Float the river rapids of Agitation. Boats bobble. Fish leap. Mothers clasp their babies above the waves. Slick bodies fall in to be dashed upon the rocks or saved and raised by benevolent fish. This is how mermaids are born. The denizens of Agitation spend their entire lives journeying downstream. The end of life is ocean.
Deep purple and dark green rocks fill the river of Agitation. Mossy trees overhang the river.
The denizens see much within their short lives but have difficulty remembering each bend in the river. They cannot tell visitors where to go. They do not remember.
They cannot pass knowledge to the next generation. The luckiest ones are raised by fish. The fish see all below the depths. They could avoid the rapids and falls, but choose to play in them.
When visitors arrive, “Go home! Go home!” the fishes cry. “This is no place for you. You’ll never find peace.”
The visitors seek the shore.
They go to the inlet Placid, a pool along the river. Most of the waters rush past. The soaked visitors climb out drenched and dry upon on the sandy shores. The mermaids, children of men and fishes, keep a watchful eye on them.
Rocks surround Placid keeping the waters of agitation at bay. Algae grows orange along the shallow sides. The mermaids harvest it. Visitors drink the calming brew and enter a state of contemplation.
“It’s a fine day,” Miss Emeline Traveler says.
“Stay out of Agitation,” a sign warns swimmers. “Dangerous waters.”
Bored visitors creep close to the raging waters and get swept in.
“
"They say there are many pools of Placid which catch the drowning downstream,” says Illiandress, the mermaid princess. “But I am familiar only with this one.”
Comments
Post a Comment