Last April I met Mr Goncalo and his wife who guided me to Quinta d'Areia, nearby Praia Azul in the municipality of Torres Vedras, Portugal. He is a descendant of the nobles who owned this house and the land around it more than fifty years ago. The legend says that once upon a time, a mermaid and her daughter were hungry and went to pick some green peas in the farms belonging to the owner of Quinta d'Areia. The men who were working in the fields spot them and caught the daughter mermaid killing her even after her mother's plea. Because of this, the older mermaid threw a spell of bad luck to the owner and his estate. Since then, it has been sold several times and the big house is been in ruins until nowadays. When I was a kid, I remember listening my great grandmother telling me she used to listen to the mermaids singing near Quinta d'Areia. And when I was in Orkney last year, I bought a book about the Tales of Orkney and in there I found similar legends to this one. Everything seems to come together at some point of our lives!
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