Dear Readers,
I grew up listening to stories about Mermaids and Mermen, and Sirens. Stories about water, lake, river, ocean spirits or monsters who can be selfish or selfless based on the personalities of their subjects. They can be cruel and perceived as demons or they can be gentle and be seen as magical, elegant beings based on your nature.
For as long as I can remember, Christo and Sia's story was always at the forefront of my mind. The story of an overprotective brother who dared to keep his sister entertained with fairy tales, stories about sea creatures. Christo was such a great storyteller that his little sister found herself dreaming secretly about becoming a carefree Mermaid. Inevitably, one day she carried out the process to make her dream come true as she felt more like a burden to her big brother.
It's a very tragic tale but a cautionary one. Young, impressionable minds are rarely shaped to understand sheer reality as it is. 95% of the time at that stage in their lives, they exist in an imaginary world with imaginary friends. Honestly, I was weeping senselessly when writing it. It's as if the story was yearning to be told even though it was so heartbreaking.
All Sia needed was someone to reveal to her that these stories were make belief. Or were they? After all, Christo purely intended to delight and entertain his sister.
If you have heard of the Folklore story "Tezen nan dlo", Christo the Mermaid Watcher is my take on it. Let me know what you think~
Cheers,
Ra!