Maneka the Singing Mermaid

    She was at first in a hurry as she opened the door, but was met with the rushing sound of the pouring rain.  She stopped and looked down the stairs at the street.  The downpour made its relentless shotgun pattern on the tops of parked cars and the sidewalk.  A taxi passing slowly had it’s wipers on high. 
    “That’s just great,” she said with a sigh. 
    She went back inside to don her armor with which to battle the elements.  Her heavy overcoat and waterproof boots.  She grabbed her trusty umbrella, neatly curled up.  She stepped out the door and swung the umbrella in the air, and thrusted it like a rapier upwards at the sky. 
  “Have at thee grey clouds!  You may grace my skin, but you’ll never get to my heart!”  Better to be playful than melancholy. She opened the umbrella and went on down the sidewalk, feeling well protected.  The rain sounded like microwave popcorn popping against the umbrella.  She walked against the torrent that was cascading down the sidewalk, her trusty boots earning their keep.  It was remarkable, the small river that flowed in the streets, carrying leaves and things with it that she thought at first were little fish.  She appreciated the cleansing of the city that the storm was providing.  And at first, it wasn’t so bad.  In fact kind of fun. 
    She reached the main street, and as soon she passed the corner of the building she was buffeted by heavy wind and a cold spray of water.  She had to hold her umbrella diagonally to deflect the onslaught.  She hurried across the street, and stomped her way up to the park.  Her body was aching.
    She rushed to the shelter of a large group of trees and bushes.  She looked down into the park, which was totally flooded. 
    “Perhaps I’ll swim to work today”, she said.  And that’s when she got the crazy idea.  She stood still in the wind, her eyes staring steadily into oblivion.  She imagined a million wonderful things from another world that she’d promised she wouldn’t return to.  But in a dreary time like this, she longed to return. She thought of a fellow that she missed very much, especially on a day like this.  She remembered resting the side of her head on his chest as he held her.  There was nothing so relaxing as the sound of his beating heart.
    She actually tried walking through the flooded park, intent on resisting her magical desire.  But it didn’t last long.  She didn’t know why, but she had to do it.  She came upon a deep pool and she stopped and stared into it despite how late she was becoming.  Her waterproof boots were turning out to be not so waterproof, her toes squished in her socks.  Her friends in the city weren’t quite the same as her girlhood playmates.
    “Maybe part of me doesn’t have to grow up,” she said to herself.  “Maybe I can still enjoy myself in whatever way that I like!”
    And then when she couldn’t take it any more, she dove right into the pool of dark water and disappeared from sight.  The cold was quite a shock, but she immediately transformed.  Her clothes melted into her skin, some of it became scales, her legs became a tail, her boots became a flipper, and her umbrella became a lute.  And this story may have become a surprise to the reader, but this woman was very special indeed.  She had a magical desire that could change her from her human form into Meneka the Singing Mermaid! 
    She breathed in the water for the first time in a very long time, and it felt wonderful.  It didn’t taste quite as good as sea water, but that was exactly where she was headed.  She pumped her tail hard from the bottom of the pool up to the top.  She broke out of the surface, over a retaining wall and through the air to land in the creek, which today was more like a rushing river.  She was only seen by a couple of homeless men that were drinking wine. 
    “You see!” one said to the other “That’s her!  I told you she was real!”  But his friend had missed the sight, as he was taking a chug of wine at that moment. 
    Meneka continued on downstream as fast as she could.  It felt so good for her to be in this form again.  Her soul was completely rejuvenated, even though the environment should have been quite scary.  As she continued with the current, it became dark for a while, and she must have gone underground.  But then she burst out into the light, shot out of a large tube, and was falling through the air with the river water.  She caught the sight of many piers and boats and a huge cargo ship as she fell.  She looked down to the surface of the harbor that advanced quickly and she held out a hand to break through it.  She held on tight to her lute behind her.  The fall shot her straight down into the deep, and she undulated her tail to keep on going.
    She swam far out into the sea, the water tasting better and better the further she got out.  She had a particular spot in mind, and it was very far down.  She looked at all the familiar underwater sights and couldn’t keep from smiling.  The deeper she swam, the less light there was until finally in was very very dark and she couldn’t see any more.  So then she started playing her magical lute and sung which made her glow brightly.  It was enough for her to keep her bearing, and anyway mermaids have a special sense of direction like a built in compass. 
    She finally reached her first destination, which was a magical portal.  It was a large oval opening set in a giant mass of rocks at the bottom of the Atlantic.  The opening was artistically decorated with sculptures of the many magical creatures that lived beyond the portal.  They were all frolicking with glee, dancing and singing as those folk are known to do most all the time. 
    Meneka felt a little nervous as she hovered there before the portal.  She was still glowing and her hair was floating off towards one side in the current.  She had to remember the special song that activated the portal, but after the first few lines it all came back to her quickly.  The portal glowed purple, and now when she looked into it she saw a different world beyond.  She rushed through it and looked at all the beauty and started to cry.  Little bubbles rose from her eyes in the water.  There were faery creatures everywhere of all different types, most of them glowing.  There were different colors everywhere she would look, as there were many different types of iridescent sea life and plants.  Even some of the rocks looked to be covered in rainbow glitter.
    She had a guilty pleasure being there again.  She was supposed to grow up and make a life in the city.  She was to marry a non magical man and ambitiously work on her career.  But who said she couldn’t come back here and visit everyone?  Were the rules really so strict?  She was going to make her own rules now!
    She said hello to many of the folk that she met along the way.  They all admired the mermaids so she was popular wherever she went.  She was asked to play the lute for a group of dancing eels, and a big smiling manta ray asked her to scratch its back.  She was very happy to meet some old dolphin friends which were still in the same pod.  They all did their beautiful underwater dance together just like they did when she was younger and lived nearby.  It was a very complicated dance and emotionally moving, as dolphins were the best choreographers in the sea (or above the sea for that matter).  Before she parted they told her how sorry they were when she had grown up, and had to leave. 
    “Well I just had to come back for a visit today!” she told them, and they all got excited again and made their dolphin chatter and swam around really fast.  She wasn’t in trouble at all for coming back here.  Everyone loved her.
    But finally she had to go as there was someone she especially missed.  It took her a while to swim there, but finally she came to the familiar lagoon at Kensington Gardens.  This was always the special rendezvous point where she met her elven prince, Faelyn.  She came to the surface and looked around the gardens.  It was a lovely sunny day full of chirping birds and butterflies, but no faeries dancing as there usually was.  She spotted a figure at the shore that looked like him.  He was soaking his feet.  She couldn’t make out his face so she quietly swam a bit closer for a better look.  He rose his head up in the sunlight and started singing a song that was very familiar to her.  She vanished beneath the surface, excited.  That was him alright!  And he was singing about her too!  Well at least she hoped that song was still for her.  Oh, she was going to surprise him.  She swam toward him under the surface until she saw the bottoms of his feet rocking back and forth under the water.  And then all of a sudden she burst out of the water right before him with a big warm smile.
    “Ah! Meneka!” he said with a start.  He was surprised all right!  He smiled so big it almost looked silly.  But then his faced changed into something much different.  He looked shocked.  Almost horrified.
    “What is it Faelyn?  You look like you’ve seen a ghost!”
    “That’s exactly what you look like my dear!” he said.
    “What?”  She looked down at her arms.  They did indeed have a transparency that she didn’t notice before.  She looked up at Faelyn, extra handsome with his look of concern.  “How can this be happening?”
    He paused in thought for a moment.  “I think you’ve grown up too much.”  He stood up and waded into the water.  He came up to her and put his hands on either side of her head.  They went through her.  They couldn’t touch.  He came in for a kiss, but he had to pretend to kiss her.  She couldn’t even feel him there, she could only see him.  “Oh my dear, that is what you had wanted.”  When he pulled back there was a tear in his eye.  He was clearly still as in love with her as always.
    “Well it’s great to see you at least,” she said sadly.  “It’s been years but still you are here to greet me.”
    “To some, a year is like a day.”  He said with a smile.  They went on and chatted for a long time.  She told him about her life in the big city.  She described her career ambitions and all the things she was enthusiastic about.  She proudly described her recent successes.  She even talked about her dating life.
    “I don’t want to leave my life in the city, but I want to be able to visit Faery as well.  I want you to hold me again.  Isn’t there a way?”
    “I’m rather surprised you made it back at all.  It’s supposed to be impossible once you grow up.  You get caught up in your life and this realm simply fades away like forgotten dreams.  Although the memories are pleasant, it all seems so silly and childish.  You would have to retain your playfulness and imagination of youth and separate it from your older self.”
    “Yes, that’s what I did!  I decided part of me didn’t have to grow up and get all serious.  That’s why I’m here!”  She looked at her transparent arms again.  “Only I didn’t make it completely.”
    “Maybe it’s your belief in me that is fading.”
    “No!  Faelyn, it’s not that.”
    “It must be.  I must not be completely real to you.”
    “Oh stop,” she said defensively.  “It’s not like you to say such a thing.”  He paused in thought and then after a moment gave a big sigh.  That usually meant he thought of something.
    “I’ve got an idea,” he said.  She muffled a giggle.  “I can come to the city and see you.”
    “You can do that?”
    “Sure, why not.  I’m an elven prince – I can do what I like.”
    “Will you be completely solid?”
    “Oh yes, completely solid,” he said with a wink.  They chuckled at that.
    “Will you have to grow up first?”  She asked sarcastically.
    “I’m an elf, darling.  It’s different for me. I grew up a long time ago.  I’m one hundred and twelve you know.”
    “You don’t look a day over ninety nine,” she said and got a punch in the shoulder.
    They sat on the shore talking and laughing until she finally was so relaxed that she curled up next to Faelyn on the sunny grass and closed her eyes.  They listened to the bird songs together.  They played quite the little symphony for them, as they were suckers for romance.  Birds in Faery know love when they see it, and it makes them very very happy.  Meneka dozed off into the most peaceful slumber she’d known in years.
  When she woke up, she was in a chair at a desk resting in her folded arms.  They were no longer transparent.  The overhead fluorescent light was bright, and she had to squint.  She could hear the hum of computer fans and some of her colleagues talking nearby.  She was back in the lab.
    “Oh my,” she said.  “I’ve got work to do.”