The Mermaid Project

Chapter two

“Well Haven, you seem to be a perfect candidate,” the doctor stated.

He was a middle aged man, with thinning grey hair and the standard lab coat.

“You must know, though, that we have never turned a human to the…. Um…” he stuttered over the word. ”Species you desire.”

I knew this already.

In all of the fifty years trans-species surgery was approved, no one ever wanted to be a mermaid. Lots of people came into the.. clinic? Would you call it that? Wanting to be werewolves, vampires, fairies, even centaurs; but never mermaids.

“I’m willing to take the risk,” I said boldly. He looked taken aback, but he composed himself quickly.

“Very well, then. Lie down on the table and relax, and well get started,” he said with a bored tone.

I laid back and closed my eyes, relaxing as he told me. I felt something being placed over my nose and mouth, and opened my eyes to see that he had placed an anesthesia mask on me. I relaxed again, waiting for the drug to overtake my mind.

I woke up on the table, feeling exactly the same as I did before. I looked down, ready to see my brand new tail. When I looked down, I was disappointed to see my denim covered legs.

What the heck? I paid for this operation! It’s hard to get money when you’re fifteen years old! I spotted the doctor in the corner of the room, and I stood up from the table, heading over to him.

“What the heck, dude? Where’s my tail?” I asked.

He looked at me like I was an idiot.

“You wanted to be a mermaid, so I made you one. Just think about it. Mermaids only have tails when they are wet. As soon as you come in contact with water, poof, you have a tail.” He explained.

I smiled at him, grateful that he was the one to make my dreams come true.

“Thank you, thank you so much, doctor. You have no idea how much this means to me,” I exclaimed.

He smiled at me a smile that looked rehearsed, making me think that maybe I wasn’t the only one who showed this kind of reaction.

The door behind us opened, to reveal the same man that escorted me into the room before. He held the door open, stepping aside to let me pass. I walked out the door, pausing as new senses overwhelmed me. I could hear the water running through the pipes in the wall, and my eyes felt dry. Something was pulling me toward the ocean, and I had a burning desire deep in my stomach to go for a swim and never return to land. 

“Well? Tell me what you see, hear, smell everything!” The doctor said eagerly, with a pen and notepad at the ready.

I guess he needed to know what the new senses were with mermaids, seeing as I was the first.

“I can almost feel the water running through the pipes,” I said in a trance, “and my eyes feel dry. I want to go swimming, and I feel like singing.” The singing one was new. “Can I go now?” I asked.

The desire to get to the sea was starting to become painful. He nodded, vigorously writing down notes on his pad. I ran out the door, heading towards the diminishing line. Girls and boys called out to me, asking what I was, what had happened, if I felt different, but I ignored them, heading out to the street that would lead me straight to the beach.