Tuesday Morning~~
Why am i a mermaid? The summer i turned 11, my family lived in a split ranch in northern new jersey. Our backyard was framed by woods, and a huge willow tree. But the best part was our pool, 5 foot deep, above ground, with a ladder and pump. I would wake up in the morning, early, before anyone else, put on my bathing suit and swim. Not on the surface, but under the water, gliding and turning, with my hair flowing behind me. I taught myself to breathe deep and hold it, counting the seconds,trying to turn into a mermaid. The bottom of the pool wasn't blue vinyl, but sand. My companions were starfish and seahorses, and i searched clams for the perfect pearl. I was safe under the water, no pain, no fear, no illness. Topside, in the footed world, life wasn't so sweet. My father was dying of cancer,and my oldest sister's room had been transformed into his dying place. To enter that room...the smell of disinfectant, of sadness, of life leaking out, one breath at a time...I would curl up next to him, carefully, because he hurt so much, and he would whisper that he loved me.He told me to be a brave girl, and that everything would be alright. But it wasn't alright.He died one month later. So i let go of Lisa, and became a mermaid.The time that followed? That's another story.....