Luna

Being back in the bigger tank is nice. It only takes me a few seconds after the scientist leaves to tackle Katie into a headlock. Our roles are quickly reversed however and I end up pinned under her arm. She rubs a fist against my scalp, laughing as she does. “How’s this working for you?” She asks in a teasing tone as I twist in her grip. She lets go of me and shoves me before darting away. I let everything else melt away as I pour myself into the task of chasing her down as she darts all over the place. Katie is always commenting on how fast and skilled I am, but I’ve always been in awe at her dexterity. The way she can stop suddenly or make sharp turns, darting in winding paths is incredible. I don’t have that sort of maneuverability and I find it really amazing.

I'm just reaching for her fin to tag her when she shows another example of this, stopping suddenly and dropping in the water at the exact same time, then spinning and taking off in the opposite direction, leaving me to scramble to a stop and give chase again. She glances back, her tongue between her teeth. “Come on, Luna, I thought you were faster than this,” she teases. I huff, put on a burst of speed, and grab a hold of her fin. She laughs. “Alright, fair enough. I will count to five.”

I don’t waste a second in swimming away, but before we can really get back into it, a sharp whistle cuts our play short.

Katie glances at the surface, angling her head to try and see better. “I wonder if that’s the trainer that Dr. Auldon mentioned,” she mutters. “We had better go up before they shock us.”

I nod reluctantly and follow her to the top of the tank.

When we break the surface, I direct my gaze at the deck to get a look at the person there. Kneeling down on the platform is Elizabeth, her fingers in her mouth and the start of another whistle dying in her throat. “There you are,” she says, her gaze directed at Katie. My friend swims over and pulls herself out to sit on the edge of the deck, wringing out some of the water from her hair. I follow her lead and sit on the deck, not fully sure how to do the total compliance thing.

“Are you also our trainer?” Katie asks before quickly covering her mouth.

Elizabeth laughs. “No, I'm not. I’m just here to take you to the training pool. You didn’t think you would be practicing here did you?”

Katie blushes, but nods.

“Well, you're not,” Elizabeth states. “Now come on, let’s get going.” She stoops to lift Katie up onto the waiting gurney, sitting her down near the front. Then she turns to me. “Okay, sweetie; let’s do this nice,” she murmurs, mostly to herself as she quickly lifts me too and sets me down next to Katie, then begins to push the gurney down the hall.

“Umm…” Katie hesitates to continue.

“Sweetie, you know I’m never going to get you into trouble right?” Elizabeth stares at Katie as she says it.

Katie drags a finger across her scales. “Well, yeah, I just…”

Elizabeth squeezes Katie’s shoulder. “What were you going to ask?”

“How this works,” Katie replies. “With the trainer. Is it going to be verbal commands or… and what sort of stuff are we supposed to be doing, because I just got good at swimming, I have no idea how to do like flips and stuff and-”

“Breathe,” Elizabeth suggests. “Relax. No, as far as I know, it won’t be verbal commands. I believe that they’re putting you in with a trained dolphin and want you to copy them while learning the signals. I have no idea what types of tricks, but I'm sure that you can watch the dolphin and Suzie, since she apparently is pretty good, and figure something out. I highly doubt that they expect you to be perfect on the first day. Just do your best.”

Katie nods. “Yeah, okay.”

I lean into her, squeeze her hand, and try to reassure her.

“I'm sure you’ll be fine, now sit back and stay quiet, we have to make a quick stop first.”

“Where?” Katie asks suddenly. I grab the handle of the gurney as Elizabeth takes a bit of a sharp turn.

“I believe you had a hair appointment,” Elizabeth answers in a teasing tone as she ruffles Katie’s hair.

“Oh, yeah, I forgot about that. Thank goodness.”

Elizabeth laughs. “Okay, didn’t take you for an obsessive fashion girl, but alright. Now seriously, quiet down, I will never forgive you if you get us into trouble.”

“I am not obsessing over my hair, it’s just so long and in my face is all,” Katie grumbles, and then holds her hands up. “Okay, okay, I get it, shutting up now.”

Elizabeth chuckles softly and shakes her head as she steers the gurney into a room that, like every other room in this place, is a starch white color. A counter with a sink and several cupboards lines the one wall, while a large mirror claims another. In the center of the room, facing the mirror, is a large, brown, strange chair that is coated in what looks like an uncomfortable and shiny brown fabric. There are straps and a weird contraption attached to the chair. A woman is standing by the chair, her arms crossed and her foot tapping impatiently. I recognize her as the woman from the day of the opening. The one who was playing with my hair and face. I do not like her at all.

“Why are they not restrained in any way?” The woman demands, her dark brown eyes narrowing at Elizabeth.

Elizabeth shrugs. “It’s not like they can go anywhere anyways,” she replies. “Restraining them is a hassle and they’ve both been really well-behaved this morning, so it’s a good opportunity to gain trust and reward good behavior.”

The woman grunts. “Just get her into the chair so I can do my job.”

Elizabeth nods and picks Katie up, gently depositing her on the chair. The other woman moves closer and straps Katie’s wrists to the arms of the chair. She then takes Katie’s tail and bends it underneath the chair so she can strap it down against the underside. The strange square contraption is clasped over Katie’s chest and her head is fitted into a thick metal, half-hoop.

“Is all that really necessary?” Elizabeth inquires.

The other woman nods. “Yes. I don’t want her fidgeting or moving around while I’m trying to work, now please, back up and give me some space. Did Dr. Auldon say what he wanted?”

Elizabeth nods and passes over a small piece of paper. The woman takes it, her eyes darting back and forth as she examines the page. Then she sets it down with a nod. “Alright. I’ll start with her bangs then.” She picks up a small thin brush with bristles lined in a single row one after the other. She sprays Katie’s hair and then brushes out the small locks at the front of her head. She then pulls out a small pair of scissors and proceeds to cut the smaller hairs even shorter. Thin, brown wisps of hair flutter down to rest on the amethyst scales of Katie’s tail. One piece balances on Katie’s nose and her face scrunches up seconds before she sneezes. The hair is blown off her nose, but Katie sneezes once more and sniffs a couple of times. The woman fixes her a glare and Katie lowers her gaze. Finishing with the front hairs, the woman moves behind Katie and begins to brush out the long locks. She then gathers up Katie’s hair and ties it with a little, stretchy, black circle, making Katie’s hair look like a long tail down her back. Taking out a larger pair of scissors, the woman makes one cut, just underneath the black thing. I gasp slightly, stunned as the long trail of hair drops to the floor, now severed. I can see her face in the mirror, and Katie looks just as stunned. The woman pulls the black circle from her hair, allowing it to fall free. It pools around her head, but the ends now only brush against her chin.

After some more brushing and a few more cuts from the small scissors, the woman finally steps back and begins to brush the hair off Katie’s tail and sweeping up the hair from the floor. “Am I doing the younger one too?”

Elizabeth shakes her head, allowing me to relax and sigh with relief. “No, just Bailey.”

“Alright, well you can take her now.”

Elizabeth nods and begins to release Katie from the chair. She picks her up and sets her back down next to me, and then steers the gurney out the door. As we move down the hall, I bring a hand up and gently brush my fingers over the severed ends of Katie’s hair. I know that the ends were fake before, but even her real hair is gone now. Katie follows my movements, running a hand through her hair, her hand pausing at the end as though expecting it to be longer still. “Everything okay?” Elizabeth asks, her gaze focused on Katie.

“Yeah,” Katie replies, letting her hand fall back into her lap. “It’s just really short is all.”

“I thought you wanted it shorter?” Elizabeth says.

“I did,” Katie confirms, “it’s just weird is all. I’ve never had my hair this short before. It feels a little strange, I wasn’t expecting it.”

“Well it doesn’t look bad,” Elizabeth says. “Looks kinda pretty that way. It was a little too long and too dark against your scales before. Now everything is balanced out.”

Katie nods, but she doesn’t reply. “At least it won’t be in my face anymore,” she agrees finally. The talk is cut short when Elizabeth takes us into a new room, shockingly a white one. A large pool built into the floor takes up most of the space, only rimmed by a tiled deck, a few cupboards and a gate in the pool that leads to a conjoining room. A man stands near the edge of the pool dressed a thick, black material that covers both his torso and legs in one piece. A shark decorates the chest of the clothing and a small thin whistle threaded onto colorful braided rope hangs from his neck. He has spikey brown hair and brown eyes. His lips are pursed into a thin line as he stares at us.

“This them?” He asks.

“Yes,” Elizabeth replies. “Bailey and Suzie.” She points to each of us respectively. “I was told to give you these,” she offers him two small remotes. I tense at the sight of them, know that they control the collars. “They’re for the collars, in case you have any trouble with them, the names are written on the remotes. But I’d also just like to let you know that it may take a few tries for them to get it, especially Bailey, who is still new to swimming, much less doing tricks. Maybe just take it easy on them the first little bit.”

The man grunts. “If I take it easy, they’ll never learn. We only have a thin margin of error and they will learn quickly or face the consequences. Now please, get them into the water and leave me to my work.”

Elizabeth nods and pushes the gurney up to the edge of the water. She places a hand on Katie’s spine and gives her a gentle shove, causing Katie to fall forward into the pool. I follow her into the water without any prompting.

The second I’m submerged, I notice the dolphin in the pool, hovering near the back. Racing by Katie, I dart towards it, eager to meet the only other ocean creature I’ve had contact with in a very long time. Besides Katie of course, but that’s not the same. I twirl around the sleek creature a few times before coming to hover in front of him. He butts his beak against my collarbone and I press my cheek against his forehead. “You are a long way from home, little one,” he states in the whistling language dolphins use. “You poor thing, you must have gotten separated from your mother, didn’t you?”

I nod. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Katie tense and glance around before her gaze settles on us. She looks a little stunned and confused. I laugh, shoulders shaking. I forgot that she does not know. We can understand most ocean creatures and learn many of their languages. Dolphin is the easiest, and the only one that I know. Not that I can speak it now.

I tell Katie about the language thing and her face lights up. “Really? Wow, that’s awesome. But um,” she blushes slightly, arms folding behind her back. “How do I talk to him?”

The dolphin turns to face my friend, nudges her gently. “Speak with the back of your throat, cluck your tongue and whistle a little.”

I watch Katie swallow and blink slowly. After a moment’s hesitation she opens her mouth and a shrill whistle leaves her. She quickly clamps her jaw shut once more, clearly startled.

“Alright, now try again. Try to be a little less shrill and let us hear some words, alright?”

Katie nods and tries again. “Th-this is rea-really co…cool,” she stutters a little over the words, but manages to spit out a decent sentence.

“Better. You will get the hang of it in no time. You are shaking, child; is it your first day of training?”

Katie and I both nod. “Yeah,” Katie admits, returning to English. “I’m nervous.”

“Relax; that is why I am here. Simply pay attention to the trainer’s signals and watch me. I will have you in decent shape quickly. It is important if you want to end the day with a full stomach. My name is Rajeez, have the two of you got names?”

“My name is Katie, this is Luna,” Katie replies.

“It is nice to meet both of you, I- oh,” he breaks off and turns to face the surface as a sharp whistle sounds. “We had better go now. Come on.”

Katie and I follow him up to the surface, where the trainer is standing over us, hands on his hips and his whistle between his teeth. He kneels down and sticks a hand out in front of Rajeez. He brings his beak up to meet his palm. The trainer raises his hand and Rajeez follows it until his flippers clear the water. Then the trainer lowers his hand, bringing the dolphin back down, and tossing him a fish. His gaze then shifts to Katie and he repositions his hand in front of her. I watch her swallow nervously and then she meets his palm with the bridge of her nose. His hand is so close that she only needs to tilt her head back in order to accomplish this. I watch her struggle to keep contact as he raises his hand up. The further up he lifts it, the slower she becomes when meeting it. Finally, with a determined snort, she flicks her fin with a fair bit of force, clearly more than she intended, and her face collides with his hand. She falls back in the water, clearly startled and thrown off balance, and rubs at her nose.

The trainer toots on his whistle, the shrill noise making me wince, and sticks his hand out in front of her again. He forces her to repeat it again, and then again when she fails a second time. After a fourth unsuccessful time, the trainer appears fed up. He presses the button on one of the remotes and Katie winces, her hand flying to her neck. I chew my lip, wanting so badly to snarl at the man responsible for hurting her. It is not her fault, she is trying, and she is just still very new to her tail. I curl my lip, but a sharp glare from Katie kills the hiss that was previously building in my throat. I decide to settle for staring at the water. Doing so means I don’t notice that I’ve become the main focus of our trainer. When the whistle sounds, I nearly jump out of my scales. I snap my head up to see his hand stretch out a few centimeters above my head. For a moment, I hesitate and debate refusing, before I sigh and give in, stretching up to brush my forehead against his hand.

I mess up twice, but manage to stay with him on the third try. I’m rewarded with a small chunk of fish, probably small because I can’t swallow a fish whole like Rajeez and this will be faster. Eating it reminds me of my hunger. We weren’t fed yesterday, this is probably why. I glance over at Katie, who has her head down. I know she’s afraid. The trainer uses his whistle, catching our attention again. He makes a motion with his hand, one that, despite my fluency in sign language, I don’t recognize. A glance at Katie tells me she does, but she looks exceedingly hesitant to try whatever command it was. Rajeez takes off though. I turn to watch him, learn what I am supposed to do. He arcs out of the water in a simple jump where his body just barely leaves the water. The second he re-enters the water, he jumps again in the same fashion, doing it a total of three times. The trick looks pretty, but is a little more complicated than it seems with such precise and sudden timing to it. A toot from the whistle reminds me that Katie and I are supposed to do it too. I glance at her, give her a reassuring nod, and dunk under the water. I manage okay, though it takes me a couple of strokes between each jump before going into the next one. I follow Rajeez back to the deck. He’s rewarded with a fish and I receive a tiny piece of fish, significantly smaller than the previous one, so I take it as an indication that I’m expected to improve. I didn’t get a chance to see how Katie managed but it clearly wasn’t successful because she earns nothing more than another pressed button.

Six tricks later, I’ve been shocked twice and Katie’s neck is looking very red and irritated, and tears are beginning to brim in her eyes. I swim over and touch her arm.

I jump, startled, when a throat is cleared loudly. I turn to see Dr. Auldon standing in the doorway with his arms crossed. He walks up to the trainer. “Mr. Olin, how are things going in here?” He inquires.

“Fine,” the trainer replies.

“Really?” False interest enters Dr. Auldon’s voice. He folds his arms over his chest once more. “Because the collars on our little friends over there are both equipped with transmitters that record each time that they activate. And Suzie’s has activated twice and Bailey’s has been going haywire, so either there is a glitch in the system or there has been a problem. And if there has been a problem, then I need to know about it because the two of them are being strictly disciplined until their behavior and routine are perfected. So I'll ask again, was there a problem?”

“Nothing I can’t handle,” the trainer states coldly. “Are you calling me incapable of doing my job?”

“No, I’m not, but I would like a more detailed explanation.”

The trainer sighs. “Nothing, but they are in need of some rigorous work as their attempts are far from good, especially the older one. I’ve been using the remote as an attempt to motivate improvement. It has been thus far unsuccessful, but I will continue to work on her.”

A muscle feathers in Dr. Auldon’s jaw. “Mr. Olin, I appreciate your efforts, but I think that’s enough for today. I will take over from here, please lead the dolphin out and be on your way. Go to the front desk and tell Mrs. Edwards that I want her to give you an advance on your paycheck. I will call you next week to schedule another session.”

The trainer crosses his arms. “I am a professional and I cannot simply be dismissed like this.”

Dr. Auldon raises an eyebrow. “I hired you, I am paying you, and I will dismiss you if I feel the need. If you don’t like the conditions, don’t come back, I am capable of finding someone else. Either way, take this dolphin back to its pool and leave.”

I sink lower in the water. Even though I know that the angry voices aren’t focused on me, I can’t help but shy away from any of the scientists when they raise their voices; it normally means bad things for me. I press my shoulder against Katie’s while the trainer storms about and orders Rajeez through the gate before he hurries out. Katie takes my arm and squeezes, her breathing shaky and quick.

Once the trainer has left, Dr. Auldon glances our way. “Don’t think I’m defending you, Bailey, or that I’ve done you any favors. I just don’t need to deal with an uproar from the public if either of you show signs of electrical burns. Now then, care to explain yourself?” he demands. His footfalls clap against the concrete of the floor, echoing in the enclosed room as he approaches the edge of the pool. Katie hesitates and swallows heavily. “I-I I'm trying, I swear, I just-” she breaks off for a moment and takes another shaky breath. “It’s just like he said… I am not very good. I have no idea what I am doing, I can’t even do a backflip underwater, much less do tricks leaping out of it,” she glances down. “But I swear, I am trying really hard, I want to do it right, to be better, just please don’t be mad, please, I’ll-”

“Stop,” Dr. Auldon interrupts. “When, in the two and a half months you have been here, have I tolerated rambling or indulged pleading?”

“Never,” Katie whispers. “I’m sorry.”

“I’ll overlook it this once. Now, you can relax, I knew well ahead of time that you would have a rocky and likely very poor start. That was why I came down to intervene. I’d rather not have your neck blistered and swollen for the opening tomorrow. Now, about how rocky a start we’re having. Show me.”

Katie wets her lips, meets his gaze, and hesitantly begins to raise her hand slightly. The motion confuses me but I simply decide it’s some human thing and leave it at that. Dr. Auldon arches an eyebrow. “Not something that counts as being allowed,” he states. “Still, better than simply talking outright. Speak.”

“You haven’t uh, given me any specific command… do you want me to just pick?”

Dr. Auldon seems impressed as he leans back slightly. “No, I don’t. I want to see a flip, single front flip, jump as high as you can. I don’t care if it’s something you’ve covered it or not, do it.”

Katie nods and dunks under the water. Seconds later she leaps free into the air and throws her weight forward. At first I think she may actually pull it off, but after throwing her weight forward, she can’t do much else and it becomes a sloppy curled dive instead of a flip.

“Well, we’ll work on it,” Dr. Auldon states. “Now, I have another matter to attend to. Get out of the water.”

“Oh, okay,” Katie replies as she braces her hands on the deck.

“Not you,” Dr. Auldon stops her as he focuses his gaze on me. I flinch under his intense gaze. “Get out of the water, I won't ask again.” Katie places a hand on my back, gently pushes me forward. The look on her face indicates that she’s trying to help protect my secret by encouraging me as though I couldn’t understand. “Stop, don’t touch her, move back,” Dr. Auldon commands sharply. Katie flinches and retreats a few strokes away.

I turn to face her and seconds later a hand is fisting through my hair. Tears prick in the corners of my eyes as I’m dragged back and out of the water. “For someone who should be well aware of the consequences of disobedience, you aren’t very good at listening,” Dr. Auldon snaps. His hand grabs my chin, fingers squishing my cheeks as he drags my gaze to his. His thumb slides roughly, almost harshly, down my cheek. “Such a naive child. All these years you’ve thinking that you’re keeping this great secret, a little sliver of power and triumph that you have over us, when in reality, it’s been known from the start.”

I feel my eyes widen in fear. He can’t possibly know.

“That, right there, is one of your major giveaways. Your tendency to, very obviously, react to everything people say. If I had been bluffing and guessing, you would have just given yourself away. Now can you imagine how Dr. Patron is going to react when he finds out? He’ll be furious,” Dr. Auldon says. I can’t help but shudder and try to pull away. Dr. Auldon’s grip on my chin tightens. “Yes, he’ll be furious and he’ll feel cheated. Anger and ruined pride don’t mix well with a man like him. Imagine for a moment how he’s going to take it, how he’ll react, and what sort of pain that will mean for you.”

Tears prick in my eyes at the thought of the man that terrorizes my dreams. If he found out, he would likely gut me and keep torturing me for days on end as long as it didn’t kill me.

Dr. Auldon nods. “It would not be very pretty. Quite the bloody and gruesome mess to be cleaned up afterwards…”

I tug away from him, now desperate to get back into the water, into as close to safety as I can get right now. I’m grabbed again.

“You’re scared. Good, you should be. He would end you. We would be short a mermaid because he would kill you in the most inventively painful way he can think of after dragging it out as long as possible, long after you begged him for death. Child, breathe, you’re whiter that a sheet. I’m simply stating the obvious. Back to that, it would be the end of your existence… good thing I don’t plan to tell him.”

My head snaps up, knowing there’s a catch, but willing to take it anyways.

“I don’t plan to tell him, it can stay a secret. Of course, if you cannot behave yourself and be the picture of obedience, then I cannot promise that I won’t slip up in front of him. Therefore, I'm going to lay down some simple ground rules for you and you can choose whether to follow them or not, though I highly suggest that you do. So, for starters, you will quit the awful hissing and snarling that you are so fond of, I should be able to shove my hand in your mouth and not have even the slightest concern of being bitten, secondly you shall do exactly as you are told the moment you are told to do it. You will not cower in the presence of people, especially guests, and will instead interact friendly and eagerly. You will cease to attempt to intimidate new staff, and I expect to see a smile on your face at all times when the exhibit is open. Have I made myself perfectly clear?”

I swallow heavily and nod my head, wiping at my eyes and wet cheeks.

“Do you have any questions?” I shake my head again. “Good, so we’re in agreement then?”

I sniff, try to still my trembling, and nod again.

“I would like to hear an actual response,” Dr. Auldon states dryly. I hesitate, my lips parting a little, and then begin to chew on my lip and let my head fall. “Is there a problem?” Dr. Auldon demands.

I glance at Katie, suddenly terrified. I'm not willing to let him in on the sign language too. I see Dr. Auldon glance over too. “Come here, Bailey,” he orders. Katie doesn’t hesitate as she hurries over and pulls herself up onto the deck. She touches my shoulder. “Bailey, I have a feeling that there’s something Suzie wants you to tell me. So pipe up now please.”

“She can’t answer you,” Katie says. “She hasn’t been able to speak for a long time now. Yes or no questions pretty much sum up the extent of our communication.”

Really?” Dr. Auldon turns back to me. “You certainly weren’t mute when you were little and I don’t remember Dr. Patron recording any surgeries that had any remote possibility of touching or damaging your vocal cords. You wouldn’t happen to be lying to me would you?”

I shake my head frantically.

“And how do I know I can trust you enough to believe you?”

Katie makes a slight noise in the back of her throat, catching the scientist’s attention. “Speak.”

“Well, I guess there isn’t much either of us can do to convince you we’re trustworthy, but if you think about it; have you ever heard her scream or whimper, or make any other sound throughout any of the awful things that Dr. Patron has done to her? Maybe in the first year or so, but more recently? And technically if she is lying, can’t you hold threats over her head about the consequences of lying?” Katie states.

Dr. Auldon grunts. “I suppose. Now, regardless of her speech status, we have work to do. So I’m going to go and get a chart of the hand signs I expect you two to know by heart. Suzie, you will be responsible for showing Bailey correct maneuverability on performing these tricks. After I bring you the chart, I am going to leave you both here for four hours. If by then, your progress has impressed me, I will reward you with a good meal, if not you will wait until tomorrow night for you food, am I clear?”

I nod.

“Yes, sir,” Katie agrees, her head bowed.

“Good. Now go, I will return in a moment.”

***

I lean back, blow air bubbles out of my nose, and watch them rise to the surface, and then I try to send them up in unique patterns and strings. Beside me, Katie laughs. “What are you doing?”

I shrug. ‘Just trying to distract myself,’ I admit.

“I can’t believe he knew,” Katie replies. “How do you think he found out?”

‘I have no idea,’ I reply, chewing on my lip. ‘You do not think he will tell anyone else do you?’

“Nah,” Katie replies. “I mean we all know how Dr. Patron would react and I doubt that Dr. Auldon wants to deal with the angry scientist or the idea of having to close the exhibit again. And he certainly wouldn’t risk Dr. Patron killing you, it would kinda kill the mermaid attraction thing, don’t you think?”

I nod. ‘I guess so.’

“You okay? That was a pretty harsh revelation and some nasty threats.”

I nod, then shake my head and lean into her. She hugs me, pulling me back against her chest and resting her chin on my head. “I'm sorry, sweetheart,” she whispers. “Want to do something? Take your mind off of it?”

I nod. ‘Okay.’

“Alright, well, what do you want to do? Play a game?”

I shake my head. I'm worn out from earlier and from all the training. Katie improved a lot, but apparently not enough to really impress Dr. Auldon, so we're both getting very hungry. ‘Will you-’ I break off, hesitant to ask.

“Will I what?” She asks.

‘Will you tell me a story? Like something from your childhood? Something happy?’

“Sure,” Katie agrees. “Let’s go inside and get settled, I’m exhausted.”

I nod in agreement and push off from the ground. Grinning at her, I take off in an unofficial race towards the cave. Once inside, I poke her and giggle, wallowing in my little victory.

“Oh, hush you,” Katie laughs. “Lie down, will you?” I comply, settling onto the plush seagrass. Katie takes a moment to settle in herself before she begins to speak. “So you want a happy memory story… what kind of happy memory story?”

I shrug. ‘I do not know. Anything. I just want to have a reason to be happy.’

“Okay. Let me think for a moment.”

‘Can it be something that involves the ocean?” I add, wanting to hear about the home I can barely remember.

“Yeah, no problem. Hmm. Oh, okay, I’ll tell you about my first dive.”

‘Dive? Like jumping into the water?’

“No, no, when I say dive, I mean that I put on a metal cylindrical tank thing full of air and some other equipment and it allows me to stay underwater for a longer period of time and be able to breathe.”

‘You have gills,’ I point out.

“Yeah, but I didn’t before. Diving is a human sport and several jobs revolve around it, including my dream job which is underwater photography.’

‘What is that?’

“Taking pictures of reefs and fish and stuff, sometimes other divers if you’re hired for an excursion,” she replies. I must have given her a confused look because she adds on, “never mind, it doesn’t matter. Anyways, when I was twelve I really started to get into photography, especially underwater, so Sophie signed me up for dive classes so that we could go on weekends occasionally. Everything went really well, I aced the pool sessions and the classes and did my open water dive in a deep river a few miles outside the city. Once I had my certificate, Sophie booked us for an excursion the next weekend, and she was so excited for it, even went out and bought me a proper underwater camera to replace the waterproof case that I had for my actual camera. I was really excited about it too, actually woke her up at four thirty in the morning… Very, very early,” she adds when she glances at my face. “I was determined to get there early just in case and spent the whole drive there bouncing in my seat and talking about what I hoped we would see. We talked and laughed the whole boat ride and Sophie teased me when I tripped over my own two feet and nearly went over the edge. I was having a blast until it was time to get in the water. Suddenly, I was petrified; I couldn’t do it, clung to the rail in case someone would force me to go in and venomously refused to put my equipment on.

‘Why?’ I ask.

Katie shrugs. “No idea. I was fine in the pool and even in the river, but suddenly the thought of getting into the big blue terrified me. It took Sophie twenty minutes and an ice-cream bribe to get me to suit up and then another ten to coax me into the water. By then we had missed almost a third of our dive, but Sophie was really patient about it. But when I got in the water, all my fear instantly disappeared. Luna, the reef was gorgeous and so full of life. A manatee swam right in front of me, it was breathtaking,” Katie gushes, her eyes going slightly glassy, caught in the memory. “I got some really great photos… well they weren’t that great considering I was just starting out, but some awesome keepsakes at least. And the funny thing is that Sophie then had to fight to get me out of the water, even more so than she did to get me in. It was only after she reminded me that I would run out of air soon that I finally conceded and surfaced with the others. Diving became second nature after that,” she finishes with a shrug. “I really found my calling that day, never truly wanted to be anywhere else… except home with Soph that is.”

‘It sounds like you really love the water,’ I reply.

“I do,” Katie answers. “The tail would be so amazing if we weren’t here. So what about you? Any interesting stories?”

I shrug. ‘I have already told you most of what I remember. I was hoping that maybe hearing some of your memories might bring back some of my own. It did not work.’

Katie reaches out and squeezes my shoulder. “You know, that’s actually not a bad idea. I'll talk some more about the ocean, okay? It may trigger something and it’s worth a try, right?”

I nod and smile at her. ‘Okay. Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it, but not tonight, I'm beat and I imagine that tomorrow will be busy. Let’s get some sleep okay?” Katie suggests.

I nod again and let my head fall to rest on my arm. Ten seconds later I sit up and move closer to Katie. She doesn’t hesitate to wrap her arm around me and pull me even closer, burying her face in my hair. “Goodnight, Luna, I love you.”