I tried to forget about Dominique and what she said. But I’d be lying if I said it didn’t sit right with me. I was grateful that night when Mom and Dad were going out on a date and Lena was going out to a party on the beach that I wasn’t invited to. I think I just needed some time by myself, to pretend that everything was normal. 

I put on shorts and an old tourist-y t-shirt I’d picked up from the surf shop in a pinch a summer or two ago, lit some candles and put on a CD as I picked up one of my favorite fantasy romance books. The act of reading grounded me, made me feel like myself for the first time I had in a while, with all the mermaid magic and makeovers from my sister. 

My life had changed. Just like I’d wanted it to when I’d started out the summer. But it all left this sour after-taste, like the time when I was twelve and I’d tried to make lemonade at home “healthier” by neglecting to put enough sugar in. It wasn’t what I wanted at all—and the fact that I had wanted it at all made it all the more sour.

How could I have known how complicated the art of becoming pretty would make things?

Eventually I realized I was starving and wandered over to the kitchen, where I grabbed a red mango and some leftover fried rice from two nights ago. I sat at the kitchen bar and stared out the window, where the moon shone on the ocean’s surface. 

Since we were in a more residential beachside neighborhood in Wilmington, there wasn’t anybody out on the beach that night. There was something alluring about the idea of being out there by myself, a late night swim with no one around. 

Normally, I’d never do that. But my life had pretty much ceased to become normal lately. And I was a mermaid now—so what could be the danger?

I finished up my fried rice leftovers and headed outside. 

The beach stretched out endlessly, as silvery-blue as the moon while the waves were as dark as the night above. Not a soul was out there. Maybe there were some bonfires in the distance, but that was about it.

Despite the calm, there was something thrilling about being out there by myself. All my life I’d been educated in water safety. With my mother coming from Honolulu and then raising us by the water all our lives, it was imperative that she raised us to never go in the water alone at night with no one knowing where we were.

But I could no longer drown.

I stepped into the water, felt it rush over my toes. 

There was something different about feeling the water this way, as opposed to having a tail. This was the way that so many people had felt the water before me. Like my father’s family when they came across the sea hundreds of years ago, from England to North Carolina. Or my mother’s family, even if it was an entirely different ocean.

The water had a way of uniting people. The oceans between continents, the rivers and lakes between countries.

I remembered reading once in a magazine somewhere that there was memory stored in water. I didn’t know if that was true or not, but there’s one thing I do know—the water had always been a part of me.

And it always would be.

As I surveyed the water, a thought entered my head—Why not dive in?

I didn’t think twice.

It was dark in the Undersea—but not so dark as the true ocean. I’d plunged through the portal, to see it all come to life. The buildings glowed, and more of the moonlight filtered through than I would have thought. 

Just beyond the witches’ cottages, I spotted two familiar figures—Dominique and Lumi.

I was about to turn around when I heard my name. 

“Oh, Mika, you’re back!”

I reluctantly drifted over to the two sea-witches’ apprentices and managed a smile even as Dominique scowled. I noticed that the two of them were holding baskets of what looked like glowing jade fronds of some sort.

“What are you two up to?” I asked.

“Just harvesting some ingredients for potions practice tomorrow.” From the folds of fabric around her waist, in some hidden pocket, Lumi removed a slender knife that had some inscriptions in the iridescent metal. She cut through the sea-grass around her and it was imbued with a glow, turning it that bright jade green. 

“What’s that?”

“Kelpie-root,” Dominique said stiffly, as she turned away from me. Her voice offered no further invitation towards conversation. 

“It’s a really common ingredient in protection potions,” Lumi added as she smiled at me. “Aunt Nerissa wants us to work on these tonight, while the moon is out.”

“Why the moon?”

Lumi’s amber eyes drifted skyward. 

“The moon’s a source of great magical power,” she whispered reverently. “All of our peoples, starting with the dragons at the bottom of the sea, worship it.”

“Really?” I felt bad for feeling a little unsettled by the way she was talking, the way she was staring at the moonbeams unblinkingly. 

Finally, she blinked at my voice and smiled again. “Oh yeah, and there’s a lot of good writings on it—I’ll have to show you our books some time.”

“Lumi.” Dominique’s tone took on warning. “Madame Nerissa wants us back soon.”

“Oh, right.” Lumi’s full lower lip stuck out in a pouty expression and her shoulders slumped. “Well, sorry Mika.”

“No, it’s alright, I should probably get going too.” I managed to smile and wave. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“Not likely,” Dominique muttered. 

“Bye Mika!” Lumi waved, blithely ignoring Dominique. “Stay safe out there!”

I returned to the surface, no Fathoms in sight. Once I was home, I took a shower to hide why my hair was wet and settled back into comfy clothes. The kind that I wore before the makeover, back when I was still loser-girl Mika. 

Which was lucky, because Mom and Dad returned not much longer. I was sitting on the couch, my wet hair tied back in a measly little braid, the unfortunate result of cutting my hair to my shoulders. My book was open, my alibi. 

“What are you doing up still, kiddo?” Dad frowned, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes, with all the crinkled smile lines around them. 

“Just got lost reading.” 

Mom raised her chin. “Why is your hair wet?”

“Oh, I just took a bath, just wanted to refresh.”

“Mmm-hmm.” Mom’s eyes flickered uncertainly. But if she had any accusations, she didn’t say anything. “I know you don’t have school for a long while—but I don’t want you messing up your sleep schedule.”

“I won’t,” I promised. “I really was about to get to bed, after I finished one more chapter.”

Mom raised an eyebrow, but both her and Dad couldn’t resist smiling. 

“Bed, now.”

“Yes ma’am.” I scrambled off the couch and back to my room. 

I must’ve been more tired than I’d thought. I’d planned to steal a few more pages from my bed. But all I had to do was flop onto my bed and I was out.