Have you ever seen how, at the end of a long summer day, a tired luminary falls into a river as wide as the sea? Before plunging into darkness, the world shimmers with mystery. The distant shore sparkles with gold, and in a moment a pinkish-gray mist spreads over the water. Everything freezes, saying goodbye to the greatest miracle - the Sun. However, have you noticed that before finally diving into the waters of the great river, the Sun almost imperceptibly smiles and winks at those who carefully observe this hidden mystery?

"No way, what, is the sun winking? Did you see it yourself?" the young mermaid with golden hair rounded her already enormous blue eyes in surprise.

It was a warm summer night. The mermaid was splashing in the gentle water, and directly above her, almost falling into the river, the moustached young Moon was hovering and humming constantly.

"And is the Sun really as beautiful as everyone says? Oh, how I would like to look at it with at least one eye. Why can we emerge from the depths only at night? This is a terrible injustice!" the mermaid was indignant.

It was a warm summer night. The mermaid was splashing in the gentle water, and directly above her, almost falling into the river, the mustachioed young Moon was hovering and humming constantly.

"And is the Sun really as beautiful as everyone says? Oh, how I would like to look at it with at least one eye. Why can we emerge from the depths only at night? This is a terrible injustice!" the mermaid was indignant.

Every night the Moon appeared above the Mermaid and told her stories about the Sun until morning. Cheerful, sad, short, and sometimes so long and confusing that it seemed there could be no end to them. After listening to those stories, the mermaid envied the Moon for his incredible adventures with the Sun. She could only think about the Sun. It seemed to her that nothing in the world was better than this golden and unattainable sphere.

That's how they lived - the Mermaid captivated by the Sun and the Moon in love with her. Each of these two had their own secret. The Moon knew about his secret and carefully hid it. It was not that big, but an annoying detail. In fact, he had never seen the Sun up close. Every time the Moon appeared in the sky, the bright Sun sphere was already almost gone. For a long, long time, he lived and dreamed of the Sun, but was afraid to get close and burn. He shone with reflected light and could not dare to do anything more. And then he met the Mermaid and started making up stories for her.

The Mermaid did not even realize that she too had her own secret. Her main problem was that she did not know herself at all. However, let’s not jump to conclusions.

The Moon's courtship of the Mermaid did not go unnoticed by the bright morning star. Zorya had her own plans for the heavenly handsome Moon and had been thinking for a long time how to to break up the couple. After waiting for the Moon to hide for a moment behind a cloud, the star looked out of the sky and began to weave a web of intrigue.

“You have interesting conversations," she said to the mermaid. "The whole sky is listening. And I've heard that the Moon is lying to you. All his stories about the Sun are made up. He's never even seen it. He's just a mustached charmer who's playing with your heart."

“Oh, don't say nonsense, “ the mermaid was hurt that Zorya was trying to undermine the moon's stories, but she also felt a seed of doubt take root in her soul.

"What color are the Sun's eyes? Why don't you ever talk about it?" the mermaid asked the Moon as soon as he appeared from behind the clouds. “My loyal friends keep telling me that you lie to me all the time. Tell me the truth - have you seen the Sun or not?’ she demanded. The young mermaid could not keep her sorrows inside for long.

Moon turned red like a cancer and fell silent for the first time in all this time. He was full of love and was just about to confess about the Sun. Suddenly it began to dawn, it was time for the Mermaid to swim to the depths to sleep. And without saying a word, the Moon disappeared.

The next night, the Mermaid thought of a good joke about the trap Zorya had set for her, but the Moon did not appear. He was filled with regret for not having the courage to tell the truth, look at the Sun, confess his feelings. Already in the morning he made a decision - now or never. When the time of dawn came, the Moon closed his eyes and rose to the sky, where the Sun was just rising.

The mermaid was also having a difficult night. She realized how much the moon had come to mean to her, and she couldn't imagine her life without him. It was unbearable without him. And it's not even about those stories, and certainly not about the Sun, which anyone knows or has ever seen. His gentle smile, the twinkle in his eyes when he came up with a particularly good joke or plot twist. After all, the mustache... The mermaid's heart was breaking with love and understanding that she had ruined everything.

The next morning, the bright morning star, Zorya, was active again.

"Well, where is your man, my friend? You probably scared the guy. Now he will try to look at the Sun as hard as he can. And he will burn. Oh my, he can really burn!"

The voice of the star rang in the Mermaid's ears. What was she supposed to do? How could she prevent trouble? The morning was coming, and the mermaid, as usual, dived into the depths. But how could she sleep when such things were happening? Suddenly, she realized that the only way out was to break all the laws of the mermaid world and, no matter what happened next, swim up to the Sun and ask that it not harm her lover. Closing her eyes, the Mermaid rushed to the surface.

They opened their eyes almost simultaneously and both gasped in surprise. The Moon looked directly into the Sun's eyes. They were bright blue, just like the Mermaid's. The Sun smiled at him - and it was the smile of his beloved.

The Mermaid opened her eyes and saw a confused, but whole and unharmed Moon. She smiled at him. But where was the Sun? It was empty all around, only an incredibly bright light was coming from her. Suddenly she realized what had been her secret all this time. She was the Sun.

And what did you think, where does the sun go in the evening, after diving into the mighty river? It becomes a mermaid, but this mermaid does not remember who she really is.

It was the best day ever. The Sun and the Moon shone side by side in the sky, laughing, winking at each other, and telling endless stories. They say that our world was born from those stories.
Since then, they have been inseparable - sometimes in the sky, and more often over a wide river, where she splashes in the warm water, and he hovers over her and smiles gently. Like any normal couple, they sometimes quarrel, and then the Moon disappears, and the morning star still does not lose hope that one day he will be hers. However, after a night or two, the Moon returns to his Mermaid. And now she will never forget her main secret.