pohpay

Last year I decided to stop paying wix subscription and was confident that I could still keep my blog even if it meant having wix ads all over my pages. But after a lengthy hiatus, I found out today that I no longer have access to my blog unless I pay for subscription.

Well.. fook that.

Luckily, I still have a copy of the short fantasy story that I wrote some time ago. I am well aware that my story is nowhere near as good and as dramatic as many that debt charities hear about, but this story is quite special to me because the idea stemmed around the time when I was mourning for my grandpa’s death. He died last year and I wasn’t able to go to his funeral which made me very devastated as he is my favorite grandpa.
He used to tell me stories about fishermen who “encountered” mermaids during their long fishing adventure. Now I don't know if there's any truth to this but I believed him then.

I remember the days when my brother and I would sit next to grandpa and listen to our favorite mermaid drama story from DYHP radio station. Though I have vague memory of what the story was all about, but I can’t seem to forget this catchword; “Isaganiii...” it’s when the mermaid calls for the young man to meet her by the shore.

I used to firmly believe in mythical creatures; these things have always held an inexplicable enchantment for me - and that is at least in part an integral piece of my character — I was always the kind of squirt who was convinced that engkantadas lived in the forest next to our house, that huge trees were animate, with a kapre sitting on top smoking cigars and that holes in floorboards housed fairies and duwende rather than rats and cockroaches. Nothing’s changed much though now that I am older, I admit that sometimes I still convince myself that mermaids exist. Haha! The dilusion is strong with this one. Not that I’m proud of it but daydreaming unicorns and sparkly rainbow feces is one of my favorite distractions from reality and the fact that my life has become a monotonous cycle. Eww okay, the feces part is just gross and definitely not true! I am NOT on drugs either.

Anyway....... I’m keeping this here.

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Once upon a time - for that is how all fairy tales should begin - there was a girl named Ai Niwa.

Ai 愛 Niwa にわ, literally means “Love Garden,” is a daughter of an Eastern Kingdom Emperor; who unbeknownst to him is married to a mermaid, Ai Niwa’s biological mother, and a sworn enemy of the Eastern Kingdom.

Ai Niwa turns into a mermaid during the full moon and although her mother diligently kept it a secret to everyone all her life, the Emperor found out about it during her 18th birthday and betrothal ceremony to a rival nation’s prince to broker an alliance between the Eastern Kingdoms. When the moon shined down onto the palace gardens from which Ai Niwa’s name was derived, it revealed the secret she had maintained her whole life.

Blind with rage following the revelation of Ai Niwa’s mermaid heritage, the Emperor immediately dispatched his guards to have the queen hanged as a matter of honor to the countless lives lost throughout the centuries between the Eastern Kingdom’s and the mermaids’ war on the open seas.

With the mother captured and heading to the hangman’s noose, the head of the handmaidens immediately ran to Princess Ai Niwa to help her escape. As the handmaiden pushed her row boat into the water she could hear the crowd of citizens in the palace courtyard swearing and condemning her mother that cared for her and hid her true identity throughout her entire life. As she put the oars in her hand and began to row, she heard the crowd pause into a deaf silence as she heard the hangman release the lever holding her mother on the platform, followed shortly by the sound of the rope being pulled taught by the weight of her mother’s body and then a very quick but distinctive snap of her mother’s neck.

As Ai Niwa, with tears in her eyes, looked down at the white rose plucked from the garden that very night, she saw it fade from pure white to black as a dark shadow fell over her father’s Palace. She vowed to have her vengeance, but not that day, as she rowed quickly into the night’s sea.

Two days had past and Ai Niwa was growing weak on the endless ocean with dense and heavy fog all around her, when suddenly a merman appeared next to her boat. Startled she jumped back from her seat as the merman popped his head out of the water and announced himself to be Poseider, a loyal follower to the Lord of the Deep. Knowing of Ai Niwa, through folk tales and stories told to him as a child he felt sympathy for her and offered his help to help her reach Artemisia Island, a place where everyone is welcome; even monsters and demons.

A glimpse of joy came to her hoping that this will be the place where she no longer has to hide her identity; as she asked the merman for his help he quickly proclaimed that nothing on the seas is free and that a favor must always be paid for in advance stating, “if you do not receive my help, Princess, you will surely perish by nights beginning as you have ventured into a very old and deep part of the seas where the night is ruled by the most ruthless warlord who loves to swallow boats venturing this sea whole.” Ai Niwa looked at the empty boat and her tattered clothes, knowing that she had nothing of value to offer him, she began to cry.

As tears rolled down her cheeks the merman noticed the rose on her lap began to turn from black to a bright and vibrant yellow. Mischievously smiling at the princess, the merman announced that for the rose she could have his help. She immediately snatched the rose from her lap and handed it to the merman and demanded that he help show her the way. The merman pointed into the fog and it immediately lifted revealing a bright and vibrant dock city.

As Poseider began to swim away holding the rose close to his chest, Ai Niwa asked, “Why would you save my life for a simple rose?"

“Ah, fair princess, this is no simple rose” he said revealing the now green rose. “This rose will always notify its handler of very important things that come to pass, you held what is none other than an infinity rose.” “An infinity rose is the rarest of roses; it never dies; and it always will change colors to depict something very unique to those who understand them.” “White is the color of an unpicked infinity rose, making it very difficult to spot as it blends in with other white roses perfectly.” “Black, which was the color the rose was when I first saw you is the color that denotes evil and despair are nearby.” “Yellow, which was the color it turned into when I spoke of Artemisia Island always denotes hope.” Now looking down at the green rose, “and green, princess, green is the color the infinity rose will display when you are searching for something.”

“Are there any more colors, Poseider?”
“Oh yes Princess, every color in the rainbow, but they are not for me to say or explain.” Poseider then dives into the water. Ai Niwa then makes her way to Artemisia Island one row at a time.

Finally arriving at the island, just before sundown, Ai Niwa stepped onto shore and noticed no one noticed her or recognized her; this was surely a new journey she was about to embark upon. To herself, she immediately renounced her nobility and put the past out of her mind as she made her way to the local tavern to hopefully find work as a gardener, putting her green thumb to work.