I was right about my own strength. My cooler still had three bottles of water, but most of the ice had melted. I didn't want to throw it out though because there was a good chance I would need it the next morning. Would people still come to the beach on Sunday? Even when the shops were closed? If not, would I try to walk the road during daytime? In the heat?

But dragging the heavy case up the stairs, again straight into the damn cold wind, took literally all the energy I had still left in my body. Eventually I managed to unlock the door again, then I locked myself inside, safe from bears and snakes.

There were no lights here either, the solar panels were clearly there for the shop, and when I saw how that was locked I knew I wouldn't be able to get in. So, with the little light that was still there I tried to figure out my options for sleeping. It seemed the floor was my only option.

I had seen a pair of drawers before, but I didn't want to pry in Mira's private stuff. But right now I needed to know if there were sheets or blankets perhaps that I could sleep between.

No sheets, no blanket, but what looked like a diving outfit in thin neoprene or something. It would cover the body and the top part of the legs and it was in the same red as the breast plate in the mermaid painting. There was even a hint of scales printed on. I bet with myself that she would wear this while modeling for her own painting.

There was no zipper that I could see, my guess is that the opening in the top was large enough, and flexible enough, for her to step in. The only other piece in the drawer was a monofin, also in red. God, I would love to try swimming with that, but I closed the drawer quickly, this was private stuff.

The wind hauled around the shack by now and even inside cooled down rapidly. In my weak state it would be a tough night, so I opened my cooler to drink one of my bottles, and I spotted a package, wrapped in foil. As I folded the foil away I smelled fish, smoked I figured from the strong smell. Had it been the guy I helped? Or maybe just some leftovers from the food place that they had gifted me? Would it be safe to eat or upset my stomach even more?

I took the risk. Food and water would strengthen me. I took half of the fish and started pulling the meat from the bones. It tasted delicious. And my stomach held, welcoming it even. In no time it was done and I had to stop myself from eating the second piece as well. Save it for Sunday, it might be the only thing I would have to eat.

By now it was totally dark and still getting colder. I curled up in a corner, trying to keep myself warm. I failed miserably. Eventually I gave up, and with my hands in front of me I tried to find the drawer again. It took a bit but finally I had the only other piece of clothing in my hands.

Internally my mind was trying to figure out the best way to wear it. Over my trunks? Or on my naked skin and then pull my trunks over it? The latter seemed the best, knowing from experience how neoprene adopts the warmth of the skin. Plus it wouldn't look too girlish on me if I pulled the trunks and tank top over it. I laughed as no one would ever know it in the dark, but that's how our minds work.

I was surprised how flexible the material was, although I really wished it was the thicker neoprene. But I could push my legs through the neck opening straight into the leg holes, and by the time I pulled the wide straps over my shoulder I could feel myself already getting warmer. And rather than pulling my trunks back on, I used them to cover my feet, and my tank top wrapped around my hands. I think I slept for a few hours.

I woke up from the cold, like I was naked inside a refrigerator. So much for the thin neoprene, I figured. I got up and started pulling my legs up, exercising on the spot, which is really not that easy in the dark. It helped a bit except for my feet, and I couldn't find my slippers on the dark floor. I moved around a bit, hoping to step on my slippers, wherever they were. Until I felt something warm in the air.

I don't know where it came from, could it be that the panels on the roof collected heat as well during the day? I doubted it myself, and when I shuffled towards the source of the warmth, I hit my foot against the bathtub. And suddenly I remembered. When I filled the bucket earlier I had noticed that the water was warm, from the sun coming through the windows I had assumed.

As I dipped my hand in the tub it felt like it was almost burning, a sensation you feel when you're really cold, like after a snowball fight, I remembered. And without thinking I lifted up my leg and stepped in the water.

My feet were instantly grateful, soaking up the “heat”. And as I carefully sat down so that the water covered my whole body, I thanked God, but I thanked Mira even more. My body finally relaxed and I went as deep as I dared with my face. I could feel a layer of water form between my skin and the neoprene and suddenly I cursed myself. I should have known that.

I've worn wetsuits a few times, while snorkeling in colder waters. It's not the neoprene that keeps you warm, but the layer of water it traps that takes on your body temperature and holds that, even with the cold around you. In other words, even if the water in this tub hadn't been as warm as it was, in my neoprene fit I would still feel much warmer than out in the air.

And as I finally relaxed in the water, my mind started fantasizing about Mira. How she would sleep in her bathtub at night, her legs changing into a mermaid tail, and that's how she could get her tail-art so well, so real. I could feel my manhood strain in the tight suit, as I fell in love with Mira the Mermaid.

After about half an hour, as my skin got used to the water, I realized it wasn't that warm, my feet feeling cold again. And a thought hit me. The monofin had two openings to put your feet in, and I had felt neoprene inside these openings as well. You don't really want the hard rubber from the fin against your feet, or you end up with blisters. But the neoprene would help to get my feet warm again.

In the middle of the night, in the pitch dark, I climbed out of the tub again, my feet on the “freezing” floor, and carefully I shuffled to where I remembered the drawer was. It took a few minutes, as I didn't want to slip on the wet floor, but finally I had the monofin in my hands, and I started on the “return trip”. Once back in the water I pulled the fin around my feet and although it was tight, I knew right away it was the correct choice.

My feet were warming up quickly, and in wonder I waved my “tail” slowly. I knew that in the morning I was going to try out the monofin in the bay. I felt like a mermaid myself now. And with that thought, exhausted as I was, I fell asleep, my head resting on the edge of the tub.

When I woke up I was well rested, more than I can remember any normal bed offered. I wasn't cold either, but the sun was already out there, shining through the window. I really didn't want to get out yet, so comfortable I was, and I dozed off again.

This time it was hunger that woke me up, and I couldn't ignore that any longer. With pain in my heart I took the monofin from my feet, although it took a bit to pry them loose. As I raised myself from the water I could feel the water drain from my suit, and it felt like it created a vacuum, so much did the suit mold around my body.

Now that it was light I noticed that the suit actually had pre-molded room for Mira's breasts, unless her gorgeous tits had created these “bumps”. But the tightness of the material had caused some of my belly fat to be pushed in the voids, and not only did it seem like I had small breasts, I could feel it as well, quite pleasantly to be honest, as I cupped my flesh.

The material had pulled into my skin, I guess due to the vacuum effect, so I had to remember to pull it off while still in the water. Right now I simply enjoyed my sleek, scaled body. Yes, what I thought was a scale print in the dark turned out to be a very smart pattern on the outside of the neoprene. It seemed almost to shimmer. No wonder her paintings caught that shimmer so well.

Despite the cold, all the ice in my cooler was melted by now, but the fish smelled fresh enough still. If I had any thought of maybe saving some for later, the whole thing was gone in a minute, just leaving some clean bones behind. I decided to drink the ice water first, by filling up the empty bottle from last night. In the back of my mind I was still preparing to walk the fifteen miles back to the town, so I would need all the water I could carry.

But first I wanted to swim in the bay. So eager was I to try out the monofin, I completely forgot my snorkel. Both beach and bay were mine and mine alone, so I didn't even bother pulling my swim trunks over my diving suit.

The experience beat every expectation I may have had. I felt like having a tail the way my feet also pulled my knees together. And boy, did I go fast. Faster than ever in regular flippers. I finally noticed that the salt water didn't bother my eyes much, which gave me such a better vision than with my goggles on. And keeping my breath in went more natural as well, rather than having to breath through that pipe on the side of my face.

I spent hours in the water, feeling sleeker and sleeker, playing with the fish. At some point I saw one that looked like the fish I had for breakfast, and in a speedy move I caught it. It was fighting to free itself and when I felt it slip away I used my mouth to secure it again. Somehow that scared it even more and as it slapped its tail it slammed into my teeth. I closed my mouth in an automatic reaction, my teeth sinking in the fish, and it stopped moving.

I should have been appalled, but it tasted just like my breakfast and I took a few careful bites to confirm that. Before I knew it I ripped the meat from its bones and I suddenly had the satisfying feeling that I wouldn't go hungry. Not until the bones and innards were left did I surface to breath. I never felt so at home in the water as that very moment.

I actually took a nap in shallow water, my face looking up at the sun, close to its highest point, and dipping underwater so I wouldn't burn my skin, only surfacing to breathe now and then. When I woke up the sun had moved quite a bit and I guessed it was three by now. I had no desire anymore to go on my walking journey. I would just spend another night in the tub or perhaps in the bay itself, and then Mira should be back.

I guess the beach was off-limits on Sunday as I never saw anyone else. And I was perfectly okay with that. I wanted to explore the deeper waters but the water over the sandbank was too shallow to pull myself across it. And I didn't even think of pulling my monofin off and walking across the bank. Instead, I swam along the bank until close to the rocky cliff the water got deeper but also rougher. An enormous current of water tried to move through a narrow canal.

I took a deep breath and dove under, clearly seeing the full speed water roaring along the rocks. But I sped up and then moved headfirst straight into the current. It took three attempts, being swept back again into the easy water of the bay, but finally I made it to the other side of the sandbank. From there on it went much deeper than on the bay side.

I was careful though, not wanting to get too far out, or too close to the rocks. And I didn't even know if there could be sharks here. Eventually I settled down on a single, very smooth rock, and as I warmed in the lowering sun, I felt like a mermaid.

The sun made my scales shimmer like little rainbows and I wished that Mira was here to paint me like this. Would she be upset that I was wearing her suit, or would she be thrilled? I figured it could go either way, but of course I hoped for the latter. Would she let me keep it, if I offered her money?

I had noticed already that if I wanted to pee it would trickle out somewhere between my legs, and I could indeed feel a small hole there in the suit. Likewise, a slightly bigger hole would allow for a number two, without ever taking the suit off.

It was starting to get darker and I didn't want to be stuck outside the bay, so I swam back in the side current that pushed me almost to the beach. A breakfast fish, as I called them by now, was flushing alongside me, and with one bite I turned it into dinner.

The simple fact that I had left Mira's upstairs shack unlocked made me decide to not sleep in the bay, and with enormous effort I finally freed my feet again. After a day of swimming with my feet stretched I had some problems walking again, but I did manage. I could feel the wind pick up again bringing the cold, so I locked the door behind me and settled in the bathtub, my feet comfortably back in my fin.

For as long as the light allowed I watched Mira's painting, and I fell asleep dreaming I was the mermaid in that painting.

I woke up as someone close said, “What the heck? Who are you?”

I opened my eyes, blinking against the daylight, and I saw the woman of my dreams standing next to me.

“Mira! I can explain.” It was my first words in like a day and a half, and it came out in a funny voice, not like my own at all.

“John? Is that you? Why are you in my bathtub?”

Before I could answer, another woman came rushing in through the door, saying “I came as soon as you yelled.” Then she saw me, and she said, “What the fuck? Who is she?” The words were similar to Mira's, and so were her looks. Same long red hair, same athletic build. I figured they were sisters, perhaps even twins.

Mira answered, “Remember the guy I told you about? That I left behind in the apartment last Saturday, sick as a dog.” Then looking at me again, “Did you stay here the whole time?”

I started explaining about my phone most likely in the trash that she took out. And how I couldn't start my car because of that. And how cold the strong winds were, as it had blown away my towel and pants. And how her apartment probably saved my life, though it got so cold that I found her diving suit that helped a bit, but eventually the warm water in her tub prevented me from freezing to death.

I wanted them to feel sorry for me, so I didn't mention the wonderful time I had the day before. My voice still sounded weird, like it was an octave higher than normal. And for whatever reason my eyes dropped down to my chest. “Holy fuck!” It was a shriek, the girlyness matching my breasts that had grown significantly overnight, covered in beautiful red scales that shimmered in the sunlight. And as I grabbed my head I could feel long curly hair between my fingers.

“Oh my god, what happened?” I cried.

“I have a pretty good idea”, Mira answered, “Can you lift up your ehhh legs?”

What a weird question, but then I remembered I hadn't mentioned the monofin yet. And as I lifted my feet out of the water to show it, I saw that the monofin had changed into a huge wavy fluke of a fishtail, and as I moved one of my toes, a whole piece of that fluke moved. It was beautiful and scary at the same time. “What happened to the monofin?” I mumbled.

As I lifted up the rest of my legs, while holding on to the sides of the tub, I realized all of my legs were gone, replaced by a full-blown red fishtail, covered in more shimmering scales. “I wished I was a mermaid, last night”, I said, more to myself than to the two women.

“Well bloody hell, your wish came through. We're three now, mom is gonna be so happy”, she said, more to Mira than to me.