Dream Come True

Ariel started singing with her gorgeous, golden voice and Ursula started pulling the voice into a glass case. “Huheheuheheh,” Ursula’s evil laugh filled the ocean and right then, Ariel glowed brightly and her mermaid fins got replaced with two legs. 

Emma’s giant, glossy, hazel eyes were wide open, showing a little mix of confusion and anger.

“Mother, why is Ariel trading her beautiful mermaid fins for ugly legs?” Emma stopped her mother from reading. 

“Oh, Emma, it’s just a story. This is something that won’t ever happen. It’s unreal and that is why it is called a fairy tale!” Emma’s mom smiled her beautiful smile. Her mouth smiling widely and her green eyes sparkling with love towards Emma. 

“And how did they know about us?” Emma asked once more.

“They made up a story without knowing that there are real mermaids out in the ocean,” her mother sighed, knowing that Emma won’t ever finish her train of questions.

“And-” 

“Emma, let’s finish the story, shall we?” Her mother cut her off with tired eyes. 

Emma had a string of confusion that made her head feel like a tangled bundle of yarn but she decided to let her mother finish. However, throughout the rest of the story, all she could only think about was the “what ifs”. She looked up but saw nothing except for fish and trash. What if I tried to go up there? Are there things called “human” out there? What if the fairy tale is true? What if I meet my prince out there just like Ariel? What does it feel like to breathe oxygen? 

“EMMA!” Emma snapped back into reality when her mother’s freezing hand touched her forearm. 

Emma squealed and her head felt as if she twirled around a million times. 

“Did you listen to the story at all? You started floating upwards and you never know how scared I was. Darling, you have to make sure you never think about going up there. I don’t need to remind you again, right?” Her mother’s eyes were no longer sparkling. Nor was it worried or sad or angry. Emma was scared as her mother’s eyes changed color quickly from green to brown. 

“I-I’m sorry. I promise I’ll be better next time,” Emma promised and her mother let go of her arm. Emma’s pure white arm was now stained with a red handprint from her mother’s coldness. 

*************************************

It was bedtime and Emma was suddenly scared to sleep alone although she had been sleeping alone for the past 14 years of her life. 

“Mother?” Emma’s voice shrank and she felt as if something or someone was watching her. She reached for her pouch of glowing seahorses and lighted up the cave. My cave is safe. My mother is in the cave right next to mine and there is nothing that can harm us. Emma tried convincing herself but couldn’t block out the frightening feeling of someone watching her. She couldn’t beat her drowsiness and fell asleep, deep into the dreamland. 

That night, she had a dream. She floated up to the surface of the ocean and saw that she had legs. She paddled with her legs to the shore. Humans of all sizes were at the shore, cheering for her. As she walked out of the water, a beautiful blue dress was on her and everyone was gaping at her. They offered her many delicious treats she has never seen before. Everyone wanted to be her friend. In the crowd, she found the man of her dreams, the prince she was looking for. She walked towards him, flicking her hair behind her ears. He came towards her, offering his warm hand and then…. 

“Emma! It's time to wake up,” her mother was there. 

“You really couldn’t let me sleep for 5 more minutes?” Emma mumbled as she got up. 

“Come on, we have to get ready to go greet your brother and father,” she got Emma up and gave her 5 oxygen balls to consume. 

“Oh that’s right. I forgot,” Emma swam to her brush to organize her hair and colored her lips pink. During the whole morning, she could only think about her dream and the boy in her dreams. She wanted to become human right that moment but her mother’s brown eyes came to her head and erased the thought out of her head. 

*************************************

They swam towards the surface of the ocean but of course they couldn't go too far. The army of mermen came from the east side of the blue sea, surrounded by dolphins and fish. They went on a patrol for 2 months and Emma missed them so much. Her mother put her hair in an elegant bun with lots of pearls and she had colored her lips red. Emma felt ugly next to her mother’s gorgeous face and height. They waited for a little while and the loud cancun started the celebration. 

“Father! Atticus!” Emma waved her hand around and caught her father’s smiling eyes. Emma smiled back, proud that her family were part of the mermen crew. 

The welcome back celebration lasted for an hour and at last, Emma’s family was in reunion! They hugged and Emma felt her father’s warm fin touch hers, instantly loosening all her tense muscles from the night. 

For the rest of the night, they had an amazing feast, full of mermaids from other parts of the ocean. Emma got to play with her best friend, Esmerald. 

“Esmerald, have you ever wanted to go to the Land of Humans?” I asked her in my cave. 

“After I read abandoned books from the land, I wanted to go b-b-” Esmerald hesitated, then looked around to make sure no one else was near the cave. 

“What?” Emma whispered. 

“If you head North for about an hour, you will see a trail of rocks. Once you follow it, there are tall rocks surrounding a little area. I went there about a year ago. It was a pile of  mermaids and mermen in nets from the human boats,” Esmerald was whispering, her voice shaky. 

Emma just sat there in shock, too hard to believe. 

“Emma, don’t think about going too high up than we are right now. Apparently, the humans put down a huge net with lots of yummy food. Once you enter the net, you can never get out,” Esmerald warned. 

Emma nodded with no other words to say. 

After an hour of talking about boys and who they might marry in the future, Emma’s mother and father came to get Esmerald home. 

“Emma, say goodbye to Esmerald for today. Her mother and I are planning a little trip soon together,” Emma’s mother came in, smiling gently. 

“Bye Esmerald. I’ll talk to you again soon,” Emma waved her fin to her friend, thankful for all the information she was able to get that day. 

She laid in her bed, staring up at the rock ceiling. 

What was I thinking. Of course I can’t dare go up there. Mother and father are right about the Human Land being dangerous. 

Emma closed her eyes and went to sleep. 

How long has it been? Emma opened her eyes to complete blackness. She reached for her seahorse pouch but couldn’t find it. 

“Emma, darling?” An unfamiliar voice was coming from the side of her cave. Emma gasped but couldn’t scream at the shock. 

“Who are you?” Emma’s voice was trembling. 

“You can call me Gina. I came from the human world after trading my legs for these fins. I heard you wanted to become human. Is that correct?” A tan woman with gorgeous wavy hair was looking at her with warm brown eyes. 

The cave was getting brighter and brighter. Emma looked around and was relieved to see her same cave. 

“I-I don’t know,” Emma stuttered, not sure how to answer the unexpected question. 

“This is a one time opportunity. If you refuse, I will give my legs to someone else,” she was shaking her fin around a lot to stay floating, just like baby mermaids do. 

Emma asked for a few minutes to decide. If I do accept, is that the end of my life down here? I really want to go up there though. What if I make the humans become friends with the mermaids? Maybe I can go and find peace for everyone. 

“What would my family think if I disappeared overnight?” Emma asked. Once she said yes, that would be it. No going back. 

“Don’t worry about that sweetheart. I will handle it,” Gina said. 

“I want to go. Please tell mother and father and my brother I love them so-” Emma’s voice was cut out as her fins got removed to reveal her two shiny legs. Suddenly, Emma couldn’t breathe. 

“You will be sent into an empty house. Stay safe and have fun Emma,” Gina flicked her finger and Emma felt as if all things in her stomach were falling out. 

*************************************

Emma woke up on a bed, so fluffy and a warmth she never felt before. She got up and explored the house. It was a small cottage, full of wonderful human things she never saw before. 

“Woah, is this all real?” Emma touched everything delicately, scared that she might break something. 

Then on a side of the wall, she saw a person, which happened to be just a mirror. 

“Who are you? Why are you mimicking me?” Emma backed away and Emma in the mirror did the same. 

After an hour of exploring and figuring things out, she realized five things. The mirror showed what she looked like, she could eat different food that was in the storage room, she was in the middle of the woods, she had to pee and poo into a little hole in the back of the house, and she could run free on the green grass. 

Emma laughed so happily. She felt as if she was about to fly high with so much happiness in her. She spent the whole day in her white dress, barefoot and eating soft bread rolls outside with crawling creatures. 

It was soon nighttime and Emma was getting ready to go back into her house when- 

Boom! BOom! BOOm! BOOM! 

Loud gunshots pierced the air as an army of about 20 men came running towards her. 

“Hands up! Who are you?” A soldier slowly approached her with a gun towards her head. He was very tall but Emma couldn't see his face because of the large green helmet.

“I-I am Emma,” Emma raised her hand up. She never knew what the loud gunshot sounds were but she felt the seriousness in the atmosphere. 

The men checked the house she was in and ordered for the other soldiers to come closer. 

“This is the house of the stupid Sam Fickles. From Germany,” one of the soldiers said as he spat on the wall of the house. 

“Is this his daughter? Or wife?” The man who had the gun pointed at Emma said. 

“No, no, no. I am no one’s wife and my father is out in the ocean,” Emma stumbled the words out. She was so confused on who this Sam was and why they had a piece of steel on her head. 

“We will take you so that you get investigated right away,” the captain ordered three men and they came to put her wrists in steel circles behind her back. 

“What? No. This isn’t how it’s supposed to be,” Emma had tears rolling down. She couldn’t move her arms and she felt so scared. 

They walked for a while and her feet started to hurt. Pieces of sharp wood cut her. 

“Please let me go back to my family. I miss them. What is happening?” Emma screamed. 

The men shut her mouth up with his hand and Emma couldn’t breathe. 

She felt the cold steel across her forehead and- 

“EMMA! WAKE UP!” The voice of her father awakened her. 

Emma’s eyes opened and she gasped for oxygen as she fainted in her father’s arms. 

She woke up after a while. She couldn’t believe it. It was so real. How was this just a dream? Her father told her all about what had happened. She was squirming in her sleep so much that he tried waking her but she kept mumbling the words let me go. She hugged her father tightly, just glad it was just a dream. 

She got up and went to brush her hair. Then, she saw it. A tiny white flower on top of her ear, dancing in the water.