As she moved closer to the small path that led home, she decided to pass through the small bush behind the big trees so she could avoid the hunters. But as she walked, she heard a soft crying sound coming from behind a large bamboo tree.
Amara stopped.
She placed her pot gently on the ground and listened carefully.
“Help! Help me!” she heard a weak voice cry.
Amara was afraid. Her legs were shaking and her heart was pounding. She looked around to see if someone was there, but she could not see anyone. Then she slowly walked closer to the bamboo tree, and what she saw shocked her.
There, tied to the tree with a strong rope, was a beautiful woman with long wet hair and shining skin. Her eyes were filled with tears, and she looked very weak and tired. Her stomach was very large, and it was clear that she was pregnant.
Amara looked down and saw something that made her freeze.
Instead of legs, the woman had a long silver fishtail, and it was tied tightly with rope, making her unable to move.
Amara opened her mouth, but no words came out. She was staring at a pregnant mermaid in the bush near the village river.
The mermaid lifted her hand weakly toward Amara, tears dropping from her eyes.
“Please help me. They will kill me and my baby,” the mermaid pleaded in a soft, shaking voice.
Amara stepped back in fear. Her body trembled and she wanted to run away. She had never seen a mermaid before, and she had heard stories in the village about mermaids who took people’s souls and how dangerous they were. But the mermaid in front of her did not look dangerous. She looked helpless and frightened, like a woman who truly needed help.
Amara looked around quickly and saw no one. She took a step closer to the mermaid, her heart beating fast.
“Please help me. They will come back to take me away. I don’t want to die,” the mermaid said again, her hand still stretched out toward Amara.
Amara bent down slowly and whispered, “Are you really a mermaid?”
The mermaid nodded, tears falling from her eyes. “Yes. And I am pregnant. They caught me when I came to the river at midnight. They tied me here and left, but they are coming back later. Please help me.”
Amara’s eyes filled with pity. She saw that the mermaid was shivering and that there were bruises on her arms where the rope had been tied.
Suddenly, Amara heard voices of men talking nearby.
She quickly turned around and saw shadows moving near the bushes.
“They are coming,” the mermaid whispered, fear in her eyes.
Amara’s mind was in confusion. She did not know what to do. Should she help the mermaid escape? Should she leave her there and run away?
The voices became clearer, and Amara could hear the hunters laughing and saying, “We will take her before people start coming out.”
Amara’s breathing became heavy. She knew that if they came now, they would see her standing near the mermaid, and they might harm her too.
She looked at the mermaid, who was still begging her with tears and fear in her eyes.
Amara did not know where she got the courage, but she stepped closer and touched the rope tied around the mermaid’s hands.
The mermaid flinched in pain, but looked at Amara with hope.
