Lara King awoke with a start, before choking and spluttering as she coughed up some seawater. The 23 year-old lifeguard looked around her new surroundings in astonishment. She was in a small cave, with a pool of twinkling water the only exit. There was a natural blue light illuminating the cave, and, as Lara slowly tried to get to her feet, she realised there was no way the light could be getting in. Her legs felt weak, and she sat back down, struggling to remember how she got here.
Of course. She'd gone out to help save the passengers on a small yacht that had run aground. With the ship on fire, she'd been dropped onto the deck from the coastguard helicopter, and had helped the passengers into the escape unit and to safety. And then...
The yacht had exploded. Lara remembered losing her balance and hitting her head on something, and then a second explosion which blown her into the water...
None of which explained how on Earth she had ended up here. Wherever here was.
"Unless I'm...dead..." she thought out loud.
She put her hand to her head, to where she expecting to find blood, or a bruise, or anything from where she'd hit it. There was nothing. No marks, no pain.
"This is...too weird..." Her swimsuit had a few tears and burn marks, but she knew it could have been much worse.
She stared into the water, marvelling out how clear it was. She could see almost to where she assumed there was a bottom, and another tunnel leading off from that. As she gazed into it, a creature swam out from the tunnel, and up towards her.
A girl, she thought.
With a tail.
...Mermaid...?!?!
Lara moved back from the edge of the pool as the figure broke the surface, facing away from her. She shook her long dark hair, and began to place some shiny rocks and crystals on the bank. Lara's heart skipped a beat as the girl began to sing. The song wasn't in a language Lara could understand, but it was the most beautiful thing she'd ever heard. The girl fussed over the rocks as if organising them, and then Lara moved slightly, dislodging a stone which plopped into the water. The girl turned to Lara, and beamed.
"Oh, you're awake! Oh, wonderful! Are you alright?"
The girl swam over to Lara, who was amazed at the beauty of this creature. From her face, she guessed she was barely 20, with a natural look of wide-eyed innocence, and rather large breasts. She rested her hands on the bank and looked up at Lara, still smiling.
"I'm sorry, you must be so scared. I promise, there's nothing to be scared of. My name is Carin."
"I...I must be dreaming...you're a...mermaid?"
Carin giggled. "Yes. And you're not dreaming. Take my hand."
When Lara didn't, Carin smiled even wider. "Or at least tell me your name?"
"What...oh. Sorry...I'm Lara..." She slowly took Carin's hand in hers, and felt the girl's warm wet hand. She was real. She wasn't dreaming.
"Lara...that's beautiful."
"Where am I?" she asked.
"My home." explained Carin. "Well, not my birth home, but this is where I come when I want to be alone. I can spend days here...there are some very pretty rocks around here, I collect them."
"I'm sorry, I...how did I get here?"
"Oh, well, I like to watch you. Not just you, all the humans that play in the water. I know it's a bit dangerous really, but I keep my distance. I've actually been longing to meet one of you - in fact, I hoped it would be you."
"Why me?"
"You look like a human, yet you swim like a fish. Movement in the water seems to come as naturally to you as it does to me. And you help people. You are strong and beautiful. I like you."
Lara blushed. "Thank you..."
"That's alright. Anyway, I was watching you help those people when their ship hit the rocks. You didn't escape, you were thrown into the water. You come to help anyone, but no-one came to help you. At least, not in time. I couldn't let you die. I brought you here."
"Oh...you've saved me. Oh, thank you, so much..."
Carin giggled. "That's alright."
The two women looked at each other in silence for a while, then Carin asked "How do you feel now?"
"Oh, much better...I'm sorry, this is just so weird..."
"I know." said Carin. "But, it's good weird, isn't it?"
Lara smiled. "It is. I didn't think mermaids were real..."
"Well...it's lucky for you we are, isn't it?"
"Yes...Carin...I don't want to seem rude, but...what happens now?"
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