The water was cold, this water that I willingly strolled into. But I wanted to do this, didn't I?

I pushed myself into the lagoon, which was almost freezing at this time of the night. I let my eyes stay wide open; all I could see was blackness, thick, choking blackness, like my soul.

"A-and this is th-e ennd o-f th-e gr-eat Iteoluwakiishi Sijuade," I managed to stutter underneath, taking the lagoon water into my mouth.

What if a fish were to enter my mouth? But I saw none. I swam up, coughing out water and spitting what remained out. It tasted like salt. Plus, there was no fish inside of me. I hated fish.

I let the water take me around, half of me—the ready half—wanted the current to take me away, far away. The other, which bugged me, fought off the current. Or was it because it was not the deep part? I closed my eyes, feeling the wetness of the water and my shirt on my skin. The night was silent where I was, but I could hear the voices of students who come out by this time to do or two things involving sex. Even if they saw me, they would not recognize my face, not just because it was dark but, well, people don't recognize you when they don't expect you. For example, it was not so hard for Cinderellas Stepmother and sisters to not realize she was the one at the ball. Still, they didn't because she was not expected. That's what I've learned from the nineteen years I've spent on earth.

I heard a cough and opened my eyes instantly, trying to locate where it came from. Fish don't cough, right? I looked around, but the darkness was heavy.

"I believe mermaids or mermen exist, so show yourself," I said and chuckled. One thing that kept me going was how much I could laugh at my own words. I laughed at everything I said, did, or thought. I even laughed at myself while I entered the water, envisioning the school media's headlines that would carry the news.

There was no response, and I continued from where I stopped, swimming on the spot with my hands doing most of the work to keep me afloat and analyze what to do next. Were mermen as fine as mermaids, and could I be one?

Maybe if I pushed myself in for a long time, I didn't take in a breath before I dived in, not as I did the first time. My eyes were left open, and I counted mentally, more so to see if I was like Percy Jackson. Maybe I was Poseidon's son or if we're very realistic as to my country and tribe, Olokun. At thirteen, my breath hitched, and the body panicked. I followed, pushing up for air. I heaved a couple of times as air circled my lungs. Drowning was not as easy as the movies portrayed them. On the bright side, nothing was.

Again, I heard a cough. But I could locate where it came from this time. I swam, careful not scare away whatever mysterious creature might have been there. Maybe they were watching me, admiring, and loving me. I always had plenty of those, but it would be epic to have something else do that. I got to a more dark area of the water, deeper also. I could see cars fly by on the famous third mainland bridge. My school, LagoonFront University, used to be owned by the Federal Government until it was bought by a man of wealth, which confirmed the rumor that the country had gone into some economic depression. We hated the name. There was no real sense of pride in saying it before any other student in the country. Still, it had one of the best views in the country, including the bridge that had become Nigerians' favorite jump—to—death spot in the last three years.

Maybe I should have gone to the bridge. My eyes met with a mysterious creature, indeed. But I could not see very well. Now I wished the moon was not blocked off by the school's trees in designing the entire front.

"Mermaid?" I was sure I startled the creature. But I got no reply. I put some feet between us. If the Nigerian stories about mermaids were through, I'd rather not be feasted on. Although my life would be sucked away, I'd rather do it myself. "I know. It is hard being a creature that has to hide all the time. I am one...not a mermaid or man, but a creature that has to hide." Then I noticed the white garment flowing around where the figure was.

"That white has to be hard to maintain underwater, or does it not ever get dirty?" I proceeded to keep talking. My arms had started to ache from all the back and forth. "Also, I thought mermaids wore...you know...bra only. Maybe a shell or starfish. But I always wondered if there were busty mermaids and what they used."

I chuckled, my imagination came alive, and all I could see was what I said.

"Also, how do mermaids have sex?" Well, don't blame me for the question. I always wanted to know. That was if they were real.

Finally, the creature spoke, in a calculated, firm, and feminine voice. It was so sweet it was enticing. "I came here for me, but I would drown you if you mention another thing about Mermaids."

"So, the mermaid speaks? And has a nice voice too. Can you sing also? I heard their voices are captivating." I went on. Now I wanted to see who or what had the voice.

Instead, she coughed.

"Shouldn't you either...go in the water or out of the water to avoid the cold. You sound like you are about to freeze." This time I swam closer, my instinct was to get out the floating mermaid whom I assumed had legs because well the white garment. Closer, the moon cast a few sprinkles upon her. Her braided hair was let down, and it floated around, her eyes shone brown but looked tired, and her nose, there was a dark mark by the right side. And I could not take my eyes off it.

She coughed again.

"Okay, mermaid, looks like enough play, its time to leave the water." She shivered when I put my arm behind her to propel her out. Her body felt weak, and I knew in an instant what she had tried to do.

"Do you come here often? To swim, like me?" She willingly agreed for herself to be pushed to the fence that protected people from daring to enter. But no wall can stop a determined soul. Although, now that I think about it, this soul was not desperate enough.

"Or, is this your first time?" I chuckled. My hands found the edge of the fence, and I pulled myself up, out of the water. A chilly breeze hit me in an instant.

Note to self: Next time, bring a sweater.

I stretched forth my hand to assist her up too. She had weight, enough for me to consider going back to the gym. I hated the gym.

Out of the water, she shivered a lot and sneezed a couple of times.

"I would offer you my shirt...but...I kind of went full dipping into the water." Again, I spoke.

"D-do, y-ou..n-never stop t-talk-king?" She needed heat at the moment.

"Does the world ever stop spinning? Hell, does bullshit ever stop in this country?" I grinned at her. She looked like a puppy that was pulled out of water. Her height was that of my chest, her body frame was almost as lean as mine, but her face—shivering and pale brown—had a striking aura. I dipped my hand into my back pocket and found my keys—soaking wet but okay.

"Follow me to my car?" I offered, and she stepped back. Sure, anyone would be scared if you're invited to go to a car at 3 am when you met the person swimming in the water like you. I would run away.

"Except you want to have pneumonia? You look like a crayfish. No offense, I'm just stating." The breeze hit me again, and I forced back a sneeze. They say holding in a sneeze can cause a fracture in cartilage around the voice box, neck pain, fractures of bones in the neck, rupturing of eardrums, hearing loss, ear infections, vertigo, and many more. But it's very low. I always wondered if I did it often if it would save me the stress of visiting possible likely places to end the upcoming music star, Kiishiju.

"N-no, thank you." And with that, the mermaid walked in the other direction.

"Oh well, see you someday, that is not like today," I responded but got no reply from her. Beginning to shiver than usual, I made my way to my car. A few couples were seated on the concrete benches, while some others sat on the half-cut trees that were made into seats. I looked down at my feet feeling the cold sand, my shoes should have been where I had taken it off.

"I'll just get another," I whispered to myself. The people seemed unaware that I passed, and I was glad. I got to my car and locked myself in. The heat hugged me. I took off my shirt quickly, but the trousers were a challenging job. Pressed the horn a couple of times before I got myself free. Same for my boxers. I opened the hidden compartment and reached for my phone. My eyes also spotted a needle attached to a hollow cylinder.

And I remembered why I had come to the spot in the first place. I took it out and observed the white contents inside of it.

"Yeah, will do." Carefully, I pushed the needle into my right arm and let in all of the contents. I felt alive once again. Alive and happy. And alert. And intelligent enough to write the new lyrics for my song.

I fished out my black notebook and pen from the compartment and began to pour all the words that flowed out of me. I was on top of the world. Naked, but on top.