I was awoken by the sound of waves crashing next to me, the ice cold water of the Atlantic rushing over my skin. I sat slowly from the sand realizing my body was bare to the elements. Had I not put on clothes last night? My toes wiggling in the water, something I haven't felt for a long time. I fumbled pulling my legs as close to my body as I could, trying to get out of the water as quickly as possible. My whole body was soaked through. I jumped up from where I was sitting, my body restless against the wind. I searched for any recognizable surrounding.

Behind me was Gage's house, I could tell even in the darkness. I peered out over the water trying to find the rocks protruding so elegantly. I couldn't see them. I took a few steps forward, deeper in the water. My brain felt like it was in a fog and there was only one way to make it go away. I needed to swim.

I took careful steps into the water, feeling the scales rip through my skin until I was at waist depth. I could feel the final step of my transformation taking place, and I let it take control. My body slipping slowly into the ocean as my legs became a fin. At first, my eyes were closed, my body drifting in the waves sinking deeper and deeper. I hadn't realized I was holding my breath until I sunk down so deep I couldn't feel the moonlight anymore. I finally opened my eyes, my brain taking control of my body, pure instincts pulsing through my veins. Using my arms and my tale to flip myself around I put myself in the perfect position to swim deeper into the sea. My eyes able to see every little detail.

Flicking my fin I traveled quickly through the water, the smooth pace calming. My hair flowing behind my head, the bubbles passing my skin, tiny fish rushed to get out of my way, while the larger fish seemed less threatened by my presence. I swam deeper into the sea, but it never got harder to see. My eyes felt like they've never been opened before, taking a whole new take on the world. I continued swimming through the water for quite some time. Taking in all the sights of the ocean floor. I tried to see how deep I could go. Maybe mermaids could only swim to a certain level.

I was able to kiss the sand on the bottom of the ocean and I continued traveling along its pathway. Crabs and shrimp scurry to their hiding holes, an octopus sits camouflaging itself against a rock. A squid swims by a few seahorses trailing behind them. My heart fluttered, all that was left to see was a sea turtle. I used my hands to help propel me, my fin doing most the work. I hadn't realized how fast I was going until I was next to the bottom, the different objects making it easier to judge my speed.

I decided to take a break, finding a large rock I could sit on. I lay my fin over it, my webbed fingers gripping the rock easily. While I sat, I took in every little creature swimming around me, from the plankton floating in the water to the seaweed dancing against the current. My hair wrapping around my face trying to copy the seaweed's jig. This was the most calming place I could imagine. My heart jumping when a shark slowly swims by paying no mind to me. That was something I was going to have to get used to. I watched everything so carefully, taking in every last---Was that another mermaid?

I watched carefully, a pink fin-shaped similar to mine was disappearing into the distance. I let go of the rock floating slightly in the current before I thrust my fin in the water, my body propelling towards the unknown creature. If there was someone else like me, maybe this wouldn't be so bad. I would have someone I could share this with. I rushed through the water, swimming as hard as I could to catch up.

A glimpse of another mermaid was driving my mind mad. I needed to know for sure if my eyes were teasing me. I could make the outline of a blonde girl off in the distance. Her hair flowing behind her in long strands of mermaid glory. Her pink and gold fin shining in the moonlit water. She was breathtaking, but yet still so far away. I struggled to get closer. She was just too fast.

When she finally disappeared out of sight I rushed to the top of the water. Looking for any sign of where I was. When I broke the surface I glanced around, there were no signs of the land anywhere. Just a vast sea of waves slowly drifting everything further out to sea. Where was I? I had been so focused on following that fin that I completely lost track of where everything was. I spun a few times searching for any sign, a bird, a rock, anything.

My mind began to panic, my body as calm as it could be. I slowly dropped back into the water disappearing into the sea once more. I swam around struggling to find my way back home. Technically wasn't I home already though?

I found the rock I was sitting on before, my heart jumping for joy with something familiar. I took a minute to relax on the rock, thinking of where I had come from. If I stay close to the bottom I should be able to follow it until it ran into the shore. My mind raced with ideas of how to get myself home, but everything led back to the pink fin. The blonde mermaid, the other girl just like me. Had I been seeing things?

Or was there another mermaid in this sea?