• One day, Alice sat down with her seven year old daughter in her bedroom, tucking the daughter in. She sat down beside Elena on her bed, and kissed her smooth fourhead.
    "Mommy," Elena said softly, "you never tell me stories anymore. Can you tell me a story?"
    Alice looked at her watch and sighed. "Well, I suppose it's alright. It's only 7:30 and it's Saturday. What kind of story?"
    Elena smiled before whispering, "Surprise me!"
    "Ok," Alice sat on her knees on the floor, and crossed her arms over the edge of her daughter's bed, "There was once a young woman. She was about twenty-one years old, and had always dreamt of being a marine biologist. Or even a photographer of marine animals."
    "What's a marine biologist?"
    "It's someone who studies ocean animals, the ocean, stuff like that, as a job."
    "Oh."
    "Anyway, one day this woman,"
    "Gracie!"
    "Ok. One day, Gracie discovered a body of water leading to an ocean near her backyard. This was called a cove. She decided to go plan something to go back to the cove later. That night, she brought binoculars, some snacks, bottled water, a hat, and a scarf."
    "Why would she need water when she was infront of a whole ocean?" Elena asked, looking puzzled. Alice laughed and explained that the ocean water didn't taste like drinking water.
    "Drinking water is processed. Ocean water is salt water, and that doesn't taste too good."
    Elena understood, "Go on!" she said.
    "Ok. While Gracie was at the cove, she brought her binoculars, some snacks, bott-"
    "You said that."
    "Oh yeah. Ok. Well, Gracie also brought a bathing suit. She knew the water was going to be cold, but she went anyway, just to see if she could see anything."
    "Then she needs a waterproof flashlight and goggles," Elena said, causing Alice to laugh, nod and agree.
    "Ok, so she did bring those things. Quickly, though there was a hard breeze through the air, Gracie pulled on a bikini, and over it a one piece bathing suit so she didn't get cold. She pulled the orange goggles over her face, turned on her flashlight and dove into the water from the shore. As she swam, her long, curly brown hair swarmed around her. Gracie's dark green eyes shone in the moonlight as if they were little stars to just hold in your hands. The water around her was becoming warmer as she got deeper. She shined her flashlight over rocks, some shallow coral, seaweed, fish and a lot of other underwater things. Then suddenly, she came across a human!"
    "WHAT?! Underwater? Oh no, did it drown?"
    "No. No he didn't die. Infact, he was as alive as someone can get. And as Grace got-"
    "Gracie,"
    "Right. And as Gracie got closer, she realized he wasn't a human at all...he was a merfolk!"
    "Like Ariel?"
    "Like Ariel. Anyway, she tried to approach him, but as soon as he caught sight of her, he swam away quickly."
    "Was she ugly?"
    "No, she was beautiful. He was just afraid she'd tell people what she'd seen, and everyone would try to also see and capture some of them."
    "That's mean."
    "Indeed. She obviously understood and would never do such a thing, but was far too curious to ever abandond him. So she followed him."
    "Didn't she need to breath?"
    "Ha. Well she had this shell around her mouth that had air in it. So it didn't matter, she could breath." Alice explained, reminicing on when she followed Elena's father near deep corals and empty sand. "She followed him down until he turned around and said, 'what do you want?' She obviously couldn't speak, but pointed upward to motion for him to follow her to the surface of the water."
    "What was his name?"
    "It's coming up. She swam to the surface, somehow knowing he's near behind her. They finally reached the surface. 'So what do you want?' he asked. She removed the shell off her mouth and replied, 'I'm curious! I've always wanted to be a marine biologist, or marine animal photographer. And I've always believed in mermaids. I won't tell anyone you exist, I promise, but I just want to know. What's your name?'"
    "All she wanted to know was his name?" Elena said in disbelief.
    "Listen to the story. 'All you wanted to know was my name?' the merman said, looking at Gracie with a puzzled look on her face. 'Well, it's Brunden.' Gracie giggled. 'Ok. That's a sweet name. Mine is Grace, but most people call me Gracie." She removed her goggles and held them under the water before continuing, 'And um, what do you, um. What do you...' Gracie tried to speak, but somehow was hypnotised by Brundens eyes. His face fell calm as he just looked at her, staring into her green eyes. And it was a peculiar moment, but Gracie knew exactly how Brunden was feeling, and Brunden knew how she felt, too. The silence lingered as they stared at each other. It was amazing but difficult at the same time, because neither of them had experienced it. It was-"
    "Love at first sight..." Elena said dreamily. Alice smiled and nodded.
    "The two spent years together. About six years, and every year they swam to different countries, spending time with fish, and the rest of the year, Gracie was on her own or visiting her family. She never went to college, because she'd always spent her days with Brunden. They'd meet at the cove they first met, and they'd talk about things and laugh about things and sometimes even dance underwater, and occasionally, they sang duets together. Their voices joined beautifully as Alice-"
    "You mean Grace?"
    "Yeah. Right. Their voices joined beautifully as Gracie sang the melody and Brunden joined with a harmony. They'd hold hands and lie on the shore, staring at the beautiful dark sky, and brightly lit moon. The only light in the whole area."
    "Wait, what did Brunden look like?"
    "Well, he was charming. He had black hair that hung over his tan face, grey eyes, a big nose and a sweet, beautiful smile."
    "A big nose?"
    "Yeah, it made him look all the better."
    "So what happened next?"
    "The first kiss. It was under the stars on a rock. Gracie was wearing a sparkly green gown that made her look somewhat like a mermaid. She looked elegant and beautiful, and he looked so charming and handsome, and they were madly in love. They soon had a child nine months after the first kiss, and named her Elena. She was tan with brown hair and greyish-green eyes."
    "Like me!" Elena said happily.
    "Like you. But time passed, and Gracie's family found out about her relationship, and told her how stupid she was. She yelled for him and loved him, while meanwhile, the merfolk all found out about Brunden. They told him things like, 'You can't do this! We'll all die!' or 'Everyone is going to find out about us and kill us!' or maybe just a blunt, 'NO!' And soon, the loving couple was tragically torn apart. Gracie took Elena and lived with her, and moved in a small apartment. She then got a nanny, went to college, and got a job. She never saw Brunden again..."
    Elena began to cry. Alice held her and kissed her cheak. "Oh, sweetheart, it's ok. Don't be sad." She wiped Elena's tears away. Elena smiled.
    "That story got to me. It's like it was real!"
    "Oh sweetheart, you have no idea. Goodnight."
    "Tell me if Gracie ever sees Brunden!"
    Alice turned off the lights, closed the door and went to her room to look for her bathing suit. She found her bikini and one-piece and pulled it on. Alice ran out the door finally with everything she had when she first met Brunden at age 21, and ran to the cove in her old backyard. Ofcourse there was a nanny at the house before Alice left.
    "I haven't done this in six years," she said, smiling as she pulled on her goggles and dove into the lush water of the sea, looking for Brunden.
    "Alice..." said a deep voice behind her. Swiftly, she turned around almost nose to nose with Brunden. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and passionally kissed him.
    --A few months later--
    Alice sat at the dinner tabel with her daughter.
    Elena looked at Alice. "Mom, did Brunden ever see Gracie again?" she asked curiously.
    Alice's eyes flew to the window as she giggled. "Yeah. And he's in our backyard."
    TO BE CONTINUED