Mermaids
Mermaids were swimming in the shallow
water, hoping that no human eye would notice them.
But humans are canny creatures and their senses
are sharp. They spot and smell and feel more than
anyone knows. They hide wolves in their
blood and sharks in their veins and scorpions in their eyes.
The humans went hunting mermaids.
The mermaids were imprisoned, their
wrists in shackles. Their freedom flew away and their eyes
lost their color. Their tails became dry
and their scales fell off.
Soon enough, their tails split into pairs
of legs and they could walk on land. But it felt like walking
on knives.
They tried to run away in the depths of
the ocean when all the human guards were asleep. But the
ocean threw them away. Their lungs were
full of air and they couldn't breathe underwater anymore.
What were they now? Half-mermaids?
Half-humans? Who did they belong to? Humans? The
ocean? They were lost, lost between two
worlds.
One world was their original home full of
love, song, peace and water. And the other one was a
scary place where they, for the first
time, heard about malice, envy, hatred, jealousy, the feelings so
scary that they couldn't believe someone
was able to have them.
They cried and cried until they had no
more tears left. They wandered in the wilderness and prayed
to the Ocean God. But he didn't seem to
hear them.
A deep forest was the only place which resembled
the ocean. They could listen to the song of birds.
It was peaceful and green. And they had
one another.
If you ever decide to go to the deep
forest to look for the mermaids, go alone. And go with your
heart. Fill your body with peace and love
and hum your favorite song. If you are lucky enough, you
will be able to see the shadows of
mermaids.
© Ana Vidosavljevic
Bio: Ana lives in Bali,
Indonesia, but is originally from Serbia. She graduated from the University of
Philology
(English Language and
Literature) with a Bachelor's degree.
She also has a Master's degree from the University
of Political Sciences
(International Relations). She
worked/works as a teacher, marketing manager, spa manager,
translator, interpreter, surf
and stand-up paddle board instructor.
She is an ocean lover, loves surfing, swimming,
everything that allows her to
be in the water. She writes poems
and short stories.