The Last Mermaid

~ 50 ~

Stories told outside these walls, singing of gay faeries and menacing dragons. There are celebrations to nature, and people making love in the grass.

There are so many things that are going on here, bet those that are here - both magic and human, would never guess that I am a mermaid. 

I am to be shown the ropes of the prince's kingdom. Yet, I find myself pulled away to the forest, hearing the shouts of the prince's men.

"How could you allow the princess to walk away?"

I ignore the shouts guided by the rocky path, each stone placed nearby carved with a face. This path leads to an opening with a large stone which reads "Beware those who trespass the faerie kingdom."

But I am of magic, so I wander on the path that gives way to the woods. Ferns rise, obscuring the path, giving you less of an indicator of where to go. 

There's a large monster with horns, half the shape of a bull and the other of a moose, that wanders through the forest. 

I stand silent as he passes, and then continue along my journey. I stop along a stream to wash my face - the water cooling my skin. 

A castle lies in the distance. 

"Who are you?"

I look up to see three faeries. One is of nature, dressed in green. The other is of water, and the pink dressed one is a flower fairy. 

"She's a mermaid" says the water faerie, matter-of-factly. 

"I can see that" bites back theEarth faerie. "The question is - what are you doing here?"

The three of them come up to feel me - the energy pouring out of my body into their hands. The flower faerie gasps. 

"You are a mermaid" says the water faerie.

"No, I'm not."

"It's true" says the water faerie to the rest. "She's been swimming in the waters for years, trying to make sense of the water and her place within it. Tell me, what is it that you remember?"

"I remember the prince saying 'It's you" and taking me back to the castle to be married. He's such a kind prince" I say. 

The Earth faerie shakes her head, absorbing energy from my head.

"You've just come out from the underworld. You were trapped there."

Many smaller faeries come out now, as well as gnomes, trolls, and spirits. 

"You are the last mermaid" says the water faerie. "You've come to our planet to give rise to a new generation of mer people. You are trapped. You've absorbed the stories of other people, and you frequently travel between astral realms, as well as your own memories. You have to get these stories out of you if you want to stay with the prince, or you might find yourself back in the oceans. You must come back here to write your stories. You are meant to be loved, to be challenged, and to grow. Someday, you'll find your way back to the sea, and to your true love."

So the prince is not my true love? But I find it to be true as I come back to the castle, looking upon the eyes of my 'beloved."

He has kind eyes, and a heart of pure gold, but he's not the dark, mad desire that burns in my belly. 

He could love me for a short while, but I will find myself going back to the ocean, swimming among the seas of the mind. Searching along the shore, desiring the love that sets my soul on fire. 

Has he found someone else there? I hate the church bells that chime over the hills. I loathe the hills. I loathe the spring, and this safe love that wishes to put me to bed.