Practically Perfect

“ i wish that i was as invisible as you make me feel. ”

“ i want to hate you half as much as i hate myself. ”

“ you’re the only one who feels like home. ”

“ i’ve never really lived more than an hour. ”

“ i stood on my roof and tried to see you forgetting about me.”

“ maybe he won’t find out what i know… you were the last good thing about this part of town. ”

“ you need him. i could be him. ”

“ i’m still trying, and that’s more than i can say for him. ”

“ i hate the way you say my name, like it’s something secret. ”

“ hide the details. i don’t want to know a thing. ”

“ when you catch fire, i wouldn’t piss to put you out. ”

“ hope this is the last time, ‘cause i’d never say no to you. ”

“ where is your boy tonight?”

“ tonight the headphones will deliver you the words that i can’t say. ”

“ when you go, i will forget everything about you. ”

“ said i loved you, but i lied. ”

“ you can thank your lucky stars that everything i wish for will never come true. ”

“ i believed every lie that you said. ”

“ you want apologies? you might hold your breath forever. ”

“ at the end of the day, you know where we come from and where we call home. ”

“ we’ll leave this town in ruins. ”

“ there’s a song on the radio that says ‘let’s get this party started’.”

“ tonight is all about ‘i miss you’.”

“ you’ll have to prove it to me. ” 

“ i know my place. it’s no where you should roam. ”

“ somehow, it was like you were the first to listen. ”

“ when it all goes to hell, will you be able to say ‘i’m sorry’ with a straight face? ”

“ i still know the way to make your makeup run. ”

“ there’s no way to talk to you. ” 

The heavy fog parted to reveal the lit lights of London, England, just coming on in the dusk. The wooden sailed ship cruised past London Bridge and came to the docks where it anchored and let down the gangplank. Ariel disembarked the ship and found herself on the docks of London.

She was lucky enough to have arrived before nighttime, she thought, as she was completely lost and didn't know were she was going. She didn't even have a map. At least the streetlights were turning on. But what was a mermaid doing in London, on two legs? she asked herself. She had made the deal with the Sea-Witch again for a three-day stay on land in London. She hoped to explore the humans' world here and see all there was to see. It was a place she had never been before!

Straightening her coat slightly, Mary smiles to herself. She wasn't needed, not in the way she had been last time she'd been here, but there was reason for her arrival, of that she had no doubt.

“I’d keep you safe.”

“You’re nothing to me.”

“I wouldn’t advise that…”

“I wish I had your courage.”

“Anger makes you careless.”

“You can do it. Just don’t die.”

“A hero’s work is never done.”

“Do I really mean so little to you?”

“I’m not going to make a deal with you.”

“Everything is an illusion. Trust nothing.”

“You’re not as bad as they say you are.”

“You aren’t the person you think you are.”

“Do you learn nothing from your mistakes?”

“Don’t go rushing in. You’ll end up like them.”

“You have a lot of bite for someone so small.”

“Nothing I do will ever be good enough, will it?”

“Do you think redemption can really be earned?”

“I don’t need your forgiveness. I did nothing wrong.”

“I don’t need you to apologize. I need you to do better.”

“You think you have to prove yourself to me. You don’t.”

“If you don’t come back, I’m going to be very, very upset.”

“How can you possibly sleep with all this on your conscience?”

“You’re not a lost cause. Not enough people have told you that.”

“Have I ever given you a reason to doubt me? Don’t answer that.”

“There’s nothing to be said. Everything I could say, I already have.”

“I’ve been nothing but truthful with you… so, why won’t you trust me?”

“Considering the stories I’ve heard, I was expecting someone scarier.”

“Haven’t I given enough? Haven’t I lost enough? Haven’t I fought enough?”

“You never seem scared. You’re never caught off-guard. How do you do it?”

“I’m not the one for you. I’d only make your life worse, and we both know it.”

“I’m making us tea/coffee/hot cocoa, and then you’re telling me what’s wrong.”

“Can you just… just stop! Stop for a second and think about what you’re doing!”

“Something’s clearly going on. Keeping me in the dark about it won’t help anything.”

“I don’t need to justify myself to them/you. I know what I have to do. And I’m going to do it.”