A Paradise On Earth

A PARADISE ON EARTH

A PARADISE ON EARTH“I cannot take you with me,” she asserted. “We mermaids swim alone and no man may follow us. It is forbidden.”

She pulled away from him and dived swiftly, so that he saw a flash of shapely ankle before she vanished into the depths. Instantly he dived as well and felt a moment’s panic because he could not see her in the dark blue water.

At last he sensed her gliding past him as though she was indeed the mermaid she had claimed to be. This time he was taking no chances. He put on a spurt and caught up with her, seizing her waist.

Above them the water was pale from the light above. Up and up they climbed until they broke the surface and the sunshine streamed over them again. At first they laughed into each other’s eyes, but suddenly they stopped laughing and trod water, looking astonished at what had come over them.

The shore was so distant as to be almost invisible. Overhead the blue sky was empty and the sea stretched far away into the distance. They might have been completely alone in the world with no one to see what they did next.

Slowly John drew her towards him. Her arms enfolded his neck and the next moment he was kissing her, and she was kissing him.