Melody

It was a beautiful Summer Solstice. Long lazy summer days, beautiful sandy beaches, and sea where waves danced, showing off the sparkling jewels they had been gifted by the sparkling sunshine.

The scenery looked like something out of a romance movie, only I didn't have anyone to share it with.

I threw on a pair of shorts and went for a long walk by the sea. I wanted to drink in the sizzling weather and try to get myself a tan while it lasted. Winter had been miserable and freezing, I was grateful for the gorgeous summer weather.

I walked on the beach, right by the sea's edge. I listened to the cheerful sound of the waves crashing into the shore, smiling to show my appreciation of the beautiful melody that was music to my ears. I stopped when I nearly tripped over something. Curious; I bent over to observe what had tripped me up, and I found a gold seashell right by the sea's edge.

The saying goes that if you find a gold seashell, it means that mermaids are near. In my beautiful seaside town, Sunley; there was a saying that if you come across a gold seashell, then a mermaid has chosen to spend the rest of her life with you.

I never believed the saying to be true. I always thought that mermaids were something that children make up in fairytales.

The shell was beautiful. It wasn't the usual type of shell that you pick up on the beach; it was painted gold and it shimmered and danced in the sun. It was magical, and it lured me in so much that I chose to keep it.

"Who knows, it might bring me some luck," I told myself.

I put the shell safely in my pocket. It was at that moment, I heard the beautiful, magical voice of a young female singing in the sea. I thought it was just a young girl having fun; or that is what I thought as I observed the young, dark brown-haired girl with a beautiful voice, dancing and singing in the sea.

Her voice sounded like magical angels singing from heaven. Every note was pitch-perfect, and it was drawing me more toward her.

I sat on the beach and observed the shell. It seemed like a perfectly normal shell to me; except it had been fancied up a bit.

I held the shell in front of me, and no sooner had I done that than the girl swum toward me.

"Hi, I'm Melody," she told me followed by a smile so beautiful, it would have melted all of the ice cream in the world.

I couldn't help but smile back.

"Hi, I'm Jason," I replied.

Melody splashed and swam around in a circle. She laughed a beautiful, happy laugh that could melt even the grumpiest of people, and she said,

"Care to join me for a swim?"

I laughed and joined her in the water.

We were swimming for nearly three hours, laughing, joking, and playing, and at the end of those hours, we were engrossed in a deep, passionate kiss.

"Do you fancy a walk on the beach? I asked her.

She suddenly lost her smile.

She shook her head, and replied, "I can't."

"Why?" I asked her, but she swam away before she could reply.

I sat on the beach in a daze.

"I couldn't have possibly had a romantic encounter with a mermaid," I told myself, even though I felt it could possibly be true.

I felt disappointed.

Melody was truly beautiful. She had long, wavy dark-brown hair, sparkling emerald-green eyes, and a smile to die for.

My only hope was that I'd see her again.

I tried to put off my walk on the beach for a while; though the next day I found myself back on the beach, looking for a sighting of Melody. She wasn't anywhere to be seen.

I sat down, and with tears in my eyes, I held the gold shell in my hands. All the happy memories from the day before were on replay in my brain. I was just about to start walking home when I heard the singing of a voice I recognized.

"Melody," I thought.

I turned around, and she was there playing in the sea, and singing in her beautiful alluring voice.

I smiled, but I made no attempt to go near her.

"Come here, Jason!" Melody called.

I went to her; after all, how could I resist?

"I couldn't just let you go after last night. I have to show you who I am," she told me.

Melody flashed her beautiful golden fishtail out of the sea. I was in shock but I was amazed.

"Can you walk on land?" I asked.

"Yes, but we are mermaids, so we have to return to the sea by night, in order to rejuvenate our tails. If our tails become dry, we will die," Melody explained.

I didn't care. Though it took me a good few hours to let the fact that Melody was a mermaid sink in.

"You have my shell. That is my calling to you. The shell is a sign of commitment. It helps us to pull our partners. It is encased in magic which helps to allure any man who comes across it, and it calls them to us," Melody explained.

I felt like I was drunk on air with this explanation. One thing was sure, I had fallen for this beautiful girl.

Summer Solstice would feel so much better with her in it!

At least she could walk on land, so I could date her.

"We can still have sex!" Melody exclaimed, almost as if she knew what I was thinking.

I knew that I wanted this Summer to be the Summer that I found love.

Did it really matter that she had a tail?

Did it matter that she lived in the sea?

No! She was still Melody at the end of the day, and

I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.

We fell silent, so I looked into her eyes and kissed her, long and passionately.

"Will you marry me, Melody?" I asked before I could stop myself.

I knew that it was the magic talking but it was beyond my control, and this is the story of how I came to be married to a Mermaid.