A scientific fairy tale

Nia was a mermaid. Not only that, she was the daughter of the great sea God Nereus. At 21 years old, she was the youngest of 5 sisters yet the most beautiful and elegant.

When the mermaids turned 21, they got a chance to finally emerge from the deep where they were hidden from humanity and finally see the surface world. As such, Nia was excited for her visit, having heard stories from her sisters about the world of mankind and their strange devices.

For her first visit, she poked her head above the water to be greeted by the warmth of the sun. The first sight she saw was a strange floating metal ship, drifting in the ocean.

To the rest of the world, that ship was the private yacht that belonged to one Edward Steiner. He was a young and rich, yet kind philanthropist who enjoyed marine biology and advocated against dumping waste in the ocean. He had decided to take the yacht out from his nearby vacation home and drift further down the ocean, away from the hustle and bustle to enjoy the peace and quiet.

Edward was sat on the front of the yacht, reading a book and looking to be at peace. Nia looked at him in confusion and came to admire his carefree ways, watching him enjoy himself for what seemed like hours.

As Edward started to get up, his black leather shoes landed on a particularly smooth and slippery area of the boat, making him slip and fall off balance into the ocean.

As Edward had never learnt to properly swim, he trashed around and slowly lost consciousness. Though as he sank down and his eyes began to close, he saw the faint outline of a beautiful nude woman with what appeared to be... The lower half of a fish? And she was swimming toward him, getting closer as his eyes closed...

Edward woke up with a start, coughing and spitting water out of his mouth. He remembered his last sight and turned around to thank his saviour, only to see her nervously watching him from the side of the boat with only her Upper half visible. Before he could speak, she quickly dived back down into the ocean, leaving him to wonder who she was and if he was hallucinating.

Back at home, Nia recounted her experiences (minus the rescue in fear of breaking the strictly imposed rule of revealing the existence of mermaids to humans) to her family, who could only congratulate her on her first trip.

Yet, she could not help but feel a bit of longing for the man she observed and saved. After visiting a sea witch, her desperation made her agree to the condition of gaining a human form at the cost of her voice.

2 days later, Edward was out on the same boat looking for Nia. Ever since that day he searched for her daily, and his prayers were answered when Nia poked her head out of the ocean.

He carefully approached her off the side of the ship, and she slowly boarded the yacht with her human legs. "So I was hallucinating after all..." Edward muttered to himself, "Can you come with me? I want to thank you for the other day and ask you a few questions." He requested. Nia could only nod.

Back at his vacation home, Edward kept noticing how she didn't say a word yet kept glancing at his appliances in wonder. As soon as she discovered what the tap did, she couldn't stop leaving her skin under running water.

Quite an odd girl, she acts like a fish. Edward thought to himself as he observed this sight.

Wanting his questions answered, Edward filled an old fishtank with water, setting it in front of his couch and mentioning to Nia. Nia understood and soaked herself in water, feeling more comfortable and back at home as she waited for what Edward wanted to say.