Sibyl

Sibyl


It was a dark and stormy night. Well, actually it was dusk with a very light drizzle. I was sitting on my backyard dock swathed in mosquito repellant
and protected by an enormous golf umbrella. My house sits along the Orange River in Fort Myers , Florida. The river isn't orange, more a dark rust color from tannins in the water produced from mangrove leaves. It isn't really a river, just a tributary of the Caloosahatchee. I love sitting here at sunset hoping to catch glimpses of water birds. Occasionally, a gator or a manatee might float by.

That night as a glorious harvest moon and a brilliant Venus were rising I noticed expanding ripples and circles on the surface of the water. The silvery mullet were jumping putting on quite an acrobatic performance. Initially I thought it might be schools of fish running through. Then, I noticed a large dark form swimming from the opposite bank directly to where I was sitting. Suddenly all went still and silent. The skies opened up with peals of thunder and the drizzle became a downpour. I pulled my lawn chair closer to the edge of the dock, and then She popped her head above the water.

She was plump, and black, and had dreadlocks cascading to her shoulders. I couldn't ascertain her age, but she was surely not young.

"Who are you?, I stuttered, "and most importantly, what are you?".

"Hmmmph," she snorted, "I am Sibyl, and I am a mermaid".

"You can't be a mermaid," I insisted. "You are old, and fat, and black."

"Girlfriend," she countered, "you don't know nothin' about mermaids. I am here to educate you."

Sibyl continued, "There have been black mermaids for thousands of years originating in Africa. In ancient times they were known as sibyls and were oracles and prophets. The patriarchal religions throughout history worked tirelessly to eradicate humanity's awareness of us to advance their own agenda. Throughout the African diaspora there has been knowledge of Black mermaid goddesses. Look up Yemaya and Mami Wati. We have been hidden and silent for millennia but our sisterhood felt that things are in such chaos here on Earth that we needed to be seen and heard again. Hans Christian Anderson didn't get us right, but Disney's heading in the right direction. Soon, genetic mapping will be fine tuned and it will reveal that every human has black mermaid DNA. Darwin wasn't completely correct either".

"I like your hair", I muttered.

"Well, I've been trying for that Medusa look", she said, "but this is the best I could do".

Sheepishly I asked, "Why are you talking to me?".

"Sister, Sibyl said, "you are a nurse, a grandmother, ,an old hippie. an environmentalist and about as average as it gets. People might listen to you. I have a message that the sisterhood wants you to share. Earth is in chaos.".

I laughed and said, " like a message from Mother Mary, Fatima, Lourdes, all that?".

Sibyl guffawed, "Not quite dearie. I'm further down the chain of command.".

The message is simple she said "stop fighting, honor your differences, clean up the Earth.".

With that Sibyl submerged and started swimming away. All the night birds started singing, the rain and the thunder ceased.

"Well, I mused, " I guess I know what my next Facebook post will be and maybe it's about time I tried Instagram and
TikTok".


Addendum: In 2030 enhanced genetic testing determined that 99.5% of all humans living on Earth had black mermaid DNA. Of the remaining 5% experts are still unclear. Founded in 2022 the philanthropic organization SOS,
Sisterhood of the Sibyls continues it's mission of peacemaking, unity, and Earth sustainability. Since 2022, black mermaid sightings have increased exponentially.