Miriam Jesse’s dreams are as big as the ocean.
So big, that the nine-year-old girl from Trenton says she wishes to become a mermaid like the aquatic creatures in her favourite TV show, H20.
Mermaids have the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. They appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide.
When her parents asked her what she wanted for her birthday this year, she naturally said “to become a mermaid” when she touched water and to get the same powers as the girls on the show.
Her parents laughed and explained that wasn’t a gift that they could get her.
After opening a fortune cookie from a local Chinese restaurant that read “you will receive a gift from an unusual source,” Miriam decided to take matters into her own hands and ask the mermaids directly.
In the message Miriam wrote, “Dear Mermaids, my name is Miriam. I am 9 years old and I wish to become a mermaid when I touch water and get legs when I am dry. And to have water powers. It is weird. This is my fortune, ‘you will receive a gift from an unusual source.’ I hope that it’s you. Sincerely Miriam.”
The smart and spunky girl whose favourite subject is Mathematics says she believes there are real mermaids out there somewhere.
So on April 9, Miriam put her message in a bottle and threw it into the waters of Lake Ontario.
It was while tossing rocks at Presquille Provincial Park two weeks later that a boy unknown to Miriam would discover a bottle washed ashore.
Eleven-year-old Leland Pynch says he was so excited with his finding that he couldn’t wait to get home and open it.
Miriam was quite surprised to learn that Leland who is also from Trenton had found her message.
Leland says Miriam’s message was pretty cool but as for mermaids he’s not convinced they exist.
Miriam however isn’t ready to give up her dream of becoming a mermaid just yet and says she is going to throw another message into the water to see what transforms.