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Sea Change – Ch.3

Cold water covered Ben’s face before he could yell. After that he was fighting to breathe, blowing and gasping for air whenever his face broke the surface.

You are going to die, his mind screamed for the second time that morning.

The mermaid held him tightly on her chest as she swam. He could feel her powerful tail lashing beneath his legs, propelling them across the ocean at alarming speed. It felt like he had been tied to a torpedo and fired toward an unseen target.
—

Overwhelmed by grief and despair, 17-year-old Ben looks to the sea for escape. Only to find the sea looking back at him…

An original tale set in Okayado’s “Monster Musume” universe.

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Sea Change – Ch.2

As long as he’d lived by the beach, Ben had never seen a merperson, though he knew they lived in communities near the coast. They appeared in the regional news sometimes. He realized that this one had probably rescued him from drowning and dragged him back onto the beach. Nobody else had been near him, out in the ocean.

“Thank you!”

Ben’s clumsy wave got no reaction. He really didn’t want to go back into the water. But he thought he should at least speak to the person who had saved his life. Ben shuddered as cold seawater clutched at his ankles, but he forced himself to wade out into the shallows.
—

Overwhelmed by grief and despair, 17-year-old Ben looks to the sea for escape. Only to find the sea looking back at him…

An original tale set in Okayado’s “Monster Musume” universe.

Makeup tutorial by gulfamshahanajana. https://www.tiktok.com/@gulfamshahanajana/video/7424788047989918996

Sea Change – Ch.1

The gulls were fully awake now, screeching at each other and gliding along the waterline looking for washed-up food. Ben shivered again, stood up and started walking toward the waves. His mother would be infuriated when she realized he’d snuck out of the house. With classes over, he had no excuses. But the wet sand under his feet reassured him that he wouldn’t face his mother’s cold fury later today. Or tomorrow. Steadied by this thought, he waded into the surf and plunged into one of the larger waves.

Ben swam toward the sunrise, pushing through the breaking waves. He could feel the water growing cooler as the seabed sloped away. He didn’t think about the deepening water beneath him, didn’t glance back to see how far away the shore was.  He just kept swimming, allowing himself the luxury of not thinking about anything for a while.

When his arms ached he rolled onto his back and kicked. Sunrise orange had faded into pale blue, splotched with clouds. Ben watched the clouds, felt sunlight on his face, took quick, hard breaths and kept going.
—

Overwhelmed by grief and despair, 17-year-old Ben looks to the sea for escape. Only to find the sea looking back at him…

An original tale set in Okayado’s “Monster Musume” universe.

Strange Heaven – Author’s Note

Strange Heaven – Ch.5 AUTHOR’S NOTE — If you’ve read this far, thank you!  You’ve earned something of an explanation. “Strange Heaven” is less of a story than an intermezzo between adventures.  This handful of vignettes shows Mark finding his way in the Lamia Islands, adapting to the culture and language, and integrating with lamia…

Strange Heaven – Ch.5

The rain caught up with us at the cemetery, but seemed as tired as I was, squalling briefly before limping back toward the bay. Rainwater muttered in the drains as Yurilee crawled along the bricked path that wound between the grave markers. I followed at a respectful distance, allowing privacy to her mourning. We had the grey garden to ourselves.
Yurilee paused often, bending down to speak softly over a grave. When she switched to English I knew she had reached Julian’s stone. Not that Julian’s body was beneath it. His remains had been flown back to the States, and turned over to whatever family he had. I wondered whether his family still visited his grave, if they kept him company on rainy days.

—

Winter comes to the Lamia Islands. Some residents avoid the weather, some endure it, some accept it. So it goes with life. Mark and Yurilee return in another original tale set in Okayado’s “Monster Musume” universe.

Sequel to “My Poisonous Friend.”

Strange Heaven – Ch.4

“But these rooms are much larger than I need,” said Dr. al-Ahzar. 

“Your predecessor was a lamia,” I pointed out.

We were sitting in the foreroom of the resident quarters, where the clinic’s doctor was expected to reside.  The room was large, and barren.  Aemilia’s lamia-sized furniture had been removed along with any personal memories she had left behind.  One of the staff had brought a pair of chairs for us.  The chairs didn’t match, but I was impressed that they’d been found in the clinic at all.

Al-Ahzar had allowed himself a moment of genuine delight when I presented the antique Turkish tea set, a gift from a long-ago student that Yurilee had insisted that I bring along with me.  The doctor – “Please, call me Youssef” – had packed Koshary Shai with him when he left Cairo.  Now we sat with delicate cups of the hot, sugary brew and talked with the sudden intimacy of strangers who share a common language in a foreign land.

—

Winter comes to the Lamia Islands. Some residents avoid the weather, some endure it, some accept it. So it goes with life. Mark and Yurilee return in another original tale set in Okayado’s “Monster Musume” universe.

Sequel to “My Poisonous Friend.”

Strange Heaven – Ch.3

Madiyan left me in town.  I slogged the rest of the way back to my village alone, arriving a bit too early to tactfully stop in at home.  The clouds drifting in from the bay looked dark with rain, and I figured I was damp enough already.  So I went indoors.

The lunchroom was dry, warm and brightly lit, distinguishing it from most of the shuttered storefronts along this street.  It was also apparently deserted.  “Hello?”  I draped my sodden raincoat across one of the chairless tables and walked toward the back of the shop.  “Phoibe, are you in here?”

—

Winter comes to the Lamia Islands. Some residents avoid the weather, some endure it, some accept it. So it goes with life. Mark and Yurilee return in another original tale set in Okayado’s “Monster Musume” universe.

Sequel to “My Poisonous Friend.”

Strange Heaven – Ch.2

I scanned the bay with my binoculars, again. There wasn’t much out there to see, just a couple of fishing trawlers slowly dragging their nets, and a stretch of sullen seawater beyond them.  I spent a minute watching a crew bringing their catch aboard, spotting the long body of one lamia girl among the men who were hauling at the net.  A leathery cape of folded wings revealed her tribe, even at this distance, though I could have guessed anyway.  Melusine like being on the water, and they crew most of the archipelago’s boats. The cold and wet don’t seem to bother them much.

–

Winter comes to the Lamia Islands. Some residents avoid the weather, some endure it, some accept it. So it goes with life. Mark and Yurilee return in another original tale set in Okayado’s “Monster Musume” universe.

Sequel to “My Poisonous Friend.”

Strange Heaven – Ch.1

Suddenly Madiyan was over me, clutching at my chest, screaming words that I didn’t understand. Blood slicked through the medusa girl’s hair-snakes, reflecting wet firelight. I tried to answer her but my lungs weren’t working. My arms and legs weren’t working. Blood streamed down Madiyan’s forehead, past desperate red eyes, spattered frantically from her lips onto my face. Cold blood, and too much of it. I fought to stand, to reach out, but none of my muscles would move. I strained to shout against the pain in my empty lungs…

—

Winter comes to the Lamia Islands. Some residents avoid the weather, some endure it, some accept it. So it goes with life. Mark and Yurilee return in another original tale set in Okayado’s “Monster Musume” universe.

Sequel to “My Poisonous Friend.”