When I was a little girl, my grandmother Abu would tell me stories of the most beautiful mermaid in the ocean named Lady Azusa. I loved those stories so much, and I so miss them. Abu is 82 years old right now, and she doesn't tell her stories anymore. But tonight at dinnertime, I believe that Abu somehow shared her spirit with me. I do not know where this story came from, other than straight from the heart of Abu. So thank you, dear Abu, for sharing your gift with me. I will use it wisely, and I will carry on your tradition.
Lady Azusa's Message
Once there was a beautiful little girl named Violet. She was visiting the beach with her family. One night, as the moon was full in the sky above, she took a walk along the beach. She saw a lot of shells, and some of them sparkled a little bit in the moonlight. Just then, a few steps ahead of her, she saw a shell that shone and sparkled like nothing she had ever seen. Violet picked it up and a few sparkles fell from the shell.
She knew this shell was special – even magical – and she held it to her ear. At first, all she could hear was the whooooosh of the ocean. But then suddenly, Violet heard something else – a quiet voice that whispered to her,
“Hello! This is a special shell that has been sent to you from Lady Azusa, Queen of all the Sea. She would like you to come right to this spot on the beach tomorrow morning at sunrise, and there will be a special messenger waiting to take you to see the Queen.”
Violet’s eyes widened, for she knew that this was a very special message that she must heed. She ran back to her house as fast as her little feet could carry her, in the door and up the steps to the bedroom where her daddy was sleeping.
“Daddy!” she cried, “I just got a message from Lady Azusa! She told me I had to meet her tomorrow morning at sunrise on the beach!”
Violet’s daddy was a bit skeptical, because although he had heard stories of Lady Azusa, he didn’t know she really existed. But he agreed to take her to the shore the following morning, and they set their alarm for very early so they could be there at sunrise.
The next morning as Violet and her daddy walked hand in hand to the beach, they came upon a strange sight. There, right in the spot where Violet found the sparkly seashell, a dolphin – with a crown on his head – waited to greet them in the water right where the ocean met the sand.
“You must be girl who received Lady Azusa’s message,” said the Dolphin with a very regal voice. “I am here to take you to meet her.”
Violet looked at her daddy and back at the dolphin. Her daddy nodded at her and said she could go. “I’ll wait for you here, sweetie,” he told her.
Violet stepped up to the dolphin, which looked long and low at her down his snout and said, “Can you breeeeeeeeathe underwater, young lady?”
“No,” Violet replied with a concerned look on her face.
“Then place my crown upon your head, and you will be able to breathe underwater so that you may visit with The Queen.” Violet picked up the crown. It sparkled as soon as she touched it, and as she put it on her head it glowed a soft purple. “Now climb onto my back and we will swim through the sea and the waves to her castle.”
Violet carefully climbed onto the back of the dolphin and held onto his dorsal fin. He turned toward the sea and flipped his tail and into the waves they went. He dove down, down, down into the salty ocean. Violet was afraid at first… she had been holding her breath and needed to breathe soon – would the crown really work? Could she really breathe underwater? She knew she couldn’t hold on any longer – she had to take a breath – she opened her mouth and GULPED! And she could breathe!! Under the water! She looked around with a huge grin as they passed coral gardens and schools of fish and kelp beds as they went deeper and deeper in the sea. The deeper they went, the more sparkly the water became. It shimmered and glowed all around them.
Violet and the dolphin rounded a rocky corner and suddenly she saw the most beautiful sight ever – Lady Azusa’s castle. It rose up from the sandy bottom of the ocean with blue-violet spires that glimmered like jewels. The dolphin let Violet off his back right at the door of the castle. She swam up to the huge door and pulled the sapphire blue knocker out from it. The knock was a loud, hollow sound that echoed in the castle.
The castle door opened slowly, and at first Violet didn’t see anyone there. Then she looked down and saw a little red crab. It was Sebastian, the crab from The Little Mermaid! “Lady Azusa is expecting you,” he said with a smile. “Follow me.” With those words, Sebastian skittered along the floor of the castle to The Queen’s reception room as Violet followed close behind.
As they entered the beautiful hall adorned with sea flowers of all kinds, Violet caught a glimpse of the most beautiful lady she had ever seen in her life. Lady Azusa had a long pink tail that shimmered as it moved through the water. Her hair was long and golden and wavy and it moved as the current moved around her. She had big, beautiful eyes and a lovely smile. “Violet!” she cried. “Thank you so much for coming to see me! I am so very happy to see you!” and she swam over to Violet and gave her a big, long hug.
Lady Azusa took Violet by the hand and showed her to a fluffy flower chair. They sat together and Lady Azusa smiled as she spoke. “Violet… I am so glad you got my message on the beach. I was hoping you would find it! Do you know why I asked you to come down here to meet me?”
“No,” said Violet as she shook her head.
“I asked you to meet me because I have a very important task for you. Do you think you can help me?” Lady Azusa asked Violet.
“Of course!” Violet said enthusiastically.
“Well, Violet, I don’t know if you noticed – but the ocean has been getting very dirty. People are leaving their trash on the beach and they are dropping it off their boats into the water. This trash is hurting the fish and dolphins, and it is making the ocean unclean and unsafe for all of us. I am asking you – dear Violet – to help me by picking up any trash you see when you are walking along the beach. If you did this, it could be the start of something very special for all of us, both on land and in the sea. We could once again have clean, sparkling water for all of us. The beaches wouldn’t be cluttered with trash from visitors, and it would be a safe place for you to play and make sand castles. We want to keep everything clean and beautiful, the way God made it. Do you think you can be my helper and clean up the beach for me?”
Violet said she would. And she would tell all her friends and family to do the same.
“Thank you, sweet child,” Lady Azusa said. “And I have a gift for you. It is a Mussel Shell Amulet, and it will remind you of what I told you. The back side is rough and dirty – just like the ocean and beach will look if no one takes care of it. But if you turn it over, it is smooth and shiny, like the sparking water of the sea. This will remind you that if everyone does their part to take care of our world, we will all have a sparkly, shiny place to live.” Violet humbly accepted her gift from Lady Azusa, who placed it around her neck.
“I do not want to keep you from your daddy too long, but please join me for a little Mermaid Tea before you have to return to land,” said The Queen, and Violet of course said she would. They dined and snacked for a short while, and then Violet knew she must go. With another hug, Lady Azusa bid her new friend Violet farewell.
Violet climbed onto the dolphin and they swam back to the surface together. When they broke through the water, she saw her daddy waiting for her on the shore. Violet took the crown from her head and placed it back on the dolphin’s head. “Thank you for my wonderful ride, Sir Dolphin. I shall never forget it!” she told him, and waved as he returned to the water.
Violet ran toward her daddy and showed him her gift from Lady Azusa. The necklace sparkled even more out in the sun. She told her daddy how she now has a task when she is on the beach. If she ever sees trash, she is to pick it up and put it in the trash bins, so that the oceans and the beaches are clean and sparkly for people, mermaids, and all the creatures of the sea.
And with that, the two of them walked along the shore, picking up things to put in the trash cans, so that Lady Azusa’s dream of a beautiful shore would come true.
The end.
Copyright 2005
By Jessie Baldwin
