Grand Mother Yemaya Mermaid and the Thirteen Quilts — Kim Antieau

Some time after the Old Sea dried up and the Old Mermaids washed up on the shores of the New Desert, Grand Mother Yemaya Mermaid decided she wanted to find a way to comfort the Old Mermaids who were far from home and lonesome for Old Friends and the Old Sea, so she made them quilts using only the threads of a story and pieces of the desert to create healing and magic that would last forever. (short story)