Photo by: Louise with The Storyteller’s Abode
Raul was fishing off the Portuguese coast when he found her. Thalassa climbed into his boat as he hauled on the nets. The mermaid was lovely. Beneath her sea green hair were two huge, enticing, glistening…green eyes.
Thalassa told him of the wondrous castles below with lovely gardens. All the creatures lived in fairness and equality. She spoke for hours of the wonders of the deep.
“Your world seems beautiful,” said Raul.
“So is yours!” grinned Thalassa.
“How do you know about it?”
She held up a waterproof cell phone. “YouTube!”
Raul covered his eyes.
“I’ve fallen in love with you!” exclaimed Thalassa. “Don’t worry, I know how the story ends. I sacrifice my home, grow legs, and live with you!”
“Uh….,” hesitated Raul.
“Tell me more about your…my, new home! Isn’t it fabulous?”
Unemployment soared. Violent nationalism and racism spun out of control. The soon-to-be-elected populous president would likely deport Raul’s ailing Sudanese father, and otherwise wreck the country.
Raul sighed, “How about a new ending? Any chance I could grow a tail?”
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Written for Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers: https://flashfictionforaspiringwriters.wordpress.com/2017/07/24/fffaw-challenge-week-of-july-25-2017/
EagleAye
Momus News 
Loved this quirky spin on the fairy tale. Good work.
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Hehe. I though tit was time for a modern rewrite. 😉 Thanks much! 🙂
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Great twist on the old tail, I mean tale! 🙂
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Haha! Thanks Matthew! 🙂
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That’s one way to escape the horror of the world at the moment!
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Hehe. Now I just need to find my own mermaid to escape with. 😉
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Hahahaha! Given the choices, I think the better choice would be to become a merman! Great story!
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Yeah, choices in life aren’t usually that easy to make. No shades of gray here. 😉 Thanks so much! 🙂
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Loved it! Great spin on the fairy tale.
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Great to hear that. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
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Sounds great down there! I too wrote a tale with a tail! Great minds and all that…
Click to read my FFfAW
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I guess you and I caught the tail end of an idea. 😉 Thanks so much! 🙂
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“I’m sorry”, she said. “Many have tried, and all have failed. It’s breathing underwater that’s the hardest part.”
And then it hit Raul – how it can all work out, and even finally get his father the help he needs. “I wonder just how many million euros I could get from some Saudi prince or an oil tycoon for a real live talking mermaid?”, he thought to himself.
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Ouch! There you go, spoiling a fairy tale with practical-minded reality. I’m thinking he could get a Billion for her without even trying. 😉
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I think even fairy tales have to have some basis in reality. 🙂
I don’t think he’d get a billion, but somewhere in the ballpark of 10-50 million sounds reasonable.
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I think Raul has the right idea. That, and don’t tell anyone about the wondrous land under the sea. The last thing they need is “help” from us!
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Yeah, looking back in history, we can see what this “help” usually amounts to. They really don’t need a Long John Silvers in the mermaid kingdom. 😉 Raul knows a good deal when he sees it. 😉 Thanks kindly, Joy! 🙂
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They definitely don’t need Long John Silvers. Or Conquistadors, or colonists, or imperialists, or even equal trading partners. Please do not “share” with them McDonalds and Starbucks and cable TV!
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Too bad we can’t put all those things back into Pandora’s box!
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Love the reality of the ‘events’ and the twist. Great job.
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That’s me. A mix of the grim reality and hopefully a good laugh. 😉 Thanks so much! 🙂
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Raul is wise to spare her of the miseries his world experiences, but he really doesn’t know about hers and may find out hers is just a fairytale and not real at all! Life can be tough no matter where you are…perhaps just different problems. Grate tale! 🙂
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You are so right, and I did think about that. There’s plenty of good things in our world too. If you wanted to paint a rosy picture you could easily do it. So what Raul is risking is, is there a down side to her world? Something to consider. Thanks so much! 🙂
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Ha! Ha! oops… (you can’t grate that tale….but it is a great tale! ) 🙂
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Hehe. You could grate the tail, but it would hurt a lot. 😉 Better to grate cheese to make some great cheese. 😉
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A sweet twist. I would run off to her world for a change 🙂
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I think I would too, so long as I could breathe. 😉 Thanks so much! 🙂
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I love that you put a spin on it with what’s going on around us now in reality. As like in my blog everyone sees things different and that’s the beauty of writing and free speech.
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I spend a lot of time reading/watching news. So current issues often drift into my stories. It’s fun to be aware of concerns but be able to laugh about it as well. Thanks so much for your thoughts. I appreciate it.
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