Page 28 - Fins Magazine: Fins Magazine Issue #4

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public pool which was a halfway point on their tails,” I explained.
for most of us. It was well equipped “They’re called ‘selkies.’”
for swimming with hefty silicone tails
and monofins, as it supplied a deep She couldn’t seem to reason out of that.
pool which was separate from where I continued talking to the other
most of the swimmers congregated. children and just a few minutes later,
As was often the case, there was a another naysayer intruded insisting,
birthday party taking place at this time. “You’re not a real mermaid!”

I carried my silicone tail in both This time, before I could respond,
ARTICLE: Mermaid Magic by Mermaid Lotus arms, set it down in the water, and the first skeptical child rushed to my
shimmied awkwardly into it. During defense, proclaiming, “Yes, she is!”
this time, children had already begun
to flock over to our pod. Because of “But I saw her put on her tail,” he said.
the depth of the waters, they had to
remain on the steps, and a few had “Some mermaids have to put
glimpsed us slipping into our tails. on their tails,” she replied.
I think it’s safe to say that all While most were excitedly asking
children want to believe in questions about life underwater, I smiled and nodded. She was by
]magic. Unfortunately, not one child quickly began protesting. my side until we had to leave. That
all children are encouraged to believe moment has stuck with me, as I knew
in magic throughout their formative “She’s not real,” she told the others, that child needed to believe in magic
years. Instead, some are discouraged wiping the smiles off their faces in an a little while longer, and because
from exploring new unseen worlds. instant. of her encounter with an amateur
It can be disheartening as a mermaid mermaid, she was able to.. •w
performer to meet with a group of I gasped and quickly looked down at
excited children eager to catch a myself, asking, “I’m not!?”
glimpse of a real life mermaid only
to have the spirits of the entire party The child laughed and elaborated, “I
dampened by one skeptic child whose mean you’re real, but mermaids aren’t
belief was quashed all too soon. real!”

Yet, I’ve come to understand that “But I’m a mermaid and I’m real,” I
these young skeptics are among posed.
the most desperate to believe that
magic still exists. It was during one “If you’re a real mermaid, then how
meet-up with my local Texas pod come I saw you put on your tail,” she
that I first realized this to be true. demanded.

We had agreed to meet at a large “Some mermaids have to put

MERMAID LOTUS Mermaid Lotus is an aquatic entertainer currently attending college to become an interpreter for the
Deaf. She even specializes in entertaining entertaining Deaf and Hard of Hearing children and adults!
@mermaidlotus As with most mermaids, my inspiration began at a young age and that affection for these mysteri-
FINS|28 FB: mermaidlotus ous creatures only grew over the years. I now hope to share that same magic with the next generation!