Our Lady of the Harbour [short story]

My daughter was afraid of mermaids when she was little. She'd seen too good a portrayal in the 2003 PJ Hogan Peter Pan movie with Jason Isaacs. She'd heard the fairy tales read at bedtime. Those two were enough to make her suspicious and help her recognize Disney's Little Mermaid as mermaid-lite. She would have been right at home in this darker neo-fairy tale and things might have turned out differently for all involved if she'd been our witness and trusty narrator . . .

but alas that was not to be, so this twisty-turny tale in less than 60 pgs will suffice 'til the story writes itself again in some watery place.

This is a modern take on the story of The Little Mermaid. It is set in Newford, the city that de Lint often uses for his stories. I read it originally in his anthology, Dreams Underfoot, but I'm very happy that he's released it again on its own.
It's a lovely and poignant story. Matt is a musician, totally bound up in his own world of music. When Katrina mysteriously appears at one of his gigs, he's interested but wants to take it slow. But Katrina is more than she seems and she only has one week to make him fall in love with her.
It's emotional and sad, retold by a master storyteller.