There once was a man whose skin was made of stone. He stood high above the common man, measuring up to ten feet, or more. No blade could make a scratch, no arrow could pierce his skin, no hammer left a mark and no weapon caused him pain.
His mighty hands could crush a skull as if it were a mere egg. And when he hit the ground with them, the earth trembled and shook. He once hit the ground so hard that the earthquake that followed destroyed half of the king’s town.
He defended his country in glamorous battles, he sought out and fought the strongest of opponents and he defeated armies by himself. ((Between battles, when he travelled the land alone, he aided the common man in need of help. He helped a poor farmer plough the field when he lost his horse, he saved a boy who got buried under rocks, he waded through the strong river to save a lamb, he fought to defend a village from invaders single-handedly.))
The stone man had no fear, he knew no enemy would be able to take him down. He was always victorious, the man that would defeat him did not exist.
And when there was no battle, no chance to proof his strength, he travelled. He travelled alone, for he had a quest. A quest to find another like him.
One day his travel brought him to a cove and stood there to admire the view. Unbeknown to him a dangerous creature lurked in the water. A creature of misleading beauty and grace, with the upper body of a woman and a tail like that of a fish, but with scales in a colour that can be found in a rainbow. Fishermen call it a mermaid and warn each other about them, for they prey on men and lure them into the water, but the stone man had never heard such tales. The mermaid swam around, the light reflecting on the scales of her tail shimmered on the surface of the water, and he watched it in amazement.
When her head surfaced he did not run or cover his ears. Enthralled by her beauty he stepped forward until he reached the waterline, where he watched her swim and smile lovingly to him. Then she sang her song, her beautiful song that had lead many men to their watery grave. Unable to resist the stone man walked into the water, to the white, slender arms that reached out to him. He followed the mermaid into the sea, deeper and deeper he went until his head disappeared under the water.
No-one ever saw him again.
*** © Mariska Bekker ***