Lia awoke the next morning to sunlight streaming in through a small crack between the curtains at her window. She blinked sleep away and sat up slowly, watching motes of dust swirl, flashing in the patch of sunlight.

Lia yawned as she made her way into the bathroom to get ready for the day. Although she'd been asleep for hours, it felt like she had barely gotten any rest. Her face seemed to reflect that. The reflection staring back at her in the bathroom mirror showed bleary eyes, tousled hair, and a crease indented on her cheek from her pillow. She sighed. This whole selkie thing made her exhausted both mentally and physically.

Lia turned on the water to the shower, and stepped out of her clothes. Once the water was warm she stepped into the shower, enjoying the water massaging her back and shoulders. Lia had always found water to be relaxing. The warm water also helped to wake her up a bit, and helped clear her mind of the last remnants of sleep. She felt as though she had been having a very vivid dream. Maybe even a lucid dream... but for the life of her, she couldn't remember what it was about.

After a few more minutes, Lia got out of the shower, brushed her teeth, and combed her messy hair. It still looked a bit unruly, so she did a simple braid down her back to keep it from being so crazy.

Lia walked over to her desk and looked at the calendar pinned to the wall... Saturday. She was meeting Irene at a coffee shop in about forty-five minutes. She had slept later than she realized. Lia quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and a comfortable t-shirt, as well as sandals and a thin jacket. Between Irene and Lia, Lia cared much less about her appearance.

Lia got her phone from her desk and slipped it into her bag as she headed out of her room. She found Jen in the kitchen reading a book.

"I'm meeting Irene at the coffee shop. I should be back in a few hours." Lia told her, grabbing her car keys off of the small table by the door.

"Alright. Nikki is still sleeping, but I'll be here in case she wakes up." Jen said, looking up from her book. Her eyes moved back to the page quickly, so Lia left, shutting the door behind her.

The weather had been extremely unpredictable since the night Lia had found Nikki. Not even an hour ago it had been bright and sunny, and yet now a damp drizzle fell. Lia hurried to her truck and got in. It was a used Toyota Tacoma. Her parents had bought it for her as a gift, a congratulations for graduating and getting into her dream college. Although it was used and had a few worn patches with chipped paint or minor scratches, Lia loved it.

Lia started the engine and soon she was pulling in to the parking lot in front of the coffee shop. She ran through the rows of cars, realizing she was a few minutes late for meeting Irene. As soon as she pulled open the door she was hit with the slightly bitter aroma of fresh coffee, mixed with the buzz and chatter of a well loved shop, full of customers on the damp Saturday morning.

Lia scanned the crowded shop and spotted Irene sitting at a small two-person table. She sat down and set her bag on the floor beside her.

"Good morning!" Irene exclaimed, seemingly in a much better mood than she had been the previous day.

"Morning." Lia said, "you sure are chipper this morning."

"Yeah, well... I know I was a jerk yesterday. Sorry. But I was thinking, and like, nothing cool ever happened to me. But now? Now a creature that isn't even supposed to exist is living with my friend. I mean, who can say something like that? Not most people." Irene said, looking excited.

"Shhh!" Lia hissed, waving her hand to indicate Irene should lower her voice. "We don't want to draw to much attention to her. It would be bad if too many people know about her."

"What? Why?" Irene asked, looking surprised.

"Well for one, we don't want your brother to know about her. Another thing, if people know, they might contact the authorities or something. I don't think many people would be as understanding and calm about this as us... even though you did kinda freak out yesterday. But think about it. If too many people find out, Nikki would end up in a cage, as a science experiment, or possibly even killed. Or locked up in a mental institution for thinking she's some creature from mythology. Or they'd lock us up for believing it."

"Oh......" A look of shock crossed Irene's face. "I hadn't thought about that..."

Lia nodded. "That's why we keep it quiet."

"Alright." Irene agreed. Just then a waitress walked over to their table.

"What can I get you this morning?" She asked with a smile.

"White chocolate mocha with a shot of peppermint, with extra whipped cream, and chocolate shavings and caramel. Oh, and a large chocolate chip cookie." Irene recited the complicated order quickly, since it was the same thing she always got.

"I'll have a chocolate mocha without whipped cream and a chocolate croissant. Thank you" Lia said.

The waitress nodded, finished scribbling on her notepad and walked away.

"Hey what's up with you?" Irene asked turning to look at Lia. "You never drink coffee. It's always hot chocolate. Why now?"

Lia shrugged. "I guess I'm just more tired recently. I was up super late for a week straight working on school, and then everything with Nikki... I haven't slept much. I could use the caffeine right now."

Just then, a gust of cold air blew into the shop as the door opened. Lia looked over and saw a girl walk into the shop. She was a girl that was unfamiliar to Lia, but she was the type of girl someone would remember. A hush fell over the noisy shop, as head turned to face this girl.

She had long hair reaching past her waist. It was dyed a blood red, and had an artfully windswept look, the kind of look that was meant to look casual and effortless, but had probably taken hours. She had a tight black leather miniskirt, and a dark blue glittery crop top, both of which left little to the imagination. She had a glittery gold belly button piercing, and huge gold hoop earrings that bounced against her shoulders.  Her eyes were a piercing stormy blue, and decorated with dark wing-eyeliner, and dark glittery eyeshadow. Her lips were painted in a dark pink, and Lia noticed that several men were staring at her lips, among other things. She walked like a supermodel strutting down a runway, hips swaying, complete with red six inch heels, with a stiletto that looked sharp enough for murder.

She seemed oblivious to the fact that every person in the shop had stopped everything to look at her, and many of the men shamelessly had their mouths hanging open as they gaped at her.

"Not really my type." Irene muttered, and Lia turned away from the girl to see Irene checking her own makeup in a tiny mirror, and reapplying her lipstick. Lia rolled her eyes slightly, and glanced back at the girl.

She was at the counter, and she stretched out a slender hand with long, talon-like nails that must have been an inch at least. They were painted blood-red to match her hair. She dropped a few dollar bills on the counter, grabbed her drink, and walked out of the shop, with at least twenty pairs of eyes following her.

Well... not only eyes. Several people, especially men, folded up their computers or books, grabbed their drinks, and trailed after her. For the height of her heels, she walked fast!

"Never seen her around before..." Irene said, self consciously looking in the window to check her reflection, and messing with a strand of her hair.

The waitress returned with the two drinks, looking a bit flustered, though Lia couldn't say for certain whether it was from the girl's appearance or from something else. If she had to take a guess she would say the former, but she didn't want to assume.

Lia took a sip of the hot drink. Irene got a straw, so she wouldn't mess up her newly applied lipstick, and went to work using it to scoop of the chocolate and caramel covered whipped cream. Lia found it a bit ironic that Irene worried so much about her figure, and yet she had the biggest sweet tooth of anyone Lia had ever met. On Halloween Irene could put even the most excited child to shame by the amount of candy she consumed.

Lia and Irene both spend the better part of the next hour chatting like normal college students while they enjoyed their drinks.

A small part of Lia wondered if things would be this peaceful much longer. She had a feeling that a lot was about to change.

Thank you for reading The Sea's Lost Song! Please let me know what you think!