Chronicles & Chill #9: Wish Upon A Mermaid

So, have you ever made a wish upon a star? Well, when I was 15, my Argentinian friend and I accidentally did just that—only it wasn’t upon a star. We think it was a mermaid. See, when I was 15, we went to Mexico for about two months. It was one of the best times of my life, especially because I had a friend from Argentina who was also on vacation with her family in the same town. She and I had a great time exploring the town on our own. This was pretty normal in Mexico. It was a safe town, and no one had to worry about their kids being stolen. So, we would go to local dances and food stands with no parents. It was NICE!

In all the places we hung out, there was one common denominator: soccer. The town actually had soccer games against surrounding towns, and scouts would attend, so the boys and men took it very seriously. Soccer was life bro.... And the town definitely pampered its stars! They would get free food and drinks, and they would always have a good table at the dances and parties. My friend had a crush on one of these soccer guys, the most popular one actually. He was the Bad Bunny of that town before there was a Bad Bunny HAHAHAHA!!! So this little crush she had led us down some very sketchy series of events.

My family and extended family threw a huge quinceañera for our cousin. Everyone went—it was like the Grammys. Obviously, the town’s Soccer Bad Bunny was there. My friend looked beautiful that night, with her blonde hair, green eyes, and insane bronze-goddess tan she was already a very pretty girl, but that night she had on a new dress with all her jewelry and makeup done at the salon. She looked like J.Lo HAHAHA! Well, Soccer Bad Bunny thought so too because he asked her to dance. They danced to a few fast songs and then one slow song. Afterward, he walked her back to our area. We were in this big ballroom-type space that was rented for the Quince/Grammys event, so it was a long walk in front of everyone and that was kind of a big deal in that small town. She got picked!! After walking her back in front of everyone, he left with a few of his friends probably to another party in town. Also normal. This town can party, y’all.

Anyways, the family was full of drunkies, the banda was roaring, and my friend felt like Cinderella after the dance. We got the nerve to walk to the beach in the dark just the two of us. It wasn’t far from the party, which was why we went. The entire way, she talked about Soccer Bad Bunny.... how good he smelled, what a great dancer he was, and how he would smile at her in a way that made her know he was into her. We reached the area with dolphin statues, a mermaid, a fountain, and benches. It was beautifully lit at night, which was why we wanted to go. We sat on the beach talking about him and how badly she wanted him to want her when we suddenly heard giggling. “What was that?” I asked. My friend had this look on her face, she had heard it too. We stayed completely still, waiting to see if we would hear it again. Then we heard splashing right beside us! We jumped up and started walking away, it was a fast walk actually, like a jog/walk cause we were spooked.. We could hear the band blaring as we made it back to the venue and I was finally able to unclench my butt cheeks. We went inside and found our parents dancing in a circle like Kai Cenat and his friends. Clearly, nobody had even noticed we were gone. Good because we had no idea how we could possibly explain what had just happened.

The next day, I saw my friend in the afternoon, like I always did, and she looked stressed. She said her gold necklace was missing. She had worn it the day of the party and couldn’t seem to find it, so we needed to retrace her steps to see if it had fallen somewhere. Hopefully, no one had picked it up. So, we started retracing our steps, and guess who we ran into..... Soccer Bad Bunny. We told him what we were doing, and he offered to join the search. He and my güerita friend were walking way too close together. She completely forgot I was behind them and they almost kissed at one point. Once we finished retracing our steps for the second time, it was time to pause the search. Soccer Bad Bunny had to head home so he needed to leave. We continued looking for the necklace in other areas and snuck in some "comida de la calle" after giving up on the search entirely.

The next day we wanted tacos, so we went to get some and guess who showed up? *Pulls out walkie-talkie* we have a Stage 5 Clinger *Chssshhh.* This time, they definitely tasted each other’s throats. The following day, my friend saw him when she went to get the mandado by herself, they totally scammed behind some store. This guy was everywhere she went! And there was no social media during this time, shit some houses didnt even have phones! He was like a Mexican Edward Cullen. She loved it at first, but one day her grandma caught her at church! LMAO!!!! My friend had supposedly gone to the bathroom during Mass, but she was gone for so long that her Grandma went looking and found her tasting his esophagus again. Imagine your grandma standing behind you, saying, “¿Qué estás haciendo?” as you shove your tongue down some guy’s throat. I would have died from pure embarrassment, honestly…

That was when she got in trouble and all interactions with Soccer Bad Bunny were banned. Her punishment was that she couldn’t go out with ME! WTF, WHAT DID I DO?! How the hell were her actions my punishment too? WE couldn’t go anywhere anymore unless her mom went with her, but Soccer Bad Bunny didn’t get the memo. He still showed up at different places and gave her this creepy stare. She got over it real fast because he was not the same guy anymore. One night, she was finally allowed to go out because her family’s trip was coming to an end. Her parents gave her a break and said it was ok to have a night out with me, no moms allowed. That night there was no Soccer Bad Bunny sightings, we could really enjoy the night just us 2.

We went to all of our usual stops and eventually the beach spot by the mermaid fountain. We reminisced about our trip, how much fun we’d had, and how we would never forget about each other. It really had been amazing up until she got in trouble . She said that even making out all over town with Soccer Bad Bunny was part of what made the trip so amazing. She would never forget him or how he eventually started to creep her out. She told me that night that she had even been dreaming about him, but the dreams were strange and left her feeling uneasy. The moment she said that, the vibe changed. It was like a switch had flipped, and we both tensed up as we remembered the laughing and splashing from the night of the party. We became completely quiet, listening extra hard and almost hoping we would hear something. I don’t know about her, but I wanted proof that I wasn’t crazy. Just then, my friend let out a soft little snort, and we both started laughing. We decided it was time to leave—and that was when we heard singing. Yes, singing! I couldn’t tell you what the song was, but it was singing. We didn’t need to say anything; we both instantly sprinted home. Something was most definitely out there....again. I did not tell anyone, I'm sure my friend didnt either because how do we explain we were on the beach at night unsupervised without getting our ass handed to us Mexican style while in Mexico....

My friend left a week later. We hung out during that final week, but there was no more Soccer Bad Bunny. Supposedly, he had gone to Guadalajara to practice for a month and try to get noticed by scouts. So, after STALKING HER for about two weeks, he disappeared, and my friend never saw him again. LOL! Oh, and get this, she eventually found her necklace inside the pocket of her dress where you can add padding to the bra part— it was there the entire time…or was it?

Stories about humans making bargains with mythical creatures have existed for centuries. A wish is granted, something is taken as payment, and when the wish is no longer wanted, the payment is returned. Even The Little Mermaid was originally a story about desire, sacrifice, and the price of wanting something badly enough.

Sometimes, I wonder whether that necklace was taken as payment for a wish my friend didn’t realize she had made. She wanted him to want her so badly that she wouldn’t have cared if there were consequences. She was blinded by lust. When his attention became too much, he disappeared and the necklace returned, as if the contract was VOID.

Maybe the giggling came from another girl. Maybe the splashing was only the water. Maybe the necklace had been inside her dress the entire time.

Or maybe something in the ocean heard her wish.

So, be careful what you wish for and be even more careful what might be listening.