I can see myself sipping mocktails by the pool, watching the world go past as I regroup again. Sometimes life can take a toll and the only remedy is a holiday away from civilization and the people you know. Being able to take a break would be a dream come true but when your finances are dire it is easier said than done. Still I remain optimistic that out there is a golden ticket, waiting to be grabbed with both hands. I would never let go of that golden ticket and I would cradle it like a mother cradles her newborn child, listening to the slow tick of time crawling past. In the midnight hour I stand at my window, dreaming of a life that exists outside of my monotonous reality; un-regimented liberation, unstructured spontaneity. There would be no routine, no 5 am starts, no groans as yet another sleepless night leads into 14 hour work days. I would be free to live my life, no strings attached, no boss to answer to but the boss is me. No-one would tell me what to do, in this summer world I answer to me, myself and I. But then I come crashing back to reality; meager income, barely making do to pay my rent. The sacrifices I made and the memories that I slaughtered, reminds me why the real world must exist. Still there is no harm in dreaming and dream I will, dreams of tales as old as time, dreams that transport me into a fantasy of my choosing, dreams of holidays with sun, sea and sand. I would lie outstretched in the sand, clasping the hot sand between my toes, feeling the warm tickle of the sea breeze nuzzling my bare legs. Arched back begging for the glare of the midday sun to coat me a warm golden brown, gentle waves lapping at my sand encrusted toes. The waves would ask me to dive into its oceanic depths, test the tranquility of its waters on my poor injured back. But when the day draws to a close and the sun begins to set I must pack up my ocean life, leave behind my mer-man friends and walk back into reality, trudging through the emptiness of life. But wait, there is a gift, stepping into my box room a shining gift awaits. A vibrant bag of colour shines like a beacon of hope, swathed in colours of red, blue and pink. Its a colour miracle, a gift from my merman friends and inside is a note; here lies the Roidal Odet Beach Bag, a souvenir of the day that you shared with us. Hold it tight and sea-life will never let you go. Let me go and I will be gone forever, thrown into the deep mass of the big blue ocean.
I will never let you go, I promise my merman friends, aware that us humans cannot appreciate the intricacies of Merman life. We fight, we kill and we plunder without remorse, yet the merman, the founders of UK Swimwear want me to live out my mermaid filled dreams? It was with honour and respect to mer-man life that I accepted my colourful gift, injecting colour and beauty back into my mundane life. In that one bag I saw a story, a story so vivid my eyes were dazzled. I was living my life out in the open waters of a tropical island and having traded my legs for a tail, I swam to my hearts content, frolicking with dolphins who ran circles around me. But when that life grew lonely and I began to miss home, the mer-man brought me my bag back, told me it was a portal between two worlds and I could travel between them at my hearts content. It was a dream come true and I lived a double life for many mer-man years. By day I would count down the hours until I could swim again, the bag held close as a key to my mermaid fantasy. By night I would delve into my bag and transform into a mermaid, watching the silver reflection of the moon create a heavenly mirage on the dark midnight blue waters. 
For many months I flitted between my land and sea selves without little thought for the bag, whose powers waned with every impromptu trick until one day the portal no longer existed. I was anguished and frightened that the world had combusted in my mind, realizing that the bag needed to recharge its batteries. So I waited six months or more, cradling the bag and nourishing it with my soundbites of positivity. But it never woke again, stuck in eternal slumber, dreaming of the day when it could become a mermaid once more. Inside was a secret note, found when cleaning its pockets; used me more times than you should, now I must shut down for good, but remember me when you are feeling low, for-though slow-my eyes will flicker open again. One day when you need me most, I will be there with open arms, the portal will open and the waters will welcome you. But for now you must be patient and wait, for you need to live your life as a human, you have forgotten what reality is. As I folded back the note I realized the bag was right, my fantasy was beautiful but a concept at best, without balance between the two I had forgotten how to live. So I set to and buried the bag in the closet without a second glance living like a human should. Days, months and years past, the lines on my face grew more harsh by the decade until one day bed bound I had a new lease of life. The bag was calling me, its time it said.
Whats Your Mermaid Fantasy?
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