Hello, World! 

It's Teleria.

This story, like most stories, started with a what-if question: what if, instead of choosing between the little mermaid and a human woman, the prince just...never made a decision? And so instead of dissolving into sea foam, the little mermaid was simply...well, benched? 

What would she do next? Perhaps, she would accept her second-class status and stay beside him. As a magical being with esoteric knowledge, she could certainly do a lot of good, for him and for his young family. And it would be something for her to do, now that she's a trembling, aching ball of flesh.

Tens and hundreds of years pass. One day, the mermaid becomes conscious of the fact that she has, for all intents and purposes, "arrived": somehow, she is living the life of an ordinary woman in the modern world. No different, save for being untouched by ancestral connection, and unencumbered by mortality. Perhaps she has a job, hobbies, her own friends and acquaintances. Perhaps a child. She has outlived her lover and even the memories of him, and no longer aches for him in her heart and in the soles of her tired feet.

Compared to her youthful, lovestruck self, she has lost much - but also, gained uncountable things. And despite her once sincere death wish, she is alive.

This question was the seed. And from there, "The Lazenbys" slowly emerged.

The Lazenbys is not a story about the little mermaid. Neither Jo nor Sailor are her, exactly, but perhaps they both are. Jo with his long history of servility and regal bearing, Sailor with her painfully romantic ideals and pretty dreams. Maybe it's enough to say that both stories about those who loved - who were fools for love - and who in moments of quietude can still feel the ragged marks where the teeth of love bore holes inside of them.

As outsiders and newcomers, both represent the hope of justice, liberty, and lives transformed. I set them down in Boston, and watched the rest of the story gently bubble and froth around them. 

To be sure, this is also a story about Boston - the Boston of folk stories, of yesteryear and of today. Not being a Bostonian, I conducted research to try to capture the city's unique blend of historicity and modernity. Sadly, not enough. True Bostonians, don't hesitate to give me your feedback (with your famed directness, if you please!).

Enjoy this little fish tale in 3 acts.