On his one thousand and first voyage, Santiago returned empty-handed once again.
But a mermaid slapped the side of his boat cheerfully. "Old man, you're pathetic!"
"Ugly, old, poor, and can't even catch a fish. Hahahahaha!"
He silently picked up his harpoon. "Anyone ever tried mermaid soup?"
The mermaid's laughter stopped abruptly.
She dove into the water in alarm, leaving behind only a trail of bubbles.
The next morning, the mermaid appeared right on time again. "Old man, you, "
Before she could finish, he expertly cast a fishing net.
"Today, I caught a fish that wouldn't shut up."
Before you read:
1. This is a free, completed story, updated daily.
2. DeepSeek participated in the writing. You could say this started as a creative game I played with DeepSeek. I unexpectedly finished it, and it seemed good enough to share. If you dislike that, please don't read.
3. The sections titled "Author's Note" contain prompts I sent to DeepSeek and can be treated as chapter summaries. The main text was generated by DeepSeek. For the best reading experience, hide them using the button in the upper-right three-dot menu.
Theme: Communication really matters.
