i n

F

BIGGER

SMALLER

COURIER

GEORGIA

TIMES

VERDANA

COMIC

l

RECENT

POPULAR

e

u

 ^{(it's beta!)}

Some people believe in mermaids ... some people don't. I used to hate these myths. I didn't believe in mermaids. Mermaids can come in different shapes and sizes. Some of them have colourful fins and scales. There was a time in my life when I felt all alone in this world ... Mermaids were there to heal my soul ... *** I looked at the huge body of water infront of me, it's blue streaks of water filled the lake's brim, their colourful gills and scales flashed inside the water enthusiastically. the fishes living in it made curves along the sides of the lake, the sun was setting beyond the hills in the distance, the essence of night started to emerge. I had just finished my part-time job at a cafe, and I was exhausted. I was fifteen at the time, and I didn't believe in myths and fantasies. I sat down on a bench nearby to catch my breath from the hard realities of work. My eyes started to close, and before I knew it, I was sleeping soundly. *** I felt a splash of water touch my cheek. "Hello?" A beautiful voice spoke, as I dazily woke up from a pleasant dream I was having. I looked around for the sorce of the voice, but I could not find anybody around me. I shivered, turning my head left and right, frightened and anxious. "Excuse me ...", The voice spoke again. This time, I focused on the source of the voice, and was amazed to find that the voice was coming from a woman inside the lake, her hair was wet, and her face was hauntingly beautiful. "A-Aren't you cold in there, miss?" I asked her, abit puzzled by the fact that she had been looking at me from the depths of the water. "No. Without this rich liquid, I wouldn't be able to survive.", she said, her voice broke into my puzzled thoughts. I nodded, abit confused by the fact that she had called water as "rich liquid". She smiled and said,"Please get me my balloon. It is stuck in that tree." I looked up at the nearest tree I could see, and noticed the red balloon, it's string hooked securedly onto the branch. I quickly got up and started climbing the tree, which was my talent back then. I easily got the balloon out of the tree and handed it to her. She thanked me, and smiled at me, her look began to scare me. She was almost TOO beautiful. I smiled awkwardly and ran as far away from the woman as I could. Two weeks later, I was on my way home from my part-time job as usual. I never stopped by the lake again after that incident, although I assumed it to be a crazy dream I had seen in my sleep. I tripped over something, and I scraped my knee. "Ouch!"I shouted, rubbing my knee. Nobody was around, and I was quite unable to move. Suddenly, I saw a hand reach down and take my hand. "Are you okay?" Someone said, as I painfully tried to get up, and managed to on my last try. "Thank you ...", I said, abit shocked and dazed. He was handsome and tall, his eyes were the bluest eyes I had ever seen. He smiled, and I felt myself melt at the spot. Before I knew it, we were talking, and all the pain I had experienced earlier had gone away. We became close friends, and soon, we were more than friends. One month later, him and I were walking along the lake, and I was telling him about what I had dreamed about one month ago. He laughed and simply said,"Maybe it was fate." I was not watching my way when I was talking to him, and I accidently bumped into someone. "Sorry ..." I started. The woman looked at me with her beautiful smile. "Are you hurt?" She asked me. "No,no." I said, looking at her closely. I had seen her before. Just as she passed me, it seemed like time slowed down as she whispered in my ear, "It wasn't a dream." Startled, I turned around, my jaw open. "You okay?" He asked me, his face showed alot of worry. "Yes, Everything's alright.",I said. I heard a splash. I turned around again and saw it. Scales of fish were performing alittle twirl, but it wasn't a fish. It was the woman. She smiled at me, just like the day I had first met her. I almost lost my balance, but I managed to regain my control over my body as she performed her last trick and dived into the water. "Did you see that?!" I asked him. "See what?", he said. "The lake! Did you see that?!" I shouted, now burning with anticipation. He looked at me with a very puzzled look and said, "I've been looking at where you've been looking for the past five minutes, and I haven't seen anything but the peace of the lake." I looked at him with enduring eyes, silently mocking him. I ran to the edge of the lake and looked into the water, but all I could see was grass and little pieces of rubbish. I had seen it. I had seen a mermaid. He grabbed me by the arm and shouted,"Be careful! What if you fall in there!" I laughed, his worried face seemed distant to me. He sighed and said,"Never mind. Let's just go for dinner, shall we?" I smiled, and nodded. As we held hands and walked along the beautiful waters, the fishes seemed to be singing, the soft breeze gently played around my face. I looked at the summer sky and finally at him. I smiled as he smiled, our love did not need to be expressed by words. I whispered alittle "thank you" to the lake, knowing that the mermaid had brought us together. THE END