Week 7 Storytelling: A Mert Love Affair

Once upon a time, in the land of Mert, there was a man named Carl. Actually he wasn't a man, Carl was a strange creature with fins on his sides and a tail. Did I mention that he was also green? Anyway, he had a best friend named Russell. Russell was a foot taller than Carl with tan fur and polka dots all over him.

Russell had a beautiful wife named Ellie. Ellie had flawless skin with purple eyes and golden hair complementing her blue skin tone. One day, Russell and Ellie got into a huge fight. Carl went over to comfort Russell, but instead found Ellie. She was so distraught. Being a gentleman, and a good friend, Carl went to comfort Ellie since Russell was no where to be found. One thing led to another and before they knew it they made love to one another.

The next day Carl felt absolutely awful. How could he do this to his best friend? He mustered up the courage to tell Russell that very afternoon, but as he was leaving, Ellie teleported into his room. Jumping with surprise he asked Ellie what was wrong. She replied, "I know last night was a bad idea. I just cannot handle all of the fighting between me and Russell." Ellie then began to sob. Carl looked at Ellie and could not help but feel a little tug on his heart. Whether he liked it or not, he was starting to have feelings for his best friend's wife. Instead of going to tell Russell what was going on, he shut the door and went to console Ellie.

Three months later, Carl and Ellie are still at it. Loving each other in secret. Finding a spare moment in their hectic lives so they could to be together, even for a second. Carl was definitely in love with Ellie, but she was still married to his best friend. Finally, it came to a point where Carl couldn't take it anymore. He and Ellie agreed that they needed to tell Russell. So they went to Russell and told him about their affair. At first Russell thought it was a joke, but after a while he realized that they were telling them the truth. Enraged and betrayed by the two people he loved most, Russell stormed out to seek out the Mert wizard, Jonah.

Wizard and Owl by Andy via Flickr

In Mert the one with the power is ruler. Jonah was the most power wizard in the land so he ruled. Russell stormed into his palace and explained how his best friend and his wife betrayed him. So Jonah sent for Carl and Ellie. Once they got there Jonah determined a proper sentence for their actions. "For your inability to be faithful to your best friend, Carl, you are banished from Mert. If you or any of your descendants are found in Mert, the punishment is death. For your inability to be faithful to your husband, Ellie, I am sentencing you and your husband to therapy. You must stay with your husband because that is what you vowed when you married him. That is my final ruling." Immediately Carl and Ellie started yelling at the harshness of wizard's decision, but the guards were already coming to take Carl away. They give each other one final kiss and that was the end of it. Carl and Ellie never saw each other again. Carl lived in the outskirts of Mert living off of the land for the rest of his days. Ellie went to therapy with Russell twice a week for the rest of her life. I am happy to say that Russell and Ellie did fix most of their problems with therapy, but it was never quite the same after the affair.

Author's note: This story is based off of Why the Fish Lives in the Water from the Nigeria unit. It is very closely related to the original plot line. However, I just used aliens instead of a leopard and a fish. One of the big things I changed was at the end. In the original story, the king (my wizard) only punished the fish (my Carl). I thought that the woman should be punished as well because she also took a part in the act. I still didn't punish her as much and gave her a happier ending than Carl so that you still get the sense of how unfair it all is.

Bibliography: Why the Fish Lives in the Water from Folk Stories From Southern Nigeria by Elphinstone Dayrell (1910).