It was dusk, and the just risen moon's light reflected off the serene water, a mirror of the sky; the first he saw of her was a few gentle ripples, distorting the perfect image and sending white light in all directions across the surface.
  Although the approaching darkness obscured most of his vision, he could see the creature rise from the water, the water's surface ever folding and buckling at the disturbance. He was afraid, at first, until the creature looked him in the eyes, silently willing him to stay, forbidding him to move.
  It was not a creature anymore; it was a girl, with a captivating gaze, eyes as rough as storms and as beautiful as the sky. Windswept black hair tumbled past her shoulders and still touched the water as she rose until she bared herself to the waist, wearing nothing but the occasional glint of silver or green intertwined in her tousled mane. Silvery light glinted off moonstone-white skin and deep red lips, yet the rapidly approaching dark of night cast vast shadows across her naked body.
  She smiled, and suddenly there was nothing in his mind but love for this beautiful form - all doubt and fear had been suppressed by the haze that she had cast over his mind. She reached out a graceful arm towards him, her palm upturned, beckoning him as he watched her figure slowly get smaller against the dim horizon.
  It clicked in his head. She was being dragged back by the current - of course! That's why she was in the sea at such a time. Had her radiance not already caught him in her net, that would have made the decision. With only the briefest reluctance, he stepped into the water and waded towards her, not feeling the cold.
  The water got deeper but he kept going; she was getting closer all the time, still with her lips upturned and her arm outstretched. It was only when the water reached his middle that the chill cut into him and he noticed the waves getting stronger. Panic began to rise, but he was too far gone to return and the girl, ever smiling, still needed him.
  But the smile had turned into a grin, and now they were within arm's reach of each other, he could see that her face was harsh and her nails were sharp. The skin that seemed so pure before now looked transluscent and oily. Her hair was matted, with trinkets tangled into it, including what looked like small bones and broken shards of glass. Though the worst came when she pulled her lips back and showed teeth that were too sharp to be human, the redness around the edges spreading on to her lips.
  With a strangled cry, he tried to turn, but suddenly her face was too close to his and her hands were on his shoulders, claws digging into his skin. He realised his stupidity and foolishness, but too late. Though he kicked and fought, she was too strong. Something long and slippery wrapped around his legs, restricting his movement. He was trapped. He was hers.
  The icy water enclosed around him and his breath was forced out as she wrestled him beneath the surface. Her iron grip still ripped at his flesh, and he writhed as an unholy pain tore at his throat.

It was midnight, and the pitch black sea carried a perfect reflection of the starless sky. The red warmth of life stained the chilling waves, billowing like sheets as it spread, tainting the white light of the moon. Stray fragments of bone, flesh and cloth drifted back to shore as a girl with a tail laughed and sang as she admired her new treasures.