A Mermaid to Wed

One day, on a quiet beach off the coast of Lana'i, Hawai'i, a man named Luke walked along the shore. It was getting dark, and the water was starting to settle down. The waves gently crashed onto the sand and retreated back into the ocean. As Luke walked along, he noticed a group of girls swimming, and began to walk over. When the girls noticed someone coming towards them, they fled back into the ocean, but not before revealing their true forms of mermaids. Luke thought that maybe he had just imagined it, for surely there would not be that many mermaids that close to the shore even if they did exist. The moon rose higher and Luke headed home confused and curious.

The next morning, Luke, more curious than confused, returned to the same spot where he was sure he had seen a group of mermaids. Once he walked over, he noticed one mermaid had stayed behind. She told Luke that she was rejected from her group for expressing interest in the human they saw the night before, and had decided to stay by the shore just in case he came back. He offered the mermaid, named Auli'i, protection and shelter with him, but she would have to give him the necklace that contained her magic powers of being a mermaid so that she would not be able to leave.

Auli'i agreed, handed him the necklace, and began to walk with him on her own two legs. Both were nervous for this new life they were about to have together, but they continued on home. Auli'i was sure that it would only be a matter of time before she was able to retrieve the necklace and go back to the ocean, hoping that her friends would regret their decision to shun her. But for now, this offer of shelter was the best she was going to get.

Years went past, and Luke and Auli'i were married. They lived a quiet, but happy life together. They had two human children and spent most of their time working and being together as a family. Luke, still keeping the necklace hidden for fear of Auli'i leaving, had always shown nothing but love for his wife, but she had never been able to express the same emotions towards him. Auli'i did love him, but there was something keeping her distant that Luke had no idea about.

Auli'i often wondered about her life back in the ocean, but she accepted that the necklace she needed to return home was probably long gone. After all, it had been years since she first gave Luke the necklace, and the possibility of it not being lost was slim to none. The couple had moved a few times, so Auli'i just assumed that since she hadn't found the necklace after all the unpacking, it was probably left at one of the old houses.

A few years later, Auli'i was cleaning around the house when she heard her daughter coming to find her.

"Look, Mom! Look at this necklace I found!" Auli'i's 17-year-old daughter exclaimed.

As she took a closer look, Auli'i noticed that the necklace looked extremely familiar, and began to wonder if this was the necklace that contained her mermaid powers. She realized soon after examining the jewelry closer that this was in fact the necklace that could return her home. She hugged her two teenage children and began to walk to the ocean where she and Luke first met all those years ago. Before she could place a toe in the water, she heard a voice yelling for her to stop. It was Luke running after her. Auli'i thought for sure that her daughter must have told Luke about the necklace and wondered why it was suddenly so important.

"Please don't leave me. Don't leave our family," Luke said.

"You know I love you, but..." Auli'i stopped, thinking about the choice she was about to make. She was sad to be leaving this life on land behind, but she knew in her heart that she belonged in the ocean. After all, she had a family there that she had left behind all those years ago, and it was now time for her to return home.

"You know I love you, but I had a life before we met. I had a husband. And I love him more," Auli'i said before putting on the necklace, running into the ocean, and swimming away for good.

Author's Note: The original version of my story is titled "The Mermaid Wife," and is written by W. W. Gibbings in the remote island of Unst, Scotland. The story is about a man who was walking along a beach one night when he saw some merpeople swimming near the shore. When the mermaids and mermen noticed him, they grabbed their seal skins and turned into seals to swim away. The man noticed a skin by his feet and grabbed it before a merperson could. The next day he returned to where he saw the merpeople the night before to find one still swimming near the shore. He offered her protection and shelter with him, and soon they were married. The couple had several children, but the wife was never able to return her husband's love. More time had passed and one day one of their children found the seal's skin and brought it to his mother. She jumped up and down with happiness, hugged her children, and ran for the sea. Her husband caught up to her, but not before she had turned back into the mermaid she once was. He pleaded for her to stay with him and their children, but she refused, stating that she did love him, but that she loved her first husband more. She fled into the sea and was never seen again.

For my version of this story, I have kept most of it the same as it was in the original version, but I have changed a few things. First off, I have changed the names of the characters to names that are from famous actresses and TV characters. Second, I have changed the use of the seal skin into a magical necklace to make it more modern. I have also changed the settings of my story just a little bit to add some difference between my story and the original version.