Many refer to sea glass as “Mermaid Tears” due to the ancient legend of one mermaid. According to legend, mermaids had the powers to change the course of nature. They could turn rain to shine, cause a raging storm, or calm even the most ferocious waves. Though they had this power, they were not permitted to practice it. Neptune, the God of the sea, forbid the mermaids to do so. One stormy night, when the wind was howling and the waves were crushing everything in their path, a young captain of a ship was trying to find safety in a nearby cove in the San Juans. A mermaid who had grown accustomed to swimming alongside the ship and it’s captain happened to be following it this very same night. The wind was roaring, and at one point caused the captain to lose his grip from the wheel. The ship was on its way to being swallowed by the angry seas when the mermaid calmed the wind and settled the waves in an instant. Thus, she changed the course of nature to save the life of the captain she had grown to love from afar. Neptune then banished her to the depths of the sea for her disobedience, condemning her forever to never visit the surface or swim along the ships again. To this very day, her tears wash up on the shores as sea glass… unexpected jewels from the depths; eternal reminders of true love.

This story is so amazing that it makes me wish for mermaids to be a reality. Fact or fiction, I still think of the mermaid and her love every time I find a new piece of sea glass.