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Mer: The Water Witch who Hated Water by Malynda J Walker
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Rated "G" by the Author.
A short story about the beauty and power of water.
Written: June 3, 2004
Mer, a powerful witch who didn’t know just how powerful, always lived on the island of Violeta Delfin. As far as she knew, this was the entirety of the land on the planet and the rest was completely consumed by water. Mer had watched the rain pour nearly every day and the waterfalls gush and the rivers flow and the lakes grow and the ocean tides come and go. She felt in her very core that the water was trying to do away with the earth, the very foundation of Mer’s Violeta Delfin. Every day Mer waited to be overcome by the water. One day, very soon, Mer’s heart would swell with the power of water despite herself.
On the gloomiest day Mer could ever remember on Violeta Delfin, the villagers were faced with severe flooding. Mer, being the most fit, offered to go down to the shore to collect sand for the sand bags. As much as she did not want to face all that water, she cared much more for her villagers than being a little wet. She ran as quickly as she could, following the river to the sea.
Mer knelt down filling bag after bag with sand never taking her eyes of the ocean. She watched enormous waves crash near to her and the fear inside her swelled. Just as she was filling her last bag, she was swept up by the waves and pulled far from her beloved Violeta Delfin.
Upon surfacing and catching her breath, she cursed the water. Just as she was to deliver her final blow and banish all water from her homeland, she felt a little nudge at her back and screamed! After regaining her composure, Mer’s eyes adjusted to the storm and fell upon a beautiful lavender dolphin. The dolphin said, “Do not be frightened. I am but a humble dolphin. You are Mer, the most powerful Water Witch of all. Why do you fear the sea and me?” At this point, the storm calmed and a lovely rainbow appeared.
Mer was completely taken a back by a sea creature who could speak so intelligibly and the fact that he knew her name. She asked him what he meant of her being a Water Witch. “I detest the water. It floods our lands, it weathers away our island, it drowns our people... What use would I have with water in my Craft? Take me home at once!”
The dolphin agreed to carry her home safely if she would give him a chance to show her the power of water. Mer, knowing this was her only way to make it safely home decided to listen. The dolphin shared his thoughts and knowledge of the sea and soon was joined by a giant sea turtle. The turtle shared his knowledge and feelings and was joined by a lobster who shared his knowledge and feelings. Then came the mackerel, the barracuda, the shark, the mussel, the sea slug, the sea cucumber and soon every creature of the sea, residing above, below, near and within, had shared their love and knowledge of water, including Mer’s island ancestors. Mer was overcome by the power and gifts of water as the creatures spoke and wept over how blind she had been. The creatures knew the best thing for Mer was to bring her home so she could contemplate all she had learned.
As her feet touched the land of Violeta Delfin, she vowed to her new friends to live in harmony with water, to use its gifts wisely, to share this knowledge with her people and to visit often. She said her farewells and was about to set off home when she remembered the rainbow. “Where did the rainbow come from?” asked Mer. The dolphin replied, “That too is a gift of water, my dear.” With this she ran off to share the news with the villagers of Violeta Delfin.
After she regaled her tale, the elders took her aside to speak with her. They explained that the lavender dolphin she had met with was the spirit of the sea itself for whom her island was named and by who it was protected. Only a few had ever seen the dolphin and they were those blessed as Water Witches. She had come of age and come into her power. The gifts of water were hers to aid the island and her people so long as used them wisely.
We are Mer’s people and her gifts belong to us all through the grace of water. Mer has graciously written this knowledge down and you are privileged to possess them within this text.
