Erin has lived in a woodland pond for her entire life, and has always enjoyed being one with nature. When she discovered her first ever human coming in to fish, she was originally hesitant to show herself to them. But one day, a wandering free spirit visited her pond and Erin showed herself to him. The both of them spent a long time together chatting about their lives, and Erin learned to trust humans. The human eventually had to leave, but promised that he would return to see her. Erin waited for days on end, hoping that her human would return to see her. But one day, she couldn't wait any longer. She pried herself out of the water and crawled to a nearby town to find him. Despite the shock from the townsfolk of a mermaid living in the woods, they welcomed her with hospitality and care. Erin learned to cook and tasted meals that she never could before in the forest. She began to visit every week, being loved and welcome by the villagers and ultimately forgetting about the man who said he would return.

One night, she was crawling back to her pond when she saw the man again, but he was motionless, dead. He was clutching a note, and within the note the man explained that he was gravely injured and wanted to see her one last time before he had passed. Yet, she was not there, and he spent his last moments alone. Erin was devastated and heartbroken, gripping the note with tears. Yet on the final line, the man said that if she were to ever find him, she should take his cowboy hat to remember him by. And so she did, and now she keeps the hat in her possession and protects it with her life.