Sea Maiden 24 Willow by Robert Kline

Sea Maiden 24 Willow by Robert Kline

How do mermaids reproduce?

While struggling in the embrace of unbridled villainy, Edmund C. Roberts managed to solve an ages old mystery. He had asked the question of himself as recently as the previous fore night. His grandfather, Sir Edmund Roberts had repeatedly posed the question and was unable to discover it’s answer, and his great, great, great grandfather, the pirate lord, Samuel Edmund Roberts had broached the dilemma in his journal in the 1600’s. “The question be, you Sea Maiden, she cavorts in the company of ‘er one mate fer life, an’ tho time an’ again we seen her in the company of a’ Sea Babies, still, it don’ seem clearlike how she goes about makin’ a wee one.” Sir Edmund Roberts’ 1834 query was even more to the point, “One confronts the enigma with caution, though science poses it again and again. The anatomical features of your basic female Sea Maiden, while obviously and gloriously equipped for nursing, offer no hint as to how any postulated union of Sea Master and Sea Maiden is affected. (Sir Edmund then offers the only explanation he can imagine) Perhaps it is a spontaneous regeneration, the mechanics therein asexual in nature, the details of which leaving this learned scientist in a sustained quandary.”
But the recent problems involving re-coaling the Baci Finale left the youngest Roberts (Edmund C.) becalmed. With some coal remaining in the ship’s bunker he steamed a bit further up the California coast and dropped anchor in a secluded bay. There he spent over a week mumbling to himself and growling at the stowaway triplets. Fear allowed him no more then bland, faraway looks in the direction of his naturalist companion, Dr. Marie Gebeaux. She accompanied him in the late afternoon decent of his diving apparatus, the atmosphere in the cramped vessel increasingly humid and heavy with quiet.

Then she appeared, a beautiful Sea Maiden, apparently adream and drifting slowly toward them. As she neared, she withered sensually a time or too and then did the strangest thing. She moved her hands to just above her waist and deliberately and carefully pushed them downward against her tummy. The topmost edge of her lavender tail slid down, wherein she hooked her thumbs behind it and actually a bit inside, and further moved it down. She withered again, smiled briefly and then proceeded to reveal that the fleshy portion of her upper body actually extended under her lavender sheath of her fish-like lower half, until low and behold, unanswered questions became obvious.

In exquisite detail she revealed herself to be more human in nature than any had dared to dream. Dr. Gebeaux whispered, “Unbelievable: homo sapien in all particulars.” Edmund C. attempted to avert his eyes. “Heaven above,” he marveled, “and apparently below, also,” he added after a pause. Whereupon, remembering his companion, he cleared his throat as if to reclaim his last words. And although he speaks of the discovery in his journal, the bottom third of the entry is torn free and removed. Weather it speaks of the remainder of the encounter or perhaps a sketch is unknown.

Oh mystery of life, solved at last, the upper portion of his journal reads. Beautiful Sea Maiden sighted. Attractive in her entirety. We now understand and appreciate so much more of life under the sea. Am eternally grateful the discovery was female.

This beautiful Sea Maiden illustration is from a collection of Sea Maidens (mermaids), Sea Babies (mermaid babies), Sea Masters (merman), pirates and fairies created by renowned artist and novelist Robert Kline of St. Augustine, Florida. The illustrations are from Robert’s novel The Forgotten Voyage of H.M.S. Baci in which the Sea Captain, Sir Edmund Roberts describes in his log, his various Sea Maiden, Sea Baby and Sea Master sightings. This illustration is available for purchase in the following matted sizes: 5″ x 7″, 8″ x 10″, 11″ x 14″ and an 11″ x 17″ that comes unmatted on a piece of 1/4″ foam board.

Purchase prints here