Melissa Bartell : The Bathtub Mermaid: Tales from the Tub

<p><a href="https://www.bathtubmermaid.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/DDOA-03.jpg"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-2735" src="https://www.bathtubmermaid.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/DDOA-03-1024x576.jpg" alt="DDOA-03" width="698" height="393" srcset="https://www.bathtubmermaid.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/DDOA-03-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://www.bathtubmermaid.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/DDOA-03-300x169.jpg 300w, https://www.bathtubmermaid.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/DDOA-03-768x432.jpg 768w, https://www.bathtubmermaid.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/DDOA-03.jpg 1080w" sizes="(max-width: 698px) 100vw, 698px" /></a></p> <!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('audio');</script><![endif]--> <audio class="wp-audio-shortcode" id="audio-2734-1" preload="none" style="width: 100%;" controls="controls"><source type="audio/mpeg" src="https://www.bathtubmermaid.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/TBM2512-03-DDOA-Orbit.mp3?_=1" /><a href="https://www.bathtubmermaid.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/TBM2512-03-DDOA-Orbit.mp3">https://www.bathtubmermaid.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/TBM2512-03-DDOA-Orbit.mp3</a></audio> <h3>Description:</h3> <p>Welcome to the Dog Days of Advent. I made a list of prompts, and wrote a bite-sized story for each one. They don’t live in the same universe, but they’re all a little off-kilter from what you might expect from holiday fare. And if you pay attention, you’ll notice that the last line of each story becomes the first line of the next. Today’s prompt is <em>orbit.</em></p> <h3>Excerpt:</h3> <blockquote><p>Below her, ribbons of green and violet curl across the poles, shimmering like breath against the night. It’s not the first aurora she’s seen from orbit, but this one feels different — brighter, alive. She thinks of the Christmas lights her father used to hang along the eaves of their house, blinking patterns that never quite synced. He’d laugh every year and say, “Perfection’s overrated, sweetheart. Just make it shine.”</p></blockquote> <h3 data-start="698" data-end="809"><strong>Episode Cast:</strong></h3> <p><a href="https://www.missmeliss.com/">Melissa A. Bartell</a></p> <h3>Links and References</h3> <ul> <li>Transcript: <a href="https://www.missmeliss.com/2025/12/fictionadvent-03-orbit/">Orbit</a></li> <li><a href="https://dogdaysofpodcasting.com/">Dog Days of Advent</a></li> </ul> <h3>Credits:</h3> <ul> <li><em>The Bathtub Mermaid: Tales from the Tub</em> is written and produced by Melissa A. Bartell, and is recorded and produced using Audacity.</li> <li>Bathtub Mermaid blog header art was created by Rebecca Moran of <a href="http://remoran.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Moran Media</a></li> <li>Sound Effects and Music are from <a href="https://freesound.org/">Freesound</a> and <a href="https://uppbeat.io/">UppBeat</a></li> </ul> <h3>Contact:</h3> <ul> <li>BlueSky: <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/melysse.bsky.social">@melysse.bsky.social</a></li> <li>Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/missmelysse">MissMelysse</a></li> <li>Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/melysse/">@Melysse</a></li> <li>Mastodon: <a href="https://tenforward.social/@Melysse">@Melysse</a></li> <li>Email: <a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a></li> <li>Or, leave a comment on this page.</li> </ul> <p> </p>