June of 1914

Up in the North Atlantic, underneath the surface, all kinds of animals were swimming to and fro, most of them with no particular place to go. Whales and dolphins were feeding on small fish, larger fish were minding their own business, and over in one part of the ocean, we are given a view of an underwater cave. Out of that cave came a family of merfolk – a father, a mother, and their small daughter. The father had light skin, chestnut brown hair, blue eyes with a touch of teal, a dark blue tail, seaweed strands over his chest, and a small beard on his chin. The mother had paler skin (even though she was perfectly healthy), brown eyes, long dark brown hair, a kelp top, and a gold necklace with a light teal pendant shaped like a seashell. The daughter had very fair skin like her mother, her father's eye color, her mother's dark brown hair, rosy cheeks, a dark blue tail like her father, and a matching top over her chest.

The little mermaid child swam around and giggled, while her parents playfully swam after her and said things like, "Come back here, you little flying fish!"

"We're going to catch you!"

"We're going to get you and gobble you up like a shark!"

Finally, the father caught his daughter by her tail, pulled her over, and pretended to eat her up. The little one laughed and giggled until her mother swam over and gave her daughter a big hug. "Oh, Chloe!" the mother said as she smiled at her child, "You are growing up like a little clownfish!"

"Yes," added the father, "Pretty soon you'll be learning about the other parts of the ocean, and how to be a good mermaid like all the other young merfolk down in the warmer seas."

"The warm seas?" Chloe asked with confusion.

"Don't you remember, darling?" her mother smiled at her, "When the summer ends, your father and I will take you to the warmer parts of the ocean to find more food, keep warm, and there will be plenty of other young merfolk to play with you!"

Chloe's expression turned to sadness. "Mummy, Daddy, I don't want to leave this place!" she said, "I want to stay here with you!"

"Chloe, darling," the father kindly assured her, "Mummy and I will be coming with you when we go! And besides, that won't be for another few months. That's plenty of time to play about in these waters!"

About fifty feet away from the mermaid family, a shark was slowly swimming alongside the ocean floor, looking for a bite to eat.

Back at the cave, Chloe's mother asked her daughter, "And do you remember the song we sing every night before we go to sleep? If you ever feel lonely, just remember that song."

Chloe managed a small smile as her mother sang to her daughter:

On the wind, cross the sea

Hear this song and remember

Chloe and Her Mother: Soon you'll be home with me

Once upon a December!

"You see, Chloe?" the father assured his daughter, "Even in the darkest and coldest times, your mother and I will always be here to guide you."

As Chloe hugged her father, she saw something off in the distance and let out a blood-curdling scream! Her parents turned around and saw the shark coming at them with angry and hungry eyes!

"Chloe, hide in the cave!" the mother ordered her daughter.

Chloe swam into her family's cave, while her parents stood their ground to fight off the shark. The shark opened its mouth and was about to eat the merfolk when Chloe's father swam off to his left, and the mother swam off to her right, making the shark miss them.

Chloe peered out of the cave to watch the scene with a frightened look, while her father grabbed the shark by its dorsal fin and began wrestling it. Chloe's mother punched the animal on the nose with her fist, but that made it angrier as it swam around and tried to bite the parents.

Chloe gasped, and then made a terrible mistake. She swam out of the cave and yelled out, "MUMMY! DADDY!" But as she swam over to the shark's rear end, the beast moved its tailfin extra hard. The fin struck Chloe in her head, knocking her out and sending her to sink down to the sand.

Chloe's mother saw her daughter and screamed, "CHLOE!" She swam over to her daughter, but the shark followed her and gnashed her in the tail with its sharp teeth.

The mother yelped in pain, and the father gave the shark an extra big punch in the side. The father turned to his wife and ordered her, "Chloe needs help! Go on and take care of her! I'll fight off the beast!"

Realizing that there was no other choice, Chloe's injured mother cradled her daughter in her arms and swam for the cave, but the shark and Chloe's father crashed into the cave together. Realizing that her husband would fight the shark to the death, Chloe's mother took her daughter and swam upward a few fathoms before she turned southeast and swam with all her strength, trying to find a place to dress her daughter's head and let her rest.

The mermaid mother continued swimming southeast for several more hours, cradling her unconscious daughter close in her arms. Eventually, Chloe and her mother arrived to find a rocky hill that would lead up to an island above the water. Chloe's mother surfaced and got a closer look at the island. It was really a few giant boulders huddled together, with seaweed and driftwood, and a few soggy sticks lying on one of the rocks. The mother carefully laid her daughter upon her back on the biggest boulder, and then used some of the seaweed to bandage her head. The mother then picked up a piece of driftwood and a stick. As her breath became more and more shallow, she dipped the stick in some of the blood on her tail, and began writing a message on the driftwood, hoping that someone would see her daughter and the message.

When she finished, Chloe's mother removed her necklace and put it around her daughter's neck. "Goodbye, dear Chloe," the mother sadly whispered. As she put her tail in the sea, Chloe's mother turned the shell pendant over and revealed a couple of small holes in the shell. The mother then blew into one of the holes, and suddenly, Chloe's tail began to transform into a pair of human legs, and her top turned into a simple blue dress with a green belt.

The mother, with tears in her eyes, then lowered herself into the sea and let go of the rocks before she sank deep down, never to be seen again.

Author's Note: The song "Once Upon a December" is from Don Bluth's Anastasia ((c) Fox)