As a kid, my sister and I had a babysitter who would tell the most amazing stories, some of which were from memory, some of which she made up. This story is one of the latter and although it's changed a bit (my memory is not as incredible as her ability to create bedtime stories out of thin air), it's close enough.
On the island of Abaco, there was a legend of a lady on the lake, called the Water Mama. The legend went, that on the night of the full moon, the Water Mama would sit on a rock combing her rose gold hair; while other tales spoke of the Water Mama washing her moss green tail at the edge of the lake.
David was from Eleuthera, and entranced by stories of the Water Mama, moved to Abaco in an attempt to see this beautiful creature. His friends had warned him that men far and wide had come seeking the Water Mama. Although they may have seen a glimpse of her, every time they came close, she would dive back into the lake, leaving a fishy smell. But David was determined. He sat by the lake for weeks on end hoping to see her. Unlike many other men who saw the lady of the lake and was satisifed by simply looking at her beauty, David wanted to get much closer to her than any other man.
On the night of the full moon when he was about to give up, the Water Mama appeared, singing a lullaby of a wanted lover, an old Bahamian tale sung for generatiosn by the lonely. David, entranced by her voice, walked towards the lake, not realizing the distance he closed until a loud splash woke up, the Water Mama gone, with only a strand of her hair as evidence of what David had just witnessed.
Following this encounter, he returned to the lake every night, each night getting a little closer to the Water Mama. One night, she was washing her tail, as the legends said, but this was a rare occurance, and not many men got to witness that. Once she had finished, she returned to her home. Under the light of the moon, something green had flashed by the edge of the lake. Curiously David went to the edge to find a scale, which he brought home. That night when he went to bed, he dreamed of the Water Mama, talking with her and swimming with her in the lake. When he woke up, thinking that it was just a dream, his sopping wet hair and soaked clothes made him question if it was really a dream.
That day at work, he told his friends of what happened, and they weree worried about what was happening to David. They warned him that although she was indeed beautiful, she was a dangerous creature, and that his encounters were becoming more and more precarious. But David was infatuated with the Water Mama and ignored the warnings of his friends.
Later that night, he returned to the lake to find the Water Mama combing her hair. David's temptation got the best of him and as he reached out to try and touch the Water Mama, she swam away, and panicked by David's quick movement, left behind her comb.
Again, that night david dreamed of the Water Mama and woke up soaking wet. But this time, he felt something sharp in his hand, only to realize that it was the same comb that the Water Mama used in his dream.
The next full moon, David said goodbye to the Water Mama for the night, as he began to since the first night he saw her. Back in his bed, as he then expected, he dreamt of the Water Mama. She had given him a piece of her hair and told him to place it under his pillow the following night, and in the morning, he would have great fortune. Before he woke up, the Water Mama warned David, that if he told anyone, he would have to live with her in the lake.
When David woke up, he was surrounded by gold coins in his bedroom. Unable to resist, he put the gold in a bag, hid it under his bed, and then went to boast about it to his friends. His friends, jealous of his fortune, attacked David until he was unable to move, and left. David, finally arriving home, realized that his fortune was gone, stolen by his friends.
No one knows what happened to David. But they say that when you look at the Water Mama, she could be seen with a man, who she called 'her Dave.'
