I yawned hugely as I rode my bicycle to to the beach at noon. As soon as I caught a glimpse of the ocean, I smiled. As much as the encounter with the mer had scared me, I had always loved the ocean. I swam like a fish, and my summers were filled with days at the beach or the city pool. That's why my favorite mythical creature when I was little was a mermaid.

I thought back to the previous night after my encounter with Ava. I had rushed back to the orphanage and hopped onto the laptop that sat on Miss Victoria's desk. I asked permission to use it, of course.

I entered two words into the search bar: Death's Reef.

Nothing came up.

I had been curious about what Ava was talking about when she agreed to meet me at Death's Reef, but I suppose now I'd never know.

Unless I asked her.

I parked my bike and hopped through the forest path and abruptly came to a halt when I reached the sand.

No one was there.

I sighed and plopped down on a rock, smoothing out the dark blue material of my skirt. I hadn't changed out of my uniform from the day before, and the skirt was slightly wrinkled. By the end of the day my sweater would probably be studded wth sand.

I suddenly heard the faint melody rise from the water. I stood, rising onto my toes to try to catch a glimpse of the singer.

I felt myself moving, walking towards the ocean. It was as if everything but my mind was hypnotized. I couldn't do anything to stop it.

I stumbled onto a rock that was a small leap away from another rock that was like a tiny peninsula, and if I jumped into the water now I would be fully immersed.

Reach your hand out. An echoing voice called. Touch the water. Come now.

I reached my hand out, now almost completely hypnotized by the voice. Quick as lightning, a wet hand flashed into my vision and grabbed my own hand. I was pulled into the water. The last thing I saw was the face of Ava and the mer over me before I felt a sharp pain in my arm and everything went black.