I tried again.

I don't know why.

I just did.

I want to see my family. 

During another fit of coughing, I hear a voice.

"Oceana!"

I jump up at the sound, though I'm still coughing. Lexi comes running down to me and looks at my sopping wet hair and dress.

"What happened?" she says, her voice a little bit angry.

Still coughing, I turn to look at the ocean again. Her grip on my arm tightens as if I'm going to run right back and jump in again.

After a pause, she giggles and says, "You weren't trying to get across the ocean, were you?"

I can't speak. My voice is too choked up with emotion. I sit down where the sand meets the sea and stare out.

"Oceana," she says gently, sitting down next to me. "I'm sorry that you're homesick. I understand how it feels. When I left home-"

"It's not like that!" I say, resting my head on my knees.

"Then explain it to me," Lexi says calmly. 

"But...I can't."

"Why not?"

I take a deep breath. I'm not seriously considering this, right? "You'd never speak to me again. Where I come from...isn't exactly...normal. I can't go back."

She chuckles softly. "First of all, you don't know that I won't speak to you again. Second, it's okay. I was basically thrown from a war zone and sent on a plane straight here. Where I come from isn't normal either."

"Lexi..." It calms me a bit to say her name. "You won't believe me."

"Yes, I will. I promise."

I sigh. "I'm...I used to be a mermaid. I come from..." I gesture to the ocean. "...there. A few days ago, something happened, and I just...appeared here. You think I'm crazy, don't you?"

"Oceana," she chuckles softly, "for real?"

"F-for real," I say, turning to look at her. She's smiling. She believes me?

"That's..." She looks at the ocean, then the sand, then back at me. "That's wild." 

"Do you believe me?"

"I'm - trying to. A couple years ago, I was convinced that mermai- that...your kind existed. I swore I saw one in the water one day, but I didn't believe my own senses. I eventually gave it up, but...now, I don't know what to think. Are you...you're not making this up?"

"No. I wish I could prove it to you, but as far as I know, I'm full-on human now. I'm...I'm sorry, I must sound crazy."

"No! No, you're okay. I...I believe you," she says. 

"Really?"

"Really."

I hug her. "Thank you, Lexi."

She giggles. "You're welcome," she says, and I can hear her smile in her voice.