The pond water was warm at David Tanner's feet. He sat down on the smooth, warm rock underneath him and looked around the forest. The sky looked green-gold through the leaves of the forest. The golden light shown through from the sunset, through the green of the leaves, basking everything with a magic-like glow. The forest was filled with glorious life, crickets chirping and bees buzzing, birds singing out wonderful tunes and more. The place felt alive, and it gave a certain aurora of happiness and magic.

David looked up at the sky. It was a bright blue that was slowly turning dark. David knew that if he walked to the end of the forest and looked out from between the trees the sun would be slowly lowering over the mountains. It was one of those days that you don't think twice about, but you know in the future it will forever be embedded in your memory as something pleasant- or so David had hoped.

The pond, which was decent sized and filled with life, was fairly deep and had a small stream running to a rather large lake, which led to a small ocean bay. He could climb there tonight, but he'd promised his mother and father he was just going to the pond- for some reason, they always made him promise to never go near the bay alone, ever. He agreed, completely oblivious to what his parents were protecting him from.

David watched the water, bugs and tadpoles creating smooth ripples in the water. He yawned and ran a hand through his dirty blond hair. He watched with green eyes, eyes the colour of the last oak leaves in the summer. David was rather good looking, with a strong jaw and a sculpted face. His shoulders were broad and he had a washboard stomach. He only wore orange swim trunks, his towel and sandals thrown lazily on the rock next to his. His name was written in hearts in more than one girl's journal, and he adored it. David was what you'd call a jerk and a player. Not the best guy to have a relationship with, and maybe that was why this summer night had a sudden twist of events, or maybe it was bad luck and being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Something purple flew quickly past David's face. He yelped in surprise, scaring off a few birds. He frowned and the thing buzzed by him again...giggling?

"What the...?" he muttered. He shook his head and shrugged; he was probably just hearing things- or so he hoped. The thing flew by him again, but this time it slowed, stopping in front of him. He stared wide eyed at a... fairy? He got to his feet, rubbing his eyes. No, his eyes were playing tricks on him. But when he opened his eyes, the fairy was still there, giggling.

It was a girl, with a curvy body and purple skin, with pale, translucent wings and small green eyes. Her hair was silvery, tinted lavender. It wore a small dress made of leaves and flower petals. It smiled at David warmly. David gaped at it- he had heard more than one tale of mysterious fairies in the forest, but most of them came from his little sister and she was five, so David had shrugged them off.

"Uhh... hi?" David said, frowning. The fairy giggled, flying across the pond. "Hey, where are you going?" David called, wading further into the pond, feet sticking in the muddy bottom. The fairy giggled again, a high pitched sound like bells, and beckoned for David to follow. It flew off towards the stream. David, mildly confused but curious, waded after it, splashing through it and stirring up the mud at the bottom.

The fairy paused every few yards and waited for him to catch up, but he never did quite catch up to it before it buzzed off for a few more yards. David came to the stream, where he could walk better on the stones. He ran after the fairy, which was zipping skillfully down the stream, calling for it to wait.

Finally, he came to the bay. The fairy was nowhere to be seen, and panic filled David. Not only was he disobeying his parents, he was following a fairy.

"I'm going insane," he muttered to himself. And then he heard the singing. The singing was glorious, like a thousand angels singing in union, like the song of the sea and the call of the wind. David forgot about the fairy instantly, only concentrating on the singing. Forgetting his parents warning, he started down a rocky ridge towards the ocean. The ocean was beautiful, a nice blue colour, with a gentle current eroding the shore gently away. The sand before the ocean was soft and white, soft and comfy. The smell of the ocean wafted in a warm, gentle breeze and David found himself smiling goofily. He didn't notice the fact he seemed to have no control over his limbs and he remember nothing. He just wanted to get to the lovely person behind the alluring voice.

But it wasn't a person at the end of the voice, not really. David walked over to a small boulder on the beach, where the voice was coming from. He looked behind the boulder happily, not thinking about the possible consequences of his actions. And then he froze, because behind the boulder was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.

The mermaid's tail flicked against the shallow water of a small pond behind the boulder that led to the ocean. The tail was scaly and a pale blue colour, shimmering in the setting sun. Eventually the tail came to the waist of the mermaid where skin and scale met and faded into each other. The top half of the mermaid was a pale white, like snowflakes, and soft. The mermaid wore seashells over its breasts, much like Ariel did in a little mermaid, but they were ivory. Long blonde hair tumbled over the breasts and shoulders of the mermaid in a cascade of lush curls. The mermaid had prominent collar bones, a nice angular chin and prominent cheekbones. Its lips were full and lush, its eyes a stormy sea colour framed by long, thick lashes. The mermaid stopped singing and blinked flirtatiously at David.

David fumbled for words but his mouth was not working. He stood there in awe of the magnificent creature in his wake.

"Hello there," the mermaid said, smiling. "Are you the boy my little fairy friend whispered to me about? You're quite handsome."

"I-I-I," David stuttered. He shook his head, his thoughts foggy. "Thank you! You are... well there are no words."

The mermaid threw her hair back and laughed, a sound like merry music. "Why thank you kind stranger. Am I given the honor of learning your name?" It raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, yes! I'm David, David Tanner."

"I'm Celia," the mermaid said. "Would you do me the pleasure of taking me back to the ocean? I have to effort to take myself back there. I'll sing for you."

David nodded, almost like a droid taking orders. He walked towards Celia, who twisted a strand of hair around his finger. David picked her up carefully and began to walk back to the ocean. His mind was foggy and he was confused, and he just kept walking. Celia was singing beautifully in his ear and it wasn't until the water reached his chest that something occurred to him. Some small part of his brain was calling out an instinctual warning to run. And in the small part of his brain, the twisted mermaid stories he used to read where coming back, about sirens and mermaids leading unlucky sailors to their fates. Celia noticed the frown on David's face and stopped singing.

"It's okay, David, I won't hurt you," she said. David shook his head, panic and fear spreading through him. He let go of Celia, who fell into the ocean with an "oof!" She resurfaced again, an angry look on her face. The skies began to cloud over the ocean waves grew bigger.

"Stay away from me!" David cried, scrambling to find footing on the slippery rocks beneath his feet.

"I just wanted a friend, David! Possibly a lover! We could spend eternity together! I could make you like me!" Celia cried. "Do you know how long I've been waiting for you to come here alone?! David!" she screamed. There was a splash behind David as he scrambled towards shore, and then a cold hand grasped his ankle. He screamed and fell forward in the water. He gasped in surprise and took in a mouthful of water as the hand dragged him back into the ocean.

And he was never heard from again... or at least not from anyone human.