Messages off the Bund

Electronic mail. Instant messages. And now twitters.

Seems like the more advanced technology gets, the more distant we get from each other. And yet we try our best to connect with the increasingly sophisticated means available to us. Without the usual communicative nuances present during a face-to-face conversation however, quite a lot can be miscontrued through such electronic devices.

Case in point, our wandering sea urchin Lissome Lorelei who tries her best to maintain contact with her prince waiting by the distant shore. Daily messages and nightly phone calls are the best she can do since she's stranded miles away from him. Despite ( like all her mermaid ilk ) having a morbid fear of commitment, Lorelei has defied all expectations by remaining steadily landbound in his castle for quite a while.

Last I heard she's even considered buying new tiles for the castle ramparts. With no talk of stealing away for the deep blue sea.


Lorelei : I see the sea. Maybe I could make a run for it.
Paul : Not on your life, missy.
So much so that we've started teasing her about connubial bliss. Could it be that our naiad has given up her roaming nomadic lifestyle? If only we'd known that our jests could turn out to be shockingly prophetic.

Lorelei : Oh My God. Look at what you guys did!
Paul : What happened?
Lorelei : See this message. See what he wrote.
Paul : Oh My God. Is that a proposal? He wrote.. 'It says you're engaged.'
Lorelei : Engaged! Married! I wanna see the world. Up where the people are. I wanna see, wanna see 'em dancing.

Obviously she went to her happy place.

Seriously though. Our little sea urchin was this close to leaping impulsively into the Huangpu and making for the wide open sea. Practically had to jump to hold her down before she could make her hasty escape from the Bund.

Since they've been walking out for just a while, it wouldn't surprise me if her young prince felt the same. No wonder his immediate reply came just a brief second later stating that it was sent by accident. Can already imagine him slapping his forehead in horrifying dismay after mistyping the information.