"You're a mermaid, yeah? Yes, maybe the land isn't the best environment for you and yes that means you need some help with things. But it doesn't mean you're useless!"
Now. There are many different ways I can relate to being a mermaid; I'm a mythical creature with luscious hair and an unhealthy obsession with glitter. But I think the main one is that I feel out of place, all the time. I know that this world isn't quite right for me and I get the feeling I belong somewhere else. That goes for both physically and mentally.
Physically I have the challenges a mermaid would face on land- I struggle to walk, fall a lot, and other unhelpful things. I need a wheelchair to get around pretty much full time now, and sometimes I can't even get out of bed to use that. Imagine having been suspended in water your whole life and you emerge into the air and you feel totally off balance and wobbly because it's so different. That's what it feels like in my body. I feel constantly unsteady, dizzy, out of it. Yes I can hold an articulate conversation but you can bet your butt I am concentrating on speaking like crazy.
Mentally I have different challenges. You see, mermaid culture is so different from human culture; we were never taught social norms or niceties, we engage in deep talk, not small talk. Humans are scary and complex and very difficult to handle; they're easy to upset and hard to trust. And it's not that I, as a mermaid, am purposely doing things to upset people, I'm just trying to find my way in a world of legs and clothes other than clam bras.
This post I realise is kinda crazy but hey, it's 4:20am and I feel like writing.
Alley-Cat
© Alice Daley 2016
