Her Greatest Fantasy
Rosalee and Jack were about to enter his apartment, engaged in civil conversation. Friends for more than ten years, it had been a while since they were last together, and both wanted to enjoy the moment as much as possible. After talking about trifling subjects such as food and music, the banter had veered into unexpected territory, namely, one’s greatest fantasy.
“I’m not going to talk about sex with you!” The ebony-eyed barmaid exclaimed from atop her seven-inch heels.
“Who said anything about that?” Jack shrugged. “If you could have anything you wanted,—or be anyone or anything you wanted—what would it be?”
“If you really want to know, I would love to be a mermaid.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, I love the idea of them. They’re so cute!” She chirped.
“I can do that.” He retorted, adjusting his blue-rimmed glasses.
“Of course, you can!” Rosalee scoffed.
“I mean it,” Jack insisted, hands waving frantically as if they had been hit by a sudden jolt. “I can turn you into a mermaid, and I’d love to.” He grabbed the magnetic key chain from his bomber jacket and opened the door for her to walk right in.
“If you’re talking about hypnosis or something, been there, done that,” she said, somewhat bored. “Don’t get me wrong, it was fun while it lasted, but I don’t want a temporary fix. I want the real thing, an actual transformation.”
“And that’s exactly what I’m offering you, my dear.” His eyes glimmered. She had never seen him her comic book nerd friend so excited, and wasn’t sure if she wanted to, but she was curious, at least.
“Okay, let’s pretend I bite.” she clicked her tongue. “How would you do that?”
“Magic, obviously.”
“Obviously...” she rolled her eyes once again, stopping midway in the unlikely scenario they would come tumbling down from their sockets. “Abracadabra and such? No thanks, Jack!”
“Maybe this will change your mind then,” he replied, traversing the living-room to the nearest bookshelf. Almost instantly, he produced a dark green leather-bound tome. Unlike what one might expect from a so-called magical book, it was quite pristine in every sense of the word, and even the paper smelled of fresh ink. She wasn’t impressed.
“Did you print this yourself?”
“I found it in the attic of my parent’s old house. Don’t let the clean looks deceive you. This is legit!”
“And why should I believe you?”
“Because I can prove it if you let me recite an incantation.”
“You mean there’s a mermaid spell in there? What a coincidence!” She giggled.
“No mermaid incantation, but a genuine desire one. If that’s really what you want, you’ll become one. Trust me!”
“Fine!” She twirled and sat on a black maple, legs crossed. “Show me what you’ve got, Mr. Magician!”
Jack opened the book and flipped its immaculate pages one by one until he found the spell he was looking for. Though it was written in Latin, but it was nothing he couldn’t handle. The melodious words rolled off his tongue and then...
... his jaw dropped when he saw an emerald green and cobalt blue fish tail flapping before his eyes.
“Oh my God, it worked!” He dropped the book to the floor. “It actually worked.”
“Wow!” Rosalee smiled from ear to ear. The transformation was magnificent. “It sure did, but why are you so surprised?”
“Because...” Jack leaned against the bookshelf and rubbed his temples. “Because I was just pulling your leg. You were right. I printed the book for fun and... Jesus, how the fuck can this be real?”
“No clue, but if one incantation works, then it’s possible...”
“... all the others work, too.” He concluded.
She was right, and that changed everything. With a real magical book in hand, there was nothing he couldn’t accomplish, no dream he couldn’t make come true. Even better, no woman would be able to resist him and if they tried... Countless deviant thoughts crossed his mind in a matter of seconds and most of them began and ended in the word “harem”. A beautiful mermaid could very well be the first addition.
“Oh, boy...” She muttered.
“What’s wrong?”
“I can almost see your brain working from here... you’re not having out-of-control, libidinous thoughts, are you?” She pointed her left index at him.
“I would never do such a thing...” He crouched to pick up the book.
“You were always a terrible liar, Jack. And you’re even worse when you’re horny. I don’t think having you in charge of a real magical book is a good thing. You’re bound to do something foolish with it, I’m sure.”
“Are you?” His eyes glimmered with unnatural cravings, immediately proving her point. “That’s too bad, my dear. I don’t know how this happened or why, but know that I know the truth, I’ll be uncovering every secret of this tome no matter what, so if you’re thinking of snatching it away from me, think again!” He gnarled.
Rosalee reclined herself, using the newly created tail as a natural fan, and asked:
“Why would I think of doing such a thing when you will give it to me, willingly?”
“Are you out of your mind?”
“No. I’m a mermaid and if you remember the lore correctly, we have a rather irresistible trait, don’t we? I’ll be having the book and your mind, dear. Don’t worry. I promise both will be in excellent hands.”
Rosalee began to sing.