Week 14 Storytelling: The Lonely Mermaid

"Grandma said I could start looking for a man when I turn 15," Ariel reminded herself as she counted down the second left until her 15th birthday. "Three, two, o--" Ariel was interrupted by a loud crack of thunder coming from far above her underwater abode. "That was unusually loud. Might my father be scaring off a surface-dwelling traveler again?"

Quickly swimming to peak her head out of the ocean, Ariel heard another loud crash. Only this time, it didn't sound like thunder. With her mermaid tail moving faster and faster, she soon made it to the top of the ocean to find a wooden vessel stranded on a rocky beach in the midst of a storm. "Surely they are seeking shelter," Ariel wondered to herself. She quietly swam closer, continuing to hide from view. She saw a few men carrying supplies ashore at a fast pace. The storm seemed to be picking up.

"Oh, my!" Ariel spotted the most handsome man she had ever encountered. She watched as he commanded his group of men to build an awning-like covering near a small cave. His skin seemed to glow. "He must be a prince!" Suddenly, another burst of lightning tore through the sky. That was Ariel's sign that it would be in her best interest to return to the depths of the ocean.

The next morning, Ariel's curiosity got the best of her. She got up extra early, before any of her sisters, to go take a look at that island. When she reached the outer edge of the rocky beach, she noticed the men still remained even after the storm blew over. It looked as if they intended to take residence on the island rather than simply take shelter. She desperately wanted to call out and make her presence known. She wanted to introduce herself to the man, and maybe he would be the one she marries. But she was too afraid to speak, so she silently watched. Soon, they had several maps flattened on wooden tables, being used in conjunction with sextants and telescopes. "What might they be up to?" Ariel pondered. She decided she would keep track of their work.

For weeks, Ariel would surface the waters early in the morning only to find the men doing the exact same tasks each day.  She felt like all of the work was meaningless. She wanted to know what was so important. But as each day passed, she became more and more disinterested in the men. She decided she would check on them one last time, but come morning, the men and ship had completely vanished. She circumnavigated the island looking for any sign of life. Once she returned to the point where she started, she decided she would never know. However, as she swam away from the island, she spotted something glimmering atop the water.

She quickly made her way to the object, to find a business card with the handsome man's image along with contact details printed with a metallic finish.  Hurrying back home, she looked the man up online. The first search result was for a blog about exploring. "Surely this is it," Ariel spoke to herself. The side of the web page confirmed her suspicions. There was the man -- a prince!

I, Prince Martin, have been out on the ocean for the past few months. As you know, it was prophecized that my soul mate would be a mermaid! I traveled to the only known location of mermaids, and I did the only thing I could do -- I waited! Yet, no mermaid came to me. I guess this is a cruel fate I must come to terms with.

Horrified at her decision to remain silent, Ariel began to post a comment. I was there! I watched you from afar, but I didn't know why you were there. Surely I am the mermaid foretold in your prophecy! she typed. But before she could hit send, she decided it was too late. He was long gone, and what are the odds he would actually believe her? Ariel turned off the computer and went to play with her sisters. She knew he was the man her grandma told her she would fine -- but he was gone.

~ ~ ~

Author's Note: For this retelling of The Little Mermaid, I focused solely on the part where the mermaid, who I name Ariel after the Disney version of the story, sees the man at the surface of the water. I extend the time she watches him to create an apparent timidness in Ariel. In the original story, she eventually meets the prince after trading her voice for human legs, but I decided that I wanted her shyness to represent her lost voice. I use her inability to speak as the way to the tragic ending of loneliness. Since this is a story I will be using for my storybook, I touched on a bit of social media -- a blog in this case -- just as a basis for when I write the full story.

Bibliography: Fairy Tales and Stories, by Hans Christian Andersen

Image:  Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen