seven seas of love

Prologue

   Mother named me Satu, which means "fairytale" in Japanese. The connotation associated with  a fairytale is usually good. Mothers often feel as though having their child is a fairytale come true due to their joy. I think in my case, mother wished that everything that was happening to her was just a chapter in storybook.

   And who could blame her? It's not common for women to be impregnated by the King of the Sea and give birth to a half human/half fish kid that you have to immediately throw into the sea or she'll die. My birth's an interesting story for another day.

   I don't see mother often. She used to come swimming with me and father quite a lot till she met a beautiful man and decided to settle down with him. Even before him, we weren't her family. I just happened to be the girl who looked a little bit like her, except with scaly grey blotches all over me. Now, she has a beautiful family.  A five year old boy and a two year old girl. They both look a lot like me, according to father. For some reason, since learning about human culture, I have always hoped that mother owns small photograph of me that she hides in her wallet. It's the least she could do for her 17-year-old daughter.

    Father calls me Nanami. It's Japanese for "The Seven Seas". Real creative for a mermaid, right? I'm the youngest of his children. The second and third youngest are the only ones I get along with, Affera and Sienna. Affera keeps her hair wrapped in layers of seaweed,only her stoic face showing to us. She says it's a custom in her mother's country, something about not tempting those around us. Sienna has short, spiky, brown hair and amber eyes. They are my family.

   This isn't their story. Or the story of my dad never being able to get over my mother. Or the story of how mother and I reconnect. No, this is the story of how I met the love of my life in really weird circumstances.