Slime Diaries, Vol. 1: Mermaids
20.Mar.2019
At present I find myself in the salt marshes of New Guinea. My kayak is gently gliding passed overgrown mangroves peppered with varied waterfowl. As I drift downstream, my eyes scan the surface of the water for any signs of movement. I’m here to investigate strange accounts from the surrounding residents.
There have been stories of unusual weather and unseasonably strong storms. Stories from fishermen of distant, choral melodies that can be heard in the pitch dark of night. Many others have reported small animals and pets going missing. All of this was enough to pique my interest and entice me to set out in search of the cause of these bizarre claims.
Abal, my guide, stops rowing abruptly. His head turns as if to trying to locate a very distant sound. I follow suit and closely examine our surroundings. The water is calm, and I notice that the birds have become unsettlingly quiet.
As I begin to call to Abal, a ripple surfaces in the water about 10 meters in front of his kayak and quickly begins to move in our direction. Before he has a chance to brace himself properly, the moving object side swipes his vessel, tipping him over the left side and into the marsh. The surface of the water is calm again.
“Abal?!” I call out to the muddy, green waters, but there is no longer any sign of movement.
Just as fear begins to set in, the ripple appears again, this time only 5 meters away. It’s moving at a rapid pace toward the broad side of my kayak. In my panicked attempt to flee a hopeless situation, I tip backwards into the water. My eyes snap open as the world spins around me in a murky, dark, bubble-filled cyclone.
When I find my bearings, I can make out a looming figure in the water racing toward me. As it closes in, I realize what has been happening to the local residents’ pets. It’s a crocodile. A big one. From the looks of it, it’s over 2 meters long, and it is not happy to see humans in its waters. My instincts kick in and I frantically swim to the surface and scramble onto my capsized kayak.
What is a croc doing here? This is a coastal marsh, and it’s the middle of the day. The behavior is strange, to say the least. As I try to make sense of the situation, my overturned kayak lurches up beneath me and launches me back into the water.
I open my eyes in time to see the prehistoric monster charging at me once more. The croc is less than a meter away when a shimmering torpedo appears out of nowhere and collides with the beasts snout.
The croc stops stunned and turns to look for whatever has just accosted it. Before either of us have time to comprehend what has happened, the iridescent blur appears once more. This time, it pummels the crocodile in the stomach, sending it into an uncontrolled barrel roll.
With the situation proving to be more trouble than it’s worth, the confused crocodile regains its bearings and darts off into the murky water.
I swim back to the surface and begin to look for my overturned kayak. Not far away, it’s floating, right side up, and drifting directly towards me. Just beneath the surface, I can see a shimmering mass holding to the side of the kayak like a Remora on a shark’s belly. It appears to be bringing the vessel back to me.
Dipping my eyes back under the water, I get a brief glimpse at the alien creature. Its scaly, iridescent skin almost seems to glow beneath the surface, and its powerful fins moves it and my kayak smoothly through the water. As they both reach me, the mermaid looks up at me briefly with its large, glassy eyes and, for just a moment, seems to smile.
It then turns and I watch as the ethereal creature swims away into the marsh. Its soft glow seems to linger well after I can no longer see its form.
Climbing back into my kayak, I stare back at the water, hoping to catch one last glimpse of the creature. It’s nowhere to be seen, however, so I turn my focus to making my way back to camp. I must document this encounter and run tests on the samples the creature has left on my boat.
#art #illustration #drawing #writing #creativewriting #fiction #journal #traveljournal #slime #mermaid #mermaids #mythicalcreatures #magic #kayak #journal #blog #expedition #crocodile #stickers #etsy
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THANK YOU!
Great story and you do get coastal crocs. A salt water crocodile is normally bigger than a fresh water one and more aggressive. I know they have them in Australia and some of the coastal rivers in the north coast region of Natal, South Africa.
Thanks! I tried to do as much research as possible. Just read that it was rare to see them in salt water in New Guinea. I’m always open to receiving more accurate information from first hand experience, though, so thank you!
If they are in the rivers of New Guinea then it may be rare to sea them in the sea, but it happens. They adapt to many conditions. I look forward to reading more of your posts.
wooaw.....i wait to see where these smiles take us in the next chapters. Mermaids are really fun to be creatures even thoug i haven't met one before. Great story from a great mind with a creative illustrations to make his story abfun one. I really enjoyed every second i spent on your blog and cant wait for the rest of the episodes to come
Thank you so much!
You are humbly welcome
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Wiehoe!
It seems like my trick worked.
You got 'seriously' curated. Much deserved! :>)
P.S. I was so excited that I left a comment before thoroughly reading the story. It's awesome and very intriguing, well written too. Love it for many different reasons. If this isn't gonna sell any slime, I don't know what will ;>)
Um abraço,
Vincent
Thanks a bunch! Only time will tell if it will help sell slime, but either way, it was fun to write. I’m glad you liked it!
I think gargoyles are next on the list. Not sure what I’ll do for that one... the story, I mean. I already know what the slimes going to look like. Sort of making myself wait until I list the mermaid slime, though. Don’t want to sink too much money into supplies if absolutely no one wants to buy the stuff... even if the slime IS super fun to make and play with...
Lol, that’s enough rambling for me. You’re the best, Vincent. :)
time... tell... slime... sell...
that makes for a nice rhyme
Gargoyles are always fun, although it's hard not to think of The Hunchback of the Notre Dame.
And talking about slime and 'the stuff'
Every seen the 1980s movie: The Stuff?
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090094/
Bye for now! :>)
Ha, no, I’ve never heard of it, but it looks fun. I ah.ways enjoy a good B movie. And it has zombies, to boot!
It is definitely an enjoyable movie :>)
I also think a lot of B movies are B(etter) than many so called A(verage) movies, haha! :>)
Very cool illustration and story! I hope you tell us more about your adventures:)
I saw your profile a little and saw that youve been away for a while...things are kind of different now for artists to get attention. If i may suggest, you should start posting your amazing creations through the @ntopaz platform. https://www.ntopaz.com/. It is a supportive art community and your content will be valued there:) Also try to use tags like @artzone @art-venture @ocd-resteem to help curators find you:)
Thanks! I’m just starting to play around with the idea of incorporating creative writing with arts and crafts im trying to sell on Etsy.
Thank you so much for the valuable information! I will definitely be checking out @nTOPAZ later, and will try to use the tags you mentioned.
Oh, what a nice idea, i wish you the best:)
You are very welcome, it is a pity when such a good content gets unnoticed..If you need any help ask me or you can check the discord also:)
https://discord.gg/GW9MCKP
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Hi hglucky13,
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Interesting indeed. I did a mermaid yesterday, they must have been in our subconscious here on steem :)
Crocs and alligators are interesting living dinosaurs, that's for sure.
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