The Merman of the Waratah

Chapter 1: The Beginning of a Long Voyage

When 12-year-old George Brown first met Arion while fishing on a pier at Port Adelaide in June, 1909, he never would have guessed at first glance that his new friend would be of all things, a merman.  Arion was just about George's age and he was handsome too, with a muscular sandy blonde hair, deep-green eyes and an orca's tail, compared to George, who was skinny, had chocolate hair, ocean-blue eyes and barely noticeable freckles on the bridge between his nose and his eyes.

"Who are you?" George asked when he saw him for the first time.

Arion, who had been poking his upper body above the surface, wasn't shy over introducing himself.

"I am Arion. I live in these waters."

George scrunched his face, not sure if he heard the boy right. Before he could answer, Arion jumped out of the water, giving his tail a clear view right in front of George's eyes and he landed safely on his rear end.

"You are a merman?" asked George. "Crikey!"

"Very much so."

"So what brings you up here?"

Arion explained everything that had happened between a month and now. About a month ago he had gained a sudden curiosity for the human world. It started when he and his friends Elysa and Rabban were sitting on the seabed, looking up at the sun, a bright white circle distorted by the lapping waters.

"Elysia, Rabban, did you ever think how it must feel to be a human? Living under the sun all day and "

"Probably hot if you ask me," said Elysia with disinterest. "But why this sudden interest in humans? They would exploit us the first chance they saw us."

"Not the children," said Arion, still looking up at the sun. "They're innocent. They would never harm us."

"What about all the fish they caught?" asked Rabban. "Does that count as harm?"

Arion had heard these types of rebuttals from his parents before, but he was certain not all humans were greedy.

"They do it for food. But at the very least, they understand not to hunt too many fish, because the ocean needs them."

A few days later, that was when he met George. After explaining the rest of his story, Arion laid his back down on the pier and admired the bright blue sky. The sun was a lot brighter on the surface and it nearly blinded him. George, not seeing this, expressed his own thoughts.

"You must be so lucky to be a merman. I wish I was one of them."

"It might be exciting to you, but to me, it's just an ordinary life. It isn't dull either. We have lots of celebrations, races and adventures, seeing new things...like me and you for example."

"Are there more of you? Aside from those others you mention?"

"All over the seven seas. We have our own cities and communities. In fact, the city I live in is not too far from here."

"Do you still have to go to school?"

"Of course, and we have work and responsibilities as well."

Another question popped into his mind.

"Can you perform magic? My friends at school tell me that merpeople have magical powers."

"Of course we can. That is also why we go to school, to learn magic as well as the ABCs."

"And even jobs?"

"Even jobs."

Arion talked some more about life under the sea for three more hours and then George noticed the sun sliding off to the west. The day gone well into the afternoon and he was surprised that no one had seen his new friend or his out of place tail.