“There!”, Raphael said quickly as a mole popped out and Vanessa quickly hit the machine mole. She was giggling each time one popped out, tying her best to hit them since they were all quickly popping out and back in.

            When they all stopped coming out, she knew the game was over and only seven tickets came out. She frowned, “I suck.”, she said since came out with about twenty in one game.

            “Well I came here a lot with my friends, so I had a lot of practice.”, he said. He then looked at her closely and she blushed.

            “What?”, she manage to say since her throat was getting thick with nervousness

            “I’m just,”, he said, pausing. “Trying to figure everything out still, with what happen you. And you look…different.”.

            Vanessa mouth formed a small ‘O’ and she looked away, “I’m still the same the girl.”, she said.

            “I didn’t say that though.”, he said. “I said you look different—I mean, you just seem—weird of me, but glowing."

            Vanessa blushed more, keep believe someone else notice and it was Raphael of all people. She so badly wanting to say ‘thanks’, but she just to shy to even say that, so she held her hand up that had tickets in it, “Let’s go pick out our prizes.”, she said, walking around him and went over to where the prizes were.

            She only had about forty-seven tickets, so all she could really get was a small butterfly toy and some plastic wrist bands while Raphael had about ninety.

            “Hmm, give me that blown up SpongeBob.”, he said, pointing at it up on the wall and looked at her, making her chuckle at the choice of prize. He still had ten more tickets he could use, so he looked in the glass case of small prize, “And that necklace right there.”, he said.

            He was given that SpongeBob pool toy and she saw the necklace he was holding, which seem so familiar to her. It was a blue fish tail. “For you.”, he said. “My way of saying sorry I out staged you today.”, he chuckled.

            Vanessa was staring at the necklace, her stomach turning as she remember what happening to her. “Coasta Sirenas legend.”, she said, frowning as she reached up and touched the tail.

            “What about it?”, he ask, frowning now to.

            She snapped herself away from the necklace, “Nothing.”, she said. Not wanting to be rude, she looked back at him and did her best fake smile she could, “Thanks, it’s real…nice. Nice of you to give it to me.”, she said as he walked out of the arcade.

            He nodded, putting his hands in his short pockets, “Yeah, but hey, I have to get to work. See you around?”, he asked and thought about it, wondering if that was such a good idea right now with what happening.

            “Sure.”, she said though and nodded. He turned the other way and stood there for a few moments before turning to face the ocean. A soft breeze came and she wondered if this would be a good idea, but she began making her way towards the end of the dock.

            She had put the necklace on as she made her way and wondered if Adalyn would still be there. She was a few feet away when she saw her back, a few inches away from the water.

            “I’m here.”, Vanessa said, but she was sure she heard her coming.

            “You have to stay away from him, Vanessa.”, she said and Vanessa eyebrows came together in confused as she sat down next to her.

            “Who? Raphael?”, she asked.

            She nodded, “Yes, him.”, she said. “He’s dangerous, bad news.”

            “Why?”, she asked, brushing her hair behind her ears. “I don’t know him all to well, but he a nice guy.”

            “That’s doesn’t matter, he an enemy to our kind.”, she said, looking at her now. “I can see sailor on him.”.

            “He doesn’t catch fish.”, she said.

            “But he’s close to the people who do.”, she said. “Vanessa, what does he do for a job?”.

            “He…”, she trailed off, realizing Raphael does work in a fish shop…with a bunch of dead fish. Her stomach just turned at the thought of all the dead fish in the cooler, people coming around to pick which one they want, and not caring about them at all. She took a deep breath and looked down at her feet, feeling ashamed for some reason “He sells fish on the boardwalk. His uncle and father are fishermen and own the shop.”,

            “And the thought makes you sick, right?”, she asked and Vanessa hesitated, but nodded.

            “More things are important then a pretty face.”, she said.

            I didn’t want this, though, she thought, but didn’t say it out loud. She hates she hated not being able to be around Raphael, but what she even caring? Her and Raphael would never even happen, it’s just some dream of her that someone as handsome as him would look at someone like her without just wanting to be friends and only care cause he curious to what happen to her.

            Adalyn reached out and touched the necklace, “You weren’t wearing this yesterday.”, she said and Vanessa looked at the necklace, blushing.

            “He won it for me.”, she blushed.

            Adalyn took her hand back and it was quiet for a few moments before she got up, holding her hand out, “Come with me.”

            Vanessa looked up at her, “Where?”.

            She smiled down at her, “Believe me, you’ll love it.”, she said and Vanessa hesitated, but for some reason, she trusted Adalyn.

            She reached up and took her hand, helping her up from the ground and they walked over towards the water.

            “Best way is to give it a good run, I’ll hold your hand until you feel safe.”, she said, smiling at her.

            Vanessa looked out into the sea and she swallowed hard, feeling scared and excited at the same time, but she nodded.

            They ran the last little space and even though it was getting hard to run in water. Vanessa took a deep breath and closed her eyes before she dipped into the cold water. She felt the water pull her hair back as she was pulled into rather into the water

            Suddenly she stopped and she felt Adalyn hand touch her face, directly on her eyes, and she ran her hands across. Vanessa guessed it was her way of saying she can open them. She took a second, knowing it wasn’t the best idea to open her eyes in salty water, but she did.

            She gasped—so amazed at the sight. She thought it would be dark, but it was as if their was light in the water. they weren’t near the top of the ocean, but lower then she expect. She could see everything so well and clear—it was so beautiful.

            She then realized something and she brought hand up to her throat—she wasn’t breathing. Well, she was, her chest was going up and down, but—she was breathing in the water and wasn’t choking or drowning. She could breath underwater.

            She looked at Adalyn, who was smiling at her. She was holding her arms out, holding herself up and her was all tail and scales. She was a beautiful sight.

            She waved at Vanessa, like she was telling her to follow her as she face towards a direction and Vanessa swam behind her. She turned her head back as she did and saw her tells all scale and almost—fin-like now, which seem to help her swim.

            Vanessa couldn’t believe this, it was so magical. She felt like she was dreaming as she swam around with Adalyn. Vanessa smiled at all the sights as she was witnessing and Adalyn showed her so many moved. She twirled around in the waters and played around with Adalyn, feeling so free in the water.

            Threw all the playing around, Vanessa heard a noise that scared her from behind and her head snapped around a little, seeing a dolphin coming towards her way. She react quickly by turning around and was quickly afraid, never been around before. She heard they were peaceful animals, but she was still scared.

            Adalyn swam past her and swam towards the dolphin, putting her arms around her and petted her as if she was a dog or cat, giving it love, and kissed it nose

            Vanessa fear eased and she relax when Adalyn and the dolphin swam towards her. Adalyn nodded at her and took her hand, holding it out towards the dolphin. Vanessa hesitated, but put her hand on the dolphin, rubbing her hand across it and for some reason, she thought it was smiling at her. She saw how happy the dolphin seem threw her eyes.

            Vanessa smiled at the creature and it swam backwards, then aim directly upwards and swam up quick to the top, disappearing, and reappearing two seconds later. Vanessa smiled widely, wondering if she’ll ever be able to do that.

            She looked at Adalyn, who was pointing for her to go upwards. Vanessa swam up to the top of the water, lifting her head above it.

            “So what do you think?”, Adalyn asked

            “It’s,”, she paused for a second to look around. They were all alone, God knows how far out into sea they were. She looked back at Adalyn, laughing, “Amazing, nothing I ever bfore.”.

            “I know,”, she said. “And just imagine, when your fully transformed, you could swim from Coasta Sirena all the way to Hawaii in matter of twenty minutes.”.

            “No way.”, Vanessa said. “And oh my God, I could hold my breath that long?”.

            She nodded, “You can go on without water for an hour, the older you get, the longer you can hold it.”.

            “This is all so unreal.”, Vanessa said to herself.

            “Well it’s time to believe, you are living proof of it all.”, she said. “But come on, we have some more time before we should get back.”, she said, making Vanessa smile because she didn’t want it to be over.

            They went back into the water and continued to play with the dolphin and her friends that joined.

            {}

            “So what really happen to Mr. Troike?”, Vanessa asked as they climbed out of the water and hide under the brood walk dock.

            “Oh, for all he knows, he’s on vacations.”, she said, chuckling. “He’s not actually sick, I glamour him to believe he was giving an vacations and I did the same to the principle of the school making her believe he was sick with the flu.”, she said.

            “Glamour?”, Vanessa asked. “You mean, your singing? The legend say when you sing, you have the most beautiful voice and can control anyone with it.”.

            “Yes.”, she said. “I glamour your to come to the ocean the other day, but when that guy came, he distracted me and you broke from it.”.

            Now that Adalyn mentioned, that came back to her. She remembered walking into the ocean, Adalyn laying in the water, holding her hand out, but then Raphael called out her name, making Adalyn hiss dangerously and Vanessa turned her head around, only for a second before she was pulled into the ocean. Vanessa remembers seeing nothing but complete darkness before everything got bright, she saw the shadows of the other mermaids, and Adalyn changed her.

            “I want you to remember, that what happened back there, can always happen again.”, she said. “Your not alone, Vanessa, there are many of us. We’re all a family, believe it or not. Our sisters just weren’t out there cause I wanted it to be just us today, to show you how believe it can be.”.

            “It is beautiful.”, she said.

            “Never go out alone, though.”, she said and Vanessa looked at her confused. “It better to go out with someone, much better in a group for protection from the fishermen and sharks.”.

            “Sharks?”, Vanessa asked, making a gulping sound.

            “Yes, they do attack if they spot us alone. They’ll be less likely to attack in a group, so I warn you right now, never go out alone.”, she said.

            “O-okay.”, Vanessa said before looking back out into the ocean.