Not fairy tales

«Oh! Greetings, traveler! I didn’t expect to see anyone on my property today.»

The guy twitched, mumbling uncertainly, turning away so he wouldn’t see her nakedness.

«My sincere apologies, lady. I didn’t know… I didn’t know anyone was here, or I wouldn’t have disturbed… I’m sorry!»

From the corner of his eye, he noticed that she dismissed his apology as unimportant, as if his impertinent appearance were not worth the words.

«What brings you here, traveler? You don’t meet many people here,» she smiled as she spread her hands over the water, which reached almost to her chest.

«I… hmm… I’m…» Lendun was never one for eloquence, but now he was embarrassed. «I just… wanted to cool off. It’s hot today, don’t you think?» he lowered his eyes again.

«Yeah, I guess so,» she shrugged. «So, what are you waiting for? Go for a swim.»

«I’m pretty much already,» the guy shook his head toward the boulders, «over there».

«Oh, I see. Are you coming from Kahnitz?»

«No, on the contrary, that way. Voivode…»

His words were interrupted by a loud splash somewhere in the middle of the lake. He looked up and saw the glint of scales on the back of a large fish.

«Wow! Wow! Did you see that?! A carp, I think, and an enormous one at that. It’s delicious… Mm…»

«Do you like fish, too?» the woman he was talking to asked him a little bit surprised. «Then wait, now…»

He will never forget the spectacle that followed.

Three long whip-like blue-green tentacles rose above the blue-reflecting waves, curved in the air, dived into the water, and after a moment rose back up, pulling out a silvery, scaly carcass.

There was soft laughter again, like the ringing of porcelain bells.

«Look,» the girl exclaimed cheerfully, «from the very first time…»

The tentacles reached out toward the shore. For a brief moment, the mermaid’s entire body appeared above the surface of the lake: wriggly, serpentine.

An unknowable force had blown him out of his place. Lendun couldn’t remember how he got over the rubble, how he climbed the horse, how he left the ominous grove.

He arrived at the voivode’s farmstead completely white, unable to string words together.

However, Lady Gemma’s – landlord’s wife – honey tincture had gotten him back on his feet in a couple of days. He tried never to think of swimming in the Maiden’s Pond, as the locals called it, though he was unable to exorcise the image of the beautiful golden-haired monster from his dreams.

Italannia pulled the fish closer, grasping the carcass with her delicate hands and sharp claws.

With a slight perplexity she looked after the guy who was running away.

What a weirdo! And he didn’t want to try. He must have remembered something important, so he rushed off.

With a chuckle, the girl immediately put him out of her mind.

The white fangs dug into the still twitching carp, slashing into its side. Watery fish blood dripped down her smooth chin and onto her chest.

Trash

The lock beeped approvingly at the key-card signal. The door to her parents’ apartment hissed to the side, revealing a long narrow hallway.

Una stepped inside and winced: the mixed smell of fried fish, baked goods, and cheap perfume hit her nose so hard it made her eyes water.

The girl walked lightly across the hallway, stopping on the threshold of the living room on the left.

As she might expect, they were home.

Her father was sprawled out on the shabby brown couch, spreading his flabby body on the greasy cushions, staring at the projection on the holovisor. It was brand-new, the latest model, with gleaming blue sides and a clear picture, but the packaging tape had not been removed yet. It was just another show about some kind of outside intervention. It wasn’t interesting, though…

In the far corner, by the lacquered white truffle decorated with gold monograms and scrolls, her mother sat, enthusiastically sorting out another pile of purchases that had been delivered. Countless vials, jars and tubes of cosmetics piled up on the small tabletop like a fragrant pink mountain. Overlapping blouses and skirts, fur coats and kerchiefs, jackets and lace panties hung on the back of a chair and on a movable coat rack. Against this motley mass the delicate, perhaps even haggard figure of the golden-haired woman was almost invisible. At her feet and around her were also crowded bags and boxes: shoes, dishes, gadgets, and other «fun» junk from the TV store; with any luck a couple of books might be found. And there are wrappers and ribbons, paper, cellophane, pieces of fiber and foam, receipts and labels everywhere.

Una shook her head disapprovingly: how do they manage to litter everything so much in just a couple of days?

«Mom, Dad, hi! You’re all sitting here like owls.»

Mammy turned around briskly on her brightly decorated perch – just like a bird, smiled exaggeratedly and waved her hand.

«Hello, hello, hello!» and then she stared in the mirror again.

The father muttered something under his breath, but didn’t even look at his daughter, continuing to fill his mouth with fish sticks from a deep bowl on his lap.

«You’re sitting there,» the girl continued without embarrassment, «and, by the way, it’s so beautiful outside Treboyn today, you don’t even need breathing apparatus,» she put the mask from hermosuit on the chest of drawers. «Oh, look at that, you can see…»

Behind the long window hole, she could see a wide strip of pale blue sky about six miles to the east, just beyond the first cordon. The ribbon cut through the usual reddish-gray haze and wound all the way to the horizon, merging there with the sea.

Not a single head turned.

With a sigh, Una set to work, rolled out a holder from the pantry, hooked a huge acid-orange garbage bag onto it, and began to clean up. Crumpled packages and half-eaten pieces of food poured into the orange belly.

The lock clicked again.

Through the corridor, without looking into the living room, her sister walked hurriedly, hiding in the kitchen.

Una frowned. Bending down, she picked up another cardboard box, tossed it into the bag, then suddenly froze in thought, glancing suspiciously at the kitchen door. Leaving her work for the moment, she went to look at Poly.

The older girl sat at the table hunched over, her blond hair hiding her bowed face. Thin, motherlike hands shook as she uncorked a jar.

«Hi! Poly, what are you…»

The girl didn’t finish: she came closer and immediately saw what her sister was holding. In the flat round container was a thick greenish-blue gel.

Without a second’s hesitation, Una snatched the jar from her trembling hands and carried it to the garbage bag.

«You won’t eat it again. Never again. We talked about this…»