Am I Nymph or a Mermaid?

In a flash, I was taken out of my home by a group of humans with huge nets!

I swam away from my friends looking for clam shells to collect and take back to my home, when these humans caught me in their nets. I was then pulled out of the water and cast on the deck of a large vessel. All these strange humans were looking at me and trying to touch me. I had seen humans before and heard stories about them from the waves, but never before had I been so close to them. They spoke a language I had never heard and I couldn't understand what all they were saying, but I could tell by the looks on their faces that I was in trouble.

They threw me in a tank and what seemed like weeks and months, took me away from the beautiful home that I remembered, Ataris. I heard the waves crashing upon the vessel whispering tales about humans and how they destroy everything on land and in the ocean. I was terrified for the first time in my life!

I had no idea where I was headed nor if I would be safe when I got there. I kept hearing all these humans talking and their tones were getting louder and louder. Were they going to kill me like they did other fish and animals of the sea?

When we arrived at the their home (land), I saw many more humans as they unloaded my tank from their vessel. All of these strange humans gawking at me, and I kept seeing bright flashes of light almost as bright as the sun. I didn't know what to think, but I knew I was in trouble! I had a strange feeling that my life would never be the same again.

My tank was taken into a strange place with many other tanks and other animals from the sea. I could only see the animals through a weird transparent surface, but I couldn't swim with them, touch them, or communicate with them. These humans wearing strange non-fish like white scales kept sticking me with sharp things that hurt and caused me lots of pain. They weren't sure what kind of creature I was and they had obviously never come across a creature like me. I studied them just as much as they studied me.

After several days of mystery and uncertainty, I was finally released into a larger tank with the other sea animals. They all looked different from me, but somehow we spoke the same language. The dolphins instantly became my friends. We swam back and forth through the tank surrounded by these strange protruding walls. They told me that the humans didn't know what to think about me because I was different than all of the other ocean animals. They called me something like a "mermaid". I had not heard that word before, but apparently it meant half human and half fish. In Ataris, we were called "nymphs". Nymphs were mammal/fish creatures that originated from King Neptune. King Neptune had been betrayed by his brother and was cast out into the sea to escape persecution. To survive, he was turned into a man/fish and was god of the sea. He ruled the seas for thousands of years. Nymphs came from him and had evolved over the years. However, I had never heard of mermaids before, but nymphs had been around since the large animals roamed the earth. We had managed to avoid humans for millions and millions of years, but here I was now captured by them because of an unfortunate experience.

I didn't want to be here and just wanted to be back at home with all the other nymphs. How could I escape this place and return to Ataris? Because of my capture, would the other nymphs now be endangered? Would humans hunt them forever and would they never again experience any peace?

I was now living in this place that the dolphins called an aquarium. They also told me that I would be the new star of the aquarium because the humans now know that mermaids exist. Also, the dolphins explained that the humans that interact with us every day are called our trainers. I had a special trainer named Della that worked with me every day. She would talk to me and teach me certain human words and then she would reward me with special treats called fish and oysters. Della was very kind and patient with me. She honestly cared about me and didn't treat me like I was anything other than a nymph, and she was used to dealing with creatures like me. I looked forward to my training sessions with Della and was learning to communicate with her in her native language. She was pleased with my progress and was looking forward to learning more about nymphs and where we came from.

After several weeks went by, I noticed that the aquarium was decorated differently. There was a show coming up that would bring thousands of humans to the aquarium. Della told me that it was a show about me. I would be the star of the show and that the humans were using me to bring lots of money to the aquarium. I'm glad that Della was pleased about this, but I was terrified! What were these humans going to do to me? Would I ever get out of this aquarium or would this be my new life?

Finally, the day came when the humans were allowed to see the mermaid. My tank was covered by curtains in a huge room where all these humans could look at me. I heard a man human talking and then the curtains opened. I could barely see anything because of all these bright flashes of light. Della warned me about these things called cameras and videos. She said that humans (people) would take pictures of me and film me and that I would be a star. I never wanted to be a star only a nymph living in the ocean collecting clam shells with pearls and taking them back to my home.

After a day filled with thousands of humans and lots of noise, the curtains closed and I was allowed to be back in my walled in home with all the other animals. I don't know if I would ever get used to this new life, but I had to learn to accept the way things are now. At least, I had Della and my new dolphin friends. Della taught me the Serenity Prayer which I practice daily. Maybe one day, my life would change for the better or I would learn to accept my new life and be satisfied with the way things are.