Sunday and the Mermaid

 

Once upon a time, there lived a little girl named Sunday. She and her family lived by the seaside, in a big house. On weekends and holidays, Sunday would often feel the cool Breeze, in the mornings. In the evenings, she would usually play with her friends by the sea or stroll across the city park. She'll go to her school in the city with her elder sister, Saturday. And on evenings, she'll spend time with her dad, who sells provisions at the beach.

One day, Sunday was walking past the shore, when she saw a huge whale. Her cousin brother, who also lived by the seaside loved to fish. It was his hobby. So, Sunday thought she could call her brother over, and he'll enjoy fishing the huge whale. Sunday rung her brother, but to her dismay, her brother had gone to the city market to buy vegetables. So, Sunday planned to fish that whale herself. 

She fetched her boat and oar, and grabbed her fishing pole. She carefully looked out for the whale. But then, something startled her eyes. It was a  mermaid! Sunday thought that she could catch the mermaid, and prove to her parents that mermaids are real. But the mermaid started wailing, once Sunday had caught her by net. "Please leave me alone! I am innocent. If you take me to land, I won't be able to breathe!" The mermaid cried. Sunday felt sorry for the mermaid, and let go. 

"Thank you so much! Now that you helped me, I'll help you in any way I can!" The mermaid said. Sunday was pleased, and asked, "Can you please find a fine fish or whale?" The mermaid shook her head, and said, "I'm sorry, but years ago, tourists fished all the whales and sharks. And it's actually a merry to mermaids, because the sharks won't devastate our land."

Sunday looked sad. She wanted to please her parents. The mermaid smiled and whispered, "Swim with me." Sunday looked puzzled. Why would the mermaid want her to swim with her? But still, Sunday could swim, so it wasn't a big deal. The went deep under the water. "Welcome to the mermaid land," said the mermaid. Then, the mermaid lifted a stick-thingy. She touched Sunday with it. Suddenly, Sunday had fins!

"I don't understand!" She cried. She was able to breathe and talk under water! The mermaid giggled. "I gave you the power to transform into a mermaid whenever you want to, and become a person again when you want to." Sunday gasped. Was she just day dreaming? Or was she just seeing things?

Then, the mermaid recited a story, "Mermaids are people who evolved from humans. We were the first apes, and we settled inside water. We soon adapted to live there, and also got fins and the feature to breathe underwater. When the apes became more human-like, we mermaids to took shape. Soon, civilization began, and all the mermaids grouped together and formed this special and secret underwater land: Merland. Our present day leader is my dad, Aquaman. My mother, Aqualady is the queen, and I am the princess. My other 1,006 brothers and sisters are the princes and princesses of this divine mermaid land.

"One of our biggest fears are sharks and humans. Sharks, I'm sure you know, are enemies to us just like they are to you guys. They maintain the violence amongst us. And humans always fish mermaids out of the water, often eating them up or making them lose breath and die. And there is this rule: Poke your head out of the water rarely. So we mermaids usually poke our heads during sunrise and sunset, and in the middle of both, we use very less time to poke our heads out.

"But you, are a very special human. This is a legendary story. An epic. Humans caring about mermaids! Unbelievable! So, I wished to give you the best boon one could get, and you know what it is."

This story recited by the mermaid made Sunday's jaws drop. Then she asked, "By the way, what's your name?" Then the mermaid replied, "Marina, because I was born in the Marina beach in Chennai." 

"Ooohh!! Interesting!" Sunday said. "Sunday! Dinner time!" Sunday heard her sister calling out. "I gotta go," said Sunday. "Can you change me back?" Marina then said, "You just gotta think of your human form, or say, 'I want to be human', and you will be yourself again."

Sunday thought of her human form, and got her legs. She then thanked Marina and promised that she'll come back tomorrow and left.