It was 9:11pm on a Saturday when Billy heard about the mermaid. He was sitting in the old leather chair in the living room reading a book.
In the book there were dragons, fairies, and wizards, but no mermaids. Billy didn't hear about the mermaid from the book. That's just what he was doing when he heard.
If it wasn't for his mother he would never have heard about it. She had a habit of watching the evening news to see who had died that day, or to learn about all the different ways she felt she was most likely to die.
"Geez. Even our wallpaper is killing us Billy!" She would exclaim randomly.
Usually Billy just ignored these sort of exclamations and continued reading his books. He hadn't particularly paid attention to his mother for many years. Billy was always happiest when he could slowly phase out of the world and into one of his stories.
But this day was different. His mother was sitting in front of the television, eyes wide, spooning tv dinner mashed potatoes into her face. A report about the threat of violent video games had just ended.
"Violent video games." She said, mimicking the television, "They destroy poor young people's minds. Make them plant bombs and shoot kids."
Billy blissfully ignored her, turning a page in his book. They didn't have enough money to buy any video games, let alone violent ones. What little money they had went to support his mother's cable habit.
A new segment began. For a change, it was neither about who had been killed nor about how people were likely to die. Instead it was about a mermaid.
"Nonsense." Billy's mother shouted at the television, "Mermaids don't exist!"
This statement was enough to break Billy out of his fantasy. At first he wasn't sure if he'd heard correctly. Sometimes when he was reading a particularly good story it could bleed into the world and confuse him. But, again, he hadn't been reading a story about a mermaid.
He turned to look at the hated television. Sure enough, the broadcaster was talking about mermaids.
"...claims to have become a mermaid by stumbling into a "magical" pool. When asked about the likelihood of such a thing, local scientists were immediately skeptical..."
Billy's eyes were glued to the television. There was a mermaid in Mizuma Valley.
In the book there were dragons, fairies, and wizards, but no mermaids. Billy didn't hear about the mermaid from the book. That's just what he was doing when he heard.
If it wasn't for his mother he would never have heard about it. She had a habit of watching the evening news to see who had died that day, or to learn about all the different ways she felt she was most likely to die.
"Geez. Even our wallpaper is killing us Billy!" She would exclaim randomly.
Usually Billy just ignored these sort of exclamations and continued reading his books. He hadn't particularly paid attention to his mother for many years. Billy was always happiest when he could slowly phase out of the world and into one of his stories.
But this day was different. His mother was sitting in front of the television, eyes wide, spooning tv dinner mashed potatoes into her face. A report about the threat of violent video games had just ended.
"Violent video games." She said, mimicking the television, "They destroy poor young people's minds. Make them plant bombs and shoot kids."
Billy blissfully ignored her, turning a page in his book. They didn't have enough money to buy any video games, let alone violent ones. What little money they had went to support his mother's cable habit.
A new segment began. For a change, it was neither about who had been killed nor about how people were likely to die. Instead it was about a mermaid.
"Nonsense." Billy's mother shouted at the television, "Mermaids don't exist!"
This statement was enough to break Billy out of his fantasy. At first he wasn't sure if he'd heard correctly. Sometimes when he was reading a particularly good story it could bleed into the world and confuse him. But, again, he hadn't been reading a story about a mermaid.
He turned to look at the hated television. Sure enough, the broadcaster was talking about mermaids.
"...claims to have become a mermaid by stumbling into a "magical" pool. When asked about the likelihood of such a thing, local scientists were immediately skeptical..."
Billy's eyes were glued to the television. There was a mermaid in Mizuma Valley.
