Christian and Li Ban

Christian and Li Ban is a contemporary tale about a young man whose life is quietly altered by brief, mysterious encounters with a mermaid. Set in the present day, the story explores how moments of wonder can surface unexpectedly, and vanish just as quickly, leaving behind questions rather than answers.

The story is inspired by a 6th-century Irish legend centered on Li Ban, a woman transformed into a sea creature after a great flood reshaped the land. According to early Irish tradition, Li Ban survived beneath the water for one year, becoming a being caught between worlds - human and otherworldly, memory and myth.

This legend is closely linked to the creation of Lough Neagh, the largest lake in the British Isles. In Irish storytelling, the lake’s sudden appearance is explained not through geology alone, but through loss, transformation, and enduring presence beneath the surface.

By placing an ancient myth within a modern setting, Christian and Li Ban invites readers to consider how old stories continue to shape how we understand landscape, longing, and the fleeting nature of connection. The mermaid here is not a spectacle, but a reminder: some encounters are meant to be brief, and some truths are carried quietly forward through story.