The River Gods Bridegroom

I returned to my cold, desolate domain, though I only made it as far as the riverbank.

Without my divine power, I couldn’t even submerge myself in the water.

The turtle had already turned into a human.

He had transformed into a handsome young man and was playing with a frisbee by the river.

I asked him, “Where did you get that frisbee? And why did you suddenly turn into a handsome guy!”

The turtle-boy gave a shy smile. “A group of female college students came here for an outing the other day. One of the girls threw her frisbee into the river, and I brought it back to her.”

My voice trembled with shock. “So you turned into a human because she kissed you?!”

The turtle-boy grew even more bashful. “Yeah. She said thank you, and I told her if she wanted to repay me, she had to give me a kiss.”

“And she agreed?”

“She didn’t want to at first, so I told her if she didn’t kiss me, I’d secretly follow her home and crawl into her bed every night!”

“Then she kissed me.”

I asked, “And the curse on you was broken?”

The turtle fidgeted. “Yeah, she’s my girlfriend now.”

As soon as I heard the word “girlfriend,” my interest waned. “Oh.”

The turtle asked, “What about your boyfriend?! When is he going to marry you?”