She Brought a Little Mermaid Home Without Knowing It, and This Is What Happened…
“Anything you want.”
“I want to go live in the white people’s country with my mother and my sisters.”
“Alright, I promise.”
At that moment, his mother came in. “Noé, what are you holding there? What are you doing with an empty bottle? Come on, go throw it away and come help me in the kitchen.”
Then the boy hid me under his pillow. “This bed belongs to my sisters and me,” he said. “Wait here.” A little while later, a very small girl lifted the pillow and froze. Then she screamed, “Léa! Léa!” A teenage girl rushed in. “What is it, Inès? Why are you screaming like that?” But Inès simply pointed at Noé.
“And you, Noé, what are you hiding?” Léa asked.
“Nothing at all,” Noé replied.
Then he quickly slipped away with the bottle.
“He’s hiding something. A mermaid. I saw a mermaid in a bottle under his pillow,” said Inès.
“You must have dreamed it,” Léa said as she left the room.
That night, while everyone was sleeping, Noé pulled me out from under his pillow. “Are you okay? I’ll take you to the river tomorrow. Are you hungry?”
“No,” I replied. “Who are Inès and Léa?” I asked.
“Léa is my big sister and Inès is the little one.”
But suddenly, Léa appeared. “Who are you talking to?” She came closer and snatched me from Noé’s hands. “You locked up a mermaid?”
“No, I just want to help her. She has to go back home before her sister’s wedding.”
“Who told you all that?”
“Lina. Her name is Lina and she talks.”
“Hello,” I said timidly.
When Léa heard that I could talk, she screamed and threw the bottle, but Noé caught it.
“She won’t hurt you. She is kind. Besides, she is going to grant my wish,” said Noé.
“Oh really? And what about me? Can you grant my wish too?” Léa shot back.
“I can only grant one wish.”