A Nightmare, But a Daydream

Once upon a time, there were tales of Merrows. Merrows were merpeople, half human, half fish. The male Merrows were extremely repulsive to the human eye, but the females were beyond beautiful. However, it was well known that the female Merrows would take their love interests hostage under water, and would try to kill them if they escaped. Fortunately, a young man named Harvey was very knowledgeable on this topic.

As Harvey was sitting on the beach, he noticed a beautiful woman, a Merrow, stranded on the shore. He walked over to help her, picked her up, and took her just far enough in the water that she would be able to swim away, but not far enough for her to take him with her.

"Thank you, you have been very kind," said the Merrow, named Rikki.

"You're welcome. You do not deserve to be stranded on land," said Harvey.

"For your kindness, I will grant you three wishes," Rikki said, lustfully.

Harvey thought about this for a few moments, even wondering if he should take up her offer, before deciding on his three wishes. He chose the power to break enchantments, to make spirits do only good deeds, and to pass his powers down to his children. Rikki commended him on his intelligence and thoughtfulness, for he had not been selfish with his wishes. Rikki reached out to shake Harvey's hand, and he took it slowly. As Harvey turned to walk away, he felt the pull of Rikki's hand still on his, trying to take him to the sea with her. She knew that she would never find a man of his selflessness and intelligence again, so she took a chance and tried to take him with her. Before she could drag him farther, he pulled out an iron knife. Iron had been known to harm Merrows, so Rikki let go as soon as she saw the knife.

"I will come back for you. In ten years time, I will come back for you. I will have you," Rikki said before swimming away.

Ten years had passed, and Harvey had forgotten about Rikki's promise. Harvey had married, and had a son. As Rikki had promised, the powers granted to Harvey had been passed down to his son.

On a nice sunny day, Harvey had taken his son fishing to the same beach he found the Merrow. They were enjoying themselves, and talking about their lives and the fish they were catching. Harvey had completely forgotten about Rikki's promise to come back for him.

Later in the day, Harvey had spotted a Merrow coming up out of the water. Before he could even think twice, Rikki had used her dark and spellbinding magic to enchant him. Harvey and his son did not have time to prevent the enchantment before Harvey had dived into the water. Right in front of his own son's eyes, Harvey had swum away with the Merrow. Neither Rikki or Harvey were ever seen again.

Author's Note: In the story titled "Marina the Merrow," a young man named Luty found himself on a beach where he met a beautiful Merrow named Marina. As the same in my story, Luty had saved Marina. He was granted three wishes, and he chose the same three wishes as my character Harvey. Marina was impressed with his selflessness, and decided to try and take him with her. He pulled out an iron knife and defended himself. Marina said that in nine years time she would come back for him. Sure enough, she kept true to her promise and found Luty and his son on the beach nine years later. Before either of them could do anything, Marina had enchanted Luty and had him diving into the water to follow her. Neither of them were ever seen again.

In my story, I decided to keep almost everything the same, except for the names of the characters and the time frame in which the Merrow returned. I chose the names for the characters based on some television shows I have previously watched. I think that keeping the story the same would be beneficial to my entire project, because they all take place on a beach where the main character finds a mermaid. If I had changed it too much, I think it would not have fit the project as well.