THE BILLIONAIRE'S FORBIDDEN OBSESSION

THE HUMAN HOME

Shantal looked at the naked, magical girl standing on her porch, then looked down at the giant blue tarp in her hands.

"Well," Shantal squeaked.

"This is awkward. But hey, good news! At least you don't have to stay in the water any longer anymore."

"Come inside before the neighbors think I’m running a very weird, very poorly funded cult," Shantal muttered, ushering the naked, newly-legged sea goddess into the living room.

Shantal bolted straight for her closet. She dug through her Siargao vacation wardrobe, bypassing the bikinis for obvious reasons, and dragged out a pair of baggy denim jeans and an oversized tie-dye graphic tee.

"Okay, look. On land, we wear fabric. It stops us from getting arrested," Shantal explained, holding up the jeans. She held out the leg holes like a parent dealing with a toddler.

"Step in. Left foot here. Right foot there."

The girl stared at the denim trousers with intense, predatory suspicion. She sniffed them, sneezed, and then confidently tried to shove both of her arms through the waist opening.

"No, no, no! Arms go in the shirt, legs go in the pants!" Shantal cried, gently swatting her hands away.

"Like this!" Shantal forcefully guided the girl’s left leg into the pants.

The moment the fabric touched her thigh, the girl panicked. Believing her legs were being swallowed alive by a denim monster, she began hopping frantically on one foot, kicking her trapped leg wildly in the air.

"Stop kicking! You're going to.. "

CRASH.

The girl lost her balance, stumbled backward, and went flying straight into the full-length vanity mirror in the corner of the bedroom.The glass didn't shatter, but the girl froze solid. She was pinned flat against the wall, one leg half-stuck in a pair of jeans, staring directly into the mirror.

For three seconds, the room was dead silent. Then, the girl’s eyes widened. She let out a high-pitched, dolphin-like screech of absolute terror. She lunged forward, slapping both hands against the smooth glass, trying to push the other blonde girl away.

"Hey! Calm down! That's just you!" Shantal yelled, trying to grab her around the waist. But the mermaid-turned-human was too fast. She tried to dive headfirst into the mirror, thinking it was a portal back to the ocean, only to thud her forehead hard against the glass.

"Ow!" the blonde girl yelped, rubbing her brow.

She hissed at her reflection, and the reflection hissed right back. Completely fed up, the girl dropped to the floor, ripped the jeans off her foot with her teeth, and scrambled underneath Shantal’s bed like a startled cat, leaving nothing but her bare heels sticking out.

Shantal stood in the middle of the chaotic bedroom, holding the empty jeans, and staring at the bed skirt.

"Great," Shantal sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. Because her cosmic awakening is currently eating dust bunnies under the mattress.

Shantal dropped to her knees, lifting the edge of the bed skirt to peek into the darkness. Two glowing, ancient eyes stared back at her from behind a stack of extra pillows.

"Look, I'm sorry the denim monster attacked you," Shantal said, keeping her voice soft and soothing, like she was dealing with a feral raccoon.

"But you can't stay under there forever. It's dusty, and honestly, it ruins the whole room's vibe. Are you hungry? Food?"

The blonde girl just hissed softly, pulling her knees closer to her chest.

"Right. Language barrier. Let’s try the universal translator: snacks."

Shantal jogged out to the kitchen, opening the fridge to scan her groceries. She grabbed a bag of local Cebu dried mangoes, but then her eyes landed on a plastic Tupperware container. Inside were three fresh, raw, unscaled tilapia fish she had bought from the General Luna market earlier that day, meant for tomorrow's dinner. She walked back into the bedroom, holding the dried mangoes in one hand and the clear plastic container of raw fish in the other. She sat cross-legged on the floor, a safe distance from the bed.

"Okay, option A, Sweet, chewy, very popular with tourists." Shantal said, rattling the pouch of dried mangoes.

No movement from under the bed.

"Option B, raw and fresh catched fish" Shantal sighed, popping open the lid of the Tupperware. The faint, metallic scent of fresh fish drifted through the room.

The reaction was instantaneous.

The bed skirt erupted. The blonde girl didn't just crawl out, she practically launched herself across the floor on all fours like a sleek, golden predator.

Shantal had no time to blink before the girl was crouched directly in front of her, her nose practically glued to the plastic container. Her eyes were locked onto the tilapia, her pupils dilated with absolute, focus. She let out a tiny, delighted chirp, a sound so bizarrely cute it completely contrasted with the fact that she was staring at a dead fish like it was a five-star meal.

"Oh, wow. You really are a creature of nature," Shantal whispered, slowly sliding the Tupperware forward.

"Go ahead. It's all yours." Shantal offered.

The blonde girl completely ignored the offer. Instead, iridescent fish scales suddenly flared up along her jawline and cheekbones, a clear, physical warning sign that she was absolutely furious. She didn't bother acting like a polite human. She snatched the largest tilapia right out of the container, her eyes flashing with defensive rage at the sight of her ocean brethren trapped in plastic.

Before Shantal could even blink, the girl threw her arm back and launched the dead fish straight out the open window, sending it flying into the dark night, and the flash of the water could be heard in the distance.

Shantal gasped, her jaw dropping as she watched her dinner vanish into the bushes.

"Holy... okay! No fish! Got it! Message received!" Shantal yelled, quickly pulling the Tupperware out of sight.

"Please don't grow more scales! Do you want a burger? Soup? Or perhaps some rice?!" Shantal said.

The blonde girl didn't say a word, just sat there huffing, her scales slowly receding back into her skin. Realizing that serving seafood to a sea creature was a massive taboo.