Who am I as a mermaid?
I was not originally born with a tail, I discovered I came from a long line of mermaids called nereids. When I came of age I magically transformed into a mermaid! I was so excited I told my friends and family and they all thought it was so cool. Though as I grew older I felt a bit self conscious about being a mermaid but I learned to ignore the naysayers and be proud of what makes me spe-shell. As a mermaid I continue to grow and learn about my heritage through a pod of mermaids called The Court of Nereids which my ancestors were members of. With my hippocampus companion Prásinos I go on many adventures meeting other mermaids and making new friends.
Tales of a Nereid
Chapter 1
“A statue sneezes on me”
Oh shello there! My name is Alexandra and- shh, come closer, closer… Can you keep a secret? I’m a mermaid! Well I wasn’t technically born a mermaid, well I guess I was, I’m a species of mermaid called a Nereid, a weird word there I know, but it's pronounced like “nehr-E-id”. For starters what is a nereid you might ask? A nereid is a nymph from Greek mythology that resides in both salt and freshwater.
A nymph is a being that is related to a spirit of nature. Other kinds of nymphs are dryads- forest and tree nymphs, naiads- rivers, springs and lakes nymphs, oreads- mountains and grottos nymphs, as well as several others.
Now for how I became a nereid, er mermaid. Mermaid is like an umbrella term used to describe various species of water spirits, but I may use mermaid and nereid interchangeably in my story in case you get confused.
So when I was 12, I was on a vacation with my parents at the beach. One night as we were walking along the boardwalk, I stopped for a moment to stare up at a statue of Poseidon, because for some reason, that night it seemed like it was staring directly at me.
Then once I made eye contact with the statue, a huge gust of wind that smelt of seawater blew at me. But it was over as quickly as it started. (I know, ew, a statue sneezed on me). I ran to catch up to my parents, and nothing seemed different until I came back home.
After we came home, I was unpacking in my room. As I’m putting things away, I pull out a shell necklace that my Mimi had given me prior to the trip. I remember I wore it that strange night with the statue. And as one does when they’re unpacking or cleaning up their space, you put a few things on that you find.
And moments after I attach it in the back… Poof! I flop to the floor, and where my legs used to be, is a bright pink tail.
My Papou always did say I swam like a fish, and well now…
You see, the necklace was originally my great-grandmother Yiayia Eleni’s. As she was a nereid too. And was a part of the Court of Nereids back when she lived in Greece before immigrating to the US. Though after moving, marrying her husband and having 3 children, she left her place in the court until one of her descendants grew up to claim it.
But the Court of Nereids is a tale for another time, as it would be a few years before I found out about it myself. Until then, I was just ecstatic to have found out I was a mermaid!
Chapter 2
“A fish out of water”
So many stories about merfolk that you may have heard of focus quite a bit on the whole, ‘people can’t know you are part fish’ thing. Which wasn’t true for me at first. I did not mind telling my family, especially since they would see my tail anyways when I’m over swimming in their pool. As for my friends at school and really anyone else in my class that cared to listen, did not mind either, but I don’t think they really believed me.
In fact I purposely held a pool party for my 13th birthday to show my friends that I had a tail, to which they just thought it was really cool. There wasn’t any huge media attention or scientists to come in for tests. I just casually came out to my friends and family, and nothing much changed.
However, when I moved to a new school and in a new town, I had no friends going into the first day. It was the scariest first day of my life not knowing anyone. I tried to make friends with people I met in my classes. When we played ice breaker games, I mentioned my tail and unsurprisingly, many people thought that I was making it up until I showed them a picture on my shellphone.
The first week of middle school went well, I made some new friends. Though after a while, I started to feel weird for the first time about being a mermaid. Despite feeling okay about sharing about it to my new friends and classmates. I felt like my classmates thought I was weird for being so open about it. No one ever said anything directly to me about it. No one came up and said “you’re weird for saying you’re a mermaid”. But I believed I felt judgemental stares as I walked past. I believed I could hear their thoughts calling me a fish freak. What was first something I felt proud of and wanted to share with everyone, now felt embarrassing and I wish I never told anyone.
It took me a few years, and a change of friend groups, to relearn to be comfortable in my own skin and with my interests. I discovered that the only voice who was calling me weird, was just one former friend. Once I realized that their presence only brought down my mood, I stopped spending time with them. I might have still had classes with them, but I did not feel the need to sit with them at lunch anymore, or invite them over after school. I found new friends who not only did not think I was a fish freak, but embraced me for who I was. They were excited to hear about my adventures and the news happening in my little mermaid world.
Now as I’m older I still casually tell people about my fishie side and many are excited to hear more. And if I do come across another skeptic, I just brush it off. I’ve learned to not fuss over what others think of me. Whether they are a passing stranger, or a new acquaintance. To this day, the fact that I have a tail is still one of my favorite ice breakers to use. And people are always interested to hear more, and I’m always more than welcome to share.
Don’t fret over the opinions of shrimp, just be your fintastic self.
Chapter 3
“A fishing trip to Jersey”
Just about every mer has some sort of animal companion or pet. And as I later learn, every member of the Court of Nereids has a hippocampus companion, how she comes across her noble steed is a unique story to each mer. How I first met mine is an amusing tale, to say the least. I had decided to go explore the greater waters around where I lived. I accidentally got caught
in a super strong current that pulled me southwards. It was a few hours of rushing water pulling me this way and that. But by the time I surfaced, I had a feeling of where I was just based on the smell. (Ew). I could see land in just the distance though I decided to swim farther down to slightly clearer waters. When the water around me started to clear up and it was easier to see, to my surprise I saw a makeshift shelter ahead with not one but two other mers around it! A merman with a bright blue tail who looked to be helping bandage a giant seahorse? And a mermaid with purple hair and a skeleton patterned tail who was petting to soothe the large creature. I carefully swam up to them to say hi, I introduced myself and they said their names were Zee and Alayziah. Zee explained that they were cleaning up a deep cut from a bit of sharp metal trash that the large beast cut themselves on while they were out looking for stray hippocampi in need of help. “A hippo-what?” I asked. A hippocampus they explained is like a seahorse from mythology. The same creature that I saw before me that they bandaged up. I offered to help in their search and they accepted.
Apparently Zee is what is essentially a merman cowboy, he finds wild hippocampi and trains them. As for Alayziah, let’s just say that the goth aesthetic is not limited to just people on land. Despite her spooky looks, she is really nice, as one might imagine for someone in the business of rehabilitating sick hippocampi.
We swam for a while without finding anything, which I mean is a good thing. But then I saw a rustling in a kelp forest. It was as quick as a flash. But then that flash stopped abruptly. I swam over to where I saw it get caught and there almost perfectly camouflaged against the seaweed was a baby hippocampus! He was covered in a variety of shades of green and black that if I hadn’t watched him swim into a tangle of seaweed, I would never have known he was there. I immediately started to help the little guy get free of the tangled mess of kelp he got himself stuck in, and had him out in a jiffy. As soon as he was free he zoomed out and swam in circles before coming back to swim around me as a thank you.
I called Zee over to see and he told me based on his coloring that he was likely from the Mediterranean Sea! “You’re a long way from home aren’t you buddy?” I said to him, and as though he could understand me, he gave me a slight nod of his head. Wide-eyed I turned to my new friends and they explained how hippocampi are very intelligent creatures, more so than dolphins, and can have a wide range of personalities.
Zee, Alayziah and I brought the little guy back to their little makeshift clinic to make sure he’s healthy and ready to go. I had taken a liking to the little guy, and him, me.. I eventually gave him the name Prásinos, which I somehow remembered means “green” in Greek. He seemed to like it, and gave a sort of “distinguished gentleman” sort of skit before neighing a laugh, though it wasn’t like a traditional horse’s neigh, it had a slight bubbly undertone to it. Zee eventually gave Prásinos the all clear and said that he was free to go. He looked a bit saddened at that so I offered, “would you like to come home with me?” and he immediately brightened at the words swam circles around me and through my hair. “Careful! Don't get yourself tangled again! Or we’ll both be in an uncomfortable spot!” He calmed down at that but clearly was still very excited. Realizing how late it was getting I asked my new friends if they knew of a way back home. They showed me and Prásinos over to a nearby northbound current and gave me directions for the rest of the way. I hugged my new friends and promised to visit again soon, especially since they offered to help me train Prásinos as he gets older. Then while holding Prásinos close, I swam into the current and whoosh! We were off! We made it back home safely. Since I couldn't exactly bring Prásinos home-home with me since I still lived on land, I found him a nice little cove right by where I usually transform and set up a nice bed of kelp for him to sleep on. I said good night and told him I’d check up on him in the morning, and ever since that day, we have barely ever been apart.