My Merry Maid and Me

 

My Merry Maid and Me

A story by Jo Ann Lydia Pfohl

 

(Man)

  She is impatiently flipping her tail against that rock. Long has she been waiting by the shore line. I wonder…. how gifted is she at reading the shadows of a sun clock? How do I explain the coal stove was broken and my son is prone to bad colds? She has not caught sight of me yet. Before I emerge from this bowery hold, one more look I will steal. Breathtaking she is, even angry! Her ruby lips, her azure eyes, her aquamarine scales glinting in the sun…..Why would she choose me? Why am I the blessed, yet cursed one!

(Mermaid)

 The airy fragrance of freesia invades my senses before I steal a single glimpse of him. He must be walking along the wooded path right now. He’s late….again. This time a bouquet will not help him. I steel myself to make my displeasure known. Then I see the face of my sweetest dreams, smiling a glorious smile and eyes brimming with tender endearment. How can I remain angry at such a dear face! My anger washes away like the tide……excitement takes its place.

 (Man)

  She sees me now. Yes, she forgives me with her smile! That glorious smile that could run the tightest vessel aground, upon the jagged rocks. Or, Siren of the Deep, one look of you combing your long flaxen locks would send windswept sailors witless in a stupor of hapless shock. The gentle winds are now blowing those golden coloured tresses, stolen from the mane of Pegasus. O, how can I tell her, O how do I tell myself, that there can never be an us?

(Mermaid)

  ”Come away with me” I cry, “to an ocean labyrinth far below! Let us swim on the surface with playful dolphins and far, far below, where the coldest waters flow, we shall befriend the gentle and shy, giant octopi. I want you to meet my sisters, my brothers, my father, my mother. Come away with me, my love, swim in my watery earth and sky.”

(Man)

   Looking into her azure eyes shining, as bottomless as the ocean’s depths, I feel so utterly bereft…..like helpless sea stars strewn upon the shore…… or tentacle-torn jellyfish; drying  blobs in the sun, poked and pierced by curious children….. or dead fish washed up, whose eyes are picked at by screaming seagulls. My heart is throbbing. Behind my eyes ache a pain, dull.

  The sudden hopelessness mirrored in her eyes I cannot take. I am in the midst of a desolate dream from whence I cannot awake. This girl is more precious to me than all the gems in the world, the red ruby, the onyx black, the emerald green, the ivory pearl. Yet at home I have a young son, an infant daughter, a faithful bride…… conflicted anguish churning like rough waters inside! Choices made lead to choices make!!! Whatever choice, heartache left in the wake.

(Mermaid)

  The look of his countenance means NO, he will not go. O why did I fall in love with a married mortal man when there are so many willing suitors of my kind? Love has knocked me senseless and struck me blind! Yet he is my soul mate; he is my fated one. I should drag him in and drown him; I know it has been done. To make him my forever lover, he must be baptized by the shifting waters. Scylla calls for sacrificial acts of all her sons and daughters. But then, is he willingly, of his own accord, choosing me over life in the summery sun? No! This must be his choice alone.

(Man)

  I almost wish she would just drag me under; I hear it has been done. Then I would not feel guilty over my agonising choice! To live in the depths below with the woman I was destined to love, I must leave my dear family that I cherish up above! And walk, committed to my fate, down passion’s long pirated plank……O cruel fate! Take my life or grant me strength!

(Mermaid)

  With tears in his eyes he is knitting a chain of freesia in my hair. Fragile flowers breaking apart; magenta petals fluttering slowly through the air. His tender fingers trembling; I kiss them one by one. Deeply we look into each other’s eyes, can this decision be undone? My trembling voice, desperate to stop grief from drowning my sun-dried hope, cries, “What must I do to change your mind? I know you love me!”

(Man)

 “Yes, I do love you, my water nymph, my nixie, my sprite! You make my heart take wing and flight! Your outward beauty, which love struck mermen write sonnets about, pales to your beauty of heart. Twisting in sea dreams of wanting, it is your name I shout! You are the sun to me, the wind, the trees! You are all the beauty the world has to offer me.”

(Mermaid)

 “Then come away with me, I say! Come away and don’t look back, ever! At last I found you, I will not so easily give you up! It took me a century to find you! I will never find another love like you. Age is delayed for a mermaid, but we are not immortal. Eventually we grow old, and I have dreamed of growing old with you….Please my love, do not refuse!”

 

(Man)

 “I cannot do as my heart bids me now; I have responsibilities that prevent me. Please try to understand, it is not my love for you. It is life’s unrelenting reality.”

  She handed me a spiraled shell she had been holding and kissed me upon the cheek. She started to turn away, twisting her body to spring. I grabbed her wrist, and for the last time, I turned her chin and stole a kiss. It was a kiss to be remembered: unparalleled passion, consuming loss, hello and goodbye brushing lips, budding hope amidst severing tears, all mingling into one; It was wretched agony and eternal bliss. She clasped her hand over mine, the hand holding the half of a nautilus shell. Without another word, she jumped into a rising swell. I continued to search the waves, but no sign of the one I love. Will I see her again before I go down to my grave? I breathed a prayer as I gazed above.

 Walking blindly home, I gazed at the nautilus shell. It revealed winding chambers within; its message it did aptly tell. Love, unknown to others on the outside, contains secret and convoluted chambers on the inside. It is as deep and mysterious as the sea herself.

 Many years have passed. My children are all grown with families of their own. A nautilus shell sits upon my dresser, a reminder of love lost and choices made. I am an old man now, yet at times I still imagine her. Does she look any older than when we last kissed? Has she still the same golden heart? Is she content with her life now; has she found a love to call her own? O to see my merry maid once more, my undying wish!

(Mermaid)

  He is late again! He has lilacs this time, their sweet perfume infusing the air. I see him breaking from the wood’s hedge. I know I shouldn’t, I’ve been here once before! He is taken by another’s pledge. But something reminds me so of the one I loved and lost. His eyes sparkle in that same mesmerizing way, the solo dimple that erupts when he smiles. And such a glorious smile, it makes my defenses melt like molten gold………

“Why are you late?”

(Man)

 “Sorry, angelfish. I haven’t been feeling very well today….I have a rather bad cold.”

 

 

 

Reviews

[Leigh]

Great story and interpretation of the relationship between man and mermaid, I like the way you have normalised it to how a ordinary relationship might be where a man has a choice of lovers. I would have thought a mermaids pull would be stronger and she would've convinced him to go with her. Beautifully done, a bit of magic

[Fairytale]

Great story! The style is so original and the infused poetry gives it a folklore type of feel. I really enjoyed this. The mermaid's relationships are sweet, and they entwine with sadness. Great read.

[jennifer little]

nice story its wonderful i loved it and loved reading it

[David W Moore III]

Very cool take on a classic story turned inside out and made yours alone. The heartbreak and genuine affections shown here are what make it most endearing. The ending as well is nice. If it is indeed the son, it would be great to have the dad 'find' them and share his unknown angst with his son, even if just through a glance.

[Omegax45]

Funny. It's the son that gets the mermaid in the end. Very cute.