Mother Mermaid

[Part I] Conquest of the Mystifying Mermaid // [Part II] The Mermaid Ball // [Part III] To Be a Mermaid

Fuchsia slept on the beach that night. And when she woke up, she was ready for new adventure.

It was time to give up on her quest of becoming a mermaid again. Guilt had turned her into a human, and Mother Mermaid would only take her back if she could tell her what it means to be a mermaid.

Now half-human and half-mermaid, fully emerged in the human world, she would create a new life for herself.

Mermaid life was full of misery. All she ever did was dream, and those dreams would never come true.

Sure, the humans had issues. Still unaware of what it truly means to be a human, she knew by now that it certainly had a lot to do with distraction, loneliness, and stupidity.

The human world was messy — completely opposite of the mermaid world of mystical perfection. But humans made mistakes all the time, and that’s how they had fun.

Fuchsia was ready to get dirty and have fun.

That morning, Fuchsia followed whatever she had left of her intuition, leading her to a crepe shop. All the humans sat in the booths, laughing and smiling as they chewed down their crepes.

And then she saw those two boys — the ones from last night — among them. They were sitting at a table with two other girls.

“Hey!” She ran over to them, excited to see familiar faces. “Remember me?”

“Oh, sh**,” the boys replied with pleasant surprise. “We thought we lost you,” one of them added.

“We were just about to leave, but you can hang with us if you want,” the other offered.

“I’d love to,” Fuchsia smiled.

As they got out of their seats, one boy pulled Fuchsia aside as the rest of the group continued down the boardwalk.

“I just want you to know,” he explained, “those girls are just friends, so don’t worry.”

“Don’t worry about what?” Fuchsia was perplexed.

“Do you even remember my name?” He smirked “it’s Zale, by the way,” leaning in a little closer.

Fuchsia smiled.

“Let’s just ditch everyone and hang out alone,” he suggested.

“I’m up for anything,” Fuchsia shrugged, “as long as it’s adventurous!”

“Yeah, I can show you adventure.”

So, the two walked down the boardwalk together and left the group behind. Fuchsia admired all the quirky shops, the silly human behavior, as well as the breathtaking scenery of the beach.

Walking was a strange phenomenon for the former mermaid. So used to swimming around and feeling at one with the water, Fuchsia now felt like she was battling against gravity rather than working with it. However, she enjoyed the sound of her flip flops flopping with every step.

Fuchsia immeditately stopped walking when she noticed a gigantic glowing sign that read, “PSYCHIC.”

“We must go to the psychic!” Fuchsia insisted. “She’s the only one who can tell me where the captain is!”

“Whatever you want,” he agreed, following her inside.

“Welcome!” Said a woman wearing a white sundress, covered in crystal jewelry. She had many wrinkles, but wore them gracefully like lines of wisdom.

“Please, sit,” she continued.

It was a small room, dimly lit. Fuchsia plopped herself dowm on a red, velvet couch. The psychic sat across from her on a large chair that resembled a throne, with a wooden table in between them. On the table was a crystal ball.

As per instruction, Fuchsia placed her hand on the table and let the psychic examine her palm with a magnifying glass.

“Mhm, mhm,” the psychic said to herself, intently focused. She touched the webs in between Fuchsia’s fingers, noticing how prompt they were.

“Why… you’re a mermaid!” She exclaimed.

“Yes,” Zale agreed, who was standing in the corner, “beautiful and magical like a mermaid.”

Fuchsia looked back at the psychic, red-faced and exposed, “can you tell me anything about the captain?”

“Hmm… I’m going to need more information. Let’s look into the future…” she examined her crystal ball.

Zale was in complete disbelief when he saw actual figures moving inside the crystal ball, playing out like a movie, “is that CGI or something? How’d you do that?”

“Aha!” The psychic exclaimed, “I see your future. I see you and the captain, together forever.”

“Really?” Fuchsia heart began racing.

“Yes, husband and wife.”

“What else?” Fuchsia was desperate for more.

“I see babies. Lots and lots of babies.”

“How many!?’

“I see the two of you surrounded by… ten kids, to be exact!”

“Oh my goodness!” Fuchsia squealed with joy. “Where is the captain? I must find him and tell him I love him!”

“Uh oh…” the psychic’s expression suddenly turned from excitement to weariness.

“What?” Fuchsia gulped.

The crystal ball turned dark and cloudy. There were lightning strikes and sounds of thunder.

“What is it?” Fuchsia was almost too scared to ask.

“I am now looking into the present moment… I see the captain right now, and… he has a girlfriend… no, he has many girlfriends…”

“Huh?”

“But none of them are mermaids.”

“Oh,” Fuchsia replied with slight relief, yet still terribly concerned.

“He’s having lots of fun,” she added.

“So how do I get to the future? How do I get the future to be right now? Why does he have all these girlfriends?”

“He’s a worldly man. If this is the future you want, then you have to make it happen. You have to work for it. Or else…”

“Or else what!?” Fuchsia was literally on the edge of her seat.

“Or else…”

Fuchsia leaned in closer…

“I’m sorry, looks like your time is up!” The psychic abruptly announced. “Payment is $100, I accept credit or cash. Or, we can extend this session for $200.”

“But I don’t have any money!” Fuchsia cried out, “I’m a mermaid!” She turned to Zale with puppy-dog eyes.

“You’ve got to be effin kidding me,” he muttered under this breath, then with a heavy sigh, handed the psychic a credit card from his wallet. “Let’s go,” he grabbed Fuchsia and left before the lady could suck any more money out of him.

“Thanks for the $100,” Fuchsia thanked, “I have no idea how much that’s worth, as mermaids don’t use money. But here is a precious coin I found, surely worth significantly more than a piece of plastic. We mermaids despise plastic, because it is the ocean’s sworn enemy.”

Fuchsia handed him a shiny little penny.

“Good one,” he rolled his eyes.

“I better be going. I’m off to find the captain. I hope I can repay you someday.”

“Don’t go!” He insisted, “listen, whoever this man is, don’t trust him. He sounds like he’s just a player. And when it doesn’t work out with you two, you’re going to feel really dumb.”

Fuchsia was surprised. He sounded exactly like her sisters. Still, she said goodbye and continued her journey onwards.

Fuchsia walked along the shore, continuing to let her intuition be her guide, like an inner compass that was all-knowing.

Her head was full of doubt. Her heart was full of hope. One thing was for sure, just like the great Mother Mermaid, she too would someday be a mother mermaid someday. But when?