Once upon a time when magical creatures lived in the depths of the sea, there was a little mermaid named Aliyah who loved to watch the human children on the beach. She’d hide in the waves and wish she could be with them, running and playing together. Hearing them laughing gaily made her sad and she longed for legs so she could run with them and feel the sand beneath her toes. But alas, she was a mermaid, with a fishtail and fins instead of legs and feet.
Sadness was not a feeling Aliyah was used to, for she had the whole of the sea and all its creatures to play with. But the more she longed to be human the sadder she became. She no longer delighted in the feel of the sun on her fishtail or the way the light bounced off her scales.
Aliyah swam far away, then sat upon a rock and sang a siren song of longing. Its notes pierced the waves and reached the deepest depths and the darkest caves. Not long after, the Sea Hag rose up from the inky waters.
“Little mermaid, why do you sing such a sad song?” asked the witch.
“When I watch the little humans playing together I feel an ache in my heart.”
“Why is that, sea child?”
“Because I want to have legs to run on the sand and jump in the dunes with them.”
“But you are a mermaid with the whole sea as your playground. You can swim with the fishes and leap with the dolphins.”
“I know.” Aliyah sighed. “But I do that all the time. I wish I could be like them.”
“I can grant your wish. But it will come at a cost.”
“You can make me human?” Aliyah asked.
“I can do that and so much more,” replied the witch. “But a mermaid you will never again be. You will be human but the watery kingdom you will never again see. For that is the price of the wish I will grant thee. So think hard, because happiness is never guaranteed, regardless if you are a mermaid, a human, or anything in between.”
“How do I break the spell?”
“It can only be broken by an act of true selflessness. Only then will you become, once again, a child of the sea.”
“To be human is worth the cost and I will pay it,” Aliyah said.
As if from thin air the Sea Hag produced a vial with a liquid as black as the darkest depths of the sea. “Drink this,” she said, “then swim to land and when you touch the shore you will walk upon two legs.”
Aliyah drank from the vial, then dove into the sea and swam to the shore. When she touched land she was wearing a dress and underneath were two long legs. As she ran to the children they gathered around her.
“Hi, my name is Martin, what’s yours?”
“Aliyah.”
“Where are you from?” asked a girl. “We’ve never seen you before.”
Aliyah pointed to the sea.
“Have you just moved here from far away?” asked Martin.
“Something like that.” Aliyah giggled.
“We’re all friends,” said an unkind girl. Before Aliyah appeared the children were all paying attention to her but now they weren’t. “You’re new. We don’t have to play with you.”
“Don’t be mean, Layla.”
“I can be whatever I want, Martin.” Then she yelled, “Last one up the dune is a rotten egg!” And they all ran away, leaving Aliyah standing there all alone.
“C’mon, Aliyah, you have to run. If you’re last you’ll be a rotten egg,” Martin said.
But the children were already at the top of the dune when she got there.
“Rotten egg, rotten egg, Aliyah’s a stinky rotten egg!” Layla chanted. And all the children laughed except for Martin. He walked over to Aliyah and picked up a seashell.
“Look, Aliyah. Amazing, isn’t it?”
“Yes. It’s a mollusk shell. This one came from a conch.”
“Don’t be such a smarty-pants,” Layla said, slapping the shell out of her hand.
* * *
She turned to the other children. “C’mon, my mom made lunch and you’re all invited, except for you, Aliyah.” Then she grabbed Martin’s arm. “C’mon, Marty. Let’s go or I’ll tell your mom you’re talking to a stranger.”
When the children left, Aliyah sat and watched the waves. What was the point in having two legs if there was no one to run and play with? She saw two dolphins leaping in the waves and wished she could be with them. She was then struck by a longing for the sea. She knew all its dark caves and deep tunnels. She missed her fishtail and her scales and all the sea creatures she knew by name. That was when she heard screams. The children had gathered by the water’s edge and were pointing. Out in the waves someone was struggling to swim but was being pulled out by the riptide. It was Layla.
Without a thought, Aliyah ran into the churning waters and dove in after her. She swam hard and finally reached Layla and brought her back to shore.
“Layla has been so mean to you, but you risked your life for her,” Martin said. “I don’t think she would’ve done the same for you.”
“It doesn’t matter what she would’ve done. All that matters is what I would do.”
“Will you come to the beach tomorrow, Aliyah?” Martin asked.
“No,” Aliyah said, gazing out to the sea. “I’m going home.” And she knew she could, for her act of selflessness had broken the spell. “But I won’t forget you,” she said with a big smile.
Once upon a time, in a land filled with dwarves, witches, and magic, there lived a king and queen who were very much in love, and their love bore them a child. As they sat together looking out at the night sky, the king asked the queen, “What shall we name her?”
“She has lips as full as the moon, eyes dark like ebony, and hair as black as the midnight sky. Ebony Black shall be her name,” said the queen.
But their happiness was short-lived because the queen died soon after. The king was heartbroken but eventually he remarried. His new wife, Sonya, didn’t care much for Ebony, but she pretended to love her in the king’s presence.
Sonya was beautiful but vain, and unbeknownst to the king she was a sorceress. Sonya had a magic mirror hidden in her chambers. She would look into it and ask, “Magic mirror that sees all, who is the loveliest of them all?”
And the mirror always answered, “There are many lovely maidens, it is true, but none as lovely as you.”
When Ebony was two years old, the queen again asked, “Magic mirror that sees all, who is the loveliest of them all?”
The mirror answered, “There are many lovely maidens, it is true, but one is now even lovelier than you.”
“Who could that be? There is no one more lovely than me!”
“Yes, mistress, it is true. There is a maiden far lovelier than you. Her beauty is rare, and sweetness she does not lack. You, mistress, cannot compare to the beauty of Ebony Black.”
Sonya was consumed by jealousy and hatched a dark plot. She snuck into Ebony’s chambers and spirited the sleeping child into the woods where she met the she-dwarf, Nayla, who would at times do her bidding.
“Take this child deep into the woods, then plunge your dagger into her heart. And do not slack, for I never again want to hear the name Ebony Black!”
“Yes, mistress,” Nayla replied. She took Ebony into the deepest, darkest part of the woods, then she opened the blanket and raised her dagger. But Ebony smiled and her sweetness warmed Nayla’s heart. Now she was not an evil creature, she’d only known servitude and loneliness. Nayla could not kill the child so she took her to her home in the woods, and raised Ebony as her own.
Many years passed and Nayla taught Ebony how to use a spear and shield, for she was a warrior. Ebony grew to be as lovely, sweet, and good as the mirror predicted, but she was also brave and strong. In her company the dwarf felt loved and for the first time in her wretched life Nayla was happy.
One day a young prince came upon Ebony as she was throwing her spear.
“Hello there,” he said, “you are quite a skilled warrior.”
“Thank you,” Ebony replied. “And your spear is a thing of beauty.”
“But you are more beautiful by far. I’m Prince Malik. And you are?”
“I’m Ebony, and I live here in the forest.”
“May I visit you again sometime, Ebony?”
“If you’d like,” Ebony said.
“I’d very much like that indeed.”
Over the years, the queen pretended to grieve Ebony’s disappearance. Now, as she stood preening in front of the mirror she asked, “Magic mirror that sees all, who is the loveliest of them all?”
* * *
The mirror answered, “You are lovely, that is true, but one maiden is even lovelier than you. Not only lovely but kind, brave, and true. Since these qualities you lack, you cannot compare to Ebony Black.”
“Show me, mirror, that what you say is true. This I command of you!”
And in the mirror’s reflection the queen saw Ebony in the woods. And she was lovely indeed, for the mirror always spoke the truth.
The queen was consumed by rage, and again she hatched a dark plot. She transformed into an old crone in a hooded robe and moments later appeared in the woods where Ebony sat under an apple tree.
“Dear me, I need to catch my breath,” Sonya said.
“Hello, Grandmother,” Ebony said. “Please, sit here and rest.”
“Thank you, child. Whatever are you doing so deep in the woods?”
“I live here with a dwarf,” she answered. “She found me abandoned in the woods and raised me as her own.”
Sonya seethed inside to hear this, but she hid her anger. Instead she reached up and plucked an apple. “Have you ever seen such a red and juicy fruit?”
The moment Ebony gazed upon it she could not look away. It was the most perfect apple she had ever seen.
“Here, child, take a bite.”
Ebony did as commanded. When she bit into the apple, everything went black.
Copyright © 2023 by Kahran and Regis Bethencourt
