Chapter One -

On one of Bora Bora's many avenues, in front of a small booth, under the awning away from the sun, stands a young woman. She is clad in ripped shorts and a thin tank top over a maroon swimsuit. Her thick, red hair is pulled back into a loose pony tail, a few strands sticking to her sweaty forehead.

She meanders through the stand's products, her gaze falling on a basket of mangos. Her long fingers graze over the fruits, swatting the occasional bug. Her sandy brown eyes glance up, singling the seller with her hand.

The short man shuffles over, his deeply tanned skin proving that he is a local. He smiles at the young woman, wrinkles forming around his eyes.

"Would you like to check out, miss?" He asks, an accent audible in his words.

"Yes, sir," the young woman replies politely, a small smile gracing her thin lips. "These two mangos," she says, handing the man the fruits.

She follows the man as he leads her to a table with a cash register. The man scrutinises her curiously, his eyebrows furrowing. "You're not from here, are you?" He asks, no doubt noticing her pale skin and red hair from a climate much cooler than the island.

"No, sir. I'm on vacation with my family," she replies, handing him the appropriate cash.

The man frowns. "We don't get many tourists here anymore."

"It is a shame, isn't it? This place is beautiful," the girl replies airily, smiling at the sight of a small bird flying past.

"You mean to say you do not know?" He asks.

"I don't follow, sir."

The older fellow lowers his voice, gesturing her to incline her ear. The girl obliges, though not without much wary hesitance. "There are legends, miss--stories."

"What kind of stories?" She questions.

"Drownings! Unexplainable disappearances," he murmurs. "You ask why no one comes here. Aye, for good reason they don't! No one goes in those waters and comes back alive."

"Sir, I'm sorry but--"

The man shakes his head frantically. "No, no, miss. Don't go in the water, miss. Dangerous things swim those waters."

"Don't listen to him. He's a crazy old man," a woman at a neighbouring stand says, scrutinising the man with her nose upturned.

Disregarding the woman's cruel remark, and feeling a need to spare the man's feelings, she asks: "What dangerous things?"

The man looks both ways, shooting the other woman a dark look, before returning his gaze to the woman.

"There are many tales and legends of what could be in those waters, no one truly knows for sure, but I can tell you what I believe," the man whispers, his eyes grazing the people passing by.

The girl feels like she is in some clandestine meeting by his secretive tone. She waits impatiently for him to continue.

"I did not believe the ties either, at first. Some drownings date back as far as the 1600s, after all, but then I saw it first-hand."

The woman's eyes widen in shock. Saw it with his own eyes?

"My brother. He was...taken," he says solemnly.

"I'm so sorry, sir," she says, sympathy evident in her tone.

He waves a hand dismissively. "Not to worry, it was a long time ago. Now, as I was saying: we had gone for a swim on the southern side of the island. It was sunny and the water was extremely clear, which was how I was able to see what took him."

The young woman kneads her hands in anticipation as he continues. "He was just a few paces in front of me, standing on the outer edge of the sandbar. Normally, it was safe on the sandbar, but not this time."

"I saw a red tail nearly six feet long, and before I had a chance to warn him, my brother was already screaming. 'Something has my leg!' He had said. I ran for him but his fingers slipped through my grasp!" The man throws his arms high in the air in a gesture, making the woman jump. "He was gone the next moment," the man struggles to finish his sentence. "There was only a bit of blood left in the water where he had just been standing."

A shuddering breath escapes the woman's parted lips. She wasn't expecting such a gruesome story. Her head snaps back in the man's direction as he continues his story.

"Just before he went out of sight, I caught a glimpse of the thing that took him. The red tail was there, yes," A crazed look takes over the man's features. "But a human body was at the other end. He was man and fish."

The other woman's warning from earlier pops back into her mind, her face taking on a skeptical look.

"Sir, I'm sure what you saw could not have be--"

"I do not lie, miss," he says, his voice rising "I know what I saw!"

"I-I- should get going, sir. Thanks for telling me," she says shakily, grabbing the bag of mangos from him, starting to fear his sudden outburst.

"No, please listen. I'm not crazy. I know what I saw!" The man yells as she hastily scurries away down the street.

What was she thinking? What did she expect? A large fish or shark infestation maybe, but not this!

The young woman continues her fast pace down the street, unsure if she's running from the crazed man, or the story he told her.

***

Finally out of the village, the woman slows her pace to a leisurely walk. Her feet are aching from the many miles of gravelly streets covered just in a pair of sandals. She rounds the bend in the road, the bungalow her family is renting coming into view.

It is rather beachy looking with its vertical wooden siding and faux thatched roof. A small porch wraps around the exterior with steps leading to the main door and the private boardwalk.

Thoughts of her conversation with the village man clouds the young woman's mind. What did he really see? He was drowned, albeit not by a mermaid, but by something, that's for sure. Just what exactly was it? Either way, the water is probably dangerous.

"We were almost worried about you, Ophelia. You have been gone for hours," the girl's mother says to her as she steps into the bungalow.

"Sorry, I lost track of time," she replies, setting the bag of mangos on the kitchen counter. "I got some mangos."

"Ooh, mangos? Yum!" Ophelia's eight year old brother, Othello, says, running into the kitchen.

"I also met a village man. He told me an interesting story," Ophelia says.

"What kind of story?" Her father asks from the sitting room where he is perched on the couch next to her mother.

"Well...it was about a drowning, actually," Ophelia says hesitantly. She isn't quite sure how they will react to hearing this strange tale.

"Really? Well, let's hear it, then. Probably bogus anyways," her dad says offhandedly.

Ophelia relays the information to her eager family, leaving out the part about it possibly being a mermaid.

"And then a giant fish just pulled him into the water," she finishes.

"Maybe there is something out there..." her mother ponders.

"Nah, even if there is--which I highly doubt--there are a lot of people on this island. The chances of it attacking one of us is slim," Ophelia's father says.

"I suppose you are right," her mum replies.

"Are you sure?" Othello asks a scared look marring his boyish features.

"Yes, sweetie, there is nothing to worry about," her mum assures him with a smile. Maybe there isn't anything to worry about. I can trust my parents' judgement, right? Ophelia asks herself.

"Hey, I'm going to go down to the beach really quick. I will be back in a minute," Ophelia says before heading to the door.

"Alright, but be back in time for dinner!" She hears her mum say before the door closes. Ophelia sighs, trotting down the steps. This probably wasn't the best vacation spot. Mysterious drownings? A monster in the sea?

The bugs chirp endlessly as Ophelia makes her way down the boardwalk. Once she reaches the sand though, the sound of the loud bugs are soon replaced by the soothing crashing of the waves.

The sun has set on the horizon, but the sky is still painted a pinkish orange along the western corner of the island. The cold sand under her feet mixed with the gentle breeze cause goosebumps to appear on her pale skin.

Today was a good first day of vacation, she decides. She is still afraid of the water, that's for sure. This doesn't stop her from walking close enough for the waves to crash against her shins, though.

Ophelia wraps her arms around herself as she watches the sky get darker and darker, the waves only just visible. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees a large splash in the water. Her eyes widen as a long, black tail rises up out of the murky depths, it's dark scales glistening in the moonlight.

Just as soon as it appears, it is gone, splashing back into the sea. Ophelia shivers at what it could have been. She has never seen such a tail before. With a sigh, she turns around and trudges back through the sand towards the bungalow.

She was never aware of the pair of obsidian eyes watching her from the dark waters.