Mermaid - Total Cleanse

Simon grabbed the boxcutter, slicing open the thick tape of the shop’s latest delivery. He knew he would have to open soon, but there was still time to restock. As expected, the cardboard was full of tightly packed shower gels, all with the same tacky branding that promised ‘freshness’, ‘alertness’, and ‘deep cleansing action’. Simon rolled his eyes, grabbing the box and took it through to the public side of the shop. Without the hubbub of customers inside or the droning of traffic outside the shop’s doors, it was almost peaceful. Making his way to the toiletries section, he began to restock.

Unthinkingly, Simon continued his work, letting his mind wander as he fell into a rhythm. Grab a bottle, put it onto the shelf, grab another. He had emptied half the box when his hand fell onto a bottle that felt different from the rest. It was slightly larger and heavier, lacking the cheap feel to the plastic. It was shaped like an abstract fish tail – Simon could even feel the textured scales that had been moulded into the side of the plastic. Inside, the gel was a gloopy crystal blue. Confused, Simon rummaged through the rest of the box, checking the label on the outside. The bottle was the only exception to the others, and the label didn’t specify the strange inclusion in the delivery. Had it been some strange mistake at the factory, this other bottle being packed by accident? He read the bottle more closely. It claimed to offer a ‘Total Cleanse – Hair, Body, Soul’. Simon rolled his eyes. There was no room for the bottle on the shelf and he didn’t have a price set up for it. Holding the weighty bottle in his hand, he tried to think on what to do with it. He didn’t want to waste it, but he couldn’t sell it either. A part of him wanted to take it home, but he knew that his boss would constitute this as stealing. Then Simon realised – if there was no record of the bottle ever arriving at the shop, then it wouldn’t be stealing, right?

Smugly, he went back out back and slid the bottle into his bag. Money was tight, and what his boss didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. Besides, he had been working hard the past few weeks, and felt that he deserved the ‘Total Cleanse’ the boutique bottle promised. Soon, Simon flipped the sign at the door over, and a steady trickle of customers filtered into the shop. He knew his work wasn’t difficult, but it was dull. He went through the motions of processing payments, showing customers where to buy things in the convenience shop, and gradually counted down the minutes until he knew he could close for the evening. Usually, he would just go home and play video games until he passed out, but tonight Simon had other plans. Tonight, Simon deserved luxury.

Unlocking the door to his flat, Simon made sure that the tail-shaped bottle was still in his bag. He headed upstairs and began to run a bath, the hot water steaming. The man tried to remember the last time that he had had a bath. Worryingly Simon realised that it must have been years. His days were lived in snapshots of stolen time, every second being counted between work and sleep. He knew he usually didn’t have time to relax like this, but tonight he was going to make an exception.

Stripping off, Simon slid into the water, letting the heat of it overcome him. Even just taking a moment to rest, to do nothing, felt blissful. The steam went into his airways, making his breathing slow and steady. He didn’t know or care how long he rested like this, serenely submerged in the tub. Eventually, Simon reached over, grabbing the new bottle. Usually, he was hesitant about any product that promised to be able to wash his hair, body, and everything else, but he knew he didn’t have anything to lose. Besides, it didn’t cost him anything.  He popped off the cap and squeezed a palm sized amount of the gel out into his wet hand. Immediately, he could feel his skin tingling where the fluid touched it. Curious, he looked over the long list of ingredients, many of which were a complete mystery to Simon. He assumed that one of them was causing the minty, tingling sensation, and just hoped that it wasn’t anything harmful.

Slowly, he worked the gel into a lather over his body. As he did so, the tingling spread until almost his whole body was covered by it. Strangely, the sensation didn’t feel uncomfortable. Instead, it was oddly relaxing, like his whole body being gently caressed and stroked by the substance. When it made contact with the bath water, bubbles formed, soon becoming a frothy layer that obscured his body. A part of Simon knew that he should just scrub, rinse off, and dry off. He couldn’t just spend his whole evening lounging in the bath. He breathed deeply, the rich, floral scent of the gel coming to him. He put the thought aside. Relaxing was the only thing he needed to do this evening, and he would do it for as long as he wanted.

From the bathroom’s open window, Simon could hear the soft sounds of the ocean. He lived coastally, but since working at the shop he never got the chances to relax at the seaside that he craved. His time was full of listening to customer’s complaints or restocking shelves. Simon, almost trance like, rested in the water until he could feel tiredness overcoming him. Reluctantly, he lifted himself out, the bubbles clinging to his body until he wiped them away with a towel. He looked at himself in the mirror. He didn’t see anything different – he was not the ‘Totally Cleansed’ person the gel had promised, but he certainly felt a bit more relaxed. Smiling at the mostly full bottle now balanced on the edge of the draining bath, Simon headed to bed.

The next day at work, Simon was restocking bottle after bottle of sports drinks, the bright colours all merging together in his mind as the monotony took hold. He tried to think if the bath last night had actually helped him at all. He felt more energised after a restful night’s sleep, but he was worried that that was just the placebo taking effect. The box of bottles now empty, Simon went to go put it in the recycling at the back of the shop. Just as he started to fold up the cardboard, he noticed that the skin on his hand had started to peel, as if he had been sunburnt several days earlier and the skin was only now dying off. He rubbed at the skin, confused. Was he having a reaction to the gel from earlier? Quietly he wished that he had read the ingredients more thoroughly – what if he was allergic to something in there? Simon went to the meagre employee toilet and looked at himself in the mirror. He was surprised to find that the skin wasn’t just peeling across his hands, but across his whole body. Reassuringly, whatever was happening wasn’t painful. His skin beneath the peeling wasn’t red or stinging. If anything, if felt softer and more sensitive. Rubbing at his chin, Simon noticed that his stubble had faded, seemingly vanishing as the skin there changed. The man tried to put it out of his mind. He had a shop to open.

During his shift, Simon found that he was drinking bottle after bottle of water. There was a dryness in his throat that seemed to only be quenched for a moment. He could tell he was getting some strange looks from the customers, but he had more important things to worry about. Simon tried to reason that the new shower gel wasn’t the cause of this. He adjusted the air conditioning for the third time that day – it was unreasonably hot out, so that must have been the reason why he felt so dry. It was likely the cause of his peeling skin too, he thought. As he worked, Simon realised that there was nothing more that he wanted other than to go home and slide into the bath again. If he was feeling dry, then the bath would help him get back to normal. He tried to relax and let his shift go by quickly.

While locking up at the end of the day, Simon felt something tickle at his neck. Quickly, he swatted at it, trying to catch the insect that he assumed was there, but found nothing. Moments later, the tickling returned. Moving his hand to his neck, Simon was shocked to discover that his hair was now touching it, having grown several inches from its shorter length that morning. He pulled at it, confused, and was met with a sharp jolt from his scalp. The hair was real, and it was connected. He went over to the mirror again, and could see that his hair was now longer, in twisting, tumbling locks that were now gently brushing at his neck and shoulders. Simon ran his fingers through them, incredulously. He knew such a thing shouldn’t be possible. While it had been some time before he had been to the barber, he knew he would have noticed if it had gotten this long. There was a bright sheen to his hair that caught the dim light of his workplace bathroom. It looked luxuriously healthy. He remembered massaging the shower gel into it the night before but had never expected such a dramatic change. As he curled the hair around his finger, he realised that he didn’t mind the change that much – if anything, the longer hair suited him. With a smile, Simon finished locking up and headed home.

Within seconds of getting through the door, he was desperate to run the bath again and submerge himself under the relaxing water. He waited anxiously while the bath filled, willing the tap to pour with more pressure so that he would be able to relax all the quicker. Preemptively, Simon squeezed a healthy dollop of the blue gel into the bath, watching with glee as it foamed up into bubbles. Soon, it was ready. He stripped off and got into the bath with a speed that forced the water to splash back out onto his bathroom tiles.

The sense of dryness that had been irritating Simon was gone as soon as he was submerged. Simon took a deep breath, savouring the moment. The stress and anxiety of his workday washed off of him, leaving him serene in the bathtub. The tingling from the previous bath returned, albeit with less intensity than before. He let out a soft sigh as he fully relaxed, sinking into the bed of bubbles and soap that the gel had formed. Simon smiled as the bubbles caressed his face. He stayed in the bath for longer than the previous evening. His skin wrinkled, his hair slick with the water, but he saw no need to get out any time soon. Eventually, after spending the evening floating, relaxed, he dragged himself from the water, dried, and headed to bed.

At work in the morning, Simon was feeling dryer than ever, even worse than the day before. Buying some moisturiser from the toiletries aisle, he took a moment to rub it into his newly sensitive skin when he had a spare moment away from the customers. Despite this, and despite the massive quantity of water he was once again consuming, nothing was making him feel any less parched. Deep down, he knew that only one thing would be able to alleviate the uncomfortable feeling: the warm, relaxing water of his nightly bath. Now that he had such a burning desire to return home and relax, the day seemed to drag on slower than ever. He found himself losing focus, having to ask customers to repeat themselves. Oddly, he felt a strange sensitivity in his nipples as they brushed against his once loose polo shirt. Curious, Simon poke at them, feeling a small mound of fat had formed beneath them, straining the shirt. He took a deep breath, the wave of panic subsiding surprisingly quickly. He was sure there was a logical reason for this, though he was hoping it would be nothing to do with the bath wash. Even in only a few days, it had now become the highlight of his day and he was loathe to part with it.

Even though it was only afternoon, Simon flipped the shop’s sign over, showing the shop as closed. He knew he needed to get a better look at whatever changes were happening to his body. Heading to the employee bathroom, he lifted up his polo shirt to find two round, plump breasts hanging there, his face frozen in shock in the mirror. He cupped one breast, feeling its weight in his hand. He knew that something strange was happening to him, but the thought of the refreshing bath at the end of the working day was keeping him focused, making sure he didn’t panic. Suddenly, Simon sneezed, his long hair jumping with the movement. When he looked in the mirror once more, his whole face had changed. Gone was the broad, masculine face he was used to seeing. Now, looking back, was the face of a young, beautiful woman. She had plump, almost pouting lips, coloured a light pink. Two perfectly trimmed eyebrows were raised in surprise. Simon could barely believe it. He dashed to his car and headed home, abandoning the shop.

A part of Simon wanted to panic, to call a doctor and see what the logical, medical explanation was for the rapid changes. Before then, he thought, it would be best to have a nice relaxing bath to calm his nerves.

As the water poured into the tub, Simon was fixated by it. He wanted to jump in immediately but resisted the temptation. Soon, there was enough to cover his changed body, and he slid underneath of the surface, relieved. Being under the water was feeling more natural to him now than being out of it. Grabbing the bottle of gel, he squeezed the entire remainder of the bottle into the water with him, feeling a tingle as the cold gel played across his new, sensitive breasts. Thick clouds of bubbles formed and Simon breathed out, relaxed. His mind focused on the sounds of the sea outside his window.

Beneath the water, Simon’s body tingled once more. As if it was being sculpted by invisible hands, his form began to be remoulded, painlessly shifting beneath the soft layer of bubbles. His shoulders thinned, losing their masculine edge. His hips burst out until they were wide, his rear cushioned, giving his whole body a distinct hourglass shape. The muscle and fat across his torso faded, losing bulk even further. His neck slimmed down, becoming long and feminine. From the waist up, Simon was indistinguishable from a woman. He paid the changes no mind, utterly at peace.

The most dramatic change was in Simon’s lower half. Stretching out his legs, the flesh soon painlessly knotted together. His ankles twisted out at right ankles until his heels touched, becoming inseparable. All of this was beneath Simon’s attention – a soft tingling was all he felt, his mind focused on the lapping of the waves against the shoreline that was growing ever louder. Slowly, over his legs, golden scales began to form, shining brilliantly under the water. His feet were soon encased as well, fins gradually sprouting from his changing flesh. Simon leant back, his eyes shutting in bliss. This was the most relaxing bath he had ever had. He stopped worrying about money, about work, about everything. Nothing mattered other than him being here, at this moment, enjoying some peaceful time alone.

Soon, Simon’s legs were completely encased, his lower body covered with silky, shimmering scales. Over his breasts which were floating slightly in the water, more scales formed – not growing out of his flesh like over his legs, but loose and disconnected. Eventually, Simon’s breasts were covered in a bra made of the same scales that covered his legs.

Around his legs, all wrapped in scales, dense muscles began to form. His knees completely readjusted – his body now not built for walking, but another form of movement entirely. His hips were soon appearing even curvier, powerful muscles perfect for travelling at great speed underwater. His tail grew stronger and stronger, the water displacing from the bathtub to match his growing bulk in his lower half. Despite the one singular limb that was now comprising his lower body, Simon had lost none of the manoeuvrability that he once had. Buried underneath the layers of muscle and fat that had formed his new tail, Simon’s manhood vanished, dissipating into the rest of his body as if it was never there. Like a pearl inside a clam, something new was forming, a strange, sensitive organ, hidden behind a thin layer of golden scales.

Simon stretched out and opened his eyes. He felt different but wasn’t yet sure how. An emotional weight had been lifted from him. He didn’t feel stressed at all, lazily lounging in his bath. He heard something trickling by his feet, a wet dripping on his bathroom tiles. Confused, Simon saw the end of his new tail, emerging from the bubbles at the bottom of the bath. He took a deep breath, and found he wasn’t panicked. This was a change he welcomed.

The mermaid sunk below the water with a smile on her face, wondering how she could get to the sea and truly be free.

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