| Prologue |
| People can and will tell you a lot of things, but until you see those things with your own eyes there is always a cloud of doubt surrounding them. Mermaids. That was one of my doubts. Well, my doubt until I actually saw one. The movies. The Little Mermaid. Disney in general. All these things depict merpeople as living and breathing, not what they really are. Figments of an over-active imagination. Or so I thought. Let me start from the beginning. My name is Nick Carter. I am the youngest member of a pop quintet known as the Backstreet Boys. At that time we had world-wide fame, fortune, and beautiful girls constantly surrounding us. What more could a 20 year old guy ask for? We had just wrapped up our latest tour and fortunately, we had three weeks off before we would head to Sweden to begin recording the tracks for our new album due out that fall. I had everything I had ever wanted. But still, something was missing. I was missing out on the normal teenage life. And granted hundreds of guys would kill to be in my shoes, I wasn't truly happy. My relationship of 18 months had disintegrated over the course of our eight month tour and I was feeling more lonely and depressed than I had ever felt in my life. Our management decided to send us south to the Caribbean for a little r & r. Plus, it would five us time to work on songs not yet put down on paper. For me, it would give me time to think. To sort out my life. To get my poop in a group so to say. This would be my vacation. A vacation I well deserved and a vacation that no one could take away from me. I wasn't going to work. I was going to relax. Maybe I should tell you about the people with whom I spend my days and nights. The guys who are like my older brothers. Picking on me at times and standing up for me at others. First, there's Kevin. Wise beyond his 28 years. Practically an old man. Or at least he acts like one half the time. He always makes sure people are where and doing what they are supposed to be. Always making sure things are running as smoothly as he can possibly control. He gets really irritated when we call him Dad. He knows we're only joking around, but it's hard on him. He had to grow up faster than people his age due to his father's death nine years ago. Although he is the youngest of three brothers, he took charge of everything surrounding his father's death. We all know how much he misses him even after all the time that's passed. His father was his biggest fan and he didn't live long enough to see Kevin accomplish his dream. Perhaps that's what makes him so wise. His cousin Brian is three years younger than him and my best friend of the four. Don't get me wrong. I love all the guys, but Brian and I clicked from the mintue we met. Even though he is five years older than me, we have a bond that can't be broken. We have the same twisted sense of humor and we both love playing practical jokes on people. Practical jokes that don't hurt people's feelings or cause any physical harm. He underwent open heart surgery two years ago to repair a hole in his heart. It was the first time I actually felt I was going to lose one of the people closest to me. Howie is 26. He's very sincere and honest. A do-gooder who always tries to fix things when they go array or remain neutral when he knows that he shouldn't interfere. Sweet D. That's what we call him. Humble and easy-going. That's our Howie. AJ is rambunctious and rowdy. The way most 22 year olds are. He is really into personal expression and by personal, I mean tattoos and piercings. I believe he has 12 tattoos now and a couple piercings in each ear, but he has a new one between his lip and chin. He is also one of the biggest flirts to walk the face of their earth. We have another Don Juan on our hands!! So there they are. My brothers. My compadres. My friends. Well, back to the mermaids. |