Ask Madison: High School Courtship

High School Courtship

Dear Readers,

               The tide seems to have gone out in Madison’s Mailbox, so I fished this old letter, about mermaid-human courtship, out of the archives.

Dear Madison,

I don’t know what to do. My daughter is almost 18 and she’s been seeing this human boy from her high school. He often brings her home from school in his car and people see them walking along the streets or the public beach. Fortunately, she doesn’t have key-card to access the private beach, yet.

The other Saturday, I thought she had gone for a swim with her friends, but instead, she was meeting this human boy at that wretched pizza joint on the East side of Royston. If she just had to do something like that, why couldn’t it be at North End where Carl could keep an eye on her?

I can’t go on like this. My mate has mentioned taking this boy for a one-way swim. Please help me! I don’t want to lose my daughter.

Anguished Mother

 

Dear Anguished,

                The first thing you need to do is tell that mate of yours to stop making those kinds of threats. The last thing we need is a human boy disappearing from Colony Island. Attention from the media and law enforcement would surely mean the end of our way of life here on the island. The sea is our home but being forced to permanently return there would tear most of us apart.

                No doubt, you’ve heard the old saying that no one comes between a mermaid and her mate. Well, that applies to potential mates, too, and that is just what this boy is; a potential mate. The worst thing you could do is to try and come between them. That will only stiffen her resolve and you will run the very real risk of losing her . . . forever.

                Is this human a good boy? A nice boy? Although some of us still see humans – especially the males – as monsters, many of them are quite decent people, given half a chance. If he is indeed a good boy, then so much the better. Many of the mermaids who fall for humans make the worst choices possible.

                I advise that you ask to meet this boy and learn more about him. You should tell your daughter you are concerned but not necessarily opposed. If you leave things alone, there is always a very good chance that the two of them will go their separate ways after graduation, as life’s currents will begin to carry them in different directions.

                Should your daughter decide to choose him as her mate, remember you and her father have no say in the matter. Instead, wish them a happy life together and hold out hope he will eventually join us here on Colony Island.

Madison

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