I shall never forget the moment I met her. Years have gone by and I find it difficult at times to gather my memories of the past, yet her image remains as vivid as the sunlight that once struck her long brown hair. Her eyes were as blue as the ocean. They sparkled like stars even at mid-day. Her lips were full and red like the plump dates I used to pick from our backyard when I was younger. Her long hair tumbled softly over her slender shoulders. She was beautiful, like no other mermaid I have ever seen before. After all, she was the only mermaid that I have ever met.
Perhaps she was only a figment of my imagination. At least, that is what people would tell me when I tell them my story. I myself did not believe in such creatures. I am a doctor, a student of science. Not some person deluded with visions of a woman that is half-human, half-fish. Indeed, it is possible that during those moments I was only hallucinating. However, it was not just an ephemeral occurrence with her and during those moments that she was with me, she appeared more than real.
Years have passed and I still could smell the scent of seawater on her hair. I could still feel the soft texture of her skin. Before I sleep, I sometimes think I could hear the splashes she would make whenever she would swim back out into the open sea. At first, she never uttered a word but I could always hear her humming at night lulling me to sleep. I could feel her warm breath on my cheek before she would leave me with her kiss. For me, she was real. I saw her. I touched her. I held her. I kissed her. The kiss was real.
Some people thought it was actually my near-death experience. After all, nobody expected that I would survive the horrible gale that struck our boat that fateful afternoon. None of my companions made it. I was initially reported missing but most believed that I too was among the dead. I had a feeling it was going to be one rough sailing back to the mainland. After a full day participating in a medical mission in a remote island, everybody was tired and wanted to go back home. A few local folks discouraged us from sailing back to the mainland. It would take us 2 hours to reach the mainland and they were concerned that we might reach the mainland while it was already dark. I was traveling with two other doctors, 3 nurses, a midwife, a local village leader and 3 college students who were volunteering for the medical mission. There were many of us but the others either left for the mainland earlier that day or decided to stay the night in the island. For us who decided to set sail that late afternoon, it happened to be a mistake. I was adamant in going back to the mainland. I needed to keep a promise and I was not going to break it.
We were all reported missing and a search and rescue operation was conducted by the local municipality. Four days later, bodies of my companions started being washed ashore. It was then that they decided to stop the search.
I thought as well that I was dead and my heaven, or hell, was this small island somewhere in nowhere. I staggered to my feet when I regained consciousness the morning after the storm. I looked around me and felt disoriented. I thought I was back in the island where we had our medical mission. However, this was a different island. The beach was white and sandy. The waters were clear and blue. Coconut trees were everywhere. There was no mountain or hill. By mid-day, I already walked around the small island. It appeared this island was like a strip of white sandy land. No one else was on the island. In the middle of the island was a thick "forest" of coconut and palm trees. It was a beautiful place but it was not enough to distract me from my hapless situation. If this was my heaven, then it must be a lonesome eternity for me.
The pangs of hunger prompted me that I was not dead. I was alive and I survived. Instinctively, I reached for my pockets and grabbed my cell phone. I needed to call my fiancée, Dariela Dy. I needed to tell her that I was well, that I was alive. The phone was soaked. I laid it out on the sand to dry. I looked around to find whatever food there was. The coconuts were too high. There were no animals to hunt. I did not even know how to start a fire. By nightfall, I was still hungry, cold and despondent.
