The Unhappy Mermaid

The Unhappy Mermaid

Off the coast of the Hawaiian islands a pod of merfolk lived under the forever moving currents of the ocean. They swam in the reefs under the light of the full moon and dove out to the deep waters by day. Their life was peaceful and calm. One mermaid was not happy with playing with dolphins and collecting sea shells. She wanted to fall in love.
The mermaids name was Kaimana , which means diamond and that is exactly what Kaimana thought she was. No one was as good as her. She was the fastest swimmer and had the most beautiful hair. Her tail was a deep magenta color, different from the common greens and blues. Kaimana thought very high of herself but that did not make her completely unloving. She was kind when expected but mean whenever anyone questioned her choices. Pride was one of the mermaids flaws, but not the worst. No, the worst flaw was Kaimana’s inability to be happy.
One cool night, when the moon was but a sliver, the merfolk surfaced above one of the colorful reefs. They sang and played with their dolphin friends but one could not be happy. Kaimana stayed below the surface, pouting. Her family tried to pull her out of her self-pity, but no amount of gifts would sway her.  Her friends tried to shake some sense into her, but no amount of attention would cease her depression. Kaimana had a great family, great friends…she had plenty to eat and a beautiful home. She was taught by the best teacher. Kaimana had more than most merfolk could wish for. However, she wanted more.  As the sun started to rise, the other merfolk returned to their homes but Kaimana stayed behind and had persuaded her friends to stay with her. “I want to be human” she said, pulling on her tail fins. “Then I would be happy.”
“Why do you want to be human” one of her friends asked. “They don’t get to see what we see, they don’t have the life we have.”
“I am not happy, if I were human I would be” she replied. “It has happened before, all I need to do is find love.”
“But you are loved here…isn’t that enough?” Kaimana didn’t answer because she didn’t know. If she was so loved then why was she not happy? A fisherman’s boat began its voyage out to see. It was a smaller boat, only manned by one man. He was handsome for a human. The fisherman cast out his net and the mermaids retreated under the reef, well most of them. Kaimana swam closer to the boat. She submerged from the water, watching the fisherman closely. If only she could get him to fall in love with her, then she could be human and she would finally be happy. The fisherman reached for his cellphone but ended up slicing his finger on his pocket knife. He stumbled back falling onto the deck of his ship with a few choice words. Kaimana couldn’t help but giggle which made the fisherman turn towards her. She panicked and swam down, but not before he caught a glimpse of her rare tail.
The fisherman knew mermaids were real, his father had told him about them. This did not stop his jaw from dropping. She was the most beautiful creature he had seen. “Hey! Don’t go!” He ran to the edge of the boat, trying to spot her. “I won’t hurt you, I could never hurt something as beautiful as you.” Kiamana was not one to turn down a compliment, especially from a human fisherman. Very cautiously, she poked out of the water. “Wow, your real. I mean my father told me to look for your kind but…wow. Do you speak? Can you understand me?”
“Yes” she answered. “Your father told you about my kind?” The fisherman blushed as he thought of the descriptions his father had gave him about these creatures, one in particular.
“He found one once…well she found him” he answered. “She became human somehow.” Kaimana wanted to tell him how a mermaid could become human but her conscious told her otherwise. Merfolk were not supposed to reveal their secrets. “You should swim into my net, then I could pull you up and we could talk more.”
“No” Kaimana replied, even though she wanted to. “I need to go back home, my parents will be worried, but if you come back tomorrow morning I will be here.” The fisherman tilted his hat and wished her safe travels.
“For you, my lady, I would live on this boat.” Kaimana swam back with her friends, an unfamiliar smile gracing her face.
“I think I love him” she told her friends.
“I don’t think he is good” they replied. “Why did he try and get you to swim into his net? You should pick another human.”
“He only wanted to talk, I bet it was hard to hear me over the waters” she defended. “And I will not pick another human, I love him.”
“You only just met him” they argued. “How could you love him?”
“Why can you not just be happy for me? Why do you want me to be sad?” Kaimana began to cry, and she swam away from her friends back home. Tomorrow he would be back.
That night the mermaids went out to swim but Kaimana stayed in her sea bed. She wanted to be well rested to see her human. Her brother found this strange, and followed her back to the reef when the sun rose. The fisherman was a little late but he brought her a gift, a beautiful human necklace that looked like it was made from gold flowers.
“Thank you” she said. “It is so beautiful, what is it made from? I don’t recognize it.”
“Bronze, it’s a metal” he answered. “I want to see you closer, will you swim into my net?” Kaimana thought about it, he was very handsome and he brought her a beautiful necklace.
“Not today” she answered. “But come back tomorrow and we can talk then.” The fisherman sighed but let her go. He said he would come back tomorrow. Kaimana swam back to her home to find her parents waiting for her. Her brother had heard everything and swam back to tell on her. They told her that any human who tried to get her to swim into a net was not good.
“Why can’t you be happy for me” she sobbed. “Don’t you love me? Don’t you want me to be happy?” They assured her they loved her and that is why they are worried. However, Kaimana could not believe them. If they loved her then she would not be unhappy.
No body stopped the mermaid on the third day and no body followed her. She slept that night instead of swimming with the other merfolk and when the sun started to rise she swam out to the reef. The fisherman had been there before sun rise. “What is your name” she asked, swimming up to his boat. He had not asked her for hers and she didn’t think about it till now.
“Damon” he replied, a bit shocked.
“I like that name” she said, waiting for him to ask hers but he never did. “My name is Kaimana, it means diamond.”
“Well, that certainly fits” he said, casting his net out. “You are a treasure, more beautiful than all the gold and jewels in the sea.” He had to be the one to take her away from the ocean. “I love you Kaimana.”
“I love you to, more than anything.”
“More than your home?”
“Yes!”
“Your family?”
“Yes!”
“Then swim into my net, I will pull you aboard and we will find out how to make you human” he pointed to his net with a sneer.
“All that has to happen for me to be human is for a human to love me, as soon as I am out of the water we can be together” she answered. “And I will finally be happy.”
“Then stop keeping me in wait! Swim into my net!” His voice was starting to get harsh but Kaimana paid this no mind. She swam into the net and waited for him to hoist her up. As soon as she got in the net three more men came from below deck. They pulled on the rope, yanking her aboard. She waited for her tail to turn into legs but it didn’t happen.
“Excellent work Damon” said the older man. “We got another one! Get her hair!” Damon pulled out his knife and cut her beautiful hair. “Good job son, the hair alone is worth a fortune.” When Damon had called her treasure, he meant it in the literal sense. He never loved her. Kaimana started to cry but only received a swift kick by one of the other men.
“I thought you loved me” she sobbed.
“Be quiet Diamond” Damon replied. “When we get back to land you’re in for a treat, we have an aquarium you see and our last mermaid died. You will be fed and have decent swimming room…but you will never see the ocean again. We caught some mermen to, be glad you are not one of them, we make them fight to the death and kill them. Our last mermaid, she only had sons, hopefully you will do better.”
That is Kaimana’s life on land ended. She became a slave to her fisherman all because she could not be happy with her life. It took many years in her cage to figure out that the reason she was not happy was not because she was not loved, it was because she never loved.