Age anxiety and fish trouble - A Merman And Mermaid Story i,ve made

[Fredriksam]

So. I have written a fiction story about someone who turns into a merman and meet a mermaid. Some parts of the stuff in the story are true but changed a little. Theres some violence and sex later in the story so be warned. Its not very graphic though so it should be safe to everyone to read. Its also a long story and it takes a while to get things going. I hope you will enjoy the story and give feedback.

Chapter 1


A beginning and an intro


Hello dear listeners and readers. What I am about to tell you is completely true. I swear!. Or... Yes, at least that's my perception of what happened to me after I just turned 50.


Ahh, you think, a sad story about someone who may have lost himself but everything turns out to be peace and joy later, and Yes, in a way it is, but not only that. No, this is a bit more complicated than that, but let me start from scratch, so to speak.


My name is Kenneth Elroth and when this story begins I have just turned 50 years old. I am of medium height and have dark brown hair that is lovely fluffy even when freshly cut. My eyes are intense light blue. I'm a little too round around the stomach, but that usually happens when you get older, so nothing strange about that.


Despite my age, I am unmarried and live alone in a fairly large apartment in the center of Karlskrona. It is a nice but slightly older apartment and I feel very comfortable there. The apartment is on floor 4 and most elderly people live on that floor. The neighbors are as nice as can be and there is never anyone arguing in the house. The only thing I miss is a bathtub, but the shower is as good as anything and I visit the swimming pool sometimes, so i bathe.


I work at the Blekinge museum in Karlskrona and it is an exciting job. Sometimes I am a guide and tell tourists about old Blekinge and how people used to live. Sometimes I am alone and go through a lot of old pictures from Blekinge. Some of the images are exhibited while others are in an archive that is available to those who want to look at it.


I enjoy the job and the co-workers are as nice as can be. It is exciting with the history of the county and I have several interesting Blekinge books at home that I read a little from time to time.


It's not very far to work, so I usually walk there in the morning and home in the evening. The walk makes you happier and you can listen to either the sounds of nature or an audio book.
If I have to choose an audio book or the birds, I choose to listen to the birds singing. They sing so beautifully in the morning.


One reason I walk is because I'm too fat. My doctor has said that with walking I will hopefully get less fat over time. To be honest, maybe I eat too many sweets and snacks, but I think it's ok.


I am not a party person and never drink alcohol. Therefore, my 50th birthday celebration was very peaceful. The day I turned 50 was on a Sunday and I was out fishing with my best friend Tony. We caught some fish. It was a very relaxing occupation.


This despite the fact that I hate fish. I don't like their appearance, their sliminess and above all the taste. They don't even breathe like us, but with gills. It is also a reason why I strongly dislike them and find them disgusting in some way. None of the fish I caught were brought home to me. Instead, my friend got them.


Not even a week ago when it was midsummer I ate any fish. Many people say that everyone should eat herring at midsummer, but not me. Instead I ate pie and meatballs and boiled potatoes. It was good enough for me.


The day after I turned 50, I showered and shaved as usual in the morning. I got a bit of a shock when I looked at myself after shaving. A gray hair up there on my dark brown hair that I'm so proud to still have.


The scissors went forward in a flash and I cut off the gray hair and threw it in the garbage can. Whew!


To the kitchen and the first cup of tea of the day. The fact that I only drink tea and never coffee is something that my colleagues at the museum think is a little strange, but of course they still respect my choice.


Breakfast today didn't just consist of a cup of tea, of course. No, it was also a boiled egg, two sandwiches with ham and a glass of Pro Viva orange juice (for the little stomach to feel good). Satisfied and happy, I packed the day's food into a box. A nice snitzel with mushroom sauce with stir-fried vegetables and of course Béarnaise sauce. Awesome.


The job went like a dance and I was in a very good mood until I got home. In the mailbox I had received a leaflet about age anxiety. I stood staring at the words on the paper and I was close to sticking out my tongue mockingly at the folder but a neighbor came and I put the folder between two newspapers and went up to the apartment.


Once up, I contemptuously tossed the folder on the table and glared at it angrily. It lay where it lay.


Seriously. are they messing with me?


After a while I went into the living room and turned on the TV for some entertainment. Most of the TV channels were currently mostly reality shows and other nonsense. I was slack watching and zapping to the next channel when there was a commercial. If someone had then asked me what the programs were about, I would not have been able to give a good answer.


On the table was a bowl of chips left over from the weekend. I ate them and felt satisfied and happy. However, it won't help my thickness directly but still.


Later in the evening I called some friends and relatives. On Friday this week there would be a market and me and some friends would go to it. On Saturday, I was to be celebrated a bit by acquaintances and friends. On Sunday Tony and I would probably go fishing again. A good week.


None of them could celebrate me on the weekend of my birthday so it had to be about a week later. I thought it was perfectly fine.


Even later in the evening, I pulled out some older photo albums that I hadn't browsed in a long time. You could say they have just collected dust on the shelf. I was young in the photos and I came to mind when most of the photos were taken.


I was so young and had my life ahead of me, I spontaneously thought when I saw my confirmation picture. But hey, I still have life ahead of me, don't I?. Of course I had plans when I was young and maybe not all of them came true, but that's how it is for the vast majority.


A lone tear ran from my cheek and landed on the picture and I hit my head violently. Why did I cry? I really didn't understand anything. I wiped away the tears with a napkin and closed the photo album and put them where they usually are. Then I went to bed.


The journey of the week until Friday went as it usually does. Nothing weird or strange happened and that was so thankful considering what happened later.

[Fredriksam]

Friday


Already from the entrance to the museum, the smell of popcorn and other goodies penetrated around dinnertime. Outside the window you could see carousels spinning and a lot of people. It was full of people at the fish market in Karlskrona because that's where the market was.


I stopped working at 2pm because it was Friday and the other friends were coming around 3pm so I wandered around the area but didn't find anything fun.


When I was younger, markets were something I really looked forward to. This slightly tingling and bubbly feeling in the stomach of excitement and a lot of tense expectations, regardless of whether you rode a carousel or not.


Sure, I still liked markets but it was no longer as magical and boozy fun as it was when you were a kid.


On the other hand, I think it's positive with markets because the city is blooming and everyone is as happy and cheerful as they can be. Of course, it's also fun to meet people you don't often meet otherwise.


You can almost talk for hours. As a child, I always hated that the older people would stop and talk to each other, but now I understand why they do it and I do it myself a little from time to time.


I went back to the entrance at the museum and the other friends were already there waiting so I waved to them at the nearest crosswalk and they started walking towards me.


Once at the market stalls, we passed a lot of clothes, sweets and lots of toys in abundance. At one place a salesman was selling music records. I browsed a bit idly among the discs but didn't buy any.


I mostly listen to Spotify at home with the free version and that's enough for me now. I used to love buying records and browsing through what was available, but after signing up for a free account on Spotify, I've become too lazy or too stingy to buy records.


Right next to the record seller was a type of hut that looked cool. I became curious as to what it was and read the sign


Find out today for only 5 pennies. Do you want to know your future?
Come in and let fortune teller Miranda see your future.


One of the friends came up to me and smiled.
- Maybe that's something for you, Ken.
- I wouldn't believe it, Jesper. My name is Kenneth and I don't like it when you call me Ken. You know it
- Oh, you look a bit like Ken in Barbie. The fortune teller only costs a fiver. I'll pay for you


Jesper pulled out a five pennie he had in his trouser pocket and gave it to me. I was about to scold him for mentioning Ken but felt it had to be another time when there weren't so many people around us.


I wasn't sure if I wanted to go to the fortune teller at all. Predictions and the like were not something I believed in. Jesper grabbed me and brought me to the hut opening. The fabric rustled as I entered the hut.


- No listen. what are you doing. I don't want to, I said annoyed.


A cheerful female face looked up at me. She waved me in and I hesitantly walked over to a round table. It was not an old lady but a younger woman. She looked almost a little attractive even though she was too young for my age. Her hair was completely white and somehow resembled the kind of hair almost newborn babies have.
A man at another smaller table received the five pennies and he nodded at the woman. She nodded towards an empty chair where I was supposed to sit and then she sat opposite me. The woman took out a bunch of cards that she put on the table and then she grabbed one of my hands.


- Hey, wait a minute, I said. I was absolutely not prepared for this.


She just smiled at me and then she gently felt my wrists.


- You're starting to feel old. You have started to think about your age.


I snorted. None of that resonated with me. I had absolutely not thought about my age. Sure, I had cut off the gray hair, but it was just for my appearance, right?


The woman continued to feel the inside of her palm. She hummed but suddenly she frowned.


- You will have a hard trial in some way. Something will happen to you. You will be.. something Hmm.


She frowned more and gasped a few times.


I couldn't help but smile at her. Good acting but still clearly acting. I wondered how many times she had run this with her clients. But of course, what can you ask for for five pennies? A little show, sort of.


The woman began to speak. Towards the end she whispered but I still heard what she said.


- You will be transformed both physically and mentally and your life will change drastically. You will survive it all but it will be harder and you have to be strong. You will turn into a me... merman.
- Merman? What is it?. I must have looked like a living question mark. The man over at the table looked up at me in a strange way.


The woman, in turn, looked into my eyes for a very long time and seemed to shudder, and then she got up quickly. She waved her hand at me to get me out.


- So so. Next customer, she said cheerfully.


- But wait. What transforms? What is a merman? Can you explain please, I said in a slightly raised voice.
- The session is over now, said the man at the table brusquely and led me out of the hut. A guard emerged from some hiding place inside and glared at me almost provocatively.


I came out of the hut and into the heat and the other market bangers and the people. I felt strange throughout my body but that feeling quickly disappeared. I searched for my friends. They were standing near a stall selling sweets.


- Will be some profits in the future or something, Jesper said and grinned.
- Nah. You know very well that I never play. Neither on horses nor on anything like that, so how would there be any profit?
Jesper laughed and smiled with his whole mouth.
- But Jesper. I wonder. Do you know what a merman is, I wondered gently
- Merman? have no idea. ask Tony, he knows most things. why are you asking?
- Nothing special. Just heard someone talking about it before and was wondering what it was.


Jesper nodded and sucked on a caramel in his mouth.


Tony was paying for candy and I didn't want to bother with this question so I waited until he was done and stood with the rest of us.


- So where are we going now? asked Micke, who stood quietly and just listened to the rest of us. He often didn't say much but he was very good at listening to people and what they really wanted but didn't say.
We decided to walk all the way to where the market ends. I now moved closer to Tony and felt I could ask him.


- Hey Tony. What exactly is a merman, I asked as quietly as I could.
- Ah Merman. A merman is the male version of a mermaid. A mermaid, you know what that is, I guess. They can also be called mermen, Tony told me cheerfully and in my ears far too loudly.


The other people around us watched with raised eyebrows and curious eyes. I felt stupid for asking and looked down at the ground to avoid the others' gazes.


- Do you want some chocolate? What is it? Tony looked at me searchingly
- Well, it's nothing. Feeling good, a little tired. That's probably all, I lied.


Tony nodded and we continued walking past the market stalls. Soon we were at the last stand. They sold cocos and chocolate balls in a box. I bought a box of chocolate cakes for SEK 50.


We started going back to where the market started. I glanced towards the hut I had been in before. It looked cold and not as pleasant anymore.


At the beginning of the market, we said goodbye to each other and went home to our respective homes. Tony and Jesper would come tomorrow to the party. Jesper had already promised something extraordinary and I felt some anticipation. Wondering what it could be?


Back home, I again took out the photo albums I had looked at the previous day. Oh, so many memories, I thought. On some of the photos I had even written a comment about where and how the photos were taken. Some of the pictures made me laugh out loud while others almost made me a little sad.


There was no reason to be sad, I thought and thought about what the fortune teller had told me. Maybe what she said had affected me now, but I pushed the thought away. I started crying the night before, so it didn't match. I sighed deeply and put the albums back on the bookshelf.


Later that night I googled Merman and it was as Tony said. A male mermaid. Spontaneously, I wondered what the fortune teller had been smoking before she said what she said.


Satisfied for the day, I went to bed and quickly fell asleep.

[Fredriksam]

Saturday


I woke up quite early on Saturday. Saw to my annoyance that my internet router had died. No light was on and the computer said "No connection available". I unplugged the router and plugged it back in. Nothing happened. The router felt cold when I put my hand on it. It used to be reasonably warm under normal conditions. The contact was also cold.


Well, I had to call support on Monday and ask for a new router. I had internet on my mobile, although not as fast as on the computer because it was not from the same provider.


I showered and saw to my horror two gray hairs in my hair when I looked in the mirror afterwards. I cut off the hairs and threw them in the trash can.


Had a good breakfast with marmalade and toast and fruit tea. Normally I drink fruit tea in the evening but it was in the morning this day. I cleaned up the apartment a bit before the arrival of the guests.


I was going to invite the guests to food and thought about what to offer, but then I realized that puff pastry-wrapped pork tenderloin is really good. I went to City Hall to buy the ingredients. Of course I would have Harsico verts, mushroom sauce and potato balls. Just like in the 80s when this was a parade dish.


Once home, I started Spotify on the phone and selected 80s hits. Admittedly, I was born in the 70s, but it is the 80s and beyond that I remember best and can relate to the most.


It didn't take long to fix the food and at 2pm there was a knock on the door and my guests arrived. The food was just finished so I told them we would eat first.


Jesper wanted to present his surprise first. It was DJ Marre. Our citys most famous DJ. Super famous for really playing music that fits in and gets people dancing like wild animals on the dance floor. Dj Marre had a big mammoth speaker with him which he placed in the living room and plugged in his player and mixer.


I was a little unsure if it was a good idea to use such a large speaker in the apartment but said nothing about it. I could ask DJ Marre to lower the volume if it got too loud.


Somehow I felt I could forgive Jesper for his little overstep the previous day with the mention of Ken. I know it is very difficult to hire Dj Marre for private parties.


Dj Marre was also hungry and we all ate the food with good appetite. Everyone thought it was delicious. After the meal I put on coffee and cinnamon buns which we will have later


Dj Marre started the first song. It was Diana Ross' song "Upside Down". Nice disco song like that at the beginning. Later there were more 70s and 80s hits. Some I had almost forgotten they existed.


A little later, Jennifer Rush's top hit "The power of love" is played. A really good song but it brought back memories. Memories I wasn't sure I wanted to remember.


School disco in 1985. I stand there shy and right as it is, this song is played. My favorite girl at school approaches me and wants to propose. Sure as hell I want to dance with her to this song. So we get on the dance floor and start dancing. I'm nervous as hell but I feel like it's going well, but it's starting to bubble uneasily in my stomach, but I'm dancing on.
We're under a big spotlight when someone thumps into my back. Oops. She laughs but doesn't care what's going on. I'm so nervous and can't resist and suddenly I squirt vomit right on her dress. She is not very happy at all.
Of course I blame those damned fish sticks (Another reason to hate fish in my adult life) I got at home and the two sausages I ate at the disco but deep down i Knew it was just because I was so nervous.
Of course, the tough guys in the class have seen everything and I get called both one and the other at school afterwards.


I shake my head to get rid of the memory and tell DJ Marre that it's a good song. Neither DJ Marre nor the others who are there know about the incident and I think it's nice that only I know.


The guests bring presents which I receive after coffee. It's some nice clothes, a cool hat and some other mixed stuff. I am happy with what I get.


Later in the evening I get an idea. I pull out some of my old photo albums to show what I looked like when I was younger. Some of the guests seem interested but Tony just looks at me strangely. DJ Marre is the one who is most curious about the pictures. He has only lived in Karlskrona for five years.


At 8 pm the guests go home. Tony says; see you tomorrow. Will pick you up around 10 o'clock. I nod and smile happily at him.


I clean up and put the dishes in the dishwasher and start it. I'm tired and go to bed when the dishwasher is done.

[Fredriksam]

Sunday


Woke up quite early today and the sun is already shining from an almost cloudless sky. Good weather for fishing, but I probably have to wear my sun hat so I don't get too hot on my head.


Eats a good breakfast with marmalade and toast but takes Earl Russian Gray instead of fruit tea. I like the lemon flavor in the tea. Packing up some sausages to grill when we're out. Tony always has a small grill with him so we can grill sausages.


The sunglasses go on and I go downstairs and wait for Tony. He is usually punctual and almost exactly at 10.00 his car is outside in the parking lot. I go out and get in the car.


Tony drives to Hästö where the boat is. After parking the car we go to Tony's boat.


It's not huge, but it's enough for the two of us. The boat is beautiful dark brown and is called Jola. Tony carefully puts down his two fishing rods that we use when fishing. He also has a large box of different moves.


After we pull the boat down to the lake, we settle into the boat. Tony starts the engine and we are heading for the sea. Lyckebyfjärden glistens in the sun.


- I thought we should check out a new place to go fishing that I haven't visited before. It is said that you get good catch there, says Tony.
- Sure, why not, I say.


We sit there in silence for a while while the boat engine takes us on. Despite the hum of the engine, we hear the lapping of the water against the boat and it's a nice and cozy sound somehow. It gives me peace of mind.


The journey continues and we approach Verkö and the northern hill. We continue and turn north after Ängholmen. We see a few others who are also out with their boats. We greet and they greet back.


It takes a while but eventually we arrive at the destination Tony chose. It is located near Knösöudden. There is no other boat in sight here at the moment but according to Tony it should be a popular spot.


The engine is turned off and now only the gurgling of the water and a little noise from the wind can be heard. Some birds fly over the lake and it looks absolutely magical. Almost like a postcard that you can buy as a souvenir.


- Well. How does it feel to be 50 like this a week later?
- Well no problems really. I stand firmly on my feet and life goes on.
- I was surprised yesterday when you took out the photo album. It's the kind of thing old people do when they want to remember better times.
- Gosh. Just thought someone wanted to look at old photos. Nowadays, everything is digital and is not the same as when you really thought before taking a picture.


It's quiet for a while but Tony nods a little to himself. That's actually pretty accurate.


I suddenly sigh and say without thinking: Okay. I've had a few gray hairs removed from my hair recently and I got a great leaflet on age anxiety in the mail.


Tony looks at me and says hmm. He seems lost in thought. Finally he says; it is fine. I won't gossip. He has a small sly smile and I hope he keeps what he promised.


- Okay My Friend. Now I think it's time we go fishing, says Tony with a smile.


I agree with him. We take each other's rod and put on each other's move. I choose one with a nice color while Tony chooses a more neutral one. Then we throw out the lines and start checking whatever there are any fish here or not.


Tony gets his first fish first. A relatively large splashing herring. After killing it, it is placed in the fish bucket. He gets another one. A slightly smaller one but still.


I haven't had a fish yet but that doesn't matter. In the background I hear Tony gasp. Another fish caught. Maybe my move is too colorful. I take it off and put another one in there. It's more blue-grey.


I throw out again and start humming a song that was played yesterday. It's Belinda Carlisle's "Heaven is a place on earth". It's been so long since I heard the melody and now it's stuck in my head.


I have a crazy travel memory for that song. It was when the family visited London and the song was played everywhere. The whole family was singing along to the song in the car when suddenly the engine cut out. It smelled burnt and dad had to stop in the middle of a motorway.
We soon got help and we got to borrow a car while ours was being fixed. The loan car was probably the worst thing we ever drove. But we arrived and saw all the sights, so the trip was still good.


In the middle of sitting there in other thoughts, I notice that I've have a catch. And what a catch then. This fish does not want to be caught. However, I am stubborn as a donkey and gradually the fish comes closer to the surface. It's really colorful, almost like a rainbow. I know nothing about fish but I have never seen one like this before.


Tony looks over at me and whistles
- Don't drop it. Hold it steady.
- Yes Yes. I know. I know this reasonably well.
- Damn what a badass you've gotten.
- Yes, it is struggling, but I will win, I say


The fish is up at the surface and I can see it well now. It's big, almost like a cod, but it's definitely not a cod. The colors of the fish combined with its movements make me almost hypnotized. I mumble something unconsciously.


- Huh? what did you say Tony wonders.
- The fish will soon be up.
- that's good. Nice catch there.


I pull the fish up the last bit and it lands in the boat. I grab its head and..


What on earth?


The head looks weird. Almost like.. well almost


Almost like a human!


I look at the fish and shake my head. People are people and fish are fish, it's that simple. But this relatively big thing makes me think about what I believe.


what the hell. This is absolutely crazy.


I pull the string from its mouth and study it more closely. It looks like a fish, smells like one, feels like a fish too but has an almost human face.


I'm about to kill the fish with my hands when its teeth come into contact with my fingers and it bites me. It hurts my finger on the left hand.


I stagger backwards in surprise and the fish goes back into the water. Tony reacts immediately.


- Hey hey. What's going on buddy?
- Me. the. The fish bit me.


I show the finger that has now begun to bleed.


- Nah. You must have simply cut your teeth on the move.
- I had already removed it then
- The fish can't have bitten you. Tony sees the bite and nods to himself.
- It looked strange too. The head almost looked like…
- Yes what?
- like a..
- Yes what?


I sigh deeply and say; Nevermind. I don't think Tony would believe me if I told him what it looked like.


- Well, where is the fish then? You caught it
- I dropped it in the water when it bit me; I said truthfully.
- God how boring. You have to try to catch it again, you know.
- Yes, yes, that's what happens. It's probably far away now.


I'm not going to try to catch it again. Actually it was quite spooky but feel like I can't explain it very well to Tony. He would probably laugh if I explained. Besides, he knows my attitude towards fish.


- There are plasters in the yellow box in the drawer if you need.


I thanks Tony and took out a Band-Aid. It fit perfectly.


I don't feel like fishing anymore so I put my rod in the boat but Tony fishes some more. The bucket is almost full when Tony is satisfied.


- It was indeed a good catch here. Will definitely recommend the place to anyone.


I say nothing but look out over the sea. It's nice and peaceful somehow. There is something alluring about it.


-Would you like some sausage? I'm super hungry.


I,m actually hungry and nods. Tony starts the engine and drives a little longer. We find a smaller island where you can stop and grill.


It doesn't take long to grill the sausages. Tony and I sit on a small rock that is on the island and we look out to sea while we eat. The wind has started to blow a little but the sky is largely cloudless.


- This is freedom. This is how I would like to live; says Tony
- Live on such an island? Without beer and home?
- But think. Okay. You build a house on the island and take the boat and take yourself to the store and then back home. That would work right?
- Yes, it could have worked, apart from when there is a storm.
- So what?
- A flood can easily destroy the house if its close to the sea.


Tony sits quietly for a moment, then shrugs. We sit in silence for a while and just be. Today's society is always so stressful and there are few times you can relax like we do now.


I drag my right finger over the rock. It feels really smooth. The finger on the left side where the fish bit me still stings a little but not so much that it bothers me.


When the sausages are eaten, we just sit there in the sun and cuddle.


- Now we must get home. The fish will be bad otherwise: says Tony and gets up.
- Nice to get together and do some fishing, even if the only fish I caught fell back into the water. Talk about fail.


We both have a good laugh about it all as we walk to Tony's boat. If we filmed the whole thing, it would probably have placed well on failarmy on Youtube.


Once in the boat, Tony starts the engine and begins the journey back to Hästö where the boat is kept when not in use. I turn on spotify on my mobile to the 80's mix and soon Baltimore's "Tarzan Boy" echoes across the ocean.


Oh how people screamed their heads off to it when this was played at the disco. Tony laughs and I suspect he's thinking the same thing or has a funny memory for the song.


The journey towards Hästö is relatively fast but without any rocking in the boat. Tony is used to the sea and turns perfectly at any waves.


Once there, we pull up the boat where it is when we are not using it. Then we go to Tony's car. The fish bucket is on the floor behind my chair and I smell them and wrinkle my nose slightly.


Tony drives me to town and drops me off outside the entrance to the house where I live.


- There we are. Shall we go fishing next Sunday too?
- Sure why not.
- Will it be okay if I pick up at the same time?
- Absolutely.
- Well. Hello to you!


I waved goodbye to Tony and he drove home. Tony lives on Saltö, so he doesn't have that far from home.


Once up in the apartment, I fixed some supper. It turned out to be some chicken and salad with tomatoes and little else. I also had some honeydew melon in the salad. Very good.


Then I sat down in front of the TV and watched some drama film. It doesn't seem very good so I turn it off and sit there in silence. I feel tired and lay down on the sofa for some rest.


I woke up sometime in the middle of the night and decided to go to bed instead. I feel a little warm but not too much.

[Fredriksam]

Chapter 2: A change of sorts occurs


Monday


The mobile alarm rang at 7 o'clock and I didn't immediately feel alert. I felt my forehead and realized that I must have a slight fever. Probably nothing to worry about, I think and get up and get ready for work. Today it will be beef stroganoff with rice as the food of the day.


I get to work on time. Today's task will be to find pictures for an exhibition about markets in the past. I go down to the dusty basement and look in old binders and boxes. Some of it is catalogued, so I just need to search on the work computer on "Markets" and that will bring up the amount of material that is available.


The dusty air makes me sneeze several times in a row. Fortunately, the drops only end up on the floor. It would have been a disaster if it ended up on some old and perhaps unique paper.


After just over two hours, I have found enough material that can be used for the exhibition. I go back up and the elevator creaks and creaks in protest even though I'm not very heavy. I've been a little too quick with the buttons.


The lift is old and is a bit special. If you show it respect, it works fine, but if you stress and press hard on the buttons, it usually stops halfway. It often happens to trainees who do not show the elevator respect.


I take the folder and all the pictures to my work room and start sketching how I want it to look. Of course, my boss has to approve the whole thing first before the big job of putting everything there can begin.


It wasn't long until it was lunch time. I heat the food in the microwave and sit down next to Olivia. She is one of the prettiest girls working at the museum. Olivia is always so spontaneous and easy to talk to too.


I tell her that Tony and I went fishing yesterday and then I show the finger where the fish bit me. Olivia gets curious and says she's never heard of fish being bitten but that sometime has to be the first and I was the one who got bitten.


Olivia smirks and picks up her wallet. There she takes out a lottery ticket. She has already scratched it and three of the numbers show 500,000.
- Wow. Congratulations on the win: I say.
- I usually never buy lottery tickets but at the market on Friday I was inside a hut with a fortune teller and she predicted I would get a big win. So after that I went to the City Hall and bought a ticket and lo and behold. It was a win.


I was also inside the fortune teller; I say spontaneously but immediately regret having said anything. After all, her prediction about me was not about any profit, but about a transformation into something.. fairy tale creature.
Olivia is curious about what the fortune teller said about me but I say I don't want to talk about it.


- The whole thing was just so weird and not very believable.
- Well, yes. Hmm. Must go to my room now. Lunch is over.
- It's always fun talking to you.
- Some of your colleagues almost use me as a psychologist sometimes, but that's okay. It's fun to talk to people.


I nod and we walk away to our respective rooms. It's late afternoon and I'm done with the sketches. The boss is in a meeting so I'll have to show her tomorrow instead. I stamp my work card and go home.


Halfway home it starts to rain and thunder heavily. I rush into the watchmeister shopping Center to avoid getting soaked. The rain patters against the roof and lots of people pour in from outside who also seek shelter from the rain.


I go in and look at clothes at the sports cloths company. Finds a nice T-Shirt with a motif of a nice mermaid on a cliff. The mermaid has a long and colorful fish tail.


I stand looking at the shirt and feel some strange temptation that I can't quite explain. I'm embarrassed and red as a traffic light when I pay for the shirt. The girl at the checkout smiles at me and says that that shirt is popular with a lot of guys. I'm not particularly surprised.


I walk over to the food store and look around a bit but don't buy anything. When I come out of the store, I see that the rain outside has eased. I quickly go out and half run the last bit home. My shirt that I am wearing is slightly damp but not so wet that I need to change it.


Turns on the TV and checks some news. No fun news. However, a lot about war and other misery. A moment later I see a powerful flash out there and a few seconds later a loud rumble. The rain is picking up again. It's a lulling sound and I turn off the TV.


I still have a bit of a fever and I've got a nagging headache. It happens that I get a headache when it is about to or is about to thunder.


I take an alvedon and go to bed with my clothes on. It's nice and cozy in bed.

[Fredriksam]

Tuesday


I wake up drenched in sweat. The clothes are tight against my sweaty skin. The sheets are also wet with sweat and the room smells sour. I check the digital clock. It shows 03.19. I have been lying down and sleeping since around 8 pm.


The pan feels even hotter than it did on Monday morning. I groan and laboriously get out of bed and pull off the now soaked shirt and shorts. I hang the sweater over the washing tub and the shorts over a chair in the bedroom.


I go to the kitchen and pour a glass of cold water and quickly gulp it down. I take another glass and groan at the fever that rages in my body.


The fish must have infected me somehow.


I take the glass into the bedroom with me and will check google for type; "bite by fish high fever sweating" when I remember that I didn't call about the broken router. I pick up my mobile and search on it, but I don't get a single hit on those search terms.


I search for "Bite of fish" instead. There are actually some hits there. So the statement that fish don't bite is not always true, I think. I'm definitely going to show that to Tony the next time we meet.


When I scroll the text, I see a word Tetanus. Alas, not so good, I think. Could that possibly be what happened? That I got tetanus? I hope not.


I decide to take another alvedon. It might help. Then I go to bed again.


Sleep does not occur. Instead, I lie and toss and turn in bed. I lie on the part of the bed that is not wet with sweat. When it's around 05.10 I've had enough and get up instead. The fever has not gone down at all.


I take out the thermometer and take the temperature. It shows on 39.2. Not good. I sit on the couch and stare into nothingness. When I hear the phone's wake-up call, I am brought back to life and rush out to the bedroom.


I almost faint as I stand there on the floor and I feel like I have to sit down. There is no way I can work today feeling this way so I call work when the exchange opens and call in sick. Then I fall asleep there on the bed.


I wake up around 2pm because it tightens like hell on both the right and left side of my neck. It feels incredibly uncomfortable. The fever seems to have subsided a bit but as soon as I get up the world spins. I have to sit on the bed again.


I sit there for a while and after a while I can get up again without the world spinning. Good.


I feel like I'm so incredibly thirsty for water and take the glass from the bedroom to the kitchen and fill it up. Then I take out a salt container and hold a lot of salt in the water and sip on the water.


Hold on. Why do I have salt in the water? It's so disgusting. Or wait. It's actually not that disgusting. It actually tastes...good


I stand and stare at the glass in my hand and see the salt slowly moving in the water. It certainly shouldn't be good but it is.


I quickly drink the water and stand and think for a while.


I feel hungry for food and fix some boiled egg and bread with ham and tea. It's good but not as good as expected. I look sourly at the bread and the ham.


It's still tight as hell around my neck but I don't have any difficulty breathing so I don't care about the problem right now.


I feel really tired so I go and lay on the bed for a while. Around 5 pm I wake up and am hungry for more water, so I pour a new glass of water and some salt and drink the water greedily. I'm not hungry but I think it's best to eat something too.


I check what food I have in the freezer and settle for a casserole with potato gratin. I heat it in the microwave and while the food is heating up, I quickly look through today's newspaper. There is nothing of interest there, but it is always good to keep track of what is happening in the world.


The microwave beeps and I take the food out. The meat is good but strangely enough I am disgusted by the grated cheese on the potato gratin. I've always liked it but now I can hardly eat it. It is better to eat the potatoes themselves. I force down a piece of grated cheese and almost gag from the taste.


but what the hell


The rest of the food goes down, but the cheese ends up in the garbage. I sit there for a while at the kitchen table and just let my thoughts spin. Finally I go into the living room and turn on the TV.


"Mermaids and merfolk are on the news again as the horror writer John Ajvide Lindqvist recently came out with a book about mermaids, but also the author Carl Johan Vallgren has also come out with a book on the subject. However, Carl Johan's book is about a merman. We have both authors in the studio today for an interview in Today's After Five."


I snort and choose another channel.


"Today on mystic animals: Does mermaids really exist? What is a merman? We visit today some cities and experts to find out about the legends of merpeople."


I sigh and turn to another channel. There the movie "Splash" is shown which yes, is about a mermaid who falls in love with a man.


So strange that everything should be about this right now


I've had enough and turn off the TV. I'm still feverish and not feeling well so I decide to go to bed.

[Fredriksam]

Wednesday


I wake up reasonably rested. The fever has gone down but it still tightens my neck a bit but I feel that I will be able to work today.


I.m happy because it is Wednesday. Olivia and I then go out for lunch and eat something in town. Most often in a restaurant, but sometimes we eat something in the square.


I go to work and the weather is really nice. I show the sketches about the exhibition to my boss and she is very pleased. My job will now be to put everything together on several boards. It should of course be arranged chronologically so that you can follow the history more easily.


I put the pictures chronologically so that it will be easier to set them up correctly. It takes a while. When I'm halfway done, the big clock on the wall chimes. Time for lunch.


Olivia is standing outside her office and we decide to go up to the main square and eat something from a serving cart. I'm probably going to buy a big hamburger like that if that seller is there today.


Olivia and I talk to each other a bit during the journey up to the square. Once up, I immediately see that yes, the hamburger seller is standing there and I habitually steer the steps towards it.


I'm almost there when I smell a wonderful scent in the air. I sniff in the air and feel the saliva coming. Whatever it is that smells so good, I have to have it. It doesn't come from the hamburger seller anyway. The smell from there strangely makes me recoil.


The scent is so good that I feel like I can't really concentrate on what Olivia is saying. I sniff further to find what smells so divinely good. Olivia is standing behind me saying something but I can't quite hear what it is.


Finally I arrive at where the scent is coming from. It's a blue and white wagon that I don't recognize. A Greek with a rather large beard looks at me with a questioning look.


- Yep. What will it be today then?
- What smells so incredibly good.
- Hmm. It's probably the fried herring. Do you want it?


Herring? It's fish! I feel unsure of what my nose is telling me and what my taste buds are thinking.


-Ohh. Fried herring is incomparably good; Olivia says next to me.
-Uh, yes. I'll take a fried herring with mash and a coke please; I say but feel very unsure if I really want this. If nothing else, I can eat the mash and drink the cola if the herring tastes bad. I give the seller the money. It's cheaper than the hamburger I intended to buy


Olivia also takes a fried herring with mash, but she chooses a Loka to drink instead.


Olivia and I sit down at a bench on the so-called sunny side and start eating. The seagulls scream around us but we don't care.


I take the first bite of the fish and.. it actually tastes good! If someone had said a week earlier that I would like fried herring, I wouldn't have believed them, but both my nose and taste buds tell me the same thing. This is good.


As I sit there with Olivia, a kind of calmness suddenly spreads through my body. It's very hard to explain how, but it almost feels like coming home after a long journey. I've been unconsciously feeling this tense feeling for a while but now it's just gone like that.


When we finish eating, Olivia and I go back to work. I continue to sort the pictures and when the clock shows that it is time to go home, I have just finished with all the pictures. I put them in a big folder so the pictures are protected.


When I get home, I see that I have received a text message from my parents. I don't see them very often. I call them up and it is decided that we will meet on Saturday, I think it will be nice to meet them.


I later call the support of the broadband company about my broken router. There are a few ahead in the queue but I get connected after a while. After a little talk between us, they understand that my router is really broken and they promise to send a new one as soon as possible.


I go into the kitchen and think about what to make for supper. I decide to fry an egg and bacon.


After the meal, I watch a bit of TV, but nothing interests me. Instead, I take out a book and start reading. It's a book by Stephen King and it's exciting.


I have read several chapters and when I look at the clock in the living room it is 11.25 pm. I decide to go to bed. I usually go to bed around 9 or 10 pm. It doesn't take long before I fall asleep.

[Fredriksam]

Thursday


I wake up at 7 o'clock from my mobile phone and get up and take a shower. It doesn't tighten anything around the neck anymore, which is nice. It's time to shave, I think as I stand in the shower.


When I'm done, I get out of the shower and dry myself. Walks up to the mirror and gets a minor shock. No gray hair this time but something strange on both sides of the neck.


It's like four vertical lines in the skin of the neck. It is also on both the right and left side. I raise my hand and feel the lines but it doesn't feel strange in any way.


But what on earth is it?


I try to get hold of the lines but nothing happens. They sit where they sit. I growl at them and pick up the razor and shave. I drag the razorblade over the lines but feel nothing special about them. It doesn't hurt when I run the razorblade over them and there's no blood either so probably nothing to worry too much about.


Maybe some kind of ageism simply.


Something in my subconscious comes up with an answer. Gills.


I shake my head and think it's probably time to see a psychologist. But the scary thing is that it actually resembles gills. But closed if so.


Stop it. Don't even think about it. There isn't any possibility to it.


After shaving and making myself pretty and also putting on a sweater that hides the stretch marks, I go to the kitchen and make breakfast.


There will be eggs and sandwiches with liver pate and Pro viva orange juice and, of course, good tea. It will be a fruit tea with apple cinnamon and raisins. It tastes like Christmas and probably doesn't quite fit now that it's almost summer, but it's very good. I can barely get the sandwiches down. They taste sickening and disgusting somehow.


Before I go to work, I look in the freezer for some food I want. There is quite a lot to choose from, but nothing really feels appealing. In the end, I settle for a young pancake with bacon in it. It will do. I'm thinking I'll buy something more nutritious later at the food market, but not sure what.


I go to work and continue with my project. Soon I will be ready to put up the pictures on the different boards. I put the very oldest ones up first. They are yellow with age. One of the coworkers knocks on my door and asks if I can be a guide today because Daniel is sick and no one else really has time.


I choose to help guide tourists. A lot of people come today and many are curious and ask questions. When I go home for the day, I'm actually a little mentally tired. But the most important thing is that I have helped and that means a lot to me.


I go into our local food market and look around and think about what I really want. The fish section attracts me like a magnet. I stand and choose but in the end I choose a frozen cod. It will do. I pay and go home.


When I get home, I cook the cod and also some potatoes. It's very good and I sit and enjoy the taste in the kitchen. There will be some cod and potatoes left and I put them in a lunchbox for the next day to take to work.


I later listen to a record with the group Electric Light Orchestra. One of my favorite songs is on the record. It's "Can´t Get It Out Of My Head". Such true words sometimes. Right now I have fishes and mermaids in my head and it's actually a bit disturbing.


I take out my Stephen King book that I started reading yesterday and then I sit in my favorite armchair in the living room and read.


It won't be as late as last night unless I go to bed around 10pm. I'm pretty tired but not in a bad way.

[Fredriksam]

Friday


I am woken up by my mobile signal and get up. The vertical lines are still on my neck and I can't help but growl at them.


I'm thinking about what sweater to wear today, but in the end I'm stuck with the sweater with the mermaid. She looks a bit challenging and I feel like I'm getting a bit of an easy hard-on there in my pants. The sweater turns out to fit perfectly, but the lines on my neck are not hidden by it. I shrug and don't care.


I fry some bacon and eggs for breakfast. I put the can of cod and potatoes in my bag and go to work.


It feels a little chilly outside, but I walk quite fast so it's not a problem. Once at work, I continue to put up the pictures on boards. The manager comes in and says that she and some others are going to a conference in Växjö on Monday, so if I want I can take time off then.


I think for a while and then say that I would be happy to take Monday off. The manager nods and writes on a piece of paper that I am free on Monday.


- What have you done to that neck by the way?
- Ah, it's nothing. Just some brand.
The manager moves closer and studies the lines.
- Maybe should have a doctor check that.
- Will call on Monday and hear what they think.


The manager nods and walks away to his room. I sit and think for a while, but then I continue with my work.


I finish my work and go to the communal kitchen and heat my fish. While I wait, I check the daily newspaper. It will be beautiful weather all weekend and the beginning of next week. I feel it will be perfect.


Sune enters the kitchen and heats his food in the second microwave. He has hamburgers today. When my microwave beeps, I take out the plate and sit down at my favorite place. A kitchen sofa that is very comfortable to sit in. It reminds me of a kitchen sofa that my grandmother used to have.


Sune's microphone beeps and he chooses to sit next to me. I move a little so we don't have to sit close to each other.


- Huh. Do you eat fish?
- Yes, today I do anyway; I say
Sune looks at me wide-eyed and can't seem to believe his eyes and ears.
- But you hate fish. What happened?


I sigh and lie and say my doctor said I need to eat fish. Actually, that's actually true but that's not why I eat fish. However, I have no other sensible answer so it will have to be a lie.


Sune seems to be satisfied with the answer but then he stares at me again. More thoroughly this time.


- But what have you done to the neck there; he asks, pointing to the lines on my neck.
I shake my head and say I don't know.
- Doesn't look normal anyway. It kind of looks like gills, but it can't be.
- Yes Yes! I will ask the doctor to check on Monday; Am I being a little too hard on Sune.


Sune almost looks a little hurt because he mutters something and pulls away a bit. He sits there and alternately looks at me and alternately at his food.


-Sorry. I didn't mean to be mad; I finally say.


Sune nods but still looks a little hurt and I quickly get up and walk out of the kitchen. Sune is still sitting with his half-eaten food and seems to be thinking.


I go back to my room and sink into the chair. What is wrong with me today? I, as always, am just as nice and chatty with most people anyway. I don't understand how I could sneer at Sune like that and I almost get a little scared of myself.


Well, whatever it is, it will pass, I think and sigh deeply. There is not much work after the lunch, but I sit there mostly in my own thoughts.


I go home just after 14. My router has arrived and I pick it up at the local postal service and unpack it when I get home. It is quick to install and soon I have internet on my computer again.


After a while of aimlessly surfing, I googled the words "Merman Transformation". I find some children's books and novels but none of what I was able to read immediately resonated with me.


I feel very restless and I decide to go for a walk. I don't have any particular plans on where to go. I pass the old bell and start walking towards Vallgatan. After the tower, I continue down towards the road. The seagulls scream and the sea lapping so nicely.


I think a lot during the walk. Was it true what the fortune teller told me? Why does it look like I have gills on my neck? Why do I suddenly like fish when I used to hate them? Why was I so turned on by the mermaid on my shirt?


I don't immediately get an answer to my questions, but going through the questions like this makes me calmer.


My walk continues and soon I am at Stumholmen. The weather is beautiful and many people are on the beach by the water. I go down to the water's edge and feel the water. It's actually so hot that I could imagine jumping in, but I don't have swimming trunks with me, so that will have to be another time.


After I've been to Stumholmen, I decide to walk a bit by the road at the commercial harbor and the area there. When I approach there, I see several people standing and fishing. They seem to be having a good time. Part of the wharf is closed because it is in such bad shape but I go where you can go.


When I pass the teen school I go uptown again. I go up to Ronnebygatan and pass all the shops and everything. At the main square I turn down towards the library and soon I'm home again.


When I get home, I sit in the living room and read. At 8 p.m., I lazily watch "Prisoners At The Fort". When the program is over, I feel quite tired and go to bed.

[Fredriksam]

Saturday


I wake up a little later than usual, but it probably still counts as morning when I get up around 10 o'clock. Bakes toast with marmalade. It doesn't taste the same as last week but it's going down anyway.


After breakfast I take the bus to my parents. It's a bit of a walk from the bus stop, but I'm used to walking so it's absolutely no problem.


My mother is already outside fixing the garden when I arrive. She loves to fix and donate with the garden. When she sees me, she gets up from the ground and gives me a nice hug. Her work gloves smell of earth.


- How nice to see you. It's been a while since you visited. How is work going? Have you found any love yet? What is that on your neck? Nice shirt by the way.


Many questions. I happily answer all questions. Except for the neck thing. I don't know exactly what it is.


Mom notices my hesitation on that question. She looks a little worried.


- Maybe you should have a doctor look at that; she finally says.
- I'll ask someone to check that on Monday; I answer. I assure you that I am not in pain there or having trouble breathing. Mom seems to be relaxing a bit.


Dad comes out and says hello. Then he says that he will fry some sausages but that they intend to eat salmon.


I say that I would also like to have some salmon. Both mom and dad look at me in surprise and smile a little. Dad says they can save the sausages for another time.


I ask if they were at the market in town last week. Mom was there for a while while Dad just picked up and drove. I tell them that I was there but do not mention the fortune teller or what she told me.


Mom and I are out in the yard and just talking to each other about everything between heaven and earth. She seems to think it's very nice that I came to visit. Dad is busy in the kitchen with the food while we are out.


After a few hours, he shouts that the food is ready. We go up to their balcony and sit down and start eating. The salmon is cleaned on the bone so it's just eatable. I take a reasonable portion of food.


- There will be watermelon and honeydew melon for dessert; says mother.


We eat in silence. It is always very calm and quiet at the parents' house. In town you can often hear the traffic. Not that it directly disturbs, but it is never really quiet even at night in the city.


Dad looks at me and also wonders what I did to my neck. I reply a little absentmindedly that I don't know but will ask a doctor on Monday.


He seems to be satisfied with the answer. After the meal, we sit and just snuggle before dad clears the table and fetches tea and coffee and the melons. The melons are really juicy and tasty.


After the meal and coffee, we sit there on the balcony and talk about everything possible. I remember what happened last Sunday with the fish. I have to tell them that.


- So anyway. Tony and I fished last Sunday and he got a few fishes while I was kind of bitten on the finger by a fish.
- What? Were you bitten by a fish? Dad looks really surprised.
- It looked strange on the head too. A bit like a human.
- Okay... That sounds a bit strange. Where did you fish?
- Right near Knösöudden. We have not fished there before.
- Oh, oh, then. You have to watch out for those waters.
- Why?
- There are rumors of so-called merpeople living there. Like mermaids and such.
- Do you believe in such things?
- Nah. I guess I don't but I've heard strange rumors about the place so it's best to be careful.


Mother has been sitting still and listening to what we said, but then she starts and says in an upset voice; But what if our Kenneth had been bitten by the merfolk. What then?


- Probably nothing at all; Dad says, frowning.
- Well. Anyway, I'm fine; I say breathlessly.


We sit there quietly for a while and bask in the sun. But then I get up.


- I'm going home now. Thanks for the food and coffee. I will visit a little more often. I promise.


Mom and I hug one last time before I go down to the bus and go home. Back home, I read a bit of Stephen King's book and listen to good music on Spotify.
I go to bed around 11pm.

[Fredriksam]

Sunday


I wake up rested around 8 o'clock and everything is fine. Well. It tightens and feels strange on the lower part of both legs. I look closely at them but see nothing strange.


I get up and shower and think about what clothes to wear today. It will be very hot according to the weather report and in the end I choose a tank top and put it on.


Breakfast will again be toasted sandwiches and marmalade. I don't drink tea today because I don't feel like it, but I do have some good orange juice.


The sausages go into the bag and I put on both sunglasses and a sun hat.


Tony arrives almost at 10 o'clock sharp. He seems somehow angry and answers short when I say hello. The journey to Hästö takes place in silence.


We pick up the boat on land where it was left last week and we drag it out into the water and launch it. We put in the rods and the bag with the lures. Tony starts the engine and we drive towards Verkö.


He stops shortly after the bridge.


- Here it will be good; he says shortly.
- Too bad you were grumpy today


Tony stands quietly for a moment and takes out his rod and puts on his favorite move. He throws out the line and stands there in the boat with a grim look.


- I've had such a bad week; he finally says.
- My week has also been like that. My legs are a little sore right now.


I take my rod and put on a drag that is dark gray. I also throw out the line and reel in a little lightly.


- It already started on Monday when my grandfather died. I miss him so much. He was old, but it's still tragic.


I am quiet and listen.


- Then on Tuesday the car broke down. A rather expensive repair, but it's fixed now. On Wednesday I was almost run over by some idiot. On Thursday, the power went out in the apartment and it took several hours before they found the fault. Fortunately, the food survived in the freezer.


Tony is silent for a moment and looks out over the sea. I feel sorry for him. My problems haven't been as big as his.


- On Friday I got fired and yesterday there was a fire in the house where I live. It didn't affect me but it seriously smells bad in the stairs now.
- I have had a fever and strange sensations in my body and then these. I point to the lines on the neck.


Tony turns and looks at the lines on my neck. He feels them carefully.
- Does it hurt when I feel here?
- No, it doesn't feel like anything at all.
- They look really odd. Have you asked a doctor about it yet?
- No, but I will do it tomorrow.


As we stand there talking, I feel i have a catch. Tony smiles at me as I reel in the line and soon I see a half-sized herring struggling in the water.


I pull up the herring and it lands in the boat. It obviously tries to swim but gets nowhere. I pick it up and remove the pull. I look intently at the fish and then I take it in my mouth and start eating it just like that.


- But what are you doing? You have to clean it first.


I continue to nibble on the fish and it slides further into my mouth. Blood flows from the fish and it really gnashes my teeth. Blood mixed with scales flows into the boat.


Tony shakes his head and just glares at me


- What good table manners you have there. Just eating it like that. But wait a minute now. You don't even like fish.


I mumble something inaudibly between bites. Once the fish is swallowed, I have a lot of sticky fish blood mixed with its scales around the mouth, on the shirt and on the pants. I feel Tony's gaze and grin at him.
- Yes, that one was a good. Take one you too.
- You are really strange today. Have you taken anything? like drugs?.
- Why would I do that? I've never taken any drugs and you know it.
- You never liked fish and now you devour one without hesitation. Also except to even clean and fry it first. Something has happened to you and I want to know what.


I can't really explain but then I remember what dad said about the place we fished.


- My father has said that the place we fished last week has more people such as mermaids and other things. Maybe it was a mermaid baby that bit me and now I've changed somehow.
- Merpeople? I really don't believe in such things.
- But the fortune teller at the market said that I would turn into a merman and maybe something like that happens. In that case what I have on my neck must be gills.
- You never said that a fortune teller told you something like that when you asked what a merman was.
- I didn't think it would happen to begin with. I mean, who would believe such a thing. Your misfortunes may be due to the Merfolk placing a curse on you for taking their fish and I nearly killed one of their cubs or cubs.


Tony stands silent for a long moment and seems to think about what I said.
- Damn them in that case. I just wanted to fish. There wasn't exactly a shortage of fish so they shouldn't care.
- In a sense, I can agree, but there is not much to do. Except then possibly dump back the fish you caught last week in the same spot.
- But it doesn't work. I have already cleaned them and put them in the freezer. They certainly want live fish.


I stand and think for a while. Tony is right. There is not much that can be done about it. Tony turns around and sees that he too has been pacified. He pulls up a herring almost as big as I did and after killing it puts it in the fish bucket.


The day goes by and we both get some more fish. When we got back to Hästö and pulled up the boat, Tony says; I'm guessing you want to take home your share of the catch? It works great if you want it to. Do you know how to clean the fish afterwards?
- I have seen on Youtube sometime; I say.
- Good, but then so. Then we go home.


Tony drives me into town and he seems more relaxed than he was when he picked me up.


- Shall we meet next week too?
- Yes, of course it will be good.
- Sunday as usual?
- Yep.


Once up, I clean the fish. It takes some time but it's also fun somehow. I fry a few herrings for supper and the rest are put in the fridge and freezer.


After the meal I listen to an old vinyl record that I haven't listened to in a very long time. It's Chris De Burgh's album "The getaway". I had forgotten how good this record is and sing quite loudly in some of the songs.


The evening comes and I decide to go to bed. The legs still feel strange and now the skin has started to sting. It bothers me quite a bit, but I can't do anything about it.


I can only hope that next week will be as normal as possible. This week has been a trial for me. I try to think positive thoughts before I go to sleep.

[Fredriksam]

Chapter 3: Metamorphosis

Monday


I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night because it hurts so much in both legs that I feel almost faint. It hurts so terribly and I don't know what to do.


I can feel the legs with my hand and they are really warm. I turn on the bedside lamp and stare at my legs. They actually look a little red. Roughly the way they can look if you've sunburnt your legs way too much.


I climb out of bed and go into the kitchen. I take two alvedons and sincerely hope that the pain will go away. I think for a moment that maybe I should call 112 but dismiss the thought.


It tightens my neck quite a bit at the marks as well and I sigh deeply. What should I do? Finally, I go to bed again. I'm drenched in sweat so I don't pull the covers over me but just lie on top of the sheets.


The pain in my legs comes in waves but in the end it seems to subside and I soon fall asleep again.


I wake up sometime later in the night because something feels wrong. I try to ignore my feeling but finally wake up. I'm lying on my stomach and it feels a little uncomfortable so I decide to turn on my side.


It just doesn't work. The legs don't move as they should and behind me I hear a funny slapping sound and I feel something down there brush against my smaller bookshelf.


I wake up immediately and try to move as I'm used to. Finally I manage to get to one side and now I can see the legs or rather what should be the legs.


They have grown together and are now one big long leg. The leg has grey-blue scales like a fish and at the far end where the feet should be is now a strong fish tail. Kind of like mermaids have. My fish tail is black with yellow small dots on it from the middle out to the end of the fin. The colors look good together and I should be proud but I am horrified by what I see and manage to stifle a scream.


I check my hands and see that there is webbing between the fingers and at the very end at the nails I have sharp claws. I think they are similar to the claws of the monster from "Black Lagoon" but not exactly the same.


I also feel that I am not breathing as I usually do, but that most of the air is coming in at the throat. It feels okay but a little unusual.


So those lines were gills!


I gently feel my hands at the gills and feel them open and close automatically at regular intervals. I think it's good. Dolphins don't breathe automatically, but on the other hand, I'm more of a Mermaid than a dolphin, although a male instead of a female.


I lie there quietly in bed and just stare at my scales and fish tail. I wag the tail a little and it reacts immediately to my command. There is a smell of fish in the room and I realize that it is me who smells.


I'm still uncomfortable and figuring out what it is.


I should be in water and not on dry land.


Of course it is. A fish cannot survive on land for long. I don't have a bathtub, but I do have a shower. That should be enough, I think. But how do I get there?


With the help of the tail and the body, I manage to get on my stomach again. I think I have to crawl off the bed and drag myself to the shower if possible. Pulling myself forward with the power of my arms seems to be going well although it is receiving in the bed.


I manage to pull myself down to the floor and I land with a thud and a clutch from the tail. I pull myself away towards the shower. It's slow but there's no other way to do it.


Finally I lie there in the shower. It's not that big and it feels tight but I can't do anything about it. I turn on the water and after getting a minor shock from the hot water, I change the temperature so it's lukewarm water instead. The water splashes nicely on my body.


I lie on top of the floor well and after a while there is relatively much water around me. I dip my head under the water that is there and feel the water flow through the almost dry gills. It's a wonderful feeling and I lie there for a while. and just let the gills do their job.


Soon it's full of water around me and the shower stop will overflow. However, my fish tail is not under water, it is resting against the wall. It actually feels a bit uncomfortable. Sometimes I wiggle it a little and it makes a funny sound as it moves on the wall.


Hey mom and dad and everyone. Look what I can do!


Water has started to run over the floor from the shower stop and somewhere around here I get an idea. I'm going to try to flood the apartment so I can swim around in it and not have to lie here all day. The electrical sockets in my apartment are quite high, even the stove is high, so there shouldn't be any problem with the electricity in any case.


I remove the stopper with my clawed hands and then I look for something to set or put on the floor drain so no water can run down there. Finally I find a washtub big enough to put over. It's a bit of a struggle to drag it there but I'm not giving up.


It doesn't take long until the whole bathroom is full of water and it has started to flow into the bedroom. I choose to bide my time and take it easy.


I study myself and find that I have some smaller fins on both sides of my body. I touch them a little. Between some of the fins I also have some thin sensory sprouts. I gently feel my hand on them and it feels funny but interesting. The fins are probably used in the water to steer with, but perhaps also to impress possible females.


Hmm, about that.


I wonder about my manhood. It takes a while but eventually I find it. It is hidden behind another fin further down the front body.


Whew! Lucky it's still there.


I decide to open the water faucet to the sink as well so that the water in the apartment will rise faster hopefully. The sink is not that big so it should be relatively quick to fill it. I put a piece of tape there that I found in my bathroom drawer that is on the floor. I carefully plug where the water should normally flow out and then I turn the tap on full blast.


Soon water is running from the sink as well and the water level outside in the bedroom has become a little higher so I decide to go there. I swim a bit lightly with the tail and I am surprised at how fast it moves forward.


Once in the bedroom, I take the opportunity to check what time it is. It shows 04.44. There are guaranteed to be a lot of people sleeping right now, but I'm awake. It feels a bit boring and in a way lonely too. It would actually be nice if I had someone to talk to right now.


I check out the living room and the kitchen. There is hardly any water there yet. The floors are clean as they should be, so the water won't get dirty anyway.


I start talking quietly to myself but all I can hear are funny creaks and snaps. Not unlike the sounds that the dolphins at Kolmården make. I try again and raise my voice. Now there is more creaking and a high-pitched sound as well.


So much for communication with others. Just great


That setback doesn't exactly make me happier. So I cannot make myself understood by others who are not mermen or mermaids.


I'm lying there in the bedroom and I feel sad.


At 07.25 the whole apartment is full of water, although it is not very deep yet. I swim around the apartment feeling at peace with myself despite being transformed. The fins on the side prove helpful when navigating around the floor.


The whole fishtail is under the surface and I notice that it is very strong. Such speed I get when I move forward. As fun as it gets.


When the water level has become so high that I float on the surface, I swim to the bathroom and turn off both the shower and the faucet at the sink. Not a good idea to do more water damage than I've already done, I think.


Afterwards, I aimlessly swim back and forth in the apartment and just be. I'm starting to get hungry and try to open the fridge to grab one of the fish I caught the day before. I don't quite reach the top but get an idea to use a longer broom that I have and thus move the bag with the fish. It succeeds after a few less good attempts and soon the bag is down on the floor. It bobs there in the water.


I carefully open the bag with my clawed hands and grab a few fish and bring them to my mouth. It's not long before they're gobbled up and I take another fish but decide to save the rest for later. With the help of the broom, I manage to get the bag back into the fridge and close it.


It is now around 11 o'clock and I feel a little bored. Although I can swim around the apartment, it doesn't really feel like fun. However, swimming out in the open sea. It would have been something.


Somehow, however, I feel proud of the way I look. Too bad no one else in the house can see me. I mean, my fish tail and my fins are great and the scales are also a nice color.


My tail My fins My scales.


I'm lying there on the water-soaked floor when my whole body suddenly starts to feel strange. I get really hot everywhere and it seems like..


as if..


well, I'm actually slowly turning into a human again. I feel the gills close and I start to breathe as I usually do. My legs sting like hell, but after a while I lie there in the water like a normal person with legs instead of a fish tail. The hand and fingers also look normal.


What to do now then?


I make small talk and I sound just like I always have. I get up and stand there in the water staring like a fool. Then I get speed. The water must be removed.


I rush into the bathroom and remove the washtub that was on the drain. The water starts to flow down there. I unclog the drain at the sink as well.


When the water has run off, I take out my swab and start using it in the rooms that don't have drains. I also open the apartment door so the water can run out that way too.


I'm starting to feel hungry even though I ate some fish before. Presumably the transformation takes some energy so the explanation probably lies there.


I decide to have breakfast and have boiled eggs and several sandwiches with ham on them. I like the salt in the ham.


Most of the water has now disappeared and I walk over to the front door and check out the stairs. There is a large puddle outside my door and some of the water has started to run down the stairs to the next floor. Wonder what the neighbors will think.


I stand and think for a while and then I take out a window scraper and scrape away all the remaining water towards the stairs so that everything flows down there. Better that people don't know where it comes from


When the floors are completely dry in the apartment, I go into the bedroom and sit on the bed and start thinking. So far it has been in good agreement with what the fortune teller said. What has happened so far has been a trial for me but I wonder if more things will happen. Will I transform again? I really hope not.


The day goes by and not much happens. I'm thinking about calling Tony and telling him what happened. He will probably just laugh at me and I would feel humiliated even though I know what happened was true.


No, I have to solve this myself. I can't involve others in this. I thank my lucky stars that I got today off.


Even later in the day, I make lunch and it turns out to be fish. I hear people outside my front door and they seem upset. Of course, they have seen all the water and wonder where it comes from. No one rings my doorbell and after a while they seem to have gone into theirs.


I go to bed much earlier than I usually do. It's been a busy day for me and I need the sleep.

[Fredriksam]

Tuesday


I wake up sometime in the middle of the night and feel a great discomfort in my legs which soon goes away. I manage to turn on my side and i can see how the scales spread over the entire leg and the fish tail grows and unfolds. Actually, I don't want to see but I get so fascinated by it that I can't look away.


Out of old habit, I check what time it is. It shows 02.12 and I went to bed around 8. So I have slept for just over 6 hours.


I crawl down to the floor and once down I drag myself to the bathroom and the shower. Just like the previous day, I put the washtub over the drain and also open the faucet at the sink on full blast.


I'm thinking how I can transform back and not have to wait more than half a day to be normal again. I push for all I'm worth and something happens.


What happens is that feces come from a smaller opening just above the fish tail. I get frustrated to say the least but decide to try to pick it up before it mixes with the water.


I make a loud noise of displeasure and it's a loud screeching sound that echoes in the pipes and on the bathroom mirror there is a tiny little crack in the glass. Oops. I have to be more subtle with my voice.


It's really not easy to get hold of the toilet paper because it hangs quite high up, but I'm really stubborn and succeed. I carefully collect what came out and manage to throw it and the paper into the toilet. However, I can't flush the toilet because the flush button is way too high up.


When I see that the water is high enough throughout the apartment, I turn off the water and start swimming out into the rooms. I pass the bedroom and it is now 5.50am. A few times I splash like crazy with my tail and the water splashes onto the wall.


I'm trying to transform myself again but this time I'm trying to have an image in my head of what I look like when I'm normal and trying to force myself into that image of myself. I push on mentally and right as it is it happens.


I manage to turn back into a human. No fishtail and no scales or weirdness. However, I am so hungry now that I can hardly concentrate on getting the water out of the apartment. I have to get something nutritious. I quickly eat several sandwiches. That will be enough.


I open my front door so some of the water can run out there. The water in the bathroom runs down the drain so there is no problem there. I also flush the toilet when I'm in the bathroom.


When I'm standing there in the bathroom, I check my reflection and take a closer look. Surely I look a little less rounder? It could be because I changed my eating habits, but the transformations can also probably explain the matter. At least I'll be happy with looking less fat.


I pick up the last of the water in the apartment with the swab. I use the window scraper on the stairs to get it off my door. I don't want anyone to know that the water is coming from my apartment.


When everything is dry apart from a few splatters on some wall, I make breakfast. It's still almost 7 o'clock so it's just in time to do this. There will be three boiled eggs and a lot of sandwiches with ham on them. A large glass with water and salt in it too. I skip the tea today.


Satisfied, I head to work. Something in my head tells me maybe I should stay home but I ignore that thought. I go into the food market and buy a fish gratin. It looks very good.


Once at work, I put the last pictures on the last board. All clear. I go over to the manager and show her. Together we move the paintings away to the so-called exhibition room. The room is currently empty and we are starting to put up the paintings. Olivia comes by and is helpful.


We work efficiently until lunch. Sune is sitting out there in the kitchen. I walk up to him and apologize for snapping at him the other day. He accepts and says that everyone can have a bad day sometimes.


I heat my fish gratin in the microwave and check today's newspaper. I get very interested when I see the headline. It reads as follows


Mermaid seen near Knösöudden


I read the article and it said that some fishing tourists in a bigger boat had seen a mermaid near the Knösöudde. Unfortunately, they didn't get a photo of it, but the witnesses say it was very large and had brown-red scales that sparkled in the sun and a very large dark fish tail that it hit the water with several times.


The reporter has also interviewed a marine biologist but he doesn't think they saw a mermaid. They probably saw a seal and were mistaken about the color and the size of the tail.


Although I have not been there, I understand that the tourists really saw a mermaid, considering that I myself turned into a merman. I'm wondering if I should swim there sometime when I'm transformed into a merman and make contact with her. But first I have to be able to control my transformations of course.


Sune has seen what I'm looking at and he laughs behind me.


- Such weird stories the newspaper write about.
- How do you know it's not true?
- But seriously. Mermaids?
- Yes, a bit strange, but the sea is one of the least explored on earth so far, so why not.
- Nah Nah Not a chance that something like that would exist. Forget it.
- But what if...


I'm starting to feel frustrated that Sune doesn't want to believe what's in the paper and I'm ready to argue my case when I'm interrupted by the pinging of the microphone. I go over and get the food, grab the newspaper and sit next to Sune.


- The ocean is the least explored and it is clear that there may be things that we know nothing about. Take the beast in Loch Ness or the Great Sea Beast for example. So far, no one has found them or proven their existence.
- Loch Ness is just fake. The first photo of it is fake. They have even admitted it for several years. And even if Loch Ness had existed, it is not the same as a mermaid.


Sune sits and stares at me in an unpleasant way and I feel uncomfortable. At the same time, my legs start to tingle and burn too.


Oh no. Don't tell me I...


I excuse myself as soon as I can and run to the toilet and lock the door. I saw that Olivia was on her way to the kitchen. I take deep breaths on the toilet and try to calm myself down. Just to be safe, I take off my pants.
The legs have almost joined together and it looks like I have light scales on my legs but it all stops after a while and the legs become normal again. It stops tingling and burning about them too.


Good. I continue to breathe calmly before walking out of the toilet and back to the kitchen. Inside, Sune and Olivia sit laughing at something. The food has become cold so I reheat it.


I eat in silence and glare angrily at Sune a few times, but he doesn't notice. I have just finished the food when the lunch break is over and I go back to the exhibition room. The manager is not there but I continue the work. Soon several of the paintings are sitting where they should be and I look at them carefully and feel satisfied.


The rest of the day goes well and I am satisfied and happy when I get home.


Already from the entrance to the stairwell I hear agitated voices. Opps They've discovered all the water and wonder where it's coming from. I take the elevator up to the fourth floor.


There are a lot of people standing there on the stairs. Some of them live on the same floor as me, but I also see others who live further down the house. Everyone is clearly upset. The landlord sees me.


- Hi Kenneth. Do you know where all the water comes from?
- I have no idea. It was dry here when I went to work anyway.
- It wasn't at all, says an angry tenant.
- You don't know when I left, do you?
- You always leave at seven o'clock and I rested my dog just after you left and then there was water outside on the stairs and a little up here.
- I rode the lift and I didn't see any water.


The landlord and the others are silent for a while but finally the landlord tells everyone to go into their apartments and then he will ask each one about what they saw and where they think the water came from.


The landlord accompanies me into my apartment. I hope the water that got on the walls has dried now. The host walks around a bit and checks my apartment and asks a few questions. After a while he is satisfied and stands by the door with his hand on the handle.


- If there's a problem in the house, just tell me and I'll fix it.
- Absolutely. Hope you clear the problem.
- Let's hope so. Well. See you.


When the host has left, I sink into a chair near the front door and just want to disappear somewhere. I sit there for a while but then I feel a great hunger. I crave snacks, like chips and such.


I snort and shove it all away but in the end I can't handle the urge and go downstairs and walk away towards the snack store. There I see that they have a sale on some chips. You can buy 3 pieces for SEK 40. As found. I buy them and go home.


Back home, I munch the entire first bag and feel just perfect. Later that evening my parents call. They have seen the notice about the mermaid in the newspaper and are worried. I assure you that it is certainly nothing to worry about. Mom seems most hesitant whether she likes it or not.


Even later, when the sun has gone down, I listen to a Lynyrd Skynyrd record. Their song "Free Bird" is still as cool as when I first heard it in the movie Forrest Gump in the scene when Jenny is high and about to jump off a balcony high up. The song and that scene still give me chills when I think about them.


Satisfied with the day, I go to bed. Even when things are difficult, there is usually something good about it all.

[Fredriksam]

Wednesday


I wake up again in the middle of the night because my legs ache again. I know exactly what's going on and I'm trying to mentally stop it all. I focus as much as I can on how I look as a person and it works out in the end. I try to relax but something is bothering me.


I feel incredibly restless and can't really rest. I feel that the transformation is still there in some way but that I have temporarily managed to stop the process in some way. I don't know how long it will work. I look at the clock and it's 01.31.


As I lie there in bed, I get an idea. I will try to transform myself outside. In the sea. I get up quickly and put some clothes on. It's summer and even though it's night, it's reasonably warm outside. I just take my key with me and leave the apartment. I choose to go downstairs instead of taking the elevator.


Once outside, I quickly steer the steps away towards the residence and finally choose to go to Stumholmen. Once at Stumholmen, I walk around for a while but finally find a place that is hidden by a bush. I take off the few clothes I have on. I put the clothes and a small towel in a small bag and finally get the bag up high in a tree.


I put the key in a kind of plastic wallet that I got a few years ago. It has a longer string that I can wear around my neck. I hang the string around my neck and go down to the water. I sit down on a rock that is right by the water.


I let the transformation come and it happens lightning fast. Almost too fast actually. I see the scales growing at record speed and also the fish tail. When I am fully transformed, I take spears to the stone and throw myself into the water. It's pretty shallow here and I land with a loud splash but it doesn't matter.


I don't really have a plan for where I'm going, but I want to get away from the military. I'm not sure how a military would see me and I don't want to risk any trouble. I swim under the bridge and away towards where the aspen ferry goes.


With the help of the tail, I advance in the water like a wild one. I use the side fins to steer so I don't swim right into anything. With the rods I also feel the pressure and variations in the water. What they feel is translated in the brain into information. I let my instincts kick in and just swim around.


I also notice that I see much better than I ever did before. Everything underwater appears razor sharp. I can see every detail on the wooden piers and they smell special too.


As I approach the harbor I manage to catch a herring swimming by. I open my mouth and eat it underwater while swimming. It crunches a lot when I eat the herring, but it doesn't matter. My teeth seem to have changed too so they can handle the raw fish.


When I have passed almost the entire harbor, I choose to swim away towards Lidl. There's a bridge there that I'm swimming under. Soon I'll be at pantarholmen but swim on. The water is not that deep here but no one is out so no one can see me.


Under the Långö Bridge, I stop and go up to the surface and get some air. Although I have gills, they are not enough. I have to breathe regular air too. After taking a few deep breaths, I go below the surface and continue swimming.


The lake I swim in is called Danmarksfjärden, which is kind of funny considering it's in Sweden. I pass Långö bathing area and start to approach the boat club, but soon I'm in deeper water.


I'm almost at BTH when I feel a jubilant feeling in my body. I want to scream with joy and spin around. I choose to jump instead. I don't have that much speed so it won't be that big of a jump. It makes me a little disappointed and I feel like I want to jump higher than I just did.


I swim back a bit and now have a higher speed. When I'm almost at the pier by the student union building, I make a decision and throw myself out of the water. At the same time, I make a loud cry of joy that echoes far and wide. I manage to jump really high. It's almost like I'm impressed myself. If someone saw me from a distance, they would probably think I was a jumping dolphin.


After landing after the jump, I take the plunge again and set full speed again with the tail fin. I again jump into the air. This time even higher than before. I scream out loud with joy so that it echoes between the buildings at BTH.


I feel really light in my body. It's as if years of tension have just released and I gasp with effort and joy at the surface. I haven't had this much fun in a very long time. I almost feel like a child again.


I approach Studentviken and notice how much rubbish people have thrown into the water. I pick up some plastic and throw it on some rock near a bridge. Hopefully someone will throw the trash in the garbage can later on.


The sun has slowly started to come up in the sky and I'm thinking about how much time it might be. Maybe time to return home. After all, I have a job to take care of and being a merman probably wouldn't have worked as a reason not to work.


I turn around and swim pretty much the same way back. On the way I eat two more herrings. They are irresistibly good. I come to the place at Stumholmen where I transformed myself. No one has seen my hiding place and the bag of clothes is still up in the tree.


I transform back into a human and step out of the water and pull the bag down. I dry myself carefully with the towel and put on my clothes and start walking home.


I smile at the memory of what I did. I only meet a morning tired dog owner on the way home. He's so tired he barely looks at me. It does not matter.


When I get home, I see that it's almost 5 o'clock. I'm thinking about whether I should rest for a while before it's time to get up. I don't feel tired right away but I think a little sleep can never hurt. I crawl into bed and soon fall asleep.


The mobile wakes me up at 7 and I get up. I shower and feel happy. After the shower, I eat breakfast with eggs and sandwiches.


I don't need to bring any food today because it's Wednesday which means Olivia and I will be eating out. After breakfast I go to work. It's already sunny outside and warm.


It's really nice, but at the same time I have a feeling of unreality. Today, I can't believe that last night I became a merman and swam in the sea, but deep down I know that's exactly how it was. I find that I still have the plastic wallet where I had the key around my neck. I laugh and take it off and put it in my pants pocket.


I hum happily to myself and I'm not surprised that it's Idde Schultz's "Fiskarna i havet". A very good song that still feels fresh.


I'm still very happy when I come to work and do a little spontaneous dance which makes the girl at the reception laugh. I continue with the work in the showroom. Olivia walks by and greets cheerfully.


An Asian restaurant has opened in town that she wants to go to, and she wonders if I can also eat there today. I don't mind so we decide it will be there.


The work is going well and by the time lunch starts I have set up almost all the paintings. Only one remains. Olivia and I go to the Asian restaurant. There has been a cinema in the premises before.


They have sushi, so I take, among other things, salmon and some other snacks. Then there will be rice and various fried foods. Of course I also take spring rolls. They are vegetarian and very tasty. For dessert we have fried banana with syrup and a cup of tea.


- So. What are you going to do during the holidays?
- The holiday?
- Yes, I think we chose the same weeks. From mid-July. So we only work until Friday.
- Yes, we did. i did.. Its probably.. right, I stammer.


I haven't had a thought about the holiday. All spring I've worked almost like a robot and didn't really feel anything at all. I didn't want to travel anywhere when I turned 50. One reason was that it was too expensive. Actually, it's been almost 5 years since I traveled anywhere.


It will be nice to have a vacation. Especially now that I can turn into a merman and can swim around quite a bit. I intend to do that this summer! But I can't tell Olivia that, so I answer that there will probably be a bit of hanging out on the beach and other things.


She herself will rent a cabin in Norrland from a relative she knows. I think it sounds a bit far to go, but Olivia is really positive about the cabin.


When we have finished eating, we go back to work. I put up the last painting. It's supposed to be nice on vacation, but somehow I feel a little down. The visitors will not meet the person who put up the paintings. I know the guides are good, but I would probably have wanted to stand and tell the tourists about everything myself.


The rest of the day passes quickly and I head home. There are a few clouds in the sky but fine weather. I go home and get swimwear. I'm going back to Stumholmen, but this time swimming like ordinary people.


There are a lot of people at the beach at Stumholmen and I change my clothes and put my key in the plastic wallet and hang it around my neck. I don't have my wallet with me because I didn't intend to buy anything.


The water is warm and there are many people swimming. Some swim while others mostly splash and frolic. Some brave teenagers jump from the tian and there is a big splash when they land in the water. I laugh when I think about how I jumped earlier today away at BTH.


I bathe for a while but get up after an hour or so. There are still quite a few people on the beach. A pawnbroker walks around and checks the bins. It doesn't look very nice, but he makes a little money from it, I think.


I go home and when I get home I sit on the sofa and watch some TV. Nothing interesting but still entertaining. At 9 pm I go to bed.

[Fredriksam]

Thursday


I'm not even surprised when I feel the usual tingling and burning in my legs. It doesn't feel as much as it did in the beginning. Perhaps the body has gotten used to it being this way and resists less or it is the case that I myself want to transform and the evil becomes a reward for the body. The clock shows 02.17


I once again manage to stop the transformation. I get up straight away and get dressed and go out. This time too I choose Stumholmen and the same place.


It doesn't take long until I'm transformed and plunge back into the water. The water feels incredibly nice against my skin and I feel cozy in my whole body. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the water doesn't have chlorine and is better for my skin and scales.


I swim roughly the same way as the previous day, but after swimming under the bridge at Lidl, I instead swim down towards the mayor's quay and the fish square. On the way there, I pass the new bridge that the municipality has built. There are often many people there during the day, but now it is completely deserted.


I pass Stakholmen and swim to Saltö fishing port. There might be some fish there. It didn't take long before I managed to catch a pike. It will be at least as surprised as I am. But down it goes. It grinds its teeth but it doesn't do anything at all.


There are quite a few ships at the harbor and I am careful not to fall into any nets. In one place I almost get stuck, but luckily I manage to parry the net with the help of my side fins.


I am shocked when I get to the Cyberzone and see all the rubbish that people threw into the sea. In some places it is almost like a dump. I see several pet bottles down there in the water. I toss them up so they are on the ground for potential collectors to grab.


I swim on and soon I'm at Saltö bathing place. There is also a lot of rubbish in the sea here, but no cans. If I had the time, I would probably make sure to pick up the trash, but I know it will take time. Maybe something I can do during the holidays. I've never really thought before about how we humans litter the ocean, but now I see it with my own eyes.


I continue swimming but when I get to Dragsö and the back where the troll forest is, I decide to swim back. Instead of passing the Saltö fishing port, I turn past the entire Dragsö campsite and away towards Borgmästarkajen and the fish market again.


When I'm almost outside the museum where I work, I get such an urge to jump like I did the previous day. I take a gamble and set full speed away at the boat jetty where the archipelago traffic goes. Soon I have super speed and I throw myself out of the water while screaming out loud with joy.


I jump two more times but it's not as high as the first time but I'm completely satisfied. I simply didn't have as much speed.


When I get to Stumholmen again by the bush, I see a crow pulling at my plastic bag. I hiss at the bird and it flies away. The bird doesn't seem to have pooped on either the bag or the clothes inside, so it's calm.


It's past 6 when I get home and I decide to have an early breakfast. Some eggs and sandwiches with ham on them will be good. The fish in the fridge has started to smell bad, so I throw away the bag with the herrings that were left. I think about what I want for food today and in the end I decide on a young pancake.


I've already eaten a rather large fish and don't feel like fish for lunch. After packing the food and also looking a bit in the daily newspaper, I go to work.


In the evening there is a concert in Bastion Aurora with Håkan Hellström. I think it might be fun to go to that concert. Probably Tony will maybe also go because I know he likes Håkan Hellström like me. I can call him after work and ask.


Once at work, they need a little help with an intern who will work there in the summer. I promise the boss to show and explain everything she needs to know and maybe even give her a little personal guidance.


There is a very young girl standing there. Sometimes I am surprised when such young people come there and want to work. Most of the time they don't know as much about history as they should but with the right help they usually learn quite quickly.


I get the impression that she is quite shy in the beginning as she stands chewing gum and doesn't seem to be really listening, but after a short walk around she starts asking questions about the old Blekinge and Karlskrona.


Both Sune and Olivia meet the intern. Olivia jokes with her when she notices that the young girl very often uses the word "so" when she has to ask or explain something. The young girl takes it well and laughs with Olivia about her choice of words. During a break I also see her smoking. I explain that she is absolutely not allowed to do it indoors and she seems to understand that well.


When we have lunch, the intern sees the newspaper where it says about the mermaid. She says she would love to meet a cute and cuddly merman. I can't help but blush a little. Sune looks at me a little strangely and shakes his head.


The day goes by quickly and when I go home I feel satisfied. The intern will probably do his job well.


When I get home, I call Tony and ask if he's going to the Håkan Hellström concert. He is interested and we decide to meet outside Bastion Aurora at 7.30pm. The concert starts at 8 p.m.


I change clothes and put on something colorful and casual and walk away towards the Basion. It's full of people out there but I'll find Tony soon. He also wears nice clothes and a real sailor's cap.


Soon everyone is let in and we find a good place. Tony walks over to the bar and orders himself a beer and a Sprite for me. There are also some snacks in the form of salty sticks and salty pretzels but neither Tony nor I want them. Also, it's way too expensive.


Tony and I toast each other and cuddle. The concert will soon begin. There is good pressure in the music and the bass roars in the chest, but that's how it should be when it's a real concert. Both Tony and I scream ourselves hoarse as we shout along to Håkan's various texts. We know the songs by heart.


The concert goes on for almost two hours and my ears ring a little when I go home. Tony takes the bus home because he has been drinking alcohol and is not allowed to drive.


When I get home, I go to bed almost immediately. One more day to work and then vacation, I think. I've already made plans. Already tomorrow I intend to try to find the mermaid. Maybe she will explain if it was because of the bite that I changed or if there is another explanation.

[Fredriksam]

Chapter 4: Love in the Water

Friday


I wake up in the middle of the night again with a burning sensation in my leg and I am quick to stop the transformation. Today I will wait with the transformation until after work. After a while I fall asleep again even though I feel restless.


At 7 o'clock I get up as usual and eat my breakfast and then go to work. I choose not to bring any food because I finish at 14 and intend to take the bus to Verkö or thereabouts and change there. I know there are fish in those waters.


It's full of people in the museum on this last day before most of the permanent staff go on vacation. There is a lot to be done to make it as easy as possible for the interns to work. I show how the cash register works to whoever will be sitting there during the summer.


The janitor lubricates the elevator so that it makes less noise and some objects are dusted off. The eight-legged calf is moved to a new place where it is more visible and people can find it without having to look a lot.


I clean my office and make sure everything is in order. At 2 pm I finish and I wish everyone a happy summer. They wish me a happy summer back.


I go down to the bus stop in the center where all the buses go and then I wait for a suitable bus. It will be bus 3 and I get off at Gullberna. I go over to the forest that is by Gullberna and enter there.


It is green everywhere and several birds are singing in the forest. It is very peaceful. When I'm halfway down the forest walk, I see Lyckebyfjärden glistening. It is very difficult to reach where the water is so I choose to continue.


When I get almost to the newly built houses, I stop. Here there are several places where you can jump into the water. I put my key in the plastic wallet and hang it around my neck. Then I take off my clothes and put them in a bag. I hide the bag in a tree and if someone were to see it, I hope they leave it alone.


I go into the water but don't transform yet. Instead, I walk a bit and try to find a place that is reasonably hidden from view. Finally I find a good spot where you can barely see the path I recently walked on. This is going to be good, I think.


The transformation is really really fast. It's almost as if the scales and fishtail explode from me. It does nothing for me. Better it goes fast than really slow. Also, it doesn't hurt anymore. A little burning in the legs and then... nothing. It would have been difficult if it took a long time and also hurt a lot.


Once transformed, I begin to swim away from the path and out into the open sea. There are no boats out right now and I steer my way towards Knösöudden where I was bitten by that funny fish.


At Verkö, I see some boats driving around, but I dive further below the surface and they definitely don't see me. I actually hunt a perch and catch it and eat it. It is very good and I am happy with the first fish today. It doesn't take long for another perch to appear and I hook it up as well.


There you go. So the food was fixed.


I have good speed on the fish tail and soon I am at Knösöudden where Tony and I fished. There are a lot of fish in the water here but no mermaid. I sigh in disappointment. Just as if it would be that easy to find her.


I instinctively make a sound that I guess will attract the mermaid and then I wait. There will be an echo after a while or wait.. I actually got a reply! I shout again, A shrill sound that to human ears would sound like Jiiiiii. A fish swims by quickly and I'm going to catch it when…


- Mine!


The mermaid quickly grabs the fish and takes it into her mouth and eats it. Then she looks up at me and smiles.


- Hello there! I guess it was you I heard recently.
- Yes, it was me.
- What a nice voice you have.
- Thanks. You also have a nice voice, I think.


The mermaid crouches and seems to be happy. She is about the same height as me and has Brown-Red scales that sparkle even under the surface and a large fish tail that is dark gray. She doesn't have big breasts but that doesn't matter. I see she has gills at her neck just like me. The side fins seem a little smaller than mine.


- You are new here. Haven't seen you before.
- Yes. I was bitten by a fry of yours almost two weeks ago.
- Fry? We have no fry. We give birth to live young. What did it look like?
- Mostly like a normal fish but it was almost rainbow colored and had a head that looked like a human's. Me and another person fished near here and got it on the bait so to speak. The fish bit me and I dropped it in the water. I think it survived.
- I haven't seen a single one of us that has that color and as you describe it, it couldn't have been any extra people anyway.
- But what was it then? My transformation happened a week and a day after the bite and before that I had a fever and got these on my neck.


I point to my gills so she will understand.


The mermaid shrugs. She doesn't seem to have seen the fish in question.


- Oh well. Now you're here anyway and you seem nice and…


She swims closer to me and gently sniffs my scales. Her eyes widen like saucers and she seems to take a deep breath. After a while she is down by my fishtail and sniffs. She moves a bit jerkily with nervous quick movements of her tail.
Soon she is in front of me again. She gives me a really big hug and whispers; I have found my beloved.


- Huh What? Your beloved? We have just met.


The mermaid doesn't answer but smiles lovingly at me. She seems to think for a while but then shows a sly smile.


- Shall we swim in a race?
- Well, why not.


We choose to swim from point A to point B as fast as we can. Whoever wins gets... well, we haven't decided that, but there will be a little competition between us.


The mermaid makes a sound that means start and she begins to swim. I'm right next to her and start at the same time. I'm the fastest. She doesn't seem to take it negatively at all, but seems very impressed by my effort.


A few times she brushes against my side fins and I almost feel a little embarrassed. She also makes a sound reminiscent of a cat purring.


I show the mermaid my trick as I jump high into the air. She seems to have never done it before but after a few times she is really good at it.
We jump really high and both scream with joy. There is no one around so we don't have to take into account any ships and other things. A few seagulls scream in a race with us and we laugh a little at them at the surface.


While we are there at the surface, panting from the effort, I hear a funny sound coming from just below us in the water. The mermaid also reacts and we dive down to check what it is that sounds.


It doesn't take long before we find the cause of the noise. It's that fish I caught that bit me when I was fishing with Tony. I point to the fish so the mermaid looks and shows as a bite with her hand. We go up to the surface again.


- It was that one that bit me.
- We have to investigate and find out what it is. I'm good at catching things.


The mermaid dives down again and I don't know if I should dive after her but wait until she comes back. After a while I also dive down. The mermaid is chasing the fish there in the water. It takes a while but eventually she manages to catch it. Her claws accidentally puncture the fish's skin, but no blood flows out. We look at each other
What is this thing?


The mermaid grabs hold of the fish with her claws again and spikes it so it hangs on her claws and cannot escape. Then she swims towards a smaller island that is nearby.


Once there, she throws the fish up on land. It tries to get back into the water and the mermaid accidentally pops its stomach open. But instead of entrails, a lot of small mechanical parts of metal and plastic come out. It wasn't even a real fish.


Both the mermaid and I are shocked by what we see. She sniffs for a long time at the now "Dead" fish.


- It smells exactly like we do. It shouldn't be able to do that.
I inspect the fish's teeth and it looks like they have a tough mass on them. I show it to the mermaid. She sniffs the pulp.
- That's blood and sperm from a merman, just like you. They must have smeared their teeth with it but where did they get it from? I haven't seen a merman in years and yet I've been looking like crazy.
- How can it affect me so that I am transformed?
- It really shouldn't. A while ago I certainly wished that…


The mermaid falls silent and looks at me worriedly. It seems she can't say what she wants. However, I am calm and ask her calmly.


- What did you wish for?
- That I would meet a merman who would suit me and then finally get to mate and have children together and..
- But but but wait a little here now. Meet me I understand but kids? I don't know if I'm ready for that yet.
- Mating season starts tomorrow. We have to hope for the best, right?


She smiles happily at me. I don't really feel happy about what I'm hearing but I still want to be positive and not scare her away. It must be her fault that I was transformed but somehow I still have some positive feelings about the transformation. It has changed my life and not for the worse. I've started to feel things.


I stare at the fake fish lying there on the little rock. Then I catch sight of something and sharpen my eyes. Sure enough, it looks like there's something right at the end of the fish's tail. I pick it up and examine it carefully. Yes, it says something there.


Sverker industri Karlskrona LTD.


I recognize the name but can't quite place it right now. I show it to the mermaid and she hisses at the fish. She grabs its eyes and pulls hard. A small mini camera rolls out. Before I can react, she smashes the small camera against the rock. The camera breaks into a thousand pieces.


We both turn quickly and scout for any intruders.


- They may not have live feed on their cameras.
- Really can't hope so, but we shouldn't be here right now.
- No. They might start looking for their fish soon and then we shouldn't be here.


We decide to swim away from here and I have an idea. Together we swim towards Verkö. We see some smaller boats that are heading where we came from but we are still under the surface until they have passed.


Soon we will arrive at Gullberna, where I went into the water and was transformed. We chase each other underwater for a while but I'm starting to feel a little tired and excuse myself.


- You know. It was great meeting you even though you made me change but I feel like I want to go home and think a little and sleep. Maybe I can find information about the people who made the fish.
- Yes, but it's calm. I'm also going ashore to fix a few things. Shall we meet here tomorrow?
- Absolutely. At 10 o'clock?
- It will be as good as it gets.
- What's your name by the way?
- My mermaid name is Iiiiiaaa and as a human my name is simply Fia. What's your name?
- As a merman, I don't know my name yet, but my usual name is Kenneth.
- Nice name.


I show her where I transformed and soon become normal again. She also turns into a human and together we go up to the path. No one has touched my bag and it turns out she also had a bag near where I had mine. We both giggle at the situation.


She walks away towards the newly built houses while I walk away towards the forest and finally the bus stop after the forest. I'm tired and almost doze off on the bus.


Once back in the town I walk with tired feet up to where I live. When I get into the apartment, I throw myself on the bed and it doesn't take long before I fall asleep. What day!

[Fredriksam]

Saturday


I wake up around 2:20 am and am surprised. My legs don't hurt and I haven't changed. Admittedly, I was transformed longer yesterday than I had been before and I almost managed to tire myself out, so that could be because of that. I lie awake and think for a while but decide to go back to sleep.


The mobile phone is not set to an alarm, but I still wake up shortly after 8 o'clock and am completely rested. I cook breakfast and realize that I should search for information about the company that had made the fake fish.


I go to google and search for Sverker industri Karlskrona LTD. I get a few hits. They seem to deal with technical solutions for various companies. Among other things, there are reviews from Securitas, Swedbank, Postnord, IcaApoteket and several others. All the companies have given Sverker industri brilliantly good ratings.
There are no companies that I can see that deal with the sea and fishing so it is very strange that they made this funny fish.
Sverker industri Karlskrona LTD is in any case located in Hästö. When I check the map on Eniro, I see that it is in the same place at the harbor where Tony has his boat. Might be a good idea to snoop there tomorrow when Tony and I are there to pick up his boat.


I check the clock on the computer and see that it shows 09.10. I have to hurry if I want to be at Gullberna in the water by 10. I quickly gather my things that I need to bring and hurry to the bus stop where bus 3 goes.


The bus is about to leave and I'm the last one in. The bus runs out of the city and towards Marieberg and Gullberna. I get off at the same place as the previous day and half run in the forest until I arrive at about the place I chose yesterday.
I see that Fia's bag is already up in a tree and I choose the tree next to it after undressing. I wade into the water and keep an eye out in case someone comes walking on the path. But it's completely deserted right here.


Soon I have found a good place to transform and just like yesterday I transform really fast. I dive under the water and I don't even need to call the mermaid because she is very close and waiting for me.


The first thing I notice is her scent. She smells absolutely wonderful today. She didn't yesterday. The smell drives me crazy. I can't concentrate on anything but her scent.
She moves gracefully towards me and lifts her tail quite high. Out of pure instinct, I'm there swimming right behind her and soon sniffing down at the tail. That's where the wonderful scent comes from. Now it's me who moves at least as jerkily as she did yesterday.
I try to brace myself and swim up to the surface again. She follows.


- What nice weather today,
- Come on. I think we'll swim somewhere else where we can be more at peace.


I follow her and we swim just below the surface. When we pass Verkö, we dive a little further down so we won't be seen.
We pass Knösöudden where we were yesterday but she continues to swim a bit. After a while we are in a place where you can only see the sea no matter which way you look. She stops and smiles at me


- This will be perfect.
- How nice it is here and no boats and people either.
- That's the point. We don't want to be disturbed during mating and now is the time.
- Wait a minute. Mating?
- You smelled my scent, didn't you? It's just a matter of getting started


I'm not entirely comfortable with what she's saying and I'm not entirely sure how mermaid mating actually works. I feel a bit stupid but can't help but ask about it.


- What happens when I mate with you?
- Well. You stick your mandon in my cloaca and do the job simply. You know how people have sex. It's pretty much the same as having sex as a human.
- Cloaca? Sounds a bit disgusting. Should I really stick mine in there? Does feces get there sometimes?
- And you don't think it does that to ordinary girls? I always keep very clean down there, you know.


I don't feel quite ready for something like this yet and hesitate. She seems to notice my hesitance and she pulls away a little and swims around a little aimlessly.
After a while she approaches me again. She clears her throat.


- You know you're very special, right?


It's really not something I've felt directly. I've always felt like an ordinary bachelor. She starts talking again


- I have been looking for you for such a long time and finally you are here. I don't know how to explain but I guess I can sing for you.


She takes a crystal clear note and begins to sing


You thrill me, you delight me
You please me, you excite me
You're something I'd been pleading for
I love you, I adore you
I lay my life before you
I'll have you want me more and more
And finally it seems my lonely days are through
I've been waiting for you


The mermaid looks me in the eyes the whole time she sings and her empathy is so great that I understand that every word is true. She has really been waiting for me. If I had had legs they would have gone soft as jelly with the realization of what she is singing and that it is true. I honestly don't know whether to laugh or cry in this situation. I choose to sing along to the song as loud as I can.


She seems exhausted after the song and takes several deep breaths. I'll leave her alone for a while. I need to think a little in peace.


Okay. I'm supposed to love her but mate with her? I don't know if I can keep it. We will see what happens.

I swim back to her and smile at her. She laughs.


- You were more difficult to flirt with than I thought you would be. But it does not matter. It will be a bit more interesting for me, I think.


She dives under the water and I look for her. She comes from the side. She gives me a short pinch on one side fin. It goes like an electric shock through my whole body.


Woah. I wasn't prepared for that


Soon she is near my face. She smiles a little slyly at me. I feel her nibbling with her teeth at the base of my neck.
I immediately react by making a noise that sounds like a purring cat. She nibbles again. Harder this time. My purring sound gets louder.


But hey? I'm not a cat. Why do I sound like one then?


She pinches my throat again and now I feel a rising erection in my manhood but it is still hidden behind a smaller fin. My purring sound is very loud now.


The mermaid pinches my neck two more times and then she turns completely so that I have her bottom almost in my face and then she lifts her tail almost upright and I feel her wonderful scent enveloping me like a great cloud.


I feel my manhood go out automatically. She sees what's going on and is lightning quick to dive down so she's right below me. I see where her Cloaca is.


My insides are in rebellion with myself.


No, no, that's not a good idea
She is so.... gorgeous
There will only be problems
I'm doing her a big favor
How do you know she really likes you?
I have to do this.
You are a human being. Not an animal
I want I must
What will your parents and others think about this?
I wiiiil I HAVE TO!!!!!

In the end, I can't bear to argue with myself and let my instinct do what is right.

I swim down to her cloaca and push my manhood down there as gently as I can. My thick whitish seed squirts wildly into her and I almost lose my breath as it comes out so powerfully and quickly.
Something feels a little strange after a short time. It's as if the seed I'm still injecting into her doesn't have time to escape and I feel the gooey thickness rise at record speed on my manhood and begin to flow out of her cloaca.


Yikes!


The feeling of it overflowing down there actually feels even more sexual to me, but I guess maybe she's not happy with the goo that has now started to flow away towards her fish scales faster and faster. My sense of desire increases the speed of the seed even more.


Oh dear someone.


It almost looks like a fire hose pushing whitish sauce up from her cloaca with high pressure from below.


Now I really must. Now I really must calm down


I'm surprised that I had such good spray that it has flowed quite alot from her cloaca and ended up on her scales. Without even looking for it, I can see my whitish sticky seed on her scales.


Does she feel what is happening? Does she think it's nice? She doesn't seem to react to it anyway


I manage to stop the seed so that what is already there can drain properly. It's certainly not easy but I force myself to do it and the body seems to obey. Good then. The mermaid hums briefly after I stop the seed.


Okay!? You want even more?


After a while I once again squirt more seed into her cloaca and just like before it seems like it never ends. This time, however, none of it spills out. We both moan loudly in ecstasy and sound animalistic to say the least.


How much noise we do, huh


As I'm mating with the mermaid, I get a funny video in my head that I saw on MTV years ago. The one with the Bloodhound Gang that starts with seeing some animals on a savanna mating. A narrator says that there are several things that separate animal and human mating from each other. Then they sing "We do it like on discovery channel".


Wonder what the Discovery Channel had to say about what we're doing right now. Had we placed as animals or humans?


Soon my seed is completely gone but I still have my manhood in her cloaca. She doesn't seem to mind it. We are panting with exertion. Finally I detach myself from her and we go up to the surface to get some air.


- Wow what a casanova you were when it caught fire.
- Sorry for accidentally spoiling you a little but my.. well you know
- Ha Ha it was a bit unexpected. Never heard of anyone participating in such a thing, but surely someone must be the first.
- Could you feel what was going on?
- Oh yes. It was so unexpected and it felt really good when it overflowed so yeah
- You even hummed a little when I stopped for a while.
- It was so nice that I didn't want you to stop. Wasn't it nice for you?
- It shouldn't be, but yes, it was very nice. I haven't slept with anyone in a long time so maybe that's why.
- Yes. Who knows.


She continues to laugh at the incident


Despite her words and laughter, I feel ashamed of how wildly I mated with her and even soiled her scales. However, she is very happy about what happened. She hugs me hard and long


We swim a bit and dive a few times. Then we both jump really high into the air and scream super loud with joy.


We notice that we are really hungry and together we catch fish that we eat right away. We also eat some herring, each a perch and each a cod.


Satisfied, we begin to swim back to civilization. Soon we pass Verkö and it doesn't take long until we are at the gullberna again. I feel there is something I want to know before we say goodbye for the day.


- So what happens now? Will you lay a lot of eggs?
- No, as I said yesterday. We give birth to live young. Just like, for example, dolphins and other whales do.
- As a human then or as a mermaid?
- I must be transformed into a mermaid for the last three months before the birth. Otherwise, the cubs can be injured and, in the worst case, die.
- But do they come out as normal children or are they transformed?
- They are transformed but they are in an amniotic sac that they have to come out of after birth. If there are two cubs, they are in each amniotic sac. They turn into regular babies after about a week.
- Will you and I help them out of the amniotic sac?
- No. They have to make it themselves. If we were to help them, they might become too weak to live. Getting out of the sack is their first major trial in life. Most people can handle it perfectly so you probably don't need to worry.
- What happens to the amniotic sac after the baby or babies get out of it?
- We eat it of course.
- Ugh, how disgusting.
- It gives us nourishment and we don't have to throw it away
- Still pretty disgusting if you ask me
- The male also sometimes eats it if...


I get nauseous and can't help but throw up straight into the sea. The fish I recently ate comes up with something else I ate before. It tastes sour in the mouth


- Whoops. Didn't think you'd be so picky.
- Eh, can we talk about something else.
- It was you who raised the issue
- Sorry my mistake..
- Anyway. But how do you solve the actual registration of the children? You can hardly give birth on BB.
- No, my God, no. It really hadn't worked. Just imagine the newspaper headlines that would make. Even if the hospital staff were to keep quiet, surely there would have been someone who saw or heard it happen and maybe even proved that we exist. It really wouldn't have been good. We go to the hospital as soon as the children become human and then we explain that they were born at home. Not harder than that.
- How long will it take before they are born then? So from now when we... mated to birth?
- If there will be a cub or cubs for me, it will probably take around 6-8 months, but it also depends on how warm the water is where I am and several other factors.


I count on my fingers and realize that the child or children will be born around January to March if what she says now is true. Then there is often ice out in the sea.


- But then it's ice outside.
- I am in a house then which I only use during the winter and when there is ice in the sea. I fill the entire basement with water and then there's a giant pool of water down there too that I can use if I don't want to waste so much water.
- Have you ever given birth to a child?
- No never. You're the first merman I've met who has the right type of chromosomes. That's what I was sniffing on your butt yesterday. You don't think it was a coincidence that I chose you to mate with do you?


What she says sounds logical and I feel satisfied with the answers I get. I'm thinking about changing and heading home but I don't want to be rude and leave her if she wants more company.
She solves my dilemma by saying that she is going to fix some things in the house today. She asks if I want to go there with her. I would love to.


We change and get up and get our clothes and get dressed after drying ourselves thoroughly. She walks away towards the newly built houses and shows an older Volvo 244 that she drives.


I jump into the seat next to the driver's seat and she drives off. She lives in Ekeberg. Just below Kungsmarken. She parks the car outside an old worn light brown house and unlocks it.


It smells a bit stuffy in the house when she opens the door. There is a kitchen near the entrance. It contains what is expected of a kitchen but I notice that all the appliances are really old. They are probably from the 70s. I guess maybe the house wasn't so expensive because of that.


We go down into the basement and it looks like she said. It's a big space down there and the plastic pool is huge.
When we are down there and looking around, Fia stops.


- Did you look up what that Sverker thing was?
- Yes, it seems to be a technology company that solves technical problems for other companies.
- Something related to fishing or such?
- No, not what I could see.
- Very strange.
- The company is next to a harbor where a friend has his boat. It was with him that I was fishing with when I was bitten by "The Fish". I have promised fish with him tomorrow by the way. Maybe I can poke around a bit for answers then.
- In that case, promise me to be really careful.
- I promise.


Fia gives me another big hug and then we go up from the basement and out of the house. She locks the front door.


- Where are you going now?
- Hmm. Maybe I was thinking of going back to the town where I live.
- Can I drive you home?
- Of course it's going great.


I jump into the car again and Fia drives me home. She even follows me up to the apartment. She thinks it's great and she wishes she could live as nice as I do.


We talk a little more and after a while she goes downstairs and I watch from the window as she drives away.

God what a day! And such a mess i did on her. Lucky for me she actually enjoyed it


Secretly i actually too enjoyed it. It was a special feeling when it overflowed that i can´t shake of.

I throw myself on the couch and exhale. I sit there smiling while still feeling some shame.


I can never tell my parents about this. Thats how it is.


I go into the bedroom and see on the mobile that my parents have called. Twice even. I call them up to hear what they want. It's just dad wondering if I want to go with them to Spain in a few days.


I had completely forgotten that they were going there. I sit and think for a while but finally decide not to go along. Dad thinks it's a shame, but he still respects my choice. We say goodbye to each other.


I feel tired and go to bed. It doesn't take long before I fall asleep. I dream about the mermaid and are totally relaxed.

[Fredriksam]

Sunday


I wake up fully rested at 8 o'clock and get up and shower. It is already sunny outside and on the computer it already shows 20 degrees outside. I check the weather report and it will be up to 24 degrees today. I choose to wear a thin shirt.


I am thinking about how I can enter Sverkers Industri in a non-legal way. I am usually a completely law abiding citizen but something about the company and the fake fish feels wrong.


Also, I feel like I have to protect my mermaid at all costs now that she might have a baby. Our children. I feel a small lump in my throat when I think about our possible children.


In the end, I decide to bring a narrow and pointed metal tray that I received many years ago from a non-law-abiding person. I was actually going to get rid of it but it has been in my tool cabinet just waiting to be used.


I eat breakfast and pack extra drinks and some sausages to grill. The sun hat and sunglasses go on and I go down to the ground floor and wait for Tony.


Tony is almost at point 10. He is happier than last week. Ulf Lundell's "När Jag kysser Havet" is currently blaring on his car radio. I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with Ulf Lundell but I can't help but laugh when I hear it's that song.


We arrive at Hästö and Tony parks up at the car park. I start walking down towards the harbor and at the same time look for where Sverkers Industri is located. Turns out it's right on the beach.


I walk up to the door and see that it has no code to enter. The lock looks quite simple. I try and pull on the door. It is locked. Tony has come down to me. He looks curious.


- What are you doing? Do you know someone who works there?
- I was thinking of trying to get in and spy a little.
- Oh really? Why?
- I can explain later when we are in the boat. Don't want to take it right now. You can collect the boat in the meantime.
- See. I'm not that strong. We have to help each other and get it. Also, I don't want to leave you alone if you're going to break in.


I stand and think for a while and decide that it is better if we pull the boat down first. That way we can escape faster if the boat is already down or even in the water.


Tony and I carry the boat down to the water together. There is a place where you can attach the boat so that it is fixed and does not float away. We put our fishing rods and the bag with the lures in the boat.


Then both Tony and I walk over to the door again. When I take the metal tray out of my pants pocket, Tony laughs a little nervously and starts singing the theme to "Mission Impossible". I also laugh and smile at Tony.


It takes a while but finally I manage to pick the lock and can open the door. It is very dark in there and there is a strange smell in the air. I look for some lamp to light but can't find one. It seems to be deserted here anyway.


- Hey Tony. It might be better if you stand guard at the door and whistle or shout if someone comes.


Tony seems a little disappointed but agrees. He goes out and the door closes again.


I see that there is an open door right in front of me. I enter a large room. I manage to find a lamp and lights. It looks like a big office room. Some computers are on a table and they light up so I understand that they are running.


On a nearby table I see the fake fish that bit me. It is in many small pieces and it looks like someone is cooking it. There are other things on the same table but nothing that I know what it is. It seems to be mechanical stuff anyway.


A little further into the room, I see a transparent plastic window that seems to act as a door or stop for another room. I go in there. In here are two large blue plastic tubs with lids on and it seems the smell is much stronger in here. One tub is taller than I am while the other is much smaller.


I walk over to the largest tub and carefully open it. I get a shock when I see what's there. There is a dead mermaid in the tub. Her body has begun to dissolve. It is hard to see what her face has looked like because it is so affected by decay. There are clumps of fat in places in the tub and the water looks really disgusting. The fish tail itself appears to have detached from the body.


Oh damn hell


I close the tub and start walking towards the smaller one. I don't really want to see what might be there but somehow I still have to know. I try to steel myself before I open.


Just as I suspected, a dead kid is lying there in the tub. Even though the face is changed by decay, I can still see that it is just a child. A male, just like me. Its entire body is also almost completely dissolved.


I turn around and throw up explosively on the floor. What I saw was worse than I thought and now it has become personal. I close the lid and try to avoid looking at the kid lying there.


There really isn't much else in the room other than the two guys. I go out to the great room again. I stand and think for a while but finally I walk up to the two computers and turn on the monitor on the first one I see.


I see a normal data page with different icons. The icons have different names of companies. I click on the one that says Securitas. It seems to be about different technical solutions for monitoring and the like. There are various maps from various businesses where Sverker Industri has helped Securitas with newer aids that they themselves did not come up with.


I close the folder and keep checking what's on the computer but it's only companies and it doesn't help me in any way. I turn off the monitor and turn on the next monitor to the other computer that is there.


Here there are not as many icons and they are definitely more interesting. They are named "Object1 (Ended)", "Object2 (Ended)", "Object3 (In Progress)", "Object4 (In Progress), "Fish1" and "Fish2"


In the top corner there is a logo called "Fish Karskrona LTD". I've never heard of the company and if I didn't understand that it has to do with the fish that bit me, I would probably have thought it was about ordinary fishing, but that's not the case.


I click on the folder called Object1 (Discontinued)". There are several photos, a video and a PDF file here. I open the first photo and realize that it is the mermaid lying in the big tub. It is hard to know if she was alive when they took the photo but it seems to be from some house and definitely not taken here.


I close the image and open the PDF document instead. I'm not ready to watch the movie yet. I get a fact column which I read silently to myself


Object 1
Item Type: Mermaid (Adult)
Gender of object: Woman (Female)
Status of the item: Deceased
Object's age (If deceased, state age at death): About 44 years
Date when the object was found: 2020-12-19 Died the same day
The object's location: Renvägen 4 Jämjö
Object's usual address (if known): Birgitta Heinsdotter
Other information: Had recently given birth to object 2. Was very violent and defended her offspring very fiercely. Staff had to euthanize the object for its own safety. See more info in item 2's description
Signature. Sverker Joran.


I am appalled by what I am reading. I close the document and with trembling hands open the folder with Object2 (Completed).


This folder also has several pictures and videos. I only open the PDF document. I don't really want to but I feel like I have to find out what it says.


Object 2
Item Type: Merman (Newborn)
Gender of the Object: Male (Male)
Status of the item: Deceased
Object's age (If deceased, state age at death): Newborn About 3 days old
Date when the object was found: 2020-12-19 Deceased 2020-12-22
The object's location: Renvägen 4 Jämjö
Object's common name (if known): Unknown
Other information: The object was recently born but had gotten out of its amniotic sac. Object 1 was eating the amniotic sac when we got there. Object 2 was removed after the death of Object 1 and placed with me (Sverker) in a larger aquarium. Object 2 initially called out a lot for Object 1 but then quieted down more and more after day 2. Attempts were made to feed object 2 but it died 3 days later due to lack of nutrition.
Signature. Sverker Joran.


I tremble with anger when I read the text. Especially the fact that they call them objects and don't seem to see them as something alive with feelings makes me extra angry. Presumably it allows them to distance themselves from what they are. It is easier to kill something that is an object rather than a living creature.


I will personally hurt that Sverker badly if he even looks in my and Fia's direction. A suspicion begins to form in my head. After all, there are two ongoing objects.


It turns out that I was absolutely right in my suspicions. Object3 is Fia. It doesn't seem like they know much about her yet but there are several photos of her that are presumably taken by the fake fish.


When I get into the folder about Objekt4, my pulse races up to probably over a hundred. There are only a few photos of me but the PDF document really pisses me off.


Object 4
Item Type: Merman
Gender of the Object: Male (Male)
Status of the object: Live
Age of object (If deceased, enter age at death): 50 years
Date when the object was found: Ongoing search for the object
The object's location: See above
Subject's common address (if known): Kenneth Elroth
Other information: Single. Lives in an apartment building. Seen together with Object 3. Friend of Tony Silvergren.
Signature. Sverker Joran.


Tony opens the door and pokes his head in. He doesn't want to wait any longer.


- Are you coming sometime or not?
- Wait. Just need to fix a few things.


I remember that I have a USB stick in my wallet. I pick it up and put it in the socket on the computer for USB. I open it in the control panel. I mark all the folders and copy over all the information to my USB stick. it's about 3GB all in all and the memory is at 16GB and currently pretty much empty so everything fits.


After removing the USB stick, I mark all the folders on the computer and press delete. This should not remain, I believe. I really hope they don't have a backup of the files. Then I go and get a drinking glass that is on a table. I go to a toilet and fill the glass with water.


Then I go back to the computer and hold the water right into the computer. It takes a while but soon the computer crackles and it also starts to smoke.


There is a half-full petrol can by a wall. I take it away to the room with the fellow. I pour plenty of gasoline over the mermaid and the child. I'm looking for a lighter. I find one in a smaller kitchen.


I go over to the room with the lighter and light both corpses on fire. The fire explodes from the vat and I am close to being burned myself. At the computer, smaller flames are now seen from the hard drive. I hurry to the door and rush out. Tony almost gets the door on him.


- Hey what's up, huh?
- We have to leave. Now.


We hear a fire alarm go off in there. I grab Tony and lead him to his boat.


- Do you hear. Did you set fire to something in there or what's the matter?
- I'll explain later. We must go now at once.


Tony is about to protest but sighs and shakes his head and leaves in his boat. We throw off and pull away as fast as we can. So far no sirens can be heard from fire engines, but they are surely already on their way.


Tony skillfully steers his boat over the water. We are both silent. When we're at Gullberna, he can't be quiet anymore.


- Can I ask you something? Or do you want us to go even further?
- It is OK. Here it will be good.


I get an idea.


- Can you get closer to the forest path over there?'
- Certainly no problem.


Tony steers the boat so it's very close to where I went in the water the day before and yesterday. I know I'm rooted here. Granted, I can certainly transform where it's deep, but I think it's easier to do it in this place.


- Well. What was all that about when you spied and then set fire to something in there? This is really not like you. Who have you really become?


I sit and think for a while. Of course I can say straight away that I am a merman and recently met a mermaid who will possibly give birth to our children. However, I feel that I have to start more from the beginning even if the very first event has nothing to do with my transformation.


- This will sound strange and such, but the fish that bit me about two weeks ago was not a real fish. It was made by Sverker and appears to be a type of spy fish and it had a camera inside its eyes and…


Tony sits across from me in the boat and laughs. It is quite clear that he absolutely does not believe me.


- Lol. Such robber stories you pull. Soon you say that that mermaid the newspaper is writing about is a real mermaid, or something.
- She is a mermaid and exists for real. Her name is Fia and yesterday we mated. I, in turn, am a merman.
- Of course she is. What mated?. And you a merman? Stop the bullshit, mate. You almost sound like a junkie or something.


I sigh deeply and see no other way out than to show him what I am. I start to take off my clothes and put them in the boat in a place where they won't get wet.


- Nah, but listen. Get dressed again huh? I don't feel comfortable seeing you naked like this.
- The clothes have to come off for what I'm going to do now. I'll show you what I can be. Just one detail. Unfortunately, I can't answer any questions when I'm transformed, or rather, you don't understand my answers because you don't know the language of the Merfolk, unfortunately. I'll try to lure the mermaid here so you can see her for yourself. Try to be quiet and still in the boat just so you don't startle her if she shows up.


With the last words I step into the water and look at Tony, He's sitting there in the boat just staring at me.


I let the transformation come and it happens as quickly as the previous days. I hear Tony gasping for breath up in the boat. I look up at him and smile at him. I raise my fishtail a bit too and wave it at him.


- Wow, so wow. Damn, that's awesome.


Tony takes out his cell phone and takes a picture of me. I don't know if it's a good idea for him to do that, but I think I'll have to ask him to remove the picture when I'm back to normal. Tony reaches his left hand down towards me.


- Can i pet you?


I don't feel comfortable with him petting me so I shake my head.


- But please. Your fish scale looks so huggable. Not to mention your tail. It looks so nice and pet-friendly.


I can't help but be flattered but I shake my head again. I don't want to be patted. Not by him anyway, Even though he's my best friend.


I dive below the surface and call Fia. It doesn't take long before she comes swimming. When she sees Tony's boat, she backs up a little.


- Fia it is OK. He is my friend. I had to show him what I am.
- Actually, we don't get that. It is a big risk for us if people know we exist.
- He won't gossip for anyone
- Good. I hope he doesn't. For your sake and mine. Did you find something interesting at Sverker's industry?
- We'll take it later. Don't want to talk about it right now.


Fia sees on my face that there are no positive things that I will tell about Sverker. She swims up to me and gives me a big hug. I can't help sobbing.


- Oh honey. Was it that bad?
- Yes. Sverker knows who I am but not yet you. He has several photos of both you and me.
- He must die at once. I will chase him. I'm going to shred him. I will..
- Darling. It won't help to hunt us down. We can come up with a plan together.


She seems to accept what I am saying although I can see from her that she is still upset.


Tony is standing by the railing with his nose almost in the water. Both Fia and I appear at the surface near the boat. Tony lashes out with his arms.


- But hello to you. How beautiful you are together.


Tony pulls back in the boat as he reaches for something. When he is near us again, I see that he has his mobile in his hand.


- Well folks. This is what I'm currently seeing on Gullberna. Near the forest. How amazing is it to see this. A living mermaid of a lifetime and a......


Fia hits the water hard with her tail and Tony up in the boat gets really wet by the water splashing up. She spins around and gets up to face him. She hisses very loudly at Tony and takes his cell phone out of his hand.


- Damn. Fia. Wait. I'll fix this.
- But he's filming us for the hell of it!
- Hey!. My cellphone. I want it back.


I wave a stop sign at Tony.


I turn to Fia again. She's doing something with Tony's phone.


- Darling. Please! Let me take care of this.
- Don't you understand how dangerous this is?
- Yeah. But it won't get better if we destroy his things. He didn't know how sensitive this is. Trust me!


Extremely reluctantly, she hands me Tony's cell phone. It's still recording. I press the stop button as gently as I can and manage to select Delete as the choice. I press ok and what was filmed disappears. I also highlight the picture he took before and delete it as well.


I hold out my hand for Tony to take his cell phone. Then I point to it and make a stop sign. Tony seems to understand because he puts it in his pants pocket after wiping off the water.


I swim over to Fia again and explain that it's probably best that we both transform back and have a chat with Tony. Fia is unsure but agrees.


We transform back. I jump into the boat and ask Tony to dock at a dock nearby. I take out my towel and dry myself before putting on my clothes.


Meanwhile, Fia has come ashore and has her clothes on. She is waiting there at the water's edge.


- Listen, you two. I hope you won't hurt me.
- No Tony. We won't. But we have to talk about things.
- Fia. Do you have a computer or laptop in the old house?
- Yes I have.


We help Tony moor the boat so it doesn't slide away and then we walk away towards the parking lot by the newly built houses. Tony has the two rods and the meat box with him. Fia's Volvo is standing by the parking lot and waiting for us.


I jump forward while Tony sits behind me. Fia drives to the old house she showed yesterday. After Fia has collected her laptop, we sit together in the relatively large kitchen.


I insert the USB stick after the laptop starts up.


- I found these documents in a computer at Sverker Industri. There are pictures here that are a little creepy and disgusting, just so you know.


Tony seems to get curious when I mention the name Sverker.


- Sverker?
- Yes, his name is Sverker Joran and the company is called Sverker Industri Karlskrona LTD but it seems to have also been called or is also called Fisk Karskrona LTD. Both companies stand on him in any case.
- I know Sverker. He and I play chess on Fridays after work. He owns several properties in town and an ice cream parlor as well. You know. The one in the square where there is always a queue.
- Yeah. That's where I recognize the name from.
- There are probably several people named Sverker in Karlskrona.


Fia goes to Google and searches for Sverker Karlskrona. There arent many hits except the Sverker Joran and 3 more so it's not a particularly common name here anyway.


I go to "this computer" and open the USB stick. Then I open the folder "Object1 (Finished)" and first of all let Fia read the PDF file. She gasps when she sees Birgitta's name.


- Oh no!. She was such a wonderful mermaid. How could they do this to her?


Fia is shaking from crying and I hold her tightly. I'm not sure if I want to let her read about item 2 but feel she also needs to know what happened.


I open the "Object2 (Finished)" folder, but again only open the PDF file out of respect for both Birgitta and the newborn.


Fia cries even more when she reads what happened to the kid. Tony leans against the laptop to see the text better.


- Damn it. How disgusting. If I had known this, I would never have played chess with him. Or ate at his ice cream parlor.
- Unfortunately, there is more. But luckily those objects are still alive.


Fia quickly understands that it is about her and me. But she still wants to read what is written about us. She reads in silence. We are all sitting there thinking about what to do.


- He still had the bodies after Objects 1 and 2 but I set fire to them and deleted these folders on the computer they were on. If we're lucky they didn't have a backup of the folders but we can't know for sure.


I suddenly realize that I haven't opened the last two folders called "Fish1" and "Fish2". Together we decide to see what is there. In the first folder "Fish1" there are lots of pictures. I scroll through the pictures and soon find a picture where you can see my face.


I am not a merman in the photo and when I look at the following photos I realize they were taken when I caught the fake fish and got bitten by it. You see Tony's back a few times in the picture.


In the very last pictures in the folder, I can be seen transformed together with Fia. The last shot is when she smashes the camera against the cliff.


I close the folder and open the "Fish2" folder. There aren't that many photos here. Most of them are also quite blurry but I can still see that it is me and that I am transformed in the pictures.


The thing that took the photos doesn't seem to be moving either, so it's probably something stuck somewhere that took the photos. They look like they were taken just after the bridge at Stumholmen in any case. Maybe the fake fish was at a pier or something?


Fia suddenly stands up.


- Does anyone want coffee or tea?
- Yes thank you. A big cup of coffee here, please
- A tea for me, please.
- Unfortunately, I don't have any cakes or such at home.
- It does not matter. We take a black cup.


Tony also stands up.


- Do you have a grill around here somewhere? Starting to get a little hungry.
- Yes. There is a grill outside at the back. Don't know how good it is but it should do. Hopefully there is coal there too.


I leave with Tony to fix the grill and make some food. Fia is still in the kitchen. We find the grill at the back just like Fia said. It looks to be in good condition and there is charcoal which also feels fresh enough. Tony pours them into the grill and sprays with some lighter fluid that he has wrapped in his backpack. The coal mixes with the liquid.


- Damn how pretty she is. If she was free, I would have probably glued her on.
- Glued to her?
- Had sex with her, of course.
- What are you two talking about? Thought I heard the word sex mentioned.


Tony goes completely piano red in the face and fumbles for the words.


- I just said that.. You are lucky to have someone like Kenneth because he.. yes he is kind. And you two suit each other well.


Fia and I smile at Tony and I ruffle his hair a little.


- Nah Nah. You didn't want to be patted before.
- It was only when I was transformed.
- Yes, but. Leave my hair alone or I want to pet your fishtail. Deal?
- Yes, yes, okay. Whatever you say.


Fia stands to the side and giggles at us. Boys are always boys somehow. She hasn't known many men, but most of them are in a special way that girls never are.


It's time to fire up the grill. Tony is quick to hint that he wants to.


- I also want to play with fire today. Not fair that only you get to do it.


I raise my hands in a disarming gesture.


- You are welcome. The fire and the grill are yours. Just make sure not to burn the sausages.


When the sausages are grilled, the three of us sit there, chewing and just cozying up. The sun has started to go down but it is still warm. I sit and think about the dead mermaid that Fia knew.


- Can you tell me how Birgitta was?
- Oh. She was like a mother who always wanted you well. She was always happy and positive towards people
- Did you know she had mated and was with child?
- I understood that after about 3-4 months when it was obvious.
- Did she tell who she had mated with?
- No. She wanted it to be private and I respected that so I never asked more than once who it was.


We sit in silence for a while and think.


Tony stands up suddenly


- It was really nice to meet, but now I think I want to go home. I still have the boat at Gullberna by the jetty and I feel that it is better that it is at Hästö where people have more control and it does not disappear so easily.


I agree with him. Fia asks if she can drive us to Gullberna and it sounds good to our ears. I get my USB stick which is still in the laptop and then we go to Fia's car while she locks the front door.


Once at Gullberna, we go down to the boat and release the mooring. Tony starts the engine and drives towards Hästö.


It can be seen that there has been a fire in Sverker's premises, but there are no people watching there now. Part of the roof in the room has collapsed, among other things. A blue police tape blocks off part of the harbor but there is no police tape where we go up.


Together, Tony and I pull the boat up where it should be when it is not in use and then we walk away to where Tony's car is parked.


He drives me home and greets me cheerfully before driving off.


I go upstairs and throw myself on the couch and yawn big. I eat some ham sandwiches and a whole bag of chips.


I feel tired after a while and go to bed.

[Fredriksam]

An ending that gets better and better (even if it doesn't seem like it at first)

Monday


I wake up at 7 in the morning and think it's time to get up, but then I remember that I'm actually on holiday and won't be doing anything special today, so I crawl under the covers and fall asleep again.


I sleep until 8.30 when I can't bear to lie down anymore and get up. Go down to the ground floor and pick up the daily newspaper. On the cover there is a large picture of Sverker's premises and you can see some flames licking the roof.


The headline reads


Fire in premises at Hästö. The owner suspects sabotage.
The article states that a fire has occurred in a premises at Hästö harbor at 11 o'clock on Sunday. The owner was quickly on the scene and tried to extinguish but failed. The fire brigade soon arrived at the scene when the automatic fire alarm went off. The owner suspects that someone has tried to sabotage him. A police investigation into arson has begun. The fire was completely extinguished by 1 p.m.


I fold up the newspaper and make some breakfast. I have just finished eating when my doorbell rings.


It's the landlord. He wants to come into my apartment. I gladly let him in and ask if he wants a cup of coffee, but he doesn't want to.


He walks around and checks some different moldings that are right next to the wall. He feels and squeezes the moldings and also lightly kicks with his slippers in some places on the living room floor. He gets down on his knees and inspects something I can't tell what it is.


- Kenneth, When there was water outside on the stairs. Do you know where it came from?
- Have no idea. I didn't see any water myself.
- Are you sure you don't know where it came from?
- But why should I?
- Because maybe you didn't tell me the truth.
- Now I think you are a bit rude.
- Maybe it. But I want to show you something.
- Here at my place?
- No. In the apartment below you.


I accompany the landlord to the floor below mine. There is clear water damage in their roof, but the damage is worst on the sides. It smells damp in here. There are some fans in some of the rooms. The fans hum quite loudly but the house is so soundproofed that I haven't heard them up in my apartment. Presumably the fans remove the moisture.


Ouch. This is not good. Not good at all.


The landlord goes into the room where the water damage is worst. He points up to the ceiling.


- Do you have an explanation for this?
- No sorry. Don't have a clue.
- Of course you have. There was a lot of water outside in the stairwell, probably several hundred liters all in all.
- I don't have an aquarium or anything like that in the apartment.
- No, I know that. Besides, it wouldn't even be that much water from a regular aquarium.
- I have lived here for over 20 years, have always paid the rent. Never played too loud music or had wild parties. My neighbors like me and you too. Why can't you just trust me?
- It is true that you behaved in an exemplary manner, but I see in your eyes that you are lying about the water and I do not understand why.


I don't have a good answer but just shake my head


- Anyway. We may contact your insurance company. Do you have their number?
- Absolutely.


We go up to my place again and the landlord gets the number for my insurance company.


- Just so you know. This is going to be very expensive.
- Why?
- Because this house happens to be K-Marked and then you don't do repairs unless it's really necessary. Besides, those under you have to live somewhere else right now and I'm the one paying for it for so long.


With those words, the landlord leaves my apartment and closes the door. He does not close it but closes it as usual.


Damn!


I sit down at the kitchen table with my hands over my face. I know I will be able to afford the water damage but how should I fix the damage between the landlord and me? He has always liked me and believed in me. But now he seemed very cold to me. Of course, I understand that this is a big problem for him as well.


Telling him the truth just won't work. As soon as I would mention the Merman and the Mermaid, I would probably be in the psychiatric hospital next, even if the landlord knows me well. Maybe a little too well. One has to hope he doesn't know Sverker.


I think it might be good if I tell Fia this. Now that she has come into my life, I feel that I have to share with her what is going on in my life. Yes, so be it.


I go down to the ground floor and start walking towards the bus stop where bus 3 goes. I have to wait around 15 minutes before the bus comes.


I hear that some travelers are eagerly discussing the fire at Hästö. They find it strange that such a large company does not have greater security. Somehow I can agree but say nothing.


There have apparently already been a lot of rumors spread on the Flashback forum. I'm not surprised when they say people there think it's Cleo who's been on the move again. It seems to be just the trick that people at Flashback seem to know here in Karlskrona.


Personally, I think Pierre could be worse than Cleo, but Pierre has never made any headlines. He looks really nice and acts nice too but those who really know him know that he is a slimy bastard who always blames others and has never been caught for what he has done. The worst was when he shot a young girl who died. Presumably it was a drug deal but he was never convicted of anything. He wasn't even fined.


Soon I have arrived at Gullberna and I get off the bus at the same place as the previous days. I go down into the forest. It's a little cooler here, but that doesn't matter at all.


Soon I have reached the place where I usually transform myself. I see Fia's bag up there in one of the trees and smile. Of course she's here.


I put my clothes in my bag and put it near Fia's bag. I can smell her from the bag. She smells so good.


I go down into the water and approach the place where I usually transform. All clear. Let's go!


The transformation is fast as usual. Just as I'm lying there in the water, I hear a rustle nearby and my heart skips a beat. Did anyone see what just happened? I feel very anxious and look in all directions. It turns out to be a small seagull chick that made the noises. It looks for food there by the reeds and I take a shaky deep breath


Whew!


I swim a little bit and then I call Fia. It doesn't take long before she comes swimming. Her scales really shine today.


- Good day to you then
- Wow. How your scales shine today.
- Oh really? I just polished them recently.
- Cleaned the scales?


She swims up to me and sniffs my scales. She grimaces like you do when something smells bad.


- You haven't polished them by your looks and feel. You should definitely do that because they smell a little bad actually.
- How do I do it then?
- You just lick them with your tongue. Kind of like cats when they wash themselves.


I look back at her and she just nods slightly.


Well. It won't hurt if I try to do as she says.


I start to lightly lick my scales. Soon I get some funny substance in my saliva that tastes weird. I look questioningly at Fia and stick out my tongue.


- That is a kind of cleaning and polishing substance that automatically comes into our saliva when we start to clean ourselves. It is completely normal.
- Can I swallow it or do I have to spit it out afterwards?


Fia laughs at me heartily.


- You.. you. It won't hurt if you swallow it. Your body can handle it.
- Yes, what do I know. I only know about half how we work so far.


Fia tilts her head and realizes that I am actually right.


- You. Groom yourself properly first and then I can give you a crash course in what it means to be a merman. I will tell you everything you need and then some. Is that good?
- Absolutely. I certainly have a thing or two to learn.


Fia nods happily and I continue to groom myself. It's actually very nice to clean yourself. I'm really meticulous. At the same time as I clean myself, I feel that my manhood is starting to harden and I feel sexually aroused. I stop in one motion but soon resume the polishing.


The manhood gets harder and harder during the time I'm grooming and rightfully so, it falls out. Just like when we mated the other day.


But seriously! Are you messing with me or what's the matter?


Fia is nearby and sees what is happening.


- That is completely normal. Nothing to worry about. As said. A lot you don't seem to know.


I check my scales and decide they are clean enough. I wait a while until my manhood is back under the fin again.


- Should we stay here while we talk or should we go swimming somewhere?
- We can swim to where we mated. There we can be at peace more easily. Follow me. I know the way by heart.


Fia and I swim next to each other. We both have quite good speed and we are at the mating place after just under 25 minutes. We surface and breathe in the fresh air, both of us. I notice that we are actually breathing at almost exactly the same rate. I chuckle a little at that.


After taking several deep breaths together, Fia turns to me.


- Are you ready for merman 1.01?
- I guess so.
- Good, but then so. Now you know how the grooming works,
- Check
- Also the fact that you get sexually aroused by the grooming. It is therefore completely normal that your manhood can come out when you groom yourself.
- Check.
- You also know how the pairing works.
- Oh well.
- You have very strong bones and if you get injured, you heal quickly. The latter also applies to us ladies.
- How good to hear
- You stubbornly defend your female and territory
- Territory? Do I have a territory?
- It may not be noticeable now, but in the last few days we have met at the same place, so technically, Gullberna is now your territory. You just haven't figured it out yet and no one has trespassed yet. I promise you will be very angry if someone intrudes on your territory. You can fight about it very well if you say so.
- Fighting? Sounds a bit violent
- Yes. It can be that too. You take the district very seriously. By the way, I have to give you a merfolk name. Was your name Kenneth?
- Yep. And your name is Fia but is called Iiiiiaaa.
- Exactly. You can be called... Keeeee.
- Thank you so much. By the way, regarding the district. Do I mark the territory in some way?
- Well, not like dogs and cats do. It's a musty scent that you automatically spread from the cloaca into the water once you've decided it's your territory. You can actually spread it whenever you want if you press your hands on the little gray bump at the top of your cloaca but your hands can smell weird after a while so that's not something I recommend you do.
- So it's not something I even need to think about then? My body will handle it without problems?
- Yes, but you might not have understood what happens when you do it the first time if you don't know you're doing it.
- Does my scent smell good?
- Nah. It smells quite strong. It is not meant to be used as a perfume directly.
- Why is it called the cloaca and not the anus like in humans?
- Because we are half fish and with fish it is called a cloaca. Didn't you learn anything in biology at school?
- Sounds a bit wrong to my ears to call it that anyway. I was never that interested in school. I skipped school a lot.
- I was always interested in school, even if it was a bit difficult at times. The worst part was when everyone glared and poked at my gills which were closed but still. I was called Fish-Fia and Gills-Fia by the worst bullies. If I was skipping school I would have been banned immediately. Didn't you get it?
- No, they didn't know I was skipping school. I lied so well that they believed me. My final grade wasn't that good, but they accepted it.
- I always got good grades. Many at school thought I was a mother pig, but they didn't know my strict rules and that I was a mermaid.
- But a thing that is strange if we are like fish. They lay eggs but you give birth to live young. How is it that?
- I do not know. But it could be because we are so big that it is easier for us to give birth than it is for ordinary fish. In addition, it becomes more personal to give birth than to lay a mass of eggs which are often then abandoned.
- Do you females defend any territory?
- No, strangely enough not. Don't really know why that is. We do have our very own scent that spreads from the cloaca, but it is not a district scent. Males can decipher it and immediately know who we are and what we stand for.
- Does it happen that we males fight for females during mating.
- Yes, it happens very often, but we females usually try to be quick in attracting the possible male that we know will give us cubs as soon as we can.
- That sounds good to both you and us.
- Mmm. Yes you Keee. It's something I've thought about when we mated but I didn't want to be quizzical about it at first but now I feel like I'm getting to know you pretty well.
- Okay
- So. Is it okay if I ask a very personal question? You don't have to answer if you don't want to.
- Just ask, darling.
Fia looks embarrassed but then smiles.
- How long has it been since you had sex but a girl or had an ejaculation before we mated?
- Oh! Yes you. Had sex with a girl a really long time ago and ejaculation. Yes, that was also a really long time ago.
- So you haven't even done a hand roll for quite a while?
- Nah. Never liked doing that.
- Yes. Then it was no wonder that there was so much that it overflowed down there.
- How then in a way?
- Well, it is like this. You males have an enormous store of semen stored in a scrotum that holds far more than it does in humans. In fact, so much that you cannot compare with humans in any way. If you tried to get all your sperm that you have into a man's scrotum, it would explode before even half of your sperm was in there
- Jeez. So much.
- Yes. If someone collected semen from you today, they would have been able to get 0.8 liters in normal cases. So almost 1 litre, which is also very thick and therefore gets a larger volume when it ends up in the female's cloaca.
- Oh! That sounds like a lot
- Yes. And now you also hadn't eased the pressure in quite a while, so to speak, as a human. Then imagine how much you might have had in there when we started mating. It wouldn't surprise me at all if you had between 3-4 liters in there. I know my cloaca holds up to around 1.1 liters and it didn't take long for it to overflow. Do you understand what I mean?
- Yes I think so. But 3-4 liters? It sounds unreasonable.
- To you, it may sound unreasonable. The record is 8 liters but that merman was also extreme with most things.
- Is he still alive?
- No, he died a few years ago, but not because he had so much semen, but because of old age. But he is a legend among mermen. His name was Eeeaaa and he was 88 years old. He was both the tallest and heaviest of the mermen so far.
- But why do we get so much then?
- Because nature has created it that way for you. But if I had to guess, it's probably because it's to make it easier for us females to get pregnant.
- Shouldn't nature make sure it doesn't get too much down there?
- The merman is expected to empty it himself a little from time to time.
- Well, you'll see.
- So my advice to you is to empty yourself at regular intervals. You will only feel good about it. One tip is that you brush until it simply happens by itself. A smart tip from someone who knows how you work. Or maybe I can help you get excited by nibbling on the bottom of your neck. You decide for yourself which one you prefer.
- Then I'll probably choose that you get to excite me. It feels more natural to me. Besides, I like you so much that it would be an honor for me if you did. But do we have to do it now or can it wait until later?
- We can take it later if you want.
- Was there anything else I should know?
- I think we finish the lesson for today. I will tell you more later, but your brain needs to work with the information I have given you. If you receive too much information at once, it will only be difficult for your brain to process all the information. Besides, it's already working with information right when we're here without you even thinking about it, so we'll let it rest for a while.
- Can we swim back to Gullberna?
- If you want it, we will do it.
- I would love to. It's nice here but I feel easily uncomfortable if I'm too long where there are no people.
- You haven't been a merman that long so you can probably feel that way, yes. I myself was born a Mermaid and over time have withdrawn from the human world as much as I could. Except then when I had to be in the old house when the lake was frozen. In the beginning there, I had such terrible anxiety about not being able to swim outside.


Fia and I start swimming back and soon we are back at Gullberna. There are no boats out and the sun shines brightly in the sky. It's really nice in the sea.


- What did you do when you were younger then and didn't have the house?
- Then I was always at my parents' house, which they also only used during the winter. It had a basement at least as big that we filled with water and swam around in. It wasn't as nice to swim in the tap water because of all the chlorine, but we always poured a lot of salt into the water so it would feel nicer.
- But why is that house no longer used then? Maybe you could have taken it over.
Fia does not answer but becomes strangely silent. I look at her and see that big tears are rolling down her cheek into the water. It almost becomes like little pearls of water in the water from her tears.


- But darling! What's the matter?
- My.. my.. parents are no longer alive. The house burned down and they.. burned inside. I wasn't there and could help them. I was at a drunken party and I hate myself so much for not being with my parents.
- Damn. Whatever happened, it wasn't your fault. How long ago was that?
- About seven years ago, but the memory is still there. The fire truck overtook me on my way home and when I got there the whole house was fully engulfed in flames. The fire department couldn't put it out because it was burning so heavily and they concentrated on the house next door instead so it didn't burn up as well.


Fia is shaking from crying and I hold her as tightly as I can. How horrible to lose your parents in such a cruel way.


- What caused the fire then? Was there a power surge or what happened?
- Someone had done it, but it was not possible to prove who, so the case was dropped after a year or so.
- How hard it must be for you not to know who did it.
- Yes. I really hope whoever did it deeply regrets it. Are your parents alive by the way?
- Yes. I probably don't visit them as often as I really should, but we keep in touch anyway. They are probably in Spain now. I chose to stay here in Sweden with you.
- I would very much like to meet your family one day. Can it be arranged somehow?
- Absolutely. But is it ok in that case if I tell you that you're a mermaid and I'm a merman?
- Do you trust them to keep quiet and not tell others about it?
- Yes. They dislike attention for their own sake so it shouldn't be a problem. Tony already knows our little secret.
- Yes. It is forbidden by merfolk law but I feel we can make an exception here. But we can wait a bit to explain it.
- Works fine for me.


When we are there talking to each other, I feel myself getting a little hungry. Fia probably feels the same way, because I can clearly hear how her stomach starts to rumble loudly.


- Huh? Was that your belly?
- Haha yeah. It just said it's time to eat. Haven't eaten in a few hours. Her stomach rumbles loudly again and I giggle.
- I'm also really hungry.
- But oh well. Then we wedge to a place where there is a lot of food. Follow me.


We swim back a bit and soon we are at Verkö. Fia shows a place that is a bit leeward, but the Polish ferry is fairly close. I understand that there must be a lot of fish here, considering all the people standing and measuring up at the dock. We are not where they are fishing, but further out where their rods are not enough.


There really are lots of fish here. I have a hard time choosing which one to eat first. I spot a nice perch and choose it as the first target. Soon several herring swim by and I manage to catch two at the same time. My mouth and also my throat can be widened quite a lot and the two slide down without any problems.


Fia does things a little differently. She sings to her fish and one by one they happily swim into her mouth until it is completely full and fully dilated. It looks almost grotesque. She closes her mouth and begins to swallow the fish. Her neck undulates as the fish slide down one by one. I can see the outline of the fish through her throat as she swallows them. There was a perch, there was another perch, Herring, herring and more Herring. I count the herrings and there are eight of them but not all have been swallowed yet and more are on their way down. Will it never end?


I think I'll try to do that. I can't sing myself fish but feel I can probably save them in my mouth until it's as full as hers. But first I have to surface for some air. Soon Fia will come to the surface too.


- Do you hear. How many herring did you swallow there?
- 12 to 14 pieces, I think.
- I thought I would do like you. Just wait.
- That takes a long time to learn how to do and I don't think it's a good idea.
- Why not?
- If you are inexperienced and try to swallow so many at once, they can end up in the wrong throat and that is no fun. Very hard actually. I can teach you later how to do it but promise me you won't try it yourself. In addition, it is laxative with so much herring at once.
- Are you constipated?
- Maybe a little yes. And yet I also took some plums before I transformed.


The people up at the quay have started to shout something. We turn and they point at us and stare back at us in surprise. Some have cell phones that are aimed at us.


Uh-oh


Fia dives under the surface at lightning speed and I follow her. I happen to wave my fish tail at the surface and I hear through the water how the people at the dock are making a lot of noise. I catch three more herring before we swim back to Gullberna.


Once there, I think it might be time to head home soon. In any case, I've been gone for several hours and I feel like I want to go home and take it easy and go through all the information I received today.


There is only one thing left to do. This thing about emptying the semen.


I turn to Fia.


- Now it might be a good time for me to empty my semen. Do you want to help me get so excited?
- Of course my friend.


She swims up to me and starts nibbling at the base of my neck. Just like she did when we mated. It doesn't take long before I start purring like a cat.


She nibbles again and the sound gets louder. She continues and with each thrust I feel my manhood getting harder and harder. Soon it is rock hard and falls out. Fia pauses and I look at her. She moans and clutches her stomach. Maybe not good to devour the fish like that.


Fia nibbles a few more times and on the third nibble I ejaculate. It sprays right out into the water and the surface of the water around me turns whitish. Like the other day, it's as if the semen doesn't want to run out. I press so it will come out even faster. Behind me, Fia moans loudly again.


I soon notice a small problem. The semen is heading towards me. I don't want to wear it. I swim away a little bit.


- Fia, why is it like this?
- You spray against the sea wind. Turn around so it comes with the sea breeze instead. Oh my stomach.


Of course. what a fool I am.


Fia looks like she's sweating. Even if she is underwater. She clutches her stomach and moans again. I get a silly idea. I'm going to joke with her now that she seems to have a stomach ache.


I swim a bit away and then quickly towards her and quickly bump her stomach with my hand.


- But what are you doing? I have a stomach ache.
- Just wanted to joke with you.
- Of course. Great fun.


She moans again and suddenly she stiffens and closes her eyes.


- What?


She doesn't answer but I soon see the reason. Feces have started to come out of her cloaca. At first firm but it quickly becomes looser and looser. It stops and I raise my eyebrows.


Oooooh.


What just happened must be every "Fine" girl's worst nightmare. But Fia is perhaps not a "Fine" girl. somehow she exudes that aura.


- Oops. It wasn't meant to be like that. I sure wasn't that constipated after all.
- Now it seems like you get to learn from your mistakes.
- Yes. Think how crazy it can get huh.


We both laugh at the whole thing. Her laughter soon dies down and she closes her eyes again.


- Uh oh Uh oh. Oh no. Damn!!!!


I don't have time to ask what she means before she explodes with super fast diarrhea. It flows very quickly towards me and I swim away as best I can. I don't want that on my scales or anywhere on my body. It stops for a few seconds and starts again.


I really don't want to see that. Not cool Fia. Not cool at all.


I feel we have both polluted the ocean. Partly with my semen and now her diarrhoea. Of course it will sink with time and be washed away by the sea, but right now it doesn't look fresh with the ooze at the surface which has started to mix with each other and now looks white-brownish. More brown than white actually.


I swim silently away to where I usually transform. I hear a gentle excuse behind me. Fia doesn't seem happy about what happened either. I say it's ok. After a while she has swum away and the only thing that shows that it happened is the turbidity in the water and a strong smell of excrement.


After the transformation, I go ashore and wipe off the water and put on my clothes and walk towards the bus. Back home, I sit on the couch and think about everything that happened today. Some of the things make me laugh out loud while others disgust me. It has been a good day, I think.


I go to bed quite early. Wondering what will happen tomorrow? Who knows.

[Fredriksam]

Saturday a week later


The week that has passed since the Monday when I last met Fia has been quite calm. I've been turning into a merman every day and swimming in the ocean. Sometimes I have been all the way to Sturkö and Tjurkö and the surrounding area. I usually don't visit those places, but I've been taking care now that I've been swimming around anyway.


Of course, I have been very careful to make sure that no one sees me as I swim around. My instincts have made me more suspicious and cautious. I no longer trust people the same way I used to.


I have emptied myself once so far since Monday. A detail that is interesting is that after I empty myself, I feel exactly the same calm as I did when I jumped high at BTH, among other places. This especially applies to the feeling when I jerked my body out of the water. I've been thinking about whether or not it's related. Considering that my manhood got a bit stiff a few times when I jumped, there may be a connection.


I feel like I haven't had to jump anything at all, just been swimming around and exploring the ocean. I have found several special stones in the water that I brought home and are now on my window sill in the living room and in the bedroom.


Speaking of home. I have been in my apartment very little. This is because they have started drilling in the floor and near the wall after my water damage and I am disturbed a lot by the noise. There was a small article about the water damage in the paper today. I hope that Sverker does not see the notice and understands how it is.


My parents have just returned from Spain and they are slightly tanned. They have had a great trip and have missed me. I haven't told them about being a merman and I haven't told them about Fia yet either.


Fia.


I regret not seeking her out this week and swimming with her but what I saw happen to her poop was as unsexy and off putting as it could ever be. Everyone knows that what goes into the mouth as food always comes out at some point and that is completely natural. But the image of it pouring out of her is not something I want to remember but still I do.


I certainly don't want to judge her but she knew it was a laxative and yet she swallowed so many herrings. She should have thought better before she did that. But of course, we all make mistakes.


I finally decide that I will meet her today and discuss about what happened last time. Maybe she will teach me something new too which is good to know.


I take the bus to Gullberna and walk down towards the forest. Soon I am at the same place where I usually take off my clothes. Fia's bag is up in the tree and I put mine next to hers. We belong together, so to speak.


I step into the warm water and wade to the place where I have always transformed. Soon I am transformed and I swim further out into the water before calling Fia. A bird is near me in the water and I hiss a hello to the bird. It hisses back but I'm not sure if it understood that I said hello to it. It seems to think I'm mad at it.


Fia comes swimming. Her scales are as shiny as when I last saw her. Mine also shine just as much.


- Long time no see. Where have you been?


- Well. I have swum in a few different places. Among other things out at Sturkö and Tjurkö. And you?


- I've been around here. I have been waiting for you. I almost thought something had happened to you.


- Its been good. What happened to you felt so wrong, so I just put it off.


- When I taught you to live like a merman? Or wait, Yes, that. I had almost forgotten that.


- Unfortunately, I don't have, but it doesn't matter.


- Sorry about that. I really should have thought about it. 10 herrings are enough to fix a constipated stomach and I threw in around 14 I think. I don't understand how I was thinking.


- We all make mistakes.


- Yeah. About That. I thought I wanted to show you something and also tell you something but I think we'll do it in the house instead. It gets easier that way.


I'm thinking about it. Am I really going to transform back now that I've just jumped in the water?


- Can we swim a little before we transform again?


- Absolutely. Any particular place you want to swim to or should we be here?.


- Thought we could talk a bit, so I think we'll take the place where we mated.


Fia smiles happily at me and agrees.


We swim there at a slower pace than last time and are there in around 40 minutes. We have taken a break on the road and taken air at the surface.


- So. what was it you wanted to talk about?


- Well, first I wanted to say that I've started to follow my instincts more when I've been out swimming. I didn't do that much in the beginning.


- It's actually a bit noticeable on you. And that is only positive.


- But I don't trust people the same way anymore when I'm transformed.


- That is also positive. Your survival instincts have clearly kicked in. We must be suspicious to survive.


- I almost suspected something like that. But another thing. My jumping as I taught you.


- Yes. What about it?


- I feel the same peace after I jump as when I mated and now that I have emptied myself.


- Interesting.


- I'm not an expert by any means, but I wonder if my jumping might have been sexual frustration. My manhood also got stiff on a few occasions when I jumped.


- I had no idea about that, but I think you're absolutely right. The body gives us different signals sometimes and it can be difficult to interpret them sometimes.


- I guess that applies especially to the one who hasn't transformed that many times.


- That's guaranteed.


- Another thing I wonder about. How long can we stay in the water using only our gills before we have to surface for air?


- It depends on how much energy you use, but maybe 30 minutes.


- I thought we could only use the gills. That's what fish do.


- Although we are bigger than any living fish. Then the conditions for how we operate also change.


- Do we have any powers?


- Yes. We have that. I was going to show it to you in the basement of the old house.


- How exciting. But then I think we swim back and transform and get there. A little hungry so we can eat some fish first. Are you doing fine?


- Absolutely. Good idea.


We swim to the place at Verkö that she showed me the last time we met. We catch a few different fish, but this time Fia doesn't eat as many herrings, even though she does the same thing and sings to her fish. Well fed, we swim back to Verkö and transform.


Once in the old house, we go down into the basement. Fia picks up a newspaper in the kitchen.


- What was it you wanted to show?


- I think we'll take the negative first. That's what my parents always did if something had happened. Regardless, there were good things too.


- It's fine. Let me know what it is.


Fia holds up today's newspaper. It says about the water damage that I caused. I nod. I absolutely know that.


- This is what I meant by our powers.


- Oh really. How?


- We can affect the water in slightly different ways.


- How exiting. I had no idea about that.


- You did it so there was water damage.


- I don't think it was directly due to any force on my part, but feel free to show how we affect water.


- Okay. Will be. First we just have to fill up with a lot of water down here. I use the shower and this water hose.


Fia turns on the water hose and the shower and the water slowly fills the basement.


While it is being filled, Fia and I go upstairs. She shows around what the whole house looks like. There is old wallpaper in all the rooms and some rooms have carpets that look very dirty.


Someone should renovate here, I spontaneously think. The bathroom is the one that looks the newest. It is spacious and has both a washing machine and dryer but no bathtub.


The living room has an old vinyl player and several records. It's mostly singles. I look at them a bit and most seem to be from the 70s and 80s. All have names written on the cover. Most of them say Fia Svanroth. But there are also some where it says Hans & Edith Svanroth. I'm guessing her parents were named that.


There is also an attic. But up there it's almost empty.


Fia and I go down to the basement again and Fia thinks there is enough water and turns off the hose and the shower. She chooses not to transform. She looks at me and I walk closer to her.


- So. Now I will show how our powers can affect the water. Are you ready?


- Absolutely.


Fia starts moving the water around with her hand and soon it becomes like a spinning vortex in the water. She moves her hand around even more violently and the vortex gets even bigger.


Wow


- It looks absolutely nice and cool, but if you are careless, it can have consequences. It's easy to lose control.


She stops moving her hand around in the water and starts waving it instead. Now instead, waves are created that are calm at first, but the more she waves her hand, the bigger they get.


She waves her hand in the water even wilder than before and the waves move violently. Soon it's almost like a minor storm in the basement. The waves have started to whip the walls and it increases even more the wilder Fia waves her hand. Soon the water sprays almost to the ceiling with each huge wave that rises.


- Okay okay. I understand what you mean. That's not what happened. I flooded the apartment simply because I didn't want to lie in the shower all day but be able to swim around the apartment. I had intended to talk to you already last week about the water damage but then forgot about it.


Fia stops waving her hand in the water and it starts to calm down. Soon it is completely quiet as usual and only the wet walls and a few splashes on us testify that something unusual has just happened.


- How many times did you flood the apartment and how much water was there approximately?


- I did it twice and each time there was so much water that I, including my tail, was under the surface.


- In that case, there was a lot of water considering how big your apartment is.


- I could have had less water but it might not have mattered. Done is done.


- So true so true.


- What kind of positive news was it then?


- You will see.


Fia goes upstairs and gets something. When she comes back I see she is holding something plastic but small in one hand. When she gets closer, I see that it's a pregnancy test stick.


- I am pregnant! Our children. I think there are two.


- Are you kidding now?


- No of course not. You are going to be a father!


The news makes me almost dizzy and feels like I almost have to sit down, but I'm also incredibly happy about the news. Fia takes out a plastic chair that is nearby.


- If you need to sit down, do it here.


- Thanks. It's a lot to take in right now.


- I can understand that very well. Take the time you need.


I feel like I probably don't need to sit down anymore. I walk up to Fia and give her a big hug. We stand and hug for a very long time. I have always felt that something was missing in my life. Somehow it will now be complete when I become a father.


When we have finished hugging, Fia opens the cellar door so all the water can drain out. We go upstairs.


I walk into the living room and quite spontaneously choose a single that I put on the record player. It will be Goombay Dance Band's song "Sun of Jamaica". Sea waves and a pleasant rhythm fill the room.


- That one was my mother's and my favorite. We always sang it together as loud as we could.


- Is it okay if it becomes our song too?


Fia stands and thinks for a while but finally she nods and we both start singing along to the song. I turn up the volume on the stereo.



But now as I grew older

This burning desire became so strong

That I bought me a ticket to fly over there


And then I found you




And we found an eternal love right from the beginning

Stars falling down from the sleepy lagoon


Palms swaying under the moon

We were swimming out into the calm, crystal sea




In that fateful night, I thought to myself

I'll do everything I can, save every dime

And one day I'll return, come back home to you


And then I'll stay forever, forever


When the song ends, we turn it on again. We dance around to the song in the living room and life plays. I never want it to end.


- By the way, I didn't know your last name was Svanroth.


- I don't do that anymore. My name is Svantesson now. I changed the name after my parents.. death. I didn't want to be reminded of what happened.


When the song ends, I choose another single. It will be George Baker Selection's "Paloma Blanca". Fia grimaces at my song choice.


- I never liked that song. Not even when it was new.


- Still, you still have it.


- Haven't gone through the singles in a very long time.


- Shall we choose someone else?


- Let it play. I can choose the next one.


We play music for several hours. I'm getting hungry again and I get an idea.


- Can I buy you some food? So invite you and eat at a restaurant?


- I would love to.


We go into town and think about where to eat. In the end we decide to eat at Restaurant Montmartre. There are tables available even if it is Saturday.


I choose a Pheasant Fillet Montmartre while Fai chooses Butter-Fried Goose Fillet. I could also choose fish, but I want meat today. It doesn't take long before the food arrives. There is a candle on the table and Fia and I snuggle together.


We talk to each other a lot when we sit there and eat. But none of that is about our lives as mermaids or mermen. There are too many ears that can hear and it can get weird then. Instead, we talk about things that most people talk about.


Among other things, I talk about my job at Blekinge museum and Fia tells me that she works as a recreation manager at a sports facility. She thinks it's great fun with the younger children. They are more open to both ordinary and unusual things than adults are.


Fia and I sit there for several hours before I pay for the food and I go home to mine with Fia. The workers have not drilled today and it is quiet and peaceful. I show her my photo albums where you can see when I was a little boy. She finds it very exciting and fun to see the photos.


When it starts to get dark outside, Fia goes home. I kiss her belly before she goes down to her car and drives home. Later I sit on the couch and smile big.


I'm going to be a father. What magic.