Oceania

Living near the coast meant always hearing legends and myths of sea creatures. Every child was told stories about the water and the dangers lying beneath it. The ocean was like a glass wall to another world that thrive in the water. Henry Caldwell always thought the ocean was an exciting place, a place where no man could venture. When he was a child, he’d play on the coast line with his scruffy dog, Mongo. As he grew older, he learned to love and respect the ocean.

He’d watch men go out into sea and come back months later, all talking about the wonders they had seen beyond the horizon. His deepest wish was too one day travel all the oceans and see the world with his own two eyes. By the time Henry had turned fifteen he was working out on the docks, untangling nets for fishermen. His father was a fisherman, a wealthy one that owned the biggest fish market on the entire eastern coast.

He’s been working there for five years now and nows more about the sea that most of his father’s workers. On his days off, Henry would wade out into the shallow coral reefs and watch the fish and plant life. Everyone thought he was odd to be going into the water after all the myths that had been told. He never cared though, if there were man-eating sharks he wanted to see them with his own eyes.

“Henry!” Johnny, a bearded man, called out from the dock, carrying folded fishnets in his arms. “Come on boy! We have some fishing to do.”

Henry waved to let him know he had heard him and grabbed his shirt, slipping it back on. Women had always loved Henry’s lean muscled physique, his tousled chocolate hair, and those round warm hazel eyes. He was quite a looker and one of the most eligible bachelors in all of Hollow Shores. When he got up onto the dock, Johnny looked at him and snorted.

“Where are your shoes boy?” he snorted and tossed the nets onto the ship.

“They’re going to get wet anyways.” Henry shrugged, jumping into the fishing boat. Johnny snickered and muttered a few words before climbing in himself. “I like to jump in after all.”

“Maybe ya should come naked then.”

“I’m flattered, Johnny, but I’d prefer to keep my decency.” Henry joked as he sat down on some of the supply crates. Johnny nodded with some pursed lips and fluffed up his bread a bit. He looked out to the ocean and licked his lips, giving a really hard look out into the vast waters.

“The water is very still, mermaids must be hiding.” Johnny made his way to the front of the boat, untying it from the dock.

“I’ve been in these waters since I was five, Johnny, no mermaids live here. I would have seen one by now, keep the stories at bay today.” Henry stood up and walked over to the small anchor line and started to reel it upwards. As he pulled it up, Johnny released the sail and they slowly started floating out of the port.

All the fishermen in the area seemed to believe mermaids existed, but Henry was not convinced. He’d been swimming these reefs for fifteen years and not once had he crossed paths with one. His father used to tell him stories though, when he was just a kid. Henry found them to be just that though stories. One thing that did stick with Henry all these years though was that mermaids could grant wishes.

Every fishermen he had ever met said the same thing. His father once told him he went out to find a mermaid to capture it and gain a fish, however they never found one. He never doubt that mermaids existed once, but with boats traveling around the coast some much the only way anyone would ever see a mermaid is if they went miles away from land.

“You are a young man, you didn’t know of the time of the mermaids.”

“Johnny, if mermaids still existed in these waters don’t you believe we would have found one by now? We go out to sea several times in a day.” Henry shook his head and took in the salty breeze of the sea. The morning sun was finally in full view, hovering only inches above the shimmering water.

“Mermaids were hunted by humans for their magic, maybe now they don’t want to be found.” Johnny sat down across from Henry, who shook his head and looked straight ahead. All he wanted to do was fish and go for a swim.

“And maybe it’s all just myths.”

“Just because they aren’t seen, don’t mean they don’t live out there. There’s a whole lot of ocean you ain’t seen kid.”

“Well if I ever see a mermaid, I wouldn’t hunt them. I don’t believe hunting them would ever earn a man a wish.” Henry had never heard stories about mermaids just being watched, he only heard stories of them being hunted and of them killing men. He really could blame mermaids for that though, after all they had to protect themselves from danger. Men wanted to conquer everything and if they were the ones who brought mermaids to their death, they had truly conquered nothing.