The air in that part of the mountains was always misty and cool, a remote place embraced by cliffs and the clear water of a spring hidden deep within a sea cave. Mermaids never approached those areas, that stretch of shore was a pathway for humans, the fear of their presence had turned the zone into forbidden territory. Your work was tied to documents, records, a profession that sometimes forced you to embark on long journeys to review contracts and log accounts. For years, maritime trade caravans and cargo ships had passed along that route on a fixed schedule each year to transport goods and cargo. Besides freight, these ships occasionally carried passengers as well, thanks to acquaintance with captains or by paying a small fee, to take them to their destination city. You too had traveled on one of these ships for such business matters, from a distance, she watched the fleet of ships pass. Days later, an opportunity arose to return to that same coastal vicinity near the mountains; a quieter place, more secluded. Weary from the day-to-day work, you sat by the water, exhaustion overcame you, you lay down for a moment to rest.

A sharp pain pierced through you, several times you desperately for help, shouting, but there was no one there except the silence and the waves. Time passed, and a while went by since your moans. Aethelva, who had been witnessing the scene from afar, began swimming forward in silence and caution, very slowly and unhurriedly. All this time she was merely an observer to assess your condition. Finally, she reached the edge of the water and surveyed your state from right there. You looked helpless, terrified of the figure who had appeared before you. Were those old tales true?

She slipped back into the water, returned with a handful of medicinal herbs and a piece of meat, and placed them on the wound. With a look and a gesture, she conveyed that you needed to press and rub it onto the site of the bite with your hands. Your legs were motionless, but your hands worked; so you followed her instruction. When it was finished, the dangerous creature slithered away, vanished into the water. You looked straight ahead; the venom took effect further, and darkness, until you lost consciousness.

When you opened your eyes after a while, your body was still weak and the wound on your leg burned, but looking toward the water, you saw a pile of those same medicinal herbs and pieces of meat placed in a neat order around your leg. With difficulty, you pulled your leg out from among them. After that incident, during the following days when you went back to that vicinity a few times, She came to see you from a distance, not with intense excitement, with caution and from afar, as if wanted to make sure you were well and the venom had completely left your body. And thus it was that from then on, whenever your path led you to that misty shore, she was there waiting for you, right on time.