“THERE’S A MERMAID in my bar!” utters one of Frans Baker’s buddies in total incredulity and with a bit of hysterical hilary, in the opening sequences of episode 13 of Martyn le Roux’s serialised podcast, Die Soutwaterheks, which you can find here. It’s time for Frans (Francois Coertze) to open up the mystery of Salacia (Elzahn Dorfling) to his closest buddies, the ones who caught a brief eyeful of her presence when she emerged from the sea.

And it’s an episode of tales of wonder and evolutionary truths, as Salacia in camouflage scoffs much sugared coffee in the bar with the guys and reveals to them issues of mating rituals for mermaids and how naïve we humans really are, in the bigger scheme of things.

Coupled with some boyish sexual shyness and giggly disbelief, on the part of Frans’s sea buddies, Jantjies (Riaan Visman) and Danie (Jurgen Bosman), the conversation lends Captain Kearney (Pieter Theron) some gravitas in his engagement with this old and wise creature and her mission to translate old narratives into modern tongues.

And then there’s the reason for Salacia’s earthly visit, which adds the viscous threads of a hostage drama to the mix. But at this stage, it’s just tantalising and nothing is fleshed out with credibility yet. Tune in for the next episode!

Die Soutwaterheks has 25 chapters: Watch this space for consecutive reviews! Recorded and released independently online, in both MP3 and MP4 formats, in Afrikaans with bits of English, this tale, told in individual episodes is accessible through various links.

• Die Soutwaterheks: Episode 13 Ontmoet ‘n Mite (Meet a Myth) is written by Martyn Le Roux. Directed by Martyn Le Roux, and featuring technical input and sound research by Arné von Molledorf and Martyn Le Roux, and music by Yolanda Strauss and David Muller, it is performed by Jurgen Bosman, Francois Coertze, Elzahn Dorfling, Annette Havenga, Pieter Theron and Riaan Visman. It is available here.