A short reverse story of a little mermaid who is following a very similar plot. 

 While it's not a bad remake of the original story, I believe it could have been even better with a longer narrative. For instance, delving deeper into the environment and structure of the world would have been truly captivating. Despite sharing the same ending.

I quite enjoyed this short story, following a scientist getting to know the atargati, a sentient, intelligent species living deep in the oceans.  I appreciated the author's explorations of identity - particularly gender and sexuality, but also the main character's identity as a scientist and her changing relationship with her "objects of study."  I wish it was longer though, as the ending felt abrupt.

Content warnings: abduction/kidnapping, medical content, xenophobia, death