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“I saw a beautiful shimmering strand,” the fish says slowly. “I saw it and thought that it might have a similar origin as myself and sought to know it further. That was my downfall I suppose. It lies in my mouth yet.”

The wife reaches out a touches the fish’s mouth. Gently, she unhooks the fish and removes the bracelet. “My bracelet…” she whispers, as tears clear as diamonds flow down her face and fall into the tub with a splash.

“This is yours, my lady?” The fish asks, head cocked to one side, somewhat like how a dog might do so. “Are these your scales? Did you shed them to live upon land?”

The woman laughs. “Once, they adorned me. The made my skin sparkle and shine the way the rest of me shined with hope. Then one day, I was hooked with promises of devotion and threats of time. I cast off my jewels to join the others and have only this small piece left.”

The fish looks at the bracelet and again at the woman. “If you take me to the sea, you can wear your jewels again. I have the power to grant those worthy a wish, and I would have no qualms giving it to you.”

The woman hesitated before agreeing. What could have held her there? A man who cherished her not? She gathered the fish in her apron and dumped as much water in as her cloth could hold.

She dashed out of the no-longer-home and towards the beach. Her feet ached as she ran without shoes, her face stung with the sharp wind. The townspeople watched the pretty shut-in run through the night with a glowing something in her apron.

Confused, bemused, and curious, the townspeople ran behind her. Faster, faster, faster she ran until she almost flew. The fastest man in town could only barely keep sight of her heels.

Eventually, she ran past the bar with the ruckus behind her. Attracted by the noise, her husband stumbled drunkenly outside and realized the situation immediately. Driven by greed, he overtook the rabble and was soon first behind his wife.

The water was within view, but the man had almost caught up to his lady. She tried to run faster, but luck was not with her. Her foot struck a stone and she fell, half over the edge of the land, half within her husband’s grasp.

Rather than struggle to free herself, she desperately ripped one of the patches of her apron free, allowing the fish to fall down, down, down into the water below.

The fish hit the water and felt the power of magic strengthen in its natural element. Looking at the woman, it used its power for her sake, to grant her heart’s wish.

The wish was as valuable as itself, a life for a life, precious treasure for precious treasure.

The legs caught in the husband’s grasp changed to a slippery finned tail adorned with jewels. And so the woman escaped from his grasp and was reborn as the first mermaid.

The man, blinded by greed, leapt after the woman. Now he desired her as much as the jewels of the fish. The riches she could offer!

However, the mermaid cared not for the human man and watched with cold eyes as the air left his lungs and the light left his eyes as they had once left hers.

After his movements halted, she ripped into his flesh with as much zeal as he had ripped into her soul. She feasted upon the corpse of her captor in front of the townspeople who had turned a blind eye to her plight.

After the remains of her tormentor became naught but a skeleton, the voice that was suppressed for so long was strengthened and given power to lure the unworthy to a watery grave. The natural beauty was revealed as the water washed away the years of pain. And last but not least, the woman’s face regained the glow of hope long lost.

So was born the first siren, protector of the seas.

Puppet was hurting for notifs, but now you are giving her an entire notification platter. This platter is in the form of a short story that just gets wilder as it goes on.