From the moment Ava had been born, in a darkened alleyway surrounded by the refuse and waste of Nightfall, she’d dreamt of the stars. She’d seen them every night when she closed her eyes, those delicate, twinkling lights that spread across the darkness of the sky, and yet when she woke up, she’d turn her gaze to the emptiness above and wonder if there really was such a thing as stars, or whether her dreams had been tormenting her.

At an early age Ava had had to learn to fend for herself, her mother dying when she was only five years old and no other family to look after her, but regardless of her solitude she’d never felt alone; the spirit of the stars was always with her, guiding her through every aspect of her life and leading her to where she needed to be.

On the evening of the ninth light of the month, she ventured down the streets of Nightfall accompanied by a young astronomer. The town was slowly beginning to shift from its respectful state to a place of drunken slurs and occasional attacks, and so the pair kept to the lesser known areas to avoid the brunt of the intoxicated population.

“This could be the breakthrough we’ve been looking for,” Vincent enthused, speaking quietly as the two hurried towards the forest on the outskirts of the city. “Are you sure it was the lake you saw in your dreams?”

Ava nodded, looking up at the handsome man and trying not to blush. “I’m certain,” she assured him, her eyes meeting his for a moment before she looked away, unable to look at him without smiling. They’d been working together for years, ever since she was eight years old, and in the eleven years that had passed since that fateful evening their friendship and their bond had grown. “The wood nymph in my dreams told me that the secrets we seek lie at the lake. But she did urge caution. She told me that creatures lay in the depths, creatures that can breathe underwater and on land, and if we’re not careful we’ll be captured by them.”

“That’s a load of nonsense,” Vincent chuckled, shaking his head in refusal to believe that such a thing. “I’m sure this wood nymph of yours was mistaken.”

“She wasn’t,” Ava insisted, narrowing her eyebrows in thought. “Oh, what did she call them?” She clicked her fingers a few times as she pondered, wracking her memory for the name and smiling upon recollection. “Mermaids. She called them mermaids.”

Vincent laughed, but not cruelly; he laughed like a man who clearly didn’t believe what he was hearing and never would. Ava had heard it many times from the people they told about their research. Some were rude, insulting them and calling them horrid names, but most simply laughed and kindly told them to give up on such a nonsensical venture.

“It’s true,” she told him defensively. “She’s a very wise woman, and we’d do well to listen to her.”

The astronomer glanced down at the young woman, seeing the truth of it sparkling in her eyes, but more than that he saw how beautiful she had become; gone was her girlish face and her innocent looks, for she was a woman now, strong and true.

He quickly realised that his cheeks were colouring, his skin tingling and becoming warm, and so he looked away before he said something he probably shouldn’t. “Well then, we’ll just have to see, won’t we,” he said, raising an eyebrow at her and getting a confident smile in response.

The pair journeyed into the late hours, the music from the taverns and the shouts of drunkards rising into the air and slowly fading as they crossed the borders of the forest.

“There,” Ava whispered, pointing between a smattering of trees at the blue glow radiating from the Lake of Stars. “Look.” Her curiosity got the better of her and she ran towards the bank, her eyes skimming the pure water and the reflections it cast on the clearing around her. She’d never seen anything like it, so beautiful and so pure, and a breath hitched in her throat as she spotted a silver dot on the surface. “Vincent,” she said, turning to the man as he bolted into the clearing and halted in his tracks. She gestured for him to join her, a smile spreading across her lips. “I can see a star.”

The astronomer slowly approached the expanse of water, peering over it cautiously and spotting the glowing dot on the surface. Another appeared close by, and then another, and another, until the lake was almost full of them, each individual in their own way and magnificent to behold.

As his eyes skimmed the illuminations, a large white orb appeared, much bigger than the delicate dots of the stars, and he could hardly believe what he was seeing.

“What is that?” Ava breathed, her wide-eyed gaze fixed on the large circle of light. It was almost too bright to look at, her eyes beginning to ache if she looked at it for too long.

“That, my dear Ava, is a moon,” Vincent replied, his voice no more than a whisper. “They’re satellites, large, spherical rocks that orbit planets and contribute to its gravity.”

Ava gave a small nod in understanding and turned her attention back to the lake, watching as Vincent crouched down by the bank and skimmed his fingers over the surface, the water rippling beneath his touch. The illuminations shifted and swayed, eventually calming again when there were no further disturbances.

“They’re brilliant,” he laughed lightly, the glow settling in his eyes. “They’re absolutely wonderful.”

Ava smiled with him and took a step forwards, but as she moved the reflection of the stars and the bright moon vanished, fading into nothing until all that remained was the water, completely clear of any imperfections. “Where did they go?” she asked, narrowing her eyebrows in confusion, but Vincent didn’t seem to be listening, ignoring her in favour of plunging his hand into the lake in a desperate attempt to get the image back.

“No,” he stressed. “No, come back, please.”

It was no use; the stars weren’t coming back, no matter how hard he tried. He turned to Ava and noticed the sorrowful look in her eyes. He could see that there was nothing she could do, her expression one of shame and her eyes downcast as he turned back to the lake.

But he wasn’t going to give up so easily, he couldn’t, and in a desperate attempt to return the reflection he grabbed a handful of small pebbles from around the bank and began throwing them into the water, watching them sink beneath the depths with a splash.

Once all of the rocks had been thrown and the lake still remained starless, he knelt down, closing his eyes and holding his arm out, as if he could simply summon back what he’d seen.

Ava watched him in fascination as he squeezed his eyes shut and muttered under his breath, the land around them remaining unnaturally still. And then she saw it, a tiny light, and at first she thought that the stars had returned, but then it grew, bigger and bigger until she could make out a pair of eyes, a nose, a mouth… “Vincent!” she screamed, but too late. The half-human creature had sprung from the water, grabbing hold of the astronomer’s outstretched wrist and dragging him into the depths.

She watched in horror as bubbles rose and popped on the surface, waiting and hoping he’d emerge, but he never resurfaced, the blisters on the water bursting until there was nothing but calm and quiet.

When Vincent didn’t show any signs of freeing himself from the vicious mermaid, Ava removed her cloak and kicked off her shoes, and stood by the edge of the lake. With a deep breath in and a final encouraging thought, she jumped into the freezing water, her body reacting to the cold before she was allowed move again.

She opened her eyes as much as she dared, squinting to see the empty expanse of water around her. The amount of space held within the lake was daunting, and it seemed to her that it was much bigger than it looked, the aerial view they got on the surface incredibly misleading.

She couldn’t see much as the water stung her eyes, but regardless of the pain she swam on in a desperate search for Vincent. Where is he? she thought to herself, stopping for a moment to look around in hope of finding some sort of clue. She knew that it wouldn’t be long before he drowned, and so with that thought spurring her on, she began to move through the water again.

As she swam a little deeper her lungs began to ache, begging her for air, and looking back up at the surface of the water she decided to give herself a moment to catch her breath before she continued with her search, but as she swam back up to the open air, a vice-like grip wound itself around her ankle began wrenching her down again.

In panic, Ava kicked out at the grasp that held her, looking down into the depths of the lake and seeing the twisted face of a mermaid. No, she thought as she struggled. Please, no.

Bubbles of air escaped her lips as she struggled against the mermaid’s unnaturally strong grip, reaching down and trying to remove the hand around her ankle. It was no use; she was quickly losing consciousness, her strength abandoning, and it would only be a matter of seconds before the darkness swallowed her whole.

As her vision began to fade, the deathly embrace of the dark abyss closing in, she noticed a shadow moving amongst the green-blue of the water. It approached at speed, darting towards her and attacking the mermaid attempting to drown her. The form quickly vanquished the creature and neared her, winding its arm around her waist and dragging her towards the surface.

Ava wasn’t aware of much other than the feeling of weightlessness as she drifted closer and closer to the sweet fresh air above, and then all of a sudden a cold breeze hit her and she was thrown onto the bank of the lake, coughing out the water that had found its way into her lungs. Her clothes clung to her skin and the freezing air made her shiver, and in a desperate attempt to get warm again she sat up and brought her knees to her chest.

“Here.”

The gentle voice was accompanied by a blanket around her shoulders, the delicate fabric not looking like much, but it instantly began to warm her up.

She turned her attention to the figure standing beside her, gazing into the yellow eyes of a wood nymph, her nut-brown skin and twig-like hair catching the mysterious glow of the lake.

“You are Ava, I believe,” the creature of the forest said, tilting her head and watching the young woman carefully.

“Yes,” Ava replied, nodding her head in confirmation as she shivered, her teeth almost chattering. “I am. And you’re the wood nymph I’ve seen in my dreams.”

The nymph nodded and chuckled lightly, her laugh sounding like wind chimes caught by a gentle spring breeze. “Indeed I am. I would tell you my name, but it is far too complex for your kind to pronounce. Know me merely as your guide.”

Ava gave a small nod in reply, but in truth she didn’t really understand. “Where is Vincent?” she asked as the wood nymph helped her too her feet, wrapping the blanket securely around her shoulders to keep the cold from pinching at her skin. “Did you find him?”

“Your companion? I’m afraid he’s dead. The mermaids got to him before I could help him.”

Ava opened her mouth to speak but words failed her, a burst of grief surging through her body and making her feel unsteady. Luckily the nymph still had a tight hold of her and stopped her from falling to the ground, supporting her until she could remain standing by herself.

“I am sorry for your loss,” the nymph said, “but do not let his death be in vain. Let it drive you to the truth.”

“Is that why you brought me here?” Ava challenged, her grief momentarily getting the better of her. “To kill Vincent and give me a martyr?”

The wood nymph shook her head. “No, I did not. I brought you here to show you the lake and to tell you that the truth you seek lies not on the land below, but in the sky.” She gestured at the darkness above with a long finger, her thin lips growing into a sweet smile.

Ava turned her attention to the sky, her eyes skimming the vast expanse of nothingness. What was really up there? Was it just as people said, were the stars just a story, or was there more to it? And if they really did exist, what was stopping the vision in the lake from becoming a reality? “Okay,” she said, swallowing down the lump in her throat and turning her gaze back to the nymph. “Tell me what I need to do.”