(Note: Philip and Syrena are one of my favorite couples.)

WHAT IF...Philip met Syrena before the Mermaid Attack on Whitecap Bay?

Whitecap Bay.

A large cove on a mysterious unnamed island in the Caribbean Sea.

Doom awaited any misguided mariner who sought out these perilous waters, as the Bay was where mythical aquatic creatures of various legends and lore, known to be half-human and half-fish, have been known to gather for hundreds of years, thereby striking terror in all the hearts of sailors and pirates alike.

Mermaids.

Also known as the Merpeople and sometimes referred to as "Scaly Tails."

Pirates call them "sea ghouls and devil fish" for being "dreadful in hunger for flesh of man."

They also say that these lethally-minded sisters of the sea rise up to lure men into their deadly arms. Beautiful, conniving, and dangerous, Mermaids would do anything to protect their homes and catch their prey.

Some stories depicted Mermaids as perilous creatures associated with floods, storms, shipwrecks, and drowning.

In Whitecap Bay, Mermaids were drawn to the surface by man-made light and singing sailors, these scintillating creatures entrance their prey before dragging them to the depths to devour them.

Mermaids are also associated with legends regarding the Fountain of Youth, which was said to be discovered by Ponce de Leon in 1523. Those seeking the Fountain, who had knowledge of the Profane Ritual, which is water from the Fountain, a Mermaid's tear, and two silver chalices, had to find and capture a Mermaid at Whitecap Bay. Only a Mermaid's tear, placed in one of Chalices of Cartagena, would set the rejuvenating forces of the Fountain to work.

That ancient ceremony could be preformed by those who want to achieve immortality at the Fountain of Youth. Immortality means that you won't die.

On many journeys to the Fountain, the Jungle Pools have been used to harvest Mermaid tears. Tying Mermaids within reach of water, yet leaving their bodies to slowly dry out. When the creatures die, they leave behind the remains of their marine form. Some time after Ponce de Leon's discovery, a Mermaid would be drawn onto to Mao Kun Map, one of the few guides to the Fountain of Youth.

Myths tell of Mermaids lurking beneath the pale, foaming breakers, but few knew that these briny beauties were actually flesh-eating creatures. The remote lighthouse at Whitecap Bay served as a beacon, as man-made light could attract these sirens of the sea.

And that is what's happening now.

The most feared pirate ever, Blackbeard A.K.A. Edward Teach, was searching for the Fountain of Youth. He wanted to become immortal. He also had a zombie army. He has forced several pirates, a missionary, and a zombie soldier to go out into the Whitecap Bay's waters so that they could catch a live Mermaid. The only light the men could see was from the abandoned lighthouse.

In one longboat was four pirates: Scrum, Derrick, Purser, and Ezekiel, a cabin boy with no name, and a Christian missionary named Philip Swift. They were the bait. The zombie soldier forced all the men to sing, My Jolly Sailor Bold, a sea shanty, to lure the Mermaids out.

An hour passed by, and almost all the slaves had fallen asleep. All except for Philip who was still singing softly to himself. He had the best singing voice out of all his captured companions. Scrum was the one who sang first, but his voice was not the best: P.S. he was also drunk.

Just as Philip was about to doze off, he was fully woken up by a soft splash and he looked over the edge of the boat to see a mysterious silhouette gliding underneath the water. Philip looked over at his companions and saw that they were still asleep. Even the zombie soldier was asleep. Philip was the only one that was awake.

As the missionary looked around the ocean for the source of the noise he heard, a few yards behind him in the deep water, a figure broke through the surface and raised her head.

She had long dark brown hair that looked black because it was wet, pale peach skin, pale pink lips, and bright blue eyes. She also looked to be 25 years old. Her expression on her face was both curiosity and fear. Her skin was nearly covered with light scales from her face, chest, back, and arms. She almost looked naked except that her long hair covered her breasts. From the waist upwards she was like a young woman, but instead of human legs, she had a long beautiful tail that was of a fish, and the color on the tail was coral.

She was a very beautiful Mermaid.

She bobbed up and down in the water, gazing left and right at her surroundings. She saw the longboat floating in the ocean and she also saw that there humans on board. She saw that one of them was awake and looking around the sea. He also didn't see her.

The Mermaid cocked her head curiously, and she slowly and cautiously swam towards the boat to investigate, her tail swishing back and forth beneath the water. The half-woman-half-fish reached the boat and peeked inside the boat. No one had seen her. Wondering why humans were out in one of the most dangerous watery areas, the luminescent Mermaid rose out of the water, gripping the bow of the boat, to get a better look.

Unfortunately, the wooden boat creaked as she leaned on the edge of the longboat.

Philip turned around, hearing the sound, and his eyes widened when he saw the Mermaid.

The legendary mythical creature gasped softly to herself as she looked up at the missionary's face. It was a very handsome face, with light brown hair that was tied up in a ponytail, wearing ragged clothes, and bright blue eyes just like her. The man seemed to be the same age as the Mermaid.

For a minute, the two separate species stared at each other. Philip was in awe of the beauty that the Mermaid had. He had never seen any other woman more beautiful than this creature.

But then Philip remembered that his companions warned him about the legends of these pretty, but deadly monsters of the sea, and he drew a knife out of his belt.

The young Mermaid gasped in fear at the sight of the sharp blade and quickly backed away.

Philip noticed that and was a little confused and concerned for her. Instead of attacking him or trying to trance with a spell, she became afraid and swam a short distance away from him. The creature also trembled.

Philip immediately regretted his attempt to hurt this beautiful Mermaid. He lowered his weapon and put it back on his belt. The Mermaid saw that and frowned slightly, cocking her head. Philip looked around the boat to make sure that his companions were still asleep, turned his attention back to the gorgeous mythical creature, and leaned forward against the edge of the boat.

"Can you talk?" He asked quietly in a British accent.

The Mermaid hesitated, then she said even more quietly, "Yes." Her accent sounded French.

She slowly moved back to the longboat, pulled herself out of the water, and leaned on the edge once more.

Philip gazed at the beautiful half-woman-half-fish in fascination. Just her upper body was out of the water as she leaned on the edge of the boat; she was naked, long dark brown hair covering her bosom. Her eyes were bright blue, her pale peach skin blue-tinted by the light of the moon.

The missionary touched the cross around his neck and said a silent prayer to God. Then he turned back to the Mermaid, who was waiting for him to speak.

"You're beautiful." Philip muttered finally.

The Mermaid's lips curled up in a hint of a soft smile. She stared at the man innocently, her pretty salmon-colored tail swished back and forth under the surface.

"Are you the one who sings?" She asked him curiously.

"Me?" Philip wondered. Had she heard the humans song like the legends said?

The Mermaid still had a small hint of a smile on her face, radiant, utterly compelling.

"Are you my Jolly Sailor Bold?" She asked.

Philip frowned a little.

"Ummm...I don't know." He answered her. "I was singing, but I'm not a sailor, I'm a Christian missionary." He gestured to his cross he wore around his neck.

The Mermaid gasped softly and her beautiful eyes opened wide.

"You are a Christian missionary?" She asked, looking at Philip's cross necklace in surprise.

Philip was surprised by her reaction.

"Uhhhhh...yes, I am." He answered hesitantly.

"You work for God?" The Mermaid asked again, leaning forward a little bit more to get a closer look at the cross.

"Uh, yes, again." Philip said in a confused tone of voice. How did this mythical creature know about God?

The Mermaid looked up into Philip's face and asked, "Do you have a Bible?"

Philip looked at her for a whole minute in silence.

"Do you have a Bible?" The creature asked again in a whisper, thinking that the man hadn't heard what she said.

Philip slowly took out his leather-bound, cracked, and weathered copy of the Holy Bible from his back pocket, and showed it to the Mermaid. Her pretty eyes lit up at the sight of the book. She touched it with her small delicate fingers, her mouth slightly open. Philip watched the creature in amazement at her wonder about his Bible.

"Do you believe God?" Philip asked curiously.

The Mermaid looked at him in surprise.

"Believe God?" She answered. "Of course I believe God. He's the Creator of the whole universe, isn't he?"

Philip was amazed. This mythical creature believed God. He reached his finger down to touch her arm. She jumped when he touched her damp skin.

"What are you doing?" She asked in surprise.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to see if you really are real." Philip answered her.

The Mermaid gave a frown and said, "Well I am."

Philip marveled.

"How did you know about God?" He asked her.

The Mermaid looked at him in silence for a few seconds, but then she made her first real smile and answered, "I've known Him all my life. He has been with me for a long time. He's been watching over me ever since I was a baby. I even have my own Bible. God has been good to me."

Philip smiled back.

"What about you?" The Mermaid asked him curiously.

"He has been good to me as well." Philip replied. "My family were Christians, and my ancestors were Christians too. I inherited my Bible and my cross from my father when I turned 18. I became a priest when I turned 21. After a couple years of teaching about God At Church, I pursued my dream of becoming a missionary so I could spread the Gospel around the world. Unfortunately, on the middle of my 2nd missionary journey, the ship I was on was attacked by pirates, and I was captured and made a slave and soon brought here."

The Mermaid listened to every word that Philip had said with utmost attention. This man that she just met had a fascinating life. It kinda reminded her of her own life. She had always heard about Christianity and believed in it with all her heart. She still had a lot of questions to ask.

After a minute of silent thinking, Philip asked the Mermaid, "Excuse me, fair maiden, what is your name? I never asked."

The beautiful young half-woman-half-fish's eyes widened with surprise. Then her soft and sweet smile fell into a sad expression. She looked away from the missionary for a while before saying, "I don't have a name...I never had one."

Philip was shocked.

"What? You were never given a name?" He asked.

The Mermaid shook her head. She looked very sad. Philip felt bad for her and wanted to find some way of comforting her.

"I'm so sorry." He said kindly.

The Mermaid looked into his eyes and gave a sad smile.

Then Philip asked the creature another question, saying, "Ma'am, are you really a Mermaid?"

The Mermaid did not say anything for a second, but then she answered, "I am now, but I wasn't born a Mermaid."

Philip's eyes widened at these words.

"You were a human?" He asked, amazed.

The mythical creature nodded softly.

"But was only a little infant then." She replied. "I was born in France in the year 1970, raised for a very short time by my parents, who I believe were Christians. I think I remember being on ship sailing across the Caribbean Sea with my parents. But I think that they died in a shipwreck during a storm. I assumed they all drowned in the freezing waters. I would've joined their fate, if it hadn't been for the Goodness of God. He saved my young soul and gave me a new life."

She lifted her beautiful salmon-colored tail out of the water to show Philip. Her long fins dripped like a waterfall before she set them back into the ocean. Philip's eyes lit up at the sight of the dazzling and colorful tail.

"You've got a very beautiful tail." He told her.

The Mermaid smiled sweetly and blushed.

"Thank you." She said.

Philip smiled back at the creature. She was so beautiful and he felt so attracted to her. Something in his heart told him that she needed someone in her life.

Still fascinated by the Mermaid, Philip eagerly asked her, "Are there other Mermaids that are like you?"

She gave another sad look and shook her head, and bowed her face to water, saying, "No, there are no other Mermaids that are like me. I did travel around the world trying to find anyone that were like me, but I couldn't find any, except for the ones that were flesh-eating monsters. They don't understand me. They never gave me a name either."

Philip felt bad for the Mermaid. He wished that there was some way of making her feel better. He wanted to hug the legendary mythical creature to comfort her, but he thought that would be too much for her to handle. So instead, he asked, "Could I give you a name?"

The Mermaid looked up at once, her eyes and mouth open wide in surprise. Her eyebrows were raised all the way up. Philip also thought he saw the beautiful blue eyes twinkling.

"Wha...what did you say?" She asked, looking at him intently.

Philip said his question again. "Could I give you a name?"

The Mermaid thought to herself for a moment, and then she smiled and said, "Yes, please. For my whole life, I've always wanted a name. More than anything in the world."

Philip smiled back at her.

"Okay, let me think of something." He told the beautiful woman, he could now call her a woman because she said that she was, and thought for a moment. What name should he give the Mermaid? Then, as if God himself had answered his prayers, a pretty name came into his head.

"Ummm...Can I call you...Syrena?" He asked.

The Mermaid's eyes lit up at the name and muttered it to herself, testing it with her lips, teeth, and tongue. Then after a minute of saying the name, she finally smiled and looked up at Philip.

"Syrena, huh? I LOVE IT." She said, giggling.

Philip grinned. The Mermaid who he had named, Syrena, was so adorable. Her pure heart, personality, and beauty was stealing his heart. He felt so attracted to the young woman. She believed in God and she was curious. And she was DIFFERENT.

"Excuse me, handsome, what is your name?" Syrena asked him.

Philip answered, "My name is Philip Swift. But you can call me Philip."

"Philip?" Said Syrena, with an adorable smile, "I love your name, too."

Philip smiled back. He wanted to get to know this beautiful young Mermaid. He also had questions to ask her.

"How old are you, Syrena?" Philip asked.

"I'm 25 years old, born June 27, in the year of 1720." She answered. "What about you?"

"I'm also 25 years and I was born in 1720, but I was born May 26." Philip answered.

Syrena kept smiling sweetly up at the missionary. She was starting to really fancy Philip. He was kind, compassionate, very cute, and DIFFERENT.

After a minute of staring into each other's eyes, Philip asked the beautiful Mermaid, "Syrena, can I touch your face? Are you okay with that now?"

Syrena's smile did not go away. In fact her cute grin widened, showing off her small and pearly white teeth.

"Of course you can, Philip. I trust you now." She answered.

The young woman sighed with contentment as she felt the Christian missionary's hand cup her wet and delicate pale cheek gently. Philip was surprised to find that her skin was warm besides being wet from the water. Syrena enjoyed the warmth of Philip's hand against her face. Her eyes closed in relaxation.

"Hey, Philip," she said to him with innocence, "Even though we have only met for a couple hours, I really like you."

Philip stared down at Syrena with genuine kindness, saying, "I really like you, too, Syrena."

They looked at each other adoringly with huge smiles on their faces. Philip and Syrena felt in their hearts that God brought them together and that they both had understanding and kindred spirits.

To be continued in Chapter 2...

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