The Woman in the Water

Daniel is thirty-three when he voluntarily enters a recovery clinic near Cascais. Cocaine and pills have controlled his life for years. The doctor explains that he is physically stable but must not leave during the first few days. Daniel nods while watching the open door.

On the first morning, Daniel and a group of strangers sit on cushions in a circle. Everyone breathes together, talks about healing energy, and holds crystals. Daniel thinks it is all nonsense. When the leader announces a break, Daniel stands, crosses the open doorway, and does not look back.

The wind pushes Daniel along the coast for hours until he reaches Guincho beach. Among black rocks, he finds a woman sitting waist-deep in the Atlantic. He took his last pill shortly before arriving at the clinic. The pill is still affecting him, and early withdrawal makes him unsure whether she is real. He decides she must be a hallucination. That would explain her very calm face.

The woman, who appears to be about thirty, introduces herself as Inês, although she remains in the water. Daniel asks whether she is cold and why she will not come out. ‘Not today,’ she replies with a small smile. It seems like a private joke he does not yet understand. That makes him want to stay longer.

The next morning, the drug's effect has gone, but Inês is still there. Daniel brings two cups of coffee to the beach. They discuss insomnia, fear, and decisions that seem reasonable at night but cause problems the next morning. Daniel notices he does not need to impress her. When she laughs, he feels light for the first time in months.

Eventually, Daniel describes his addiction and admits that he walked out of the clinic on his first day. Inês listens carefully, without showing pity or treating him as helpless. ‘I am not here to save you,’ she says. ‘You decide whether to return.’ Her honesty affects him more than anything he heard at the clinic on his first morning.

On the third day, storm clouds darken the sky. Daniel goes into the water only up to his knees because Inês has clearly warned him about the current. She holds out her hand. When their fingers touch, a large silver shape moves through the foam, far too fast to be human legs.

During the storm surge, a huge wave rises before them. It crashes down and pulls the water back. Daniel realises that Inês has no legs. Below her waist, there is a long silver tail. Its dark fins move through the white water. Inês is not a woman sitting in the sea by chance. She is a mermaid.