A mermaid in the herd

Cursed encounters

I had a slim build. My ribs were visible. My collarbones were framed when I was just breathing. My eyes were really big, scary. My eyebrows, yes, those bushy eyebrows, didn't help my face.

My nose had a strange shape. Maybe I wouldn't be loved by any boy. My physique was abominable. I fantasised about being those girls who posed in magazines and looked like princesses.

I asked the world every day for the miracle of waking up as a desirable girl, with beautiful breasts, and a small waist. She longs to be seen by a boy and to have her thoughts wander for days, but instead, she only gets teased and insulted. All my classmates had partners, and their walk, body and face were that of Olympian goddesses. I felt overshadowed by each of them on a daily basis. Holidays were my only escape from the stupid reality I had lived the first years of my life.

The sun was setting through the clouds, and raindrops began to fall from the sky. I went down to the garden, and sat down to watch the weather. Suddenly I noticed my parents approaching me, proposing to spend part of my holiday in a small 2-week camp in the Caribbean islands.

I was delighted and accepted immediately. At that moment, I assumed that the universe was returning every prayer I offered by crying into my pillow.

Days turned into hours and the day came to board that ingenious ship that would take me to the island. I felt very anxious, full of courage. —Will this be the chance to meet someone?— I thought.

I woke up that longed-for day, when only the sun's rays wanted to illuminate my window. Excitement kept me awake. I immediately went to take a shower, packed my luggage and took my suitcase. My parents came to my room and I was fully prepared.

I waited for my father to board the plane. I was anxious to see what loneliness had in store for me. It was a week with no parents, no nagging siblings, no acquaintances, no teasing - it was my bloody week!

A short drive, to the dock. I felt my heart race, my body tremble, I felt really happy.

—Melanie Frank? Melanie Frank,— I heard over the pillar speakers.

My mother immediately grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the man on the loudspeaker. Tall, pale complexion, grey eyes. He had a trimmed beard that covered his ear. He had a very thick voice.

—Are you Melanie Frank? —asked the man as he looked down at a folder in his hands.

I nodded fearlessly. My mother turned around, placed a kiss on my forehead and walked away from me. If I had been the age I was on my first day of school, I would have thought that this time she had left me with another family. But I didn't know that week would be the best week of my life.

I stood in front of that huge ship and hundreds of kids my age. I took a deep breath, put my hands on my backpack and walked forward. In front of me were kids of every complexion the world could create.

Light-skinned, dark-skinned, blue-eyed, black-eyed or grey-eyed. Some had dark hair, some blond. Curly hair, long hair, short hair. A myriad of models floated before my eyes.

It cheered me up to know that I had someone there to match my strange beauty. But, things took a truly unexpected turn. Once the booth was closed, I heard from afar a small scream.

An angelic voice had taken shape in my ears. I recognised that damned voice.

Standing before the voice that demanded my attention. I walked towards the source of the sound. I pushed away whoever interrupted my path. I sharpened my hearing and looked up. There, in front of one of the ship's cabins, was he.

Tall, beautiful cheeks, skin as white as a blank sheet of paper. Elongated eyelashes, shiny hair and perfect teeth.

Yes, Timothy was lying on a small chair, his feet on the floor, and a girl with pronounced attributes was resting her huge ass on his legs.

I was totally shocked. In the crowd I managed to recognise his voice. I approached him without having planned it. I watched him unhappily behind the door that separated us.

I expected a turn of his face. I wanted to know if he felt the same way I did that first day of school. I plucked up my courage and approached the small booth.

I wanted to get his attention, to be noticed. I completely ignored the sweet girl who had her arm around his neck, and was sitting on his lap.

In an oversight, with my arm I knocked over a wine glass. The moment the glass hit the floor, it exploded into hundreds of pieces. Everyone in the cabin turned to me.

I looked up and with embarrassment wanted to bend my body and get rid of the glass lying next to my feet. Just like in the movies, as I pulled the first piece of glass off the floor, he lay down next to me.

My gaze was drawn uncontrollably to the perfectly built young man. He was tall, very tall. The fingers of his bony hands drove me crazy, the hair on his pores framed between his arms and legs.

He was dressed in beach shorts and a Hawaiian shirt. I hypothesised again, looking at his face. No doubt it was Timothy, it didn't fail in my memory.

However, his eyes kept darting back and forth across my face, and I didn't notice any interest in what I was seeing. When I finished picking up the glass I had left on the floor, I stood up, but he quickly got up and held out his hand to me.

—Here, take my hand,— he said.

Immediately, without thinking, I took his hand and stood up with his strength. There, in front of him, I stood without taking my eyes off his face. I stood in total silence as I watched him disappear into the crowd on the boat.

—What an idiot I am—, I thought to myself. Getting up, I decided to leave the cabin and go somewhere else. I sat down on a small seat overlooking the sea. Then I started talking to myself, I didn't understand how I couldn't recognise myself. I wasn't getting any change from the world. Puberty hadn't given me that lucky break it used to give girls.

In between thoughts and scoldings, a boisterous server is heard.

—Please, members of the —Galactic Teen Reunion— report to Booth 5,— came over the pillar speakers.—

I belonged to that cruise meeting, so I immediately got up from the uncomfortable chair and looked for booth 5.

The joy I felt at the sight of him ate away at the reality of the moment. My dignity died the instant I decided to sit next to him and wait for that voice we obey.

A call —Jonas, please come and talk— they mention. A boy, tall, dark skin, brown eyes, semi afro hair. At that moment I was experiencing that visual charm.

Youth brings mixed feelings with each passing month. I have that feeling of exploring, of knowing. To experience how my youth takes over my soul.

Jonas stood up, in the corner of the booth, took several steps towards the small stage and talked, talked and talked and talked endlessly. I understood absolutely nothing that came from his lips. Watching him was entertainment enough for me. At that instant, he moved his arm upwards and combed his hair through his fingers.

A little tingle ran through my body. A sensation I had never explored before, it was something that felt fucking good and scary at the same time.

I watched his face as he finished speaking. Jonas returned to his post and that unbearable voice resumed its childish melodies. He was surrounded by idiots singing in an out-of-tune bar.

The first day was ending its turbo and the morning had come. I had been given a cabin to myself. There was no roommate. I felt like a total adult. At the stroke of 7am, I got out of bed.

I didn't know where the bathroom was or where to change. My cabin had only the bedroom and a sink in an unbelievably perfect state.

Seeing the lack of hygiene in my body, and the absence of any shower, I turned to some adult who could explain to me where the hell the shower was on that huge ship.

The guide, Enrique, tall, with a beard, and a really muscular body. I didn't know what the hell was wrong with me, every time a person with a different physique entered my field of vision, something in me shuddered, an inner magic overflowed with excitement.

It was as if my spirit jumped into my body. The guide immediately informed me that the toilets were shared. Okay, I didn't know how bad that sounded, until I made my way to the women's toilet. A thing but grotesque.

The sinks were soaking wet, the floor slippery with shoe marks, the showers were open and fully occupied.  At the end of the toilet corridor, I looked up and noticed a small door in the distance, it was different from the others.

I was a bit intrigued, I thought it was another shower, so I decided to go and find out. Between quick and desperate steps, avoiding another girl to get there first, I put my hand on the passport and pushed the door back.

The wonders that appeared before my eyes were truly unexpected. A bathtub, yes, a small bathtub, was not empty as at least I would have liked to see it. But, to my surprise, inside it lay two bodies comfortably.

I could see the smooth brown-skinned back of a girl with blonde and white hair, before my eyes I could make out her naked breasts, under her legs I could make out from the corner of my eye a boy, with his body in front of her, and his hands on the edges of the bathtub. I lay standing before them, totally immobilised, still with my hand on my passport. I was watching them carefully in an exact climax, where she was moving her hips on him.

Before such a scene my body was unbalanced, for a few seconds I watched them and felt my soul jump, a tingling invaded under my legs. My eyes widened, my hands trembled, a sensation I had never experienced before ran through me.