AURA BARBUSA

WHEN THE MERMAID SINGS

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In a small seaside village where the pulse of the waves harmoniously blended with the whispers of the wind, fishermen weaved narratives of the enigmatic mermaid song, whose melody seemed to dance in the air on full moon nights. They beheld the sea with a blend of fascination and fear, as the legend echoed from generation to generation, pointing to the mermaid’s seductive chant as the force that drew navigators into the deep blue, where their souls found eternal rest.

Among the villagers, there was a young fisherman named Peter, whose inquisitive mind and fearless spirit refused to accommodate blind beliefs. He listened to the legends with a critical eye, understanding that behind every narrative there were truths intertwined with the poetry of the myth. However, all of Peter’s certainties were challenged on a special night when the moon’s silver rays illuminated the vastness of the ocean.

As he cast his net into the calm, sparkling sea, Peter noticed a gentle whisper capped into his soul as an invitation to contemplation. The song I heard was a cascade of celestial notes, bounded in harmonies that transcended mere melody. It was as if the very essence of the sea revealed itself in sound, caressing the senses of the young fisherman with unknown intimacy.

Instigated by curiosity and the promise to solve an ancient mystery, Peter paddled toward the origin of the aquatic symphony. Her eyes then found the ethereal figure of a golden-haired mermaid where the waves kissed the sand. Emerald, for this was the name of the sea muse, emanated an aura of serene beauty and unforgettable wisdom, her eyes as deep as the depths of the ocean.

In a moment that transcended time, Peter and Emerald looked at each other and shared silent smiles that echoed louder than words. There, in the silver light of the moon, the duality between the real and the imagined dissolved, making room for a meeting of souls that recognized each other beyond the boundaries of the palpable. The mermaid sang melodies that were windows to the soul, and Peter, in turn, presented her with the simplicity of her genuine affection.

In the days that followed, on the nights when the moon dressed in magic and the stars weaved their mysteries, Peter and Emerald would gather in the secret cove, where the breeze caressed their skin and memories were entwined like golden threads. Between laughter and conversations that flowed like tides, the two exchanged secrets that only true hearts know how to share, savoring the ephemeral sweetness of suspended time.

However, the inexorable course of hours has brought with it the shadow of impending farewell. Peter, bound by the responsibility and calling of earthly life, felt the weight of the impending separation gripping his chest. Esmeralda, the guardian of the sea and ancestral secrets, recognized the melancholy in the young fisherman's look and, with a gesture of tenderness, offered him the golden shell as a symbol of a love that transcends the boundaries of space and time.

Peter's lips curved in an intertwined smile as tears reflected the silver light of the moon. With one last glance, where the promise of a future reunion illuminated the horizon, he strayed away from the cove, taking with him not only the shell but also the mermaid song etched in its essence.

The months passed like seasons weaving the cycle of life, and Peter treasured the echo of the Emerald Corner as a precious treasure, whispering to the winds his living memories. Though the sea separated their bodies, the magic of the encounter remained like an eternal flame, the memory of a love that transcended borders and filled gaps.

Thus Peter learned that the true essence of the mermaid’s song resided not only in the beauty captured by the mind, but in the extraordinary ability to evoke deep, timeless feelings that transcend rational understanding. In that seafront nook, the legend of the seductive corner wrote itself in praise to the transformative power of pure love and the magic of connection that transcends the limitations of human existence. And so the story of Peter and Emerald was immortalized, as a hymn to the ephemeral beauty of life and eternity marked by the promise of a reunion beyond the tides of time.

Aura Barbosa,

PhD Student Harvard University, USA 

Vice President, Global Writers Academy,

International Editor

The Daily Global Nation Dhaka Bangladesh