For over four years I worked at a newspaper in Tooele County, a rural desert county in Utah. I had a coworker once say the county is a collection of almosts—it could be almost a fantastic hiking ... [+]
While pulling lobster pots from the bay, Finn chanced upon the mermaid. His mind was on Jenny, dark with worry, when the mermaid appeared alongside his boat. An old friend once told him of a legend that consuming mermaid flesh could make a human live forever, a story he'd scoffed at once upon a time but that now seemed auspicious.The pots tumbled back into the bay. Finn went after the mermaid.She fought for her freedom, the bay frothing with her fury. Finn's tired boat chugged through his reserves of fuel. The tide came and went, the sun set and rose again. Still, Finn and the mermaid fought.