Mother, or my aunt, continued her story about how my biological mother wasn't the same Freja as she was before. The spontaneous mermaid was now an empty shell. It turns out that Emil tried selling mother as an entertainment and every night he would do horrible things to her. It broke my heart knowing that she had to go through all of that. And for what? A love that did not exist?

"I wish I could meet her." She turned to my direction and gave me a sad look.

"I wish you could, too."

After the talk we had, it made me think if Adalrik is the same as Emil. Nope, I don't plan on calling him father.

At night, I would toss and turn in my sleep. The image of his handsome face couldn't get out of my mind. As if my heart had a mind of its own, it wanted to see him once more. I got off the bed and quietly snuck out of the house. "Ursula?" My heart jumped. I turned to see who it was. Thankfully, it was just a groggy Flotsam. He tried his best to keep his eyes open. I approached him and whispered. "Shhh. I'll be back as soon as you know it." Flotsam nodded his head and drifted back to sleep.

Once I managed to get far away from the kingdom, I swam to the surface. Luckily, none of the guards caught me so it was a quick escape.

I reached the top and took a deep breath of the salty sea air. The moon tonight was beautiful. It was big and full. My eyes were captivated by it. After admiring the moon, I swam towards the land.

My aunt explained to me that since mother was half human, she was capable of coming and going to shore as she pleases. I wonder how she did it.

I sat on the shore with the waves gently crashing my tail, contemplating on how I can turn my tail into human legs. Bored out of my mind, I decided to sing. I stare at the moon, singing an old tale about two lovers that can never be. It was one of my favorite tales and it still makes me cry. All of a sudden, my tail began to glow. At first, it scared me, but when it diminished, my tail turned into a pair of legs. Shocked filled my face. I continued to stare at the pair of human legs before me, letting it sink in.

When I got up, my legs wobbled and landed on my butt. Eww, it feels weird with sand stuck in between the cracks. Why do I have a crack? I tried getting up again, using the giant rock as support. I started to get a hang of it a few minutes later.

Suddenly, something didn't feel right. It's as if someone was watching me. I turned to see who it was. "It's okay! I promise you no harm will come your way!" She quickly said. The woman slowly emerged from the dark shadows of the night. She had long, wavy black hair that fell below her hips. Her eyes were as a golden brown color. The dark circles under her eyes were very obvious. She probably hasn't slept well in days and her body looked so frail. Seeing her at this state made me feel so bad for her.

She had a wide smile on her face. "I haven't seen a mermaid for years now." The sound of the hush night danced around us. Her eyes gazed up on me, examining my entire body. She averted her gaze into my eyes. There was a look that I cannot figure out. Surprise? Longing? That's what I thought I saw. She blinked her wide eyes rapidly as if she were trying to hold back tears.

"So you've been spying on my this whole time, meaning you've seen my tail." I implied and took precaution. After hearing the story from mother, I started becoming paranoid with the human world. Yes, call me crazy for coming here all paranoid, but my stupid heart wanted to me here. Good job, heart. Good job.

"Sadly, I haven't seen your tail. It was your voice that brought me here to this very spot." She looked around the beach and to the distance of the sea, longingly. "Be careful when you sing in the human world. I wouldn't want you to get caught." Her voice was filled with concern.

I examined the woman carefully. There was a bruise on her left shoulder. Her lips looked dry and dehydrated, and she always seems to have a depressing expression on her face. I started to take pity on her. "What is a young mermaid like you doing in the human world?" She asked in interest.

Something told me that I should trust her. I placed my hand on my chest and smiled. "I honestly don't know. After my mother told me about the humans and how they took away my real mother, I know that I should stay away from your world. As cliche as it may sound but it was my heart that told me to come here."

She listened to my short story and nodded. "I recommend you go back to your home." I was appalled. How dare she tell me to go back home? We don't even know each other personally!

"Excuse me?"

"Don't get me wrong, my child, but the human world is no place for you. Humans are deceitful, and disastrous beings. They make you believe in everything that is too good to be true and will stab you right in the back once they completely make a fool out of you." There was no trace of emotion in her voice. She looked like an empty shell as how mother would explain it. Wait. What if?

"Before I leave, could you answer me this one question?" She looked up and attentive to what I am about to ask. "Could I please get your name?"

Her smile may be wide, but there was no happiness in them. She closed her eyes and shook her head, placing her hand on her head. "My name. It's a name that is not worth remembering." She slowly walked away, her back turned to me.

I gently grabbed her by the hand. It felt soft, but there was a scar that was visible. "By any chance, are you Freja?" Surprised by the name, she quickly turned to face me.

"Who are you?" She lifted up one eye brow, eyeing me in suspicion.

"That doesn't answer my question."

"And what if I'm not?" She challenged.

I started to grow impatient. If this is my mother, then I now know where I got my annoyance from. I rolled my eyes and glared at her. "That still does not answer my question."

She crossed her hand, one eye brow still raised, and pouted her red lips. The silence between us was deafening. Please say something already!

After a few minutes of uneasy silence, she had broken the silence. " Freja has been long gone, child."

I wasn't sure what I felt when she said this. Was my heart broken or was it not? There was a very tiny ping of pain that went away instantly. Probably the reason why I was feeling this way was because I never knew her personally. I wish I did.

"Freja seems to hold some importance to you, little mermaid." She said when she noticed how silent I had gotten.

I placed my hands together on my chest, not knowing what to say. My eyes held no tears, but my heart felt pain once more as it came back. Maybe this is regret I'm feeling? Regret of never knowing the mother that I was supposed to grow up with. I looked to the human and smiled at her. "She was my birth mother." I croaked the words out, forcing a smile.

Pain was her expression. She slowly approached me for the first time, placing her hand on my shoulders. Her hand feels so rough for a female. "Whatever it is you're thinking right now, always remember that she loves you."

I chuckled at her. "How would you know? We've never seen each other since I was born."

Her expression becomes serious. She pulls out a golden necklace from her pocket. The pendant was a seashell with a golden chain. She opens the shell and it looked magical. It showed little mermaids and mermen swimming around Atlantis. It also had the most beautiful sound. "Your mother told me that it was given to her by her father. She wanted to give this to you before she died, but every time she tried to approach the sea, a man named Emil would end up bringing her back to their domain."

She placed the necklace on her palm. "If I were you, I'd go back to the sea where you belong. Don't make the same mistake your mother did, my dear." She distanced herself from me, turned, and walked away.

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I am by far the worse author ever! Leaving my precious readers, waiting... craving for the next chapter. I really do apologize! But here it is now! I will never abandon you all ever again!

Xoxo,

Johara Teregeyo