The sun was shining brighter than usual while Everly was walking down to her regular fishing spot.
The grass was freshly cut and the bugs were dancing in the air around her and she walked to the edge of the trees that led to a guaranteed catch for the day. Everly was a catch and release type of girl. As she arrived to the creek that ran through a tunnel under the highway she noticed something different today. She couldn’t see the other end of the tunnel as a thick fog wrapped around her senses. As she breathed in the smog she thought to herself “I should have told Peggy I was headed here today. If I go missing, will anybody notice?” Peggy, her roommate of 2 years, tended to be overbearing but was used to Everly giving her the cold shoulder when she needed time alone. Everly kept on track though until her face squished into a brick wall. “OW!” She yelled but no sound could be heard. She screamed “Hello?!” Just to see if she could hear her echo and there was no sound. She frantically waved her arms around so she could see through the fog and to her right appeared a rounded, wooden door with rusty metal brackets across it. She opened the door wearily, hoping to find a sign of life on the other end.
As she slowly cracked the door open and peered on the other end a whirlwind of lime green, soft pink and blue lights that resembled the aurora borealis slurped her inside its galaxy. She fell for what felt like an eternity until there was a soft “thud” and she landed in a lush field of tall bronzed wheat. “I don’t think we are in Kansas anymore” she spoke to her fishing rod that lay broken underneath her. She felt a strange relief at the fact she could hear herself speak out loud and laughed to herself. “I’m definitely losing it.” Everly appreciated her sense of humor in times like this. Her thoughts on her existence were if she could laugh at the most inconvenient times, she could continue on. She slowly sat up and looked around to see if anybody was around. Beyond the rolling hills, she could see a small pond and she was grateful she landed so high up that she could look below and get an idea of her surroundings. She made her way to the water, which somehow was always where she found herself drawn.
Upon arrival, she noticed how clear the water was. She took off her shoes to dip her toes in the water when bubbles started to appear around the moss ahead of her. Frozen, she waited to see what was resurrecting below the surface. She noticed his piercing gaze first as he looked up and down her body. He stalked closer and she couldn’t move under his gaze. His skin was glowing under the water rippling over his large arms and chest. “Come in, the waters warm.” He said with a rumble. Everly kept her eyes on the other worldly being so close now she could smell his essence. All man but mixed with something she couldn’t place. She wondered if she was in heaven because he was the ultimate catch. She dipped her toes in the water and he reached forward, caressing the small digits with tenderness. He placed her big toe in his mouth and slowly bit down.
Everly took the line from her pole and wrapped it around him quickly, she wasn’t letting him get away. She used every ounce of strength she had and pulled him to shore. “A merman!”
She knew she released little fish all the time as there was always more for another day but as she held this catch in her arms she decided to keep this one.