The Little Mermaid Part I: Mourning
A short story retelling the Hans Christian Andersen dark fairy tale.
The Little Mermaid slid through crystal water away from her home in the deep ocean, eager to disobey the first law of the seven seas; to break the surface only on your fifteenth earthly year. The Sea King enforced this rule to protect his kingdom against nameless dangers lurking in the world above sheltering tides. On this birthday, his people observed the horrors for themselves and for the most part, it frightened them enough to stay well below; safe in the deep. The Little Mermaid was unlike most of her kind. She had farewelled this birthday long ago but her adoration and curiosity for the surface world pumped steadily through her icy veins, solidifying with every thudding heartbeat. She was never afraid of the world above. In her mind, the surface was a haven. There was little concern for following such frivolous laws in her mind anyway. Time had placed a curse on her, so she intended to soak up as much warmth and vitality the surface could gift her.
A family of seabirds flickered away into a cerulean sky as The Little Mermaid elegantly arose out of the sea. She climbed atop a perfectly placed rock, obscured from the shore by rhythmic waves. Perched with a wistful anticipation, she braced for the awe and wonderment to wash over her.
She gazed from pearlescent eyes, the surface people scattered across golden sand. Glowing in The Sun Goddess's love, they wandered blissfully, greeting the sea like a dear friend. Clouds like fragile foam journeyed towards a hazed horizon, giving way to a royal oasis. Impulsive waves danced around her, colliding with one another as water droplets plummeted into the air. The sea spray hung softly in time before raining over her, a salty reminder of where she belonged. Whispering winds kissed her skin sending shivers through her hollowing bones. The Little Mermaid was engulfed in life, a mockery she was sure.
For all she had witnessed, the surface people were not the barbaric, ruthless killers her father, The Sea King had preached. They were joyful, free, and most of all warm. Their sparkling skin and rich onyx hair had embraced The Sun’s love. They glistened in her divine arms, a dissonant reminder that her kind were not blessed by such deities. The Little Mermaid’s moon light hair and translucent skin, absent from any measurable pigment, was the mark of a mermaid's solitary fate.
Everyday the surface people were blessed by The Sun Goddess. Over their short lifetime, her benevolence granted them a soul for an eternal life in paradise when they part with their earthly bodies. The Little Mermaid’s late Grandmama would speak of hushed myths about a glorious place after death called heaven. It filled The Little Mermaid with longing to witness such a phenomenal place.
Only, creatures in cold depths who swam clear of The Sun’s warmth were not blessed with a soul to live an eternal life. Her light does not reach the deep. When her grandmother succumbed to the same fate as every mermaid, she dissolved into seafoam and ceased to exist. Her only remaining presence in the minds of those who loved her. The loss carved out an eroding cavern in The Little Mermaid’s heart, crumbling away with every pulse.
Her lustered eyes began to tremble as they scanned across the outlying shore, dreaming of a universe where her Grandmama was looking down on her, beaming from the heavens. The surface brought many unfamiliar sensations like this. Her pruned fingertips skimmed the ridges of the pearl necklace that adorned her slimming neck. A gift given by her Grandmama to pass down to her daughters one day. A day that would never come. The soft pink hue with puddles of pastel green, blue and yellow shimmered in The Sun’s light.
Gentle tears began to wet her cheeks bringing salty relief. The Little Mermaid was cursed with disease. She didn't want to die. She didn’t want to cease to exist. She had barely lived. A mermaid's lifespan often exceeded three-hundred years. She was not even nearing a quarter of that. Time was to be stolen from her. She had dreams of swimming through undiscovered waters to spy on sailors and ships. She wanted to learn everything about the world above, every quirk and oddity. She wanted the time a mermaid usually had. She could not grasp the idea of dissolving away. Becoming nothing. Ripped from her family and the life she was desperate to live. The thoughts ticked in her mind. She struggled over the betrayal from her father. How could he deny their people the chance at an eternal life? He could change the law so that mermaids could bathe in The Goddess’s love, and throughout their three-hundred years it would surely be enough time to be granted a soul and live on in the heavens, reunited with loved ones lost. What an eternal gift it would be. Every time The Little Mermaid had collected enough courage to challenge her father with this idea he would bluntly dismiss the conversation without an utterance of any meaning. He would simply declare it too dangerous and as quickly as the talk had started, it would be done. But she wasn’t done.
The Little Mermaid’s delicate skin tingled. She began to feel exposed in the crisp tenuous air. The Sun’s rosy kiss spread across her nose and cheeks. She had surfaced enough to know the limits of her meek frame. The Sun Goddess was a force that a mermaid could not endure for long. She feared if she stayed, every bead of water in her body would evaporate, leaving her dehydrated carcass to be picked apart by sea birds. A fate worse than dissolving, she mused.
The Little Mermaid plunged into prancing waves and as soothing water draped around her offering cool reprieve, she had a bizarre but clever idea.
The Little Mermaid written and illustrated by Kelsey Cameron is a short retelling of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale told in four parts. It features a young and curious mermaid who embarks on an emotional journey to change her fate. A fate she cannot accept. This story is about perspective, grief, and eternal love.