It was long ago (as all stories start), so long ago that there wasn?t a name for the year, that the young, fit son of the great king set out to explore the high mountain range of Fafoola. His goal was reach the peak of the tallest mountain, of which so many rumored. The last to endure such a journey never returned, and the rumors became more numerous, more unreasonable, and more terrifying. Though, such a boy (for he was not yet a man) like Xavier could face an expedition of such great dangers (or so he thought). He had set out but an hour ago, and soon stumbled upon a minute lagoon, which he assumed to be the mid-mountain checkpoint.
Xavier stopped to rest on a small overhang that hovered the lagoon and began unpacking the wonderful lunch his worrisome mother had prepared for him. Suddenly, he noticed small ripples appearing in various spots along the water. As he focused in closer, he could make out some kind of fin flipping around underneath. Soon, it disappeared inside a deep cloud of mud swirling throughout the lagoon. His curiosity urged him to the edge of the cliff to observe the water more intently, sandwich in hand. At that exact moment, there came a massive splash as a young girl exploded out of the water with a ?HEY!? Xavier startled and fell off the edge of the overhang, flailing about, and finally hitting the surface of the lagoon.
When he finally appeared above the surface, the girl was dancing around in the water with his sandwich held high above her head.
?My name is Aqua, and if you want this back badly enough, you must tell me your name.?
?You don?t need my name, and I don?t need that sandwich,? He huffed and turned around sharply, his arms folded.
?Oh I?m sure you want it, for you were only three bites into it. That won?t ever fill a man enough to get him back down the mountain.? She replied. Xavier?s stomach growled at him to retrieve the sandwich.
?What do you mean back down? I still have to get to the top.? He said instead of telling her his name.
?Oh silly, this IS the top!? She giggled. Xavier?s eyes went wide and he looked around excitedly.
?I MADE IT!? He cheered.
?Of course! I could sense you coming. No one else even dares to seek out this area, because of all those silly rumors.?
?How would you know??
?Tell me your name and I?ll tell you all about me, and you?ll get your sandwich back.?
?Oh it?s not wet, is it?"
And with that, he told her his name and they began chatting back and forth. Xavier soon learned that Aqua was a mermaid, and that it was a mermaid?s specialty to trick people. Before Xavier left, which he was hesitant to do, he plucked the most beautiful rose from the small bed to far from the lagoon for Aqua to reach and gave it to her. As soon as he disappeared into the forest again, Aqua dived down to where her older siblings roamed. Dancing and flipping about in joy, she proudly proclaimed that she had fallen in love.
Xavier spent long weeks down in Fafoola telling everyone of his adventure, Aqua awaiting his return, all the while bragging to her siblings that she had truly fallen for him. The eldest of them all began to get jealous, for she had never met anyone so wonderful, and planted a curse on Aqua wile she was busying herself up on the cliff her love had once sat upon.
?You say you have fallen in love, but I assure you that you can only fall one way.? She whispered. And with that she used her powers to construct a large drop at the edge of the overhang, and filled it with rushing water, allowing Aqua to plummet off the end, disappearing into the waves of deafening water.
Xavier arrived shortly after the dreadful incident, calling for Aqua to tell her of his great fortune earned from his discovery. Unfortunately, the only thing to respond was a small, shaky voice calling his name from a distance, overpowered by the sound of crashing water. Xavier began to search for the owner of the voice, but it finally drove him mad and he spent the rest of his days lying and listening at the top of what was now the waterfall.