Christo: The mermaid watcher

Once upon a time, there was a boy named Christo who lived in a small town near a lake. He had three older brothers and one younger sister named Sia; they were his pride and joy. But his sister was his life, their parents died while she was very young so he took it upon himself to always care for her and keep her from any harms. He was the perfect brother to his sister. Everywhere he went, his sister was nearby. Every one in the neighborhood thought they were twins.

Christo and Sia had to make a trip at least once a day to go visit their uncle Marcel. They had to pass the lake wherever they were going. Some days he would stop by the lake and contemplate its beauty, he would rest a little with his sister Sia and tell her some fairy tales about some sea creatures named the siren of the waters. His sister always thought these stories had to be true because his brother was as natural as a believer as he was telling them. Sia will seat peacefully listening to her brother’s stories and wishing she could be one of those delightful creatures that her brother talks so much about.

Sia was only twelve years old, she had a mind of her own. She believed in dreams, in fairy tales, and mermaid stories. She would find herself wishing she could be living under water for the rest of her life. At least, Christo would not have to worry so much about her future; she would be safer and happier under there. But what she does not know is that even mermaids sometimes wish they could be humans? The grass may look greener in the neighbor’s yard but take a closer look and you might change your mind.

Sia never made her intentions known to Christo. But as the months went by, she grew more confident and more certain of what she wanted to become. She never realized how much pain she could possibly put her brother through, if she were to take that route. And even if she were to take that route, was that even doable? You cannot become a mermaid. No one can. It’s just a fairy tale; we all know fairy tales are based on imaginary characters. Well, at least not Sia, she was only twelve after all, and she had made up her mind.

One day Christo was looking for Sia to go to the town’s marketplace and she was nowhere to be found. He went everywhere to look for her; he asked his older brothers, neighbors, no one had a clue of her whereabouts. Days went by, months went by and years went with no signs of Sia.

One Sunday morning, as Christo was going to visit his uncle Marcel and stopped by the lake reminiscing on the days when Sia was always by his side. He has been carrying so much guilt through the years since Sia’s disappearance. He feels he was to blame because he should have known something was wrong, he should have known at least something. From pacing back and forth by the lake and blaming himself for all the wrongs he could have made right, he gradually started to stare into the lake. There was something in the lake but he could not really see it, so he leaned in, and fell in the lake.

There she was: Sia’s dead body, her clothes was caught in an ingrown tree. She thought she could become a mermaid, so she stayed under the lake until she could finally see a mermaid to convert her, as her lungs were filled up with water, she could no longer breathe and died by drowning.

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