2. Six Mermaid Princesses

      N’Shal, the oldest of the mermaid princesses, had the darkest eyes. Her eyes were as dark as the deepest chasm in the sea. Except for the alertness in her face, you could hardly tell if N’Shal was looking at you. A less charitable person might wonder if N’Shal were a little cross-eyed; but everyone who knew her thought her eyes were hauntingly appealing.

     To complete our general description of her face, N’Shal’s hair was a deep chestnut brown. The merfolk would describe her laughter as “bubbly;” those of us on land might compare her laughter like water splashing across the rocks in a little brook. N’Shal also had the most willowy figure, which made her the most graceful swimmer of the mermaid princesses.

     Ayon, with hazel eyes and honey-colored hair, was the most studious of the mermaid princesses. Yes, mermaids have teachers and have to study. Ayon was especially talented at art and languages: the languages of merfolk and and landsmen. Ayon was also considered the most beautiful of the mermaid sisters. Perhaps her sparkling eyes and dreamy, yet friendly smile that caused merfolk not to notice that her teeth had a slight overbite. On the other hand, perhaps folk found this imperfection vaguely endearing. Beauty, after all, is in the eye of the beholder.     Ayon was so inclined to observe the world around her with a sense of wonder, that she never seemed to notice or care whether she was beautiful or not.

      The third child was Eeba. Oh, my goodness, how can I describe the child without seeming unkind? With her flaming red hair, emerald-green eyes, and bubbly personality, Eeba was considered the prettiest, for what it’s worth. To go with her deceptively bubbly charm, she was the quickest swimmer over short distances. People often thought it charming the way she flitted about like ball lightning. With all those charming qualities—how shall I put it?

     Eeba, to put it as kindly as I know how, was the most adventurous. She was more often seen playing with merboys than with mergirls, and she often got into mischief like merboys. As often as not, Eeba was the one suspected of instigating the mischief. Instead of sporting with dolphins, which enjoyed being ridden, Eeba was sometimes caught annoying the sea turtles by hitching a ride on one of them. On one occasion, an abnormally large number of electric eels suddenly appeared in the sea hag’s house and caused her some distress. No one ever proved that Eeba had anything to do with it, but everyone suspected it.

      Sirena (that’s a popular name for mermaids) was the most well behaved of the six mermaid princes. She was a petite strawberry blond with cool green eyes. Because Sirena was a little shy and unsure of herself—which often showed in her face—she had the most winsome face and the most winsome smile to go with it.

     I must also mention that Sirena hated her name. You’ll probably agree that it’s a beautiful name, but Sirena had one problem with it: The name was too common to suit her. Almost every story about mermaids has a Sirena, which, in Sirena’s view, made the name boring. Maybe that’s why Sirena was a little too unsure of herself.

     Makki, the fifth sister, was the strongest swimmer; and she had brownish-green eyes and auburn hair. Makki was a bit overweight, but she seemed not to notice. In fact, she was so cheerful that no one else seemed to notice either. Like most mermaids, swimming a great deal gave her strong muscle tone and a fairly small waist. She also carried herself well and moved about well, so most mermen and mermaids agreed that Makki was attractive. Makki seemed not to notice her attractiveness any more than she noticed her weight. With her cheerful manner and eagerness to please others, she was easily one of the most well liked of the mermaid princesses.
     Momo, the youngest of the mermaid princesses, was by far the cutest; but it would have been unwise to tell her that. She would have been pleased to be called pretty, beautiful, winsome, or charming, but she found it distasteful to be called cute. To make matters worse, there’s a fine line between “cute” and “ugly,” and Momo knew it. Certain other girls—not her sisters, mind you—sometimes whispered that Momo was “goofy,” a “nerd,” or, still worse, a “geek.”
     Momo was the baby of the family, and her older sisters always treated her as if she were younger than her years. She enjoyed the privileges of being the youngest child—in fact, she sometimes seemed to insist on them—but she often wished she could gain the respect usually given to older children. “Cute” was somehow a reminder of her failure to gain that respect.

     Perhaps all this was why she tended to daydream. Oh, did she ever daydream! Momo often seemed to live in a world of her own. Like most young mermaids, she would look up toward the surface of the water and wonder what life was like up there. Unlike most young mermaids, she would use her imagination to daydream about it.

     Momo had wide, alert eyes as green as the sea, and she had flowing russet hair that she allowed to flow as freely as the sea plants around her. Like her older sister Ayon, Momo’s teeth had a slight overbite, but Momo’s two front teeth were more noticeable, and this sometimes embarrassed her. For that reason, she sometimes covered her mouth when she smiled.