The Lonely Mermaid

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

Fuchsia walked upon the shore, remaining close to the ocean, in hopes of her intuition guiding her towards the captain.

The Psychic had gotten her so excited about a possible future with him. When she had informed her of her fortune, Fuchsia’s heart sank and there were butterflies in her stomach. She could fully imagine it, in vivid colors. So overwhelmed by her emotions, she just wanted to run to him.

But the longer she walked, the more reality had sunk in. Fuchsia had no idea where she was even going — still totally lost and confused.

And then she remembered what Zale had told her before leaving him, how the captain was only going to make a fool out of her. She wondered why he would ever say such a thing, why he sounded so sure of himself.

Overcome by her thoughts and attempting to disconnect from her emotions, Fuchsia’s head was spinning so fast that she had to stop walking and plop herself down in the sand, letting her toes dip in the waves.

No one else was in sight. Not another human, or mermaid, or anyone… just a few seagulls flying by. There Fuchsia was, sitting in the sand all alone with her thoughts.

Fuchsia took a deep breath and replayed it all from the beginning…

---

It was another day. Another dull, boring day. I was so incredibly bored. And so I had wandered off.

I found my way to the surface of the sea. Mermaids are supposed to stay hidden deep in the waters — yet this was a secluded area, and I don’t mind breaking the rules.

My indigo eyes caught sight of an incredibly large ship. I could not believe how big it was! It nearly swallowed the whole sea! And on it, I spotted the most handsome man!

I wanted to drag him into the ocean and sacrifice his body, as per traditional mermaid custom. And him, being a human, I assumed was intending to exploit my magical powers and threaten the survival of my species. I swam towards him anyway. Going for broke.

However, he was much more clever than I thought. And also much more warm. All the myths I’d heard about evil pirates, sailors, and captains… faded away… he was not what I’d imagined.

And when we said our goodbyes, it was only a matter of time before I realized I did not want a goodbye.

The bottom of the sea contains a magic portal. Only the mermaid people have access to this — one of our many secrets we must protect from the humans to prevent world destruction.

This “magic portal” is basically a black hole. You can put an object into the portal while thinking about a certain place, and it will get sucked into the hole and somehow end up where you were thinking of.

So, I would take letters, think about the captain as I thew them into the portal, and hoped they somehow found him. And I know they found him, because he would return them somehow. Did he have access to some kind of similar portal on land, or on his ship? Who knows — all I know is that somehow we were sending each other these letters back and forth by some strange phenomenon.

Those letters… what did they say? They said… nothing. That’s right, nothing. I sent him blank letters. Papers with no words. Only my name, so he knew who it was coming from. I just didn’t know what to say.

And what did he send me? Well, he sent me letters, too. And they were also blank.

Blank letters. Back and forth. And back and forth and back and forth.

Until he told me that he wanted to meet me at the Mermaid Ball… and then never showed.

But I was ready to meet him.

Didn’t he know that?

Perhaps I had frustrated him.

Because I was sending him letters?

Or because the letters were blank?

Why were they blank?

Why did I do that?

Why did I cry so much, that night?

Why?

Why?

Why?

Fuchsia took a deep breath — it was time to stop thinking!

---

She turned off her own thoughts but she could hear another voice — the captain’s voice — saying, “how would you feel if someone kept sending you blank letters? How would you feel if someone kept tapping your back, and every time you turn around they disappear?”

Guilt! Guilt! Guilt!

Then she could hear a woman’s voice, but not her own — this sounded like her sisters, “how could you wander off to a stranger? How could you threaten our species?”

“STOP!” Fuchsia screamed out loud, covering her face.

For someone who was always runs away from people, handling being all alone was harder than she thought.

Fuchsia could not bare being alone with her thoughts. She had to find someone, immediately. The captain should have found her by now. Her eyes were fixated on the ocean, just waiting for that ship to appear once again.

But it was not coming. He was gone. And Zale and his friends were gone. Her sisters were gone. Her mermaid life was gone. Everyone and everything was gone.

It’s just Fuchsia.

She still had the sand: comforting soft and grainy texture. She grabbed a fistful of sand, dropped it on her legs and let it slide down her body. The sand did not want to hug her. It just wanted to be sand.

Perhaps it was time to part ways with the beach. The captain wasn’t coming for her, her sisters were not coming for her, Mother Mermaid was not coming for her, she was just running away from no one… running away from herself… waiting for herself to come after her.

With a wee bit of magic still left in her, she grabbed a seashell and held it tightly while squeezing her eyes shut, wishing for a friend. And then, she chucked the seashell into the ocean, and left the beach.

Fuchsia knew her magic was still strong, maybe even stronger now that she was on her own. As soon as she made her way into town with all the busy people, she locked eyes with a beautiful lady who looked so familiar to her.

“Are you lost?” She asked, taking note of the helpless look on Fuchsia’s face.

“Yes!” She threw her arms in the air with relief. “I’m looking for someone to follow — can I follow you?”

“Where are you trying to go?” She ran her fingers through her incredibly long rainbow locks, every single strand of color in her hair. Her skin was glowing in the sun. She radiated mysticism.

“Anywhere,” Fuchsia shrugged, “as long as I’m going somewhere!”

The girl let out the cutest giggle, looking at Fuchsia with total admiration.

“My name is Rainbow,” she introduced herself, “I’m here on vacation with family, but right now I’m just checking out the place on my own. Please, join me!” She welcomed.

Fuchsia was ecstatic to meet such a lovely human. The two stayed together, walking through the town, looking at the shops. Fuchsia learned a lot about Rainbow, who was extremely open about her life, willingly sharing all the personal details.

Fuchsia, however, tried not to speak too much — worried about blowing her cover about her true identity. However, the more time she spent with Rainbow, the more she wondered if perhaps this girl was a mermaid too. There was just something so magical about her.

By evening, the two found themselves back at the ocean and swimming in the waves just as everyone else was leaving, the lifeguard was going off duty, and the sun was setting.

Rainbow’s deep brown eyes looked so bright and sparkly in the water. Fuchsia couldn’t stop herself from staring into them.

“Rainbow, can I ask…” Fuchsia shyly began, “have you ever met… a captain? Or any man who just blew you away?” She let out a heavy sigh.

“No,” Rainbow shook her head without hesitation.

“No?” Fuchsia raised her eyebrows in shock.

“If you are trying to ask me if I’ve ever fallen in love, then the answer is ‘no.'”

“Not even close?” Fuchsia swam closer to Rainbow, looking deeper into her eyes, trying to find truth.

“Never,” she firmly stated.

“Don’t you ever get lonely?” Fuchsia reached out her hand.

“I never get lonely,” she replied as she held onto Fuchsia’s hand.

“I am so lonely!” Fuchsia burst into tears.

With sympathy, Rainbow comforted her new friend and gave her that warm hug she had been craving, “you don’t need anybody,” she assured, and gave a friendly, motherly peck on her cheek.

“Do you think you could fall in love with me?” She asked, before planting a big kiss on her mouth.

Rainbow paused a moment… and then answered, “no. I’m sorry.”

“No, no, I’m sorry!” Fuchsia threw her head in her hands.

“I can still help you, though,” she offered.

“How?” Fuchsia asked in total desperation.

She knew it. Rainbow really was a mermaid! And with her mermaid magic, she gave Fuchsia one last hug and teleported her into a new world.

Fuchsia opened her eyes and was once again all alone.

Nothing but total darkness.

Where am I?!?!