2024-11-27 - It's Scientifically Magical

It was late afternoon in the park, and even though it was not closing time, it was for Gianna at Mermaid Cove. She had just finished her last show for the day, and some of the people had already started to file out of the lagoon area, while the line for those wishing to meet and greet had managed to wind down to the last few people. It was something she always did after every show, sat upon the edge of the tank area and allowed people to come up and talk to her and grab a photo (for extra of course). It was mostly always children, but occasionally you got creepy types who were kept in check by security.

The last one in line was a little girl about 5 or 6 who excitedly ran up to Gianna and climbed onto the shell seating area, greeted with a smile and s soft spoken word. "Well, hello. Don't you look like a little princess today. What's your name?"

The girl smiled and simply stared, then asked. " I'm Clover. Can you talk to fishies?"

Gianna raised a webbed fingertip to her lips and thought a moment. "Why, yes I can. And you know what? They are very smart. They swim in schools you know." The young girl smiled and leaned into give the mermaid a hug and then a picture was taken. "Come back in the summer next time and we can swim together. Okay?"

With all of the park attendees now departed, the young woman remained seated for a moment as a Venture Cove park worker handed her a towel. She proceeded to dry her hair off, tossing the towel aside and shaking her hair out a bit, her eyes then scanning for anyone else.

It's not often that Harper has a day off, rarer still that she takes advantage of the perks of park employment to spend a day at the park. And yet, here she is, having watched the show, and the meet and greet with a broad smile. There's just the subtlest arch of her brow at mention of talking with fish, but the smile for little clover is broad and genuine.

Eventually she meanders over a bright grin and one of the large lollypops sold in the nearby shops popped into her mouth.

"Do you really?" Harper's voice is soft and lilting, the spark in her silver-blue eyes betraying a bit of true curiosity. "Talk to fish, that is. It's Gianna right? Maddie's roomate?" Harper racking her brain as though to scrape her memory for any other possible encounters she may have had with the mermaid.

Gigi's attention is brought to the approaching woman, having not noticed her before. A polite smile is given as she watches Harper approach. She had seen the woman about the park before but had never properly met her or even had a passing hello. The smile grew a bit wider at the inquiry about talking to the fish and she tilted her head to the side and watched the other woman a moment before speaking in her same melodic tone. "How to answer this question. I guess the best way is truthfully. I speak to them, but they do not necessarily speak back. It's not like a Disney movie or anything. Tho, perhaps someday I may develop the ability to do so."

A hand raised to brush a strand of hair back away from her face. "And yes, I am Maddie's roommate. You know her then?" She patted the spot next to her and slid over a bit, shifting her hips to do so, the tail flipping the water ever so slightly. "I bet you have a lot of questions, don't you?" Another smile was given. "Ask anything you wish, I am not shy and will do my best to answer them all, truthfully. Unless of course, you want to keep some of the mystique."

Harper laughs, "Count yourself lucky then, they are terrible singers, and can't carry a tuna." Moving over to plop easily next to the woman, rolling up the legs of her embroidered denim overalls and slipping off her shoes to let her toes dip into the water. There's a glance spared to ensure there are no lingering guests nearby

" I admit the show is way better than I expected, and I had high expectations. And... It's hard to work in a place like this and not have questions, but the two that immediately come to mind are, is the tail prosthetic and is it easier to swim in freshwater or seawater with the whole density vs buoyancy thing?"

She was used to a lot of questions like this. The tail one was certainly something she got asked a lot. The density fresh water and salt water one was something she had not heard a lot and it did cause her to pause a moment and reflect on it. Her webbed hands moved to rest on her mermaid lap (do they have one?) and she turned to face her guest once more. "Okay let's take these one at a time. First, the salt water and freshwater thing. Going to be honest. Have not done a lot of swimming in the saltwater. Much more fresh, being that is what we have here. Saltwater is easier to float in, so I guess it is easier to swim in. Tho, the waves do make it harder depending how deep you are."

She peers over once again, taking in Harper's outfit more fully, her eyes sliding to the dipped in toes. "As for the tail and my fingers. Go ahead, you can touch it. They are 100% real. However, I have to let you know I am not always like this. Which I am sure you are aware of already. The key is keeping the mystique for the children. I can switch back and forth at will. The tail for my legs, the hand webbing. So, I guess the answer is. Yes, it is real, but I can choose when to have it." She raises the tail out of the water and shits her weight. "Go ahead. You can touch it."

Harper laughs at the offer to touch the tail, studying the scales thoughtfully. "I believe you, and I'm a conservationist, I'd be afraid to damage the slime coat - though I guess that wouldn't matter when you change back... would it?"

"I apologize for bombarding you; it just isn't every day you get to talk to a real, live mermaid." She offers Giana a Cheshire grin. But I think I'm being rude, I know I've seen you around since the park opened but I don't think I've ever had the chance of a formal greeting." Offering a hand out to shake.

"Harper, Groundkeeper - I'm with the habitats and conservation team over on starlight." She grins, "I also have a hummingbird buddy and talk to squirrels and salads with some limited success." Since it was only fair to share.

There is another smile and a soft laugh from the mermaid, flipping her tail back towards the water and extending her hand, the webbing still apparent within her fingers. The offered had shook. "It is a pleasure to meet you Harper. I know I have seen you about the park as well. But, I know I need to get out of venture Cove more often. You may already know, my given name is Gianna, but most everyone just calls me Gigi. Kind of been a thing since I was little."

She looks around the lagoon area, and seeing nobody else about besides Harper, proceeds to at least let her hands go back to normal for now, the webbing disappearing as her hand returned to normal . "I try to keep all the transformation stuff hidden. You know? Don't want to destroy the mystique and the magic. " The tail however, still remains, the fin flipping carelessly on the surface of the water.

"A groundskeeper? That is a very worthy job. Must be a lot of hard work." There is a pause as her brow furrows and she asks with a side grin. "You can talk to birds, squirrels and salads? And I thought what I did was cool."

Harper laughs, "Gigi it is then. And it makes sense, though I think that part might be more magic." Her attention drifted up to the stands. "At least to the guests, but I can respect the choice. It's good to have standards." Silver blue eyes drift back to the flipping tail in the water, the smile warm and broad.

"Oh it is not as cool as it sounds. I'm a little better with plants than I am with animals admittedly. And it does help with the conservation work, but most of what I do is behind the scenes unless I'm leading a tour. Was it scary at first?"

Gianna seems a little puzzled by the question she was asked, but does he best to answer it, assuming she understands what Harper is seeking. "You mean when I figured out what my abilities here were? For sure. I have always been an incredible swimmer. I have been swimming since I was little. High school team and then I went on to swim at Michigan State. Won some titles. All that stuff that people look back on and say, hey... was something."

She flips her tail in the water once more, sending up a few small sprays. "I took a job here as a lifeguard. I still lifeguard somedays still. You know, fills up the rest of the days. It was after the park closed and I decided to do some laps in the pool. I like to stay in shape. Well, about halfway through I started to feel funny. My legs were no longer scissor kicking by dolphin kicking. I was going faster than I had ever gone. Long story short, it took me a while to figure out how to change at will and all that, but you know, I make a lot of people happy doing what I do and honestly have never been happier. Am I a Mermaid? The short answer is yes."

She shrugs and offers another smile to the woman. "So, you can talk to plants and animals? That is pretty amazing in itself. When did you figure that out?

Harper listens intently, thoughtfully as Gigi explains her passion for the water. Mentally connecting the events to the park.

She's quiet for a minute when the questions are turned on her and she smiles, "I think it was maybe a little more than a month after open? This hummingbird starts chittering away at me, like they wanted me to plant them a snack. At first it was just... impressions and sensations but over time it has gotten a lot stronger. I'm a Michigan native, I've always had a passion for conservation, particularly of native species. "

Her gaze drifts back to the empty stands, "The scientist in me wants to know the how and why of it, but the little girl who watched dragonflies by the dunes? Just kind of wants to embrace the mystery of it. "

That was the balance of it all. The science versus the magic and mystery. There was a moment of reflection where Gianna just stared down into the water, seemingly pondering her next reply carefully. When she did speak it was in a calm and soft tone, her words sliding elegantly from her lips. "That is the question that should never be asked Harper. The question that you are afraid to ever know the answer to. Where do science and magic and mystery meet? It is a think line, but in my opinion, somethings just need to be accepted for what they are."

She reaches up to toss her hair back behind a bare shoulder. "Somethings do not have logical explanations. They are not meant to be solved. Better to be embraced for what they are. I cannot explain all this..." Her hand gestured to her tail. "But I do not want to, and neither do the thousands of guests who come through her daily. Science and the unexplained can exist with one another, but neither should try and question the others existence."

Harper laughs, "I don't know if I believe that. There's the argument that any sufficiently advanced science may appear to other minds as magic or divinity."

Her attention drifts over though, thoughtful and assessing, "You really deeply believe that, don't you." A beat, as she weighs the thought.

"And what happens if that self-same magic starts to hurt people? Or changes them in ways they do not want to be changed?" The tone is gentle, not so much arguing as seeking a genuine understanding of her thought process and opinion, even as those silver blue eyes seek out the mermaids gaze.

The conversation was getting deeper, and Gianna too another moment after carefully listening to Harper to consider her reply. She had never really put this much thought into the concept. Certainly not this much thought. While she was thinking, she allowed her tail to slowly transform back into a pair of bare legs and feet, her bottom half covered by a think bikini bottom, her toes afterwards teasing the water like Harpers. "You make a very valid point Harper. It is our nature to always question things that hurt or harm as to better understand them is to try and stop or reverse them. "

her arms reached out behind her, and she leaned back on them. Her eyes met once more the silver blue gaze of her companion. "Somethings have no explanation. They have no scientific answer. Or perhaps they do, but simply do not wish to be answered." She offers another warm smile. "But this...all of this. This park, the experiences it gives to the guests...it will always be magical and without an explanation. But you know what? They don't want one."

Harper scratches at her chin thoughtful, "Some do, actually. But - I suppose maybe that's the difference in our job descriptions. Your job is to help them believe in something that shouldn't otherwise be possible. Mine is to introduce them to to ordinary miracles, to explain the miracle behind the way a beetle's wings work, or the way that fireflies can find each other in the dark."

"If I believed that truly and deeply understanding something stripped it of it's magic, I think I'd have to quit." She admits. "But I can respect your desire not to know."

The woman beside her had made a very valid point. It was Harper's job to educate, and it was Gianna's job to give them something that would give wonder to the younger ones and transport the older guests back to their childhood if only for a moment. "You know, I never really thought of it that way. I guess what it boils down to, is that nature has its own set of magic and miracles that have scientific explanation if one searches hard enough, but it does not make them any less magical, you know?"

She flips her toes in the water once more, making a small little swirl before raising her foot to watch the water drip off. "At the end of the day, whether it is science or magic, people are going to still believe what they want to believe. And that is what makes it all work."

"Oh there are still plenty that don't have an explanation too." Harper admits, "That's a part of it too though, the wonder of discovery. But Yeah, that's the point exactly."

Harper nods, "True, faith is its own kind of magic." A Grin, "But I'm still pretty stoked to meet my first real live mermaid, even if you do possibly lure me to a watery grave."

"And belief Is important too. In that way the little mysteries probably make it easier to belive in bigger things, like justice or love."

Gianna laughs lightly at the mention of being lured to a watery grave. "I promise to spare you. I am not like that. We mermaids get such a bad rap from historical tales." She rolls her eyes and exhales softly, letting her feet fully dangle in the water this time. "The wonder of discovery is its own magic. Finding or discovering something that has never been discovered before and sharing it with the world."

Once more a hand is raised to tuck a strand pf hair back behind her ear. "Belief is very important. And with belief, you do not need answers or explanations it is simply accepted."

"Also no dissolving into seafoam if you somehow wind up heartbroken. You suck it up and eat a pint of ice cream like the rest of us." Harper teases lightly. And she nods for belief but can't really stop herself from adding, "But it's also dangerous when it's blind. That's how you end up with tyrants, and all other kinds of ugliness in the world."

Her attention shifts back down to the water and she shakes her head. "Do you have much longer on your shift? I heard one of the shops was doing a testing menu today, if you haven't had lunch yet - my treat?" She offers.

Gianna says, "There is another laugh from the mermaid at the ice cream comment, Gianna rolling her eyes and sticking her tongue out. "Oh, you don't need to worry. I'll put down a pint. Then I will feel guilty and go for a run or a long swim afterwards, but it's totally worth it. And I agree, belief can be a scary thing, especially if someone with evil intentions gets a bunch of people to believe their intentions are honorable."

At the mention of her shift she shakes her head slowly. "I am done. Completely done and to be honest completely starving." She smirks. "And no, I don't just eat fish. I could certainly use some lunch, and lunch I am not paying for seems even more desirable." She pushes herself to her feet and looks down at herself. "Let me just throw something on that I can walk through the park in.""

Harper grins, "Rule one of dealing with the unknown, do it on a full stomach at least." Dragging to her feet and slipping on the shoes again with a laugh, "Sure, thing. I'll go grab us a seat and meet you there.