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Water crashed on the shoreline, ebbing and flowing in its soothing nature. The waning moon above illuminated the sand stretching out from the cave entrance, where JJ Maybank sat quietly. He was battling insomnia for the fifth night in a row, and this was the first time he had been the only one awake at this hour. Granted, he was happy to be on this island, away from all the stressors back home. This was all he’d ever wanted; Poguelandia. And yet, he couldn’t seem to rest his thoughts during the nightly hours.
JJ’s shoulders shivered as a sudden chill ran along his bare back. Not again. Must be an allergy or something.
He craned his neck over his shoulder to view the group of pogues, all of them except him sleeping soundly in the comfort of sand or makeshift mattresses from jungle leaves. How he wished he could go over there and sleep, but he was too frustrated to try again. Mostly, he kind of wished one of his friends would just wake up and shoot the breeze with him. He hated to admit it, but he was bored. So bored.
JJ’s face scrunched as he watched the soothed tide. The sea looked so dangerous at this hour despite the lack of barrels on the ocean. The darkness was the most eerie part of it all, and yet, it was inviting in a way.
He climbed to his feet.
Nah. He shouldn’t go in. The water would just wake him up more.
But perhaps a beachside walk wouldn’t hurt.
JJ approached the DIY clothing line Sarah and Kiara had set up two days ago. His muscle tee was still damp from chasing Pope into the ocean earlier, so he decided against wearing it and went forth with his beachwalk.
Wet ground squished under his feet as he walked further and further from his sleeping friends. JJ enjoyed walking close to where the daytime tide had softened the sand. There was something so relaxing about the way he gently sank with every step taken and the way the water came up from beneath him. This might have put him to sleep…
Wait.
He stopped in place and noticed he’d been walking for far longer than he had realized. Was his mind finally calming down enough to walk back to the cave and go to sleep? JJ turned around and thought about it.
A song.
JJ listened.
A soft, beautiful song streamed into his ears, singing like a thousand angels in one singular voice.
His eyes widened.
Who was that?
At first, he turned towards the land, looking for the singing culprit, but there was no one there. Then he realized the noise was coming from behind him. Toward the water.
He whirled around. The singing stopped.
Behold; a young woman sitting on a large rock a few yards away from the shoreline, back facing JJ. She appeared to be wearing nothing.
The mysterious woman tucked back her wet hair and smiled at JJ over her shoulder.
His mouth was agape in absolute bewilderment as the lady disappeared behind the rock with a splash. For a moment he was frozen in place, but something in his conscience urged him to follow her like a lost puppy.
JJ scampered out to sea, shoving his way through the strength of the water surrounding his lower body. There was a sense of excitement as he approached the rock to look for the woman, but the excitement faded fast when he didn't see her right away. A thought occurred, and JJ realized he was acting like an idiot.
And then the singing started again, like the audible version of chocolate being drizzled onto a scoop of ice cream. It was irresistible
All previous thoughts thrown out the window, JJ waded further into the darkness where the song grew louder and louder and…
He was suddenly face to face with the mysterious woman again, but this time she looked different.
There were scales crowding her facial features, skin blushed a rose gold, and the craziest thing: fins protruding from her ears. Her lips were open in song, revealing sharp fangs, meant for tearing the flesh of fish… and any other victims that would fall under the spell of this siren.
But there was no fear in JJ as he pushed closer in the entrancement of her voice. He was high on the hallucinogenic power of the siren’s song, but he didn’t know it. The song slowed, and the mermaid smiled at JJ as he came inches away from her face.
“What are you?” he asked, eyes wide with marvel.
“A dream,” she replied, “personified. You and your friends are on merfolk territory. Did you know that?”
“I’m sorry…” JJ muttered. A hand floated out towards her wet hair.
“Are you lost?”
“Woah…”
JJ hadn’t heard her. Instead, he moved to feel her ear fins.
Suddenly, webbed hands were curling around his wrist. JJ’s gaze snapped back to the siren’s.
“Don’t touch without asking,” said the mermaid.
She didn’t let go of JJ after that. Instead, she inspected his hand, drawing a finger down his forearm. Butterflies exploded in his lower abdomen as she did so.
She gazed dreamily at him. “Who are you? Who are your friends?”
“JJ…” He blinked at her, unable to break away from her eyes. “Maybank. My friends… John B… Sarah… Pope and Cleo…”
He swallowed.
“There is someone else,” she urged. “One more person…” she sings.
“Kiara,” he answered instantly.
“And you are with her?” the mermaid asked. One of her fins flicked as she spoke.
JJ thought about it. Obviously not. Not now. Not ever. They were friends, and he was not ready for anything more. He was pretty sure Kiara felt the same way too, with just coming off from Pope.
Plus, how could he say otherwise in the face of his beautiful fish-woman…
“No. We’re friends.”
The siren nodded. “My name is Manchi.”
“Manchi,” JJ repeated. “You’re so hot,” he added quietly.
“Is that how you speak to women, JJ Maybank?”
“Pretty.”
“You are so beautiful… to me…” she sang with a smile.
JJ felt higher than he’d ever been in his life— which is an impressive feat due to his habits. This mermaid could drown him and he wouldn’t even care.
There were hands on his face now, and Manchi was giving him a deep, inviting glare.
“JJ, I would like you to experience something beautiful,” she mused. “Would you like to know what that is?”
JJ doesn’t even hesitate to reply. “I wanna know. Please. Show me.”
Just before the sunrise, Sarah and Cleo woke up and quickly noticed JJ’s absence. They ended up waking up the rest of the crew to ask for his whereabouts. Although he didn’t know for sure, Pope knew JJ well enough to know that he must’ve had one of his “alone-time walks” and hopefully dozed off before finding his way back to the gang. He knew JJ hadn’t been sleeping much at all, and everything must’ve caught up to him.
John B, ended up pointing out some dull footprints against the shoreline whenever the water pulled away, adding some weight to his theory.
Pope, John B, and Kiara decided to follow the footprints out while Cleo and Sarah stayed behind in case JJ was up and walking around the island already.
“I feel like I’m about to get jumpscared,” Pope muttered after a couple minutes of walking.
“If JJ jumps at us, I’m totally slapping him,” Kiara mumbled, eyes searching the land for their friend.
“I have a weird feeling,” John B said from the front of the trio. “Not like— bad. But weird.”
“Not bad, but weird?” Pope echoed.
John B explained, looking at them over his shoulder. “Like that one time we found JJ stuck in the swingset weird. Like that.
“Right,” Kiara replied.
That was weird. She couldn’t help but agree with John B’s off-put feelings now.
“There he is,” Pope exclaimed.
John B and Kiara looked ahead.
John B paced forward. “That has to be him.”
The group pad up to the sleeping body on the sand. The only thing covering JJ’s unconscious body were his boxers, laid atop of his butt, only covering it halfway. His shorts were a few feet away, damp and sand drying on the fabric. As a matter of fact, there was sand all over JJ’s exposed skin— which was everywhere. That would be a pain to clean up.
“What the hell?” Kiara voiced in unbelief, trying and failing to decipher the situation. She turned around for privacy as the boys nudged JJ awake and sat him up.
John B threw JJ’s boxers at his crotch as he peeled his eyes open. He looked like he had just been hit by a truck.
And he was… smiling?
“You wanna explain all of this, JJ?” John B more or less demanded.
“Why are you butt-naked in the sand? Of all places!” Pope cried.
“I can explain,” JJ said, brain kicking itself awake. At first, he made no hurry to put his underwear back on, but when he saw Kiara’s body facing away from him and the others, he quickly threw his feet in and pulled up the waistband. “There we go,” he grunted, shifting on his knees. “Clothes on.”
“One piece of clothing,” said John B.
Kiara glanced over her shoulder, then turned around when she deduced the coast was clear from any body parts she didn’t want to see.
“Did you trip on Caribbean acid or something?” she asked.
JJ flicked a finger up. “Actually, no. But you guys are going to think I’m an idiot, so I’m gonna say yes.”
“We’re going to need a better answer than that, JJ.” Pope crossed his arms.
“I met a mermaid. Like, a fish girl, who sang and took me in the water to…” he trails.
John B, Pope, and Kiara share concerned glances.
“To what?” Kiara asked.
“Well, I can’t really remember that part. I’m pretty sure I got laid by a mermaid last night though, I swear on my life.” JJ was on his feet now, and there was desperation in his eyes. Desperation for his friends to be on board.
Kiara narrowed her eyes at him. “Do you expect us to believe you or something?”
“Kinda.”
“You definitely were on something. Did you get bit by a spider and not tell us?” Pope asked.
“No—”
“Guys,” John B interrupts. He looked serious. “Let’s hear him out.”
“Seriously?” Kiara asked under her breath.
“Thank you , Jonathan. See this guy?” JJ gestures at John B. “This is an open minded man, who is willing to hear my encounter with this fish-lady at it’s full extent—”
“Goooo!” Kiara and Pope exclaimed in unison.
“Alright!” JJ snapped. He opened his mouth to speak, but got distracted by something behind his friends.
It was Cleo and Sarah jogging up to the gang.
“We heard all the commotion!” Cleo shouted as she and Sarah got closer. “Is everybody okay?”
“JJ thinks he had sex with a mermaid,” Pope answered.
Kiara looked embarrassed on JJ’s behalf, but JJ was quick to pounce on his chance to explain.
“I did it with something!”
Sarah grimaced.
“You know, I’ve been getting some vibes here. Some creaturistic vibes,” John B reasoned, glancing at the riled blond beside him. “Like we’re not the only ones here…”
“Yes!” JJ chimed. “This mermaid is the real deal, you guys. She even told me her name… it was…. um…”
“Don’t tell me you don’t remember her name, rude boy,” Cleo said.
JJ squeezed his eyes shut, trying to bring the colorful, blurry memory to light. It was…. “Manchi!” he finally shouted.
“Bruhhh,” moaned Pope. “Manchi?”
“Yeah. What’s wrong with that, Pope?” JJ challenged, placing his hands on his hips.
“Manchi like manchineels? The poisonous sap tree?” Pope asked.
The group erupted with groans and sounds of realization. John B looked disappointed.
“You got into the manchineel trees, JJ?” Sarah asked. “Are the weed withdrawals really that bad?”
“No! I didn’t do that!” JJ argued. “Guys, please!”
Kiara stepped up to him and handed him his sandy, damp shorts. “We’re gonna keep an eye on you from now on, Jayj.”
JJ bowed his head in defeat.
“Let’s go back to the cave, yeah?” Cleo suggested before snickering at JJ. “Maybe there will be a lot of mermaids and mermen waiting for us there.”
The pogues began trekking their way back to the cave. John B lingered behind to talk to the now disheartened JJ Maybank.
He wrapped an arm around the smaller’s shoulders.
“It’s okay, JJ. I believed you,” he attempted to console.
“Believe d,” JJ grumbled, popping the ‘d’.
John B gave a sympathetic frown. “It’s a little far-fetched. And the whole being named after a poisonous tree thing…”
“Can I at least tell you what it was like?” JJ asked, all mopey-like.
John B patted his shoulder. “...Sure,” he said in an uncertain tone. “Maybe we should eat first… and you have to dig sand out of your ass too.”
“True,” JJ replied, chuckling a little. “Fine. I’ll tell you later. But be prepared. This story is strange and beautiful.”
The following night, an unexpected spike of curiosity shot throughout Pope’s body as he tried to fall asleep. He’d heard the details of JJ’s encounter with John B earlier that day. It sounded like a load of bull, but something was drawing him back to that image of JJ sprawled and smiling in the sand…
Pope slowly stood up from his spot in the group circle and quickly checked that no one was watching him.
Then he walked off.
And less than a minute later, John B and JJ were speed walking up behind him. Something about “equal intuition,” John B had said.
They reach the landing where they’d seen JJ nearly 18 hours ago and… a soft, beautiful song streamed into their ears, singing like a thousand angels in three singular voices.
Water crashed on the shoreline, ebbing and flowing in its soothing nature.