no way he could catch her. Normally Paul could swim much faster than her; obviously in her new state she could easily beat him. As Paul watched Rowan sped by, leaving a powerful wake behind her. Paul stopped trying to catch up to her and instead just relaxed and watched her swim. From the way she darted around and through the schools of fish Paul could tell that she was really enjoying herself. But his wife a mermaid? The thought was hard to believe!

Paul swam back to the boat and climbed up and sat on the platform with his legs dangling into the water. Rowan surfaced almost immediately next to him and rested her upper body on the platform.

"Believe me now?" Rowan asked.

"I guess I have to; still not sure how this happened," Paul said.

"I'm not sure either, but 10 seconds after getting wet this is what happens," Rowan replied, stretching out her tail behind her.

Paul got a good look at her tail. It was well proportioned to the rest of her body and seemed to meld naturally into her waist. There were some iridescent stripes through the scales running down the length of her, ending near her tail. Other than that her tail was composed of uniform gold scales.

"Here, help me in," Rowan asked, reaching out her hand.

Paul pulled and Rowan gave a big swish of her tail which practically drove her right into the back of the boat, knocking Paul over.

"Oops, sorry about that, don't know my own strength," Rowan said, lying on the bottom of the boat. "Could you help me get dry?"

Paul grabbed a couple of the towels and with the help of the sun the two of them finally got Rowan dry. As Paul watched there was a ripple and for a moment Rowan appeared to turn into water before reforming into her normal, fully clothed and dry self, complete with her sandals.

"Wow, neat trick," Paul said.

"Come on, let me show you Mako Island," Rowan said after giving Paul a kiss.


After a short trip Paul ran the boat up onto the beach at Mako Island. Rowan jumped out, being careful not to get herself wet and waited as Paul secured the boat. Then she led him up the trail towards the waterfall. Once there she stepped carefully over the rocks until she got to the cave entrance.

"This is the entrance to the cavern; we went down here," Rowan explained. "We can slide down; there's sand at the bottom."

Rowan scooted into the cave and with a squeal slid down.

"Come on, Paul!" Rowan called from the bottom.

Paul carefully sat on the lip; it looked big enough to slide down, so he pushed off and moments later sprawled out at the bottom on the sandy cavern floor. Rowan helped him up and then led him up the steps and around into the moon pool cavern, where he found Seth and Jackie waiting for them.

"I understand you had quite the experience last night," Paul said to Jackie as he and Rowan sat down on the sand.

Jackie looked sheepishly at Paul.

"Actually I didn't become a mermaid last night," she explained.

Looking to Seth for support she continued.

"I actually have been a mermaid for six months; had my encounter with a magic moon pool on our vacation to Muir Beach."

"And you've known this entire time?" Paul asked Seth who nodded.

"That explains a lot," Paul said, thinking of pool parties and spilt drinks and their current vacation.

Rowan showed Paul where the moon had been framed in the throat of the volcano.

"Once the full moonlight hit the water it started to bubble and tingle; we actually didn't figure out something had happened until this morning when each of us got wet," Rowan explained. "Remember when I wouldn't come out of the bathroom?"

Paul nodded.

"I was lying in the tub staring at my tail!" Rowan said.

"You said you swam back here this morning…" Paul asked.

"Yeah, we wanted to see if there was anything special about the pool," Rowan said, "but it looks pretty ordinary in the daylight."

"Maybe you should come back when the moon is full," Paul said.

"Good idea," Rowan said. "Well, there's more to the story: not only do we grow tails but we…"

Just then there was a splash from the underground passage and Tanya in her mermaid form swam in leading Stephen by the hand. Paul had seen Rowan as a mermaid, but seeing Tanya with a tail really made him realize that he was a part of something special. As he watched Tanya and Stephen surfaced.

"Wow, that was quite a ride! Oh hi, guys!" Stephen shouted after taking a breath.

Stephen climbed out of the pool but Tanya chose to relax, extending her tail out behind her in the pool.

"Did you guys rent a boat as well?" Rowan asked Tanya.

"No, we actually swam all the way!" Tanya said.

"Well, tell us about it," Paul said.

"Well, after splitting up I went to find Stephen and…"


After Tanya split up from the other girls she walked up the beach, trying to figure out how to let Stephen in on her secret. She knew she had to tell him, just how?

'The direct way is the best, I guess,' Tanya thought to herself, and headed towards the hotel to find Stephen.

He actually wasn't hard to find; he was sitting on a dune overlooking one of the many secluded beaches that were on the coast near the hotel. Next to him was a snorkel mask and flippers. Tanya walked up and sat down next to him.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi," he said back. "Got your mystery issue taken care of?"

"Not quite, but I decided that it would be best not to keep secrets from you."

"That's always worked for us in the past," Stephen replied.

"Okay, then I'll just tell you. Actually, why don't I just show you?" she said as she stood.

Tanya led Stephen down to just above the water line.

"So what's this big secret?" Stephen asked, looking at her.

Tanya smiled and started down towards the ocean. As soon as she touched water she jumped forward and dove into the surf. After the change into her mermaid form occurred Tanya surfaced so that Stephen could see everything. Stephen's eyes got big as he took in Tanya's new form: the big golden fish tail behind her along with the golden seaweed bikini top. Tanya smiled at him and waiting for him to say something. Stephen's face broke out in a big smile.

"Wow."

Stephen walked forward and sat in the shallow water next to Tanya.

"That's a big secret; thanks for sharing," he told her. "But when and how?"

"Well, the short answer is last night and who knows," Tanya replied. "Want to hear the long answer?"

"Sure," Stephen said.

Tanya told him all about the boat trip to Mako and about how they all ended up going down the chute and finding the moon pool. About how she had found out that the underwater passage led out through the reef. About how as she and Rowan prepared to swim through the passage the moon had been directly overhead and the pool had bubbled and tingled. About how she had changed into a mermaid 10 seconds after diving into the surf that morning and about Jackie already being a mermaid. And then about how Rowan had experienced it as well. Tanya told Stephen about the swim out to Mako and back and how they had decided that the guys needed to know.

"And now you do know," Tanya said. "Want to go for a swim?"

"With you, anytime!" Stephen said and pulled on the flippers and put on his mask.

"Come on in and hold my hand," Tanya told him.

Stephen dove in and swam past the breaking waves. Underneath him Tanya swam by, her powerful tail sending her quickly forward. She circled and held out her hand and he grabbed it. Tanya then set off and Stephen found himself racing through the water, kicking up quite a spray. Shortly they were away from the mainland and heading for Mako Island. Once there Tanya stopped near the reef.

"Take a deep breath; we're going underwater for a minute," she told him.

Stephen took a couple of breaths then held one, and Tanya pulled him under. Stephen saw a passageway through the reef into the island and after just a couple more moments found himself surfacing in the moon pool.


"So now you know," Rowan told the guys who were all sitting around on the sand.

"And you guys have got to keep it a secret; if anyone found out we could get shipped off to a lab and studied, you know, like the movie Splash," Tanya said.

"No way we're telling; this is too cool," Stephen said.

"Yeah but I am curious as to why and how this happened," Paul said.

Paul looked around at the cavern. There didn't appear to be anything special about the room, except for the empty throat of the volcano and the slightly glowing pool, lit up from the underwater passage.

"It's magic, there's no other explanation," Jackie said.

"So what do we do; we're supposed to be leaving tomorrow?" Tanya asked, swishing her tail.

"I have a feeling that we don't want to get too far away from here," Rowan said.

"I agree; I think we need to stick around for a while," Jackie added.

"Well, I supposed we can get an extension for a while; things are running pretty smoothly back home," Paul said.

"I know we could stay here for a little longer," Seth said.

"Great; thanks guys!" Tanya exclaimed.

Tanya suddenly splashed water with her tail out of the pool, sending spray over Rowan and Jackie as well as Paul and Seth, who were sitting on the sand.

"I guess I'm getting in; you coming Rowan?" Jackie said.

Jackie quickly stood up and dove in. Rowan nodded and stood and quickly dove into the pool before the change could catch her out of the water. As the guys watched both Rowan and Jackie's bodies rippled and they changed into mermaids.

"I am not ever going to get bored watching that," Paul exclaimed.

"Why don't you guys get the boats and head back; we're going to go swim for a bit and we'll meet you back at the beach with the split rocks," Jackie said once she had surfaced.

"See you guys back on the beach!" Tanya said.

"Yeah, don't make us wait too long!" Rowan said.

With a flip of their tails the mermaids dove down and swam out through the underwater passage, leaving the three guys staring in awe.

"That is so cool!" Seth exclaimed.


As the guys headed back up the tunnel and out through the chute the girls swam around the island, checking out the fish and reef. After a game of mer-tag the girls raced for the mainland. Jackie's beach with the big rocks had a deeper approach than some of the other beaches. That way the mermaids could swim up closer without being seen. Once there the girls knew why Jackie had liked it; there were some nice rocks to hide behind and some warm, dry spots for drying off. Just as they were pulling themselves ashore they heard some voices; it was not the guys but another couple of hotel guests and they were heading their way.

"Let me try something," Jackie said.

Jackie reached out her hand. Moment's later steam surrounded her body as the water clinging to her evaporated, leaving her finally dry. Once she had changed into human form Jackie went out from behind the rocks. There was a man and woman walking hand in hand, nearing where the girls were still hiding.

"Oh, hi there," the woman said upon seeing Jackie. "We were just looking for a nice place to hang out."

"Probably alone," Jackie said with a wink.

"Preferably," the man said, smiling.

"Sorry, my friends are down there" Jackie said.

"No problem; we'll keep looking," the woman said and the couple walked off.

At the same time Paul and the other guys came into view. Jackie stood there and waited for them to come to her.

"Wow, you're dry already?" Stephen asked. "How'd you do that?"

Seth smiled and gave his wife a big kiss.

"Come and see what else we can do," Jackie said and led the guys to where the others were still waiting.


"Look who I found," Jackie said as they approached the rocks.

Tanya poked her head carefully around the rock to see who it really was.

"It's Jackie and the guys," she said to the others.

The guys came around the rocks and found Rowan and Tanya still in their mermaid forms, trying to get dry.

"How about I give you guys a hand?" Jackie asked, winking at Rowan.

"Go for it!" Rowan replied.

Jackie extended her hand and a cloud of steam surrounded the three mermaids.

"How are you doing that?" Paul exclaimed as the steam hid the girls.

Moments later the steam dissipated revealing that all of the girls were dry and in their human forms.

"Can you all do that?" Paul asked.

"Actually we all have slightly different powers," Rowan exclaimed.

Turning she twisted her hand and a column of water from a nearby pool rose up, twisting and turning in the air. Rowan then caused the column to freeze with a crackle and it fell over on the sand. Tanya then caused the ice to melt into a puddle before lifting it into the air and hurling it back into the pool.

"So what else can you guys do?" Stephen asked, astonished.

"Isn't that enough for one day?" Tanya asked, teasing him.

"Besides, we don't want to tell you all of our secrets right away," Rowan said.

"Come on, let's go get some food," Jackie said. "All that swimming has made me hungry!"

"What do you want?" Seth asked.

"Seafood, of course," Jackie replied.


Continued in Chapter 4: Rikki's