Chapter 37
Horizons
As they approached the scene cautiously, Haruto looked Meredith into her eyes nodding in agreement for what they planned to do. Meredith approached them and whistled. "Beat it, missy, or you're next." The merman threatened. "If I had a doubloon for every time someone says that, I'd have me a chest full." She muttered rolling her eyes while holding her uniquely shaped weapon. "What'd you say?!"
Then she huffed out a breath saying non-enthusiastically, "You have caused trouble for far too long, prepare to see the wrath of Meredith, rightful heir and Shaasak of Samudra... ah screw it, I've done enough crusade speeches. Come at me, guppies!"
"You're all talk, now, where was I?" The merman turned his attention to the locals once more. "Hey! Don't you ignore me! Rrrah!" Meredith snapped back while whacking one of the mer with the mallet side of her weapon. She drifted about seven yards across the sandy floor. Then she flung another mer up in the sea with the hooked end grasping around their waist. She began spinning her weapon at another mermaid slamming the mallet on her fins pinning her down unable to move the surprisingly massive weapon off of her. Then she shouts, "Now, Haruto!"
He set his concentration on brewing up the perfect storm to blow the bandits away without dragging the locals along with them. He stretched out his hands with them curving the tips of his fingers. As he managed to summon two tornadoes at his beckoning, he drew his hands closer to condense it into one giant tornado. He then dragged his left hand out leaving his fingers curled up pushing the tornado onto the gang. Before they were blown away, Meredith swiftly grabbed her weapon from the mer's trapped fins. They then were sucked in the funnel of Haruto's whirlwind and were sent flying so many feet above the sea floor to the point they were not seen anymore in vision.
The locals looked at him with fearful looks into their eyes. They did not know what to think on whether he was an ally or another threat. They started backing away until an elderly merman appeared. "I remember you, you and your sister helped that family back in my village." He said pointing to Meredith.
She squinted and started gaining familiarity to the elder. "Aberdeen?" He nodded silently. "What are you doing here? Hikiana must be miles away from here." Meredith asked as she hugged the man. "You know this maiden?" A merman asked. "Of course, I wouldn't forget the maiden whom along with her sister saved my neighbors' lives along with scaring off that gang of bandits."
"What are you doing here?" Meredith asked once more. "I was on a trade route to bring supplies back to my village. I should be asking you this, Your Highness?" Everyone was baffled as he called her such a formal title. "I see that you made yourself a home in where you were destined to be from the looks of it," Aberdeen continued on as he pointed out her braids and her shark teeth necklace. "Yes, I have in a way, I've been away from Samudra for some duties in assisting the other reincarnates – including this one right here, reincarnate of Scirocco, princeps of wind and change and heir to Oceanus." Meredith said as she pointed towards Haruto.
"And you are certain he is the reincarnate of Scirocco?" Aberdeen asked in front of the villagers. "Affirmative, I have seen the more intense side of his powers. What he just did is just the surface of his capabilities. Aside from that, we have more pressing matters alongside with his claim to Oceanus."
"Why don't we speak into a more secluded area? The inn I am staying at has a room where we can speak in private." Haruto, Ernest, and Meredith followed Aberdeen in his direction while leaving the villagers in awe in what they witnessed today.
When they arrived, Meredith explained the reasoning for her return into Oceanus and the recent death of Elihu. Aberdeen listened keenly while serving them squid clustered into bite sized balls. Haruto spoke up as well explaining back to when he first met Amelia, their battle, the findings of blood drained bodies lying in random places, and the hunt for more clues to pin Allura to her involvement with them.
"So you're collecting information to arrest an advisor to the Cornonum Reginae while trying to keep the peace in Oceanus along the way, is that to my understanding?" Aberdeen asked. Meredith and Haruto nodded to him confirming what he asked was true.
"So, what do you plan on doing when you have your hands tied with the situation in Atlantica?" Aberdeen interrogated. Then Haruto responded, "I'm going to recruit a force to keep the peace. Until I return, they will be locked up when I shall initiate each offender's day in court to hear the case and carry out a sentence."
"But how will you convince your people you will return and give these offenders the justice they so rightfully deserve?" Aberdeen asked while grilling him further with scrutiny. Haruto paused for a moment not knowing what to say to satisfy Aberdeen's question. "These people have lived without a ruler for a thousand years. What makes you think they will be subjected to your rule? What reason should they listen to you when you have shown up out of the blue and claim to be Scirocco's chosen one to carry his legacy?" Haruto could not even answer knowing that what Aberdeen was saying was logical. Then Meredith stepped in, "I think I know a way to start restoring Oceanus."
Back on land, Amelia and Eddie walked together on the boardwalk. "So how's the job coming along?" Amelia asked him. "Oh, it's alright, except, fish aren't swimming in big groups anymore and it's really hard selling the stock we have because we had to upcharge it due to less catches." Eddie replied showing worry. "Is it because it's off season already?" She asked curiously knowing nothing about fishing. "No, it's still in season for fishing, but that's the thing, they're usually popping around this time of year, and now they're not. Are you sure none of your you know friends aren't involved in this?" Eddie asked sincerely. "I'm sure, actually, there has been something going on, I can sense it. I can't see it for some reason, but I can feel something is really wrong." Amelia admitted as she folded her arms tight to secure herself. "Maybe you can help someway. My coworker, he's a fisher. He is also a firm believer of the merfolk, and he's certain they might have something to do with it. Maybe you could shed some light without giving away your secret?" Eddie pleaded. Amelia felt obligated to help him, but she felt she might accidentally lead both parties into grave danger.
After Amelia hesitantly agreed, they went to Eddie's fish shop where a fishing boat was docked on the side of pier. They were greeted by a man who was in his mid-thirties wearing sunglasses and fishing gear. He had long dirty blonde hair tied back in a pony tail while wearing a ball cap hat with the fishing line logo on it. He also had a long beard that was not neatly kept. "Hey, Eddie, aren't you off, man? Is this your girlfriend you keep gushing about?"
"Yeah she studies marine wildlife, she said she could maybe help if we took the Carp on a joyride. You in?" Eddie asked. "Oh yeah sure, hop on over, mateys," They embarked on the Carp as the man started up the boat once more. The Carp slowly trailed through the crashing waves as it was picking up speed. "I shouldn't get wet, will I?" Amelia asked. "Nah, the waves out here were pretty calm when I went out and that's common. Never in my sailing days did I get splashed on by a big tidal wave," The man stated. "Anyway, Amelia, this is Dave, he's catches the fish that supplies the shop."
"How ya doing, sweetheart? Eddie mentioned you a bit, started to think he was pulling my leg." Dave introduced himself as he shook her hand vigorously. "Alright, so you said you think merpeople are causing the decline of fish coming in?" Amelia asked inquisitively. "Think? I know they're causing it. They have more handle out in the sea than they depict on the books. Owner thinks I'm crazy, but I saw one with my own eyes before!" Dave explained. "What did they look like?" Amelia interrogated hoping it wasn't one she knew. "It was a tan skinned beauty. Dark long, hair, turquoise colored tail, green patches on parts of her upper body. She was picturesque, I tell ya. She also had a nice set of..." "Dave..." Eddie interrupted him trying not to let him get too graphic. "Anyway, I saw her swimming up her about a year or two ago. Had a nice set of pipes. It was as if the song she was singing was summoning a school of fish to dance around her as she sung." "Did she see you?" Amelia asked. "She did before she dove in again, but man, that is something you'll never forget in a lifetime."
As they sailed further into the Atlantic, Amelia couldn't remember a time where she could have a moment of peace without any visions trying to come in or other people's thoughts. In a way, it was becoming an intimate moment between Eddie and her. She made her way towards Eddie but tripped accidentally into his arms. "Hey, careful, don't want you going overboard," As he said that, he looked deep into her purple blue deepened eyes. He couldn't help but kiss her on the lips longing for her. He knew now his feelings were starting to mature into something more than just being young sweethearts. The worries he had of making it work were fading away as he continued to kiss her so sweetly. Their hearts were pounding so fast, the waves could not catch up to their rhythm.
It was at that moment; Edward could no longer look at Amelia as the little girl he fell in love with when they were in school together. He saw her more as a woman who became a leader, confident, self-relying, and zealous. He couldn't help but feel far behind from becoming a man himself when he still acted like the boy who liked to cause mischief. Amelia sensed his feelings and she tried speaking up to confront him about it, "Eddie..."
But all of that was interrupted as she had a strong vision she could see. Piles of bodies were lying in different places in the ocean. A voice she couldn't make out felt like it was telling her this. This was all your doing. You let this happen. You're failing your people because of your selfish desires. The visions made her dizzy to the point she became physically ill. She rushed over to the side to heave over succumbing to her nausea.
"Should we go back, man? Lady not looking too hot over there." Dave asked Eddie. "Yeah, head back, I think this is all too much for her in one day." Eddie responded instructing him to turn the boat around.
As they head back to the docks of the fish shop, Amelia staggered as she got off the boat being helped off by Eddie. "I'll see you tomorrow, man," Eddie said to Dave. "Sure, hope your lady gets to feeling better. Sorry the expedition didn't go as well as I had hoped." Dave said waving as he started to immobilize the boat.
As Amelia sat on a nearby bench, Eddie peered into her face making sure she was alright. "What happened out there? Did you get another vision?" "Yeah, it was horrible, it was so grotesque, I can't even begin to describe the scene I have witnessed." "What was it about?" Eddie asked. "There were bodies. Bodies deep into the sea, and bodies up on land too." Amelia said as she tilted her head back up meeting his eyes. "Was that all you saw? Did you hear anything?" Eddie asked. "Just....Ergh..." Amelia winced in pain that she was getting from her head. It became agonizing once more.
Eddie stood there paralyzed; he knew he could not call an ambulance for Amelia. He scooped her up and headed back to the old boat house. As Eddie ran up to the beach house as fast as he could, Amelia passed out in his arms. He laid her on the floor with some old cushions to support her back. As he waited for Amelia to wake, he sat there worrying hoping a mer would come help her.
Down in Atlantica outside the gates of the Aula, Lynae noticed Keanu heading out of the Aula. "You're not leaving, are you? Don't you want to see if Amelia is all good to go?" Lynae asked inquisitively. "She'll be fine. My work here is done." Keanu said in his monotonous tone. "How would you know? She might be struggling to get better. Wouldn't you want to find out before you leave?"
"Why are you assuming I care for her that much? I just brought her here so she would be in good hands and to get out of mine. Nothing more." Keanu said furrowing his eyebrows. As he swam out further, Lynae shouted at him. "Fine, be that way, you overgrown turd! We don't need you! I was just giving you the courtesy to say your goodbyes to my cousin, but no, you just decide to brush her off just like everyone else you have!"
As she said that, Keanu stopped dead in his tracks. He huffed in frustration turning back going towards Lynae. "Let me put this straight for you to understand. I've witnessed more deaths of people and mer combined than you have lived. I stopped caring because it became easier to let those go who perish in this world. I don't care if you don't believe it, and I don't care if you think I don't like to get close with anyone. But don't act like you know everything when in reality you don't." Keanu said sternly.
"You think you're the only one who's pushed people away? Take a good look at me. I've pushed away my sister, my family, and everybody I knew. I've been assaulted, I've been mocked, teased, and bullied to the point where I said enough was enough. Sure, it was Meredith's idea to run away, but I joined her because I knew nothing could get better for me up there. But I'm not running away anymore. Don't you think it's time you stopped running away?" Lynae snapped back.
Keanu glared at her harshly for some time until he just clicked in annoyance with her. "Whatever..." he spoke dismissively as he swam off. "Prick..." Lynae called him that under her breath. As she went back inside the Aula, she came across Rimulus feverishly getting ready for Amelia's homecoming tomorrow. As Rimulus noticed Lynae's presence, he stopped dead in his tracks and asked, "Is there something I can help you with Lady Lynae?"
"Any way you make people here less of a pain in the ass around here?" Lynae asked sounding annoyed from her previous conversation. "I take it you were conversing with Master Keanu, correct?" Rimulus asked. "Yeah, he said he was gonna leave before Amelia got back. I mean, he's the reason she's alive now. Shouldn't he at least let her say goodbye to him or at least thank him?" Lynae asked growing more annoyed at the thought of him.
"If he is not a threat to Atlantica, I can't force him to stay and neither can you. His decision in leaving or staying is none of our business." Rimulus added. "I know, I... just wish we could thank him a better way. But he's so..." "Obstinate?" Rimulus finished the thought for Lynae. "I was going for pigheaded, but what you said was more subtle." "I'm sure whatever Keanu chooses; my lady would understand." Rimulus reassured Lynae as he softly smiled at her. "You're right, Amelia wouldn't waste time on something like this if he decided to leave without saying goodbye. Honestly, she'd probably be glad to be back after spending time with Eddie."
Lynae felt better after conversing with Rimulus while he was getting ready for Amelia's return.
Back in Oceanus, Haruto, Ernest, Meredith, and Aberdeen were talking back in Aberdeen's lodge room. "You want to hold elections? I thought you were going to make your claim as King?!" Aberdeen questioned. "Now hold on, Aberdeen, I think this might be a good start for Haruto that is if he wants to take this route. My sister Lynae did this, and Arktis is blossoming thanks to her innovations on how to rule her kingdom. She solely went on this route because she didn't want to stay at lengthy times in one place. If her subjects need her, they can scribe to her or call her directly on a conch."
"What do you think, Your Highness?" Aberdeen asked Haruto. "I want to do it. That way the districts can be well organized and well maintained if for any reason I am away on business." Haruto continued on explaining while getting out a map of Oceanus and started drawing on it with squid ink. As he outlined the borders of Oceanus. He started dividing the ocean into six sections. "How I want the realm divided is into six regions. We will have these regions Oceana Meridiem." Haruto declared pointing the area where the water bordered Southeast Australia and New Zealand. "Then we'll have Océano Sudeste," he said circling the water west of South America. "Next we have Hesperius or we'll call it the Hesperian Region," Haruto continued on circling the ocean surrounding the Phillipines. "Moving upward, we'll have Ventus Oceani." Haruto said while circling the waters of his childhood home. He paused as he circled the area where he last lived on land. He lost his train of thought thinking of his mother and father on that fateful day until Aberdeen interjected. "Sire? Sire?!" Haruto shook his head and continued on. "Okay next region we'll have is Boreas." Haruto continued on without thinking of the past thought as he circled the most Northern part of the Pacific sharing borders with Arktis along the Berring Strait. "Finally, the region where I will reside and will declare it its capital. I give to you. Oriens." Haruto declared as he circled the largest gap that was inside the outer regions. "You wish to name this region east? But why just east?" Ernest asked. "Anything else I put in here will just make it longer and harder to pronounce than necessary." Haruto explained.
"His Highness makes a good point. Our base language itself can complicate easily if we're not too careful with naming. Besides, it draws to me somehow like the name means origins – like we originated here and then expanded to where we are now. A lot of our history resides in Oriens. A fine choice of names you give our regions, sire." Aberdeen bowed gracefully. "I'm not finished." Haruto interjected. Aberdeen gazed at him bewilderingly. "The regions will be broken down into four districts each with the exception of Oriens which will have six making it thirty total districts in Oceanus." "How will you name them then?" Aberdeen asked. "I won't. All of you will."
"Come again?" Aberdeen asked once more looking bewildered. "My goal is to bring Oceanus back into harmony. In summary, each village that falls in the same district each will come together to come up with a name that will make them feel more united as ever."
"But how will you get the message out? It'll take days to get to each district maybe even a couple of weeks!" Ernest added. "That's why we have this beauty." Haruto said patting the hippocamp. "Yeah, one hippocamp is not going to fit all three of us to ride." Ernest said disapproving the thought of sharing a hippocamp. Out of the corner of her eye, Meredith saw a shark at a distance. Ernest caught on to what Meredith had in mind. "Don't you think about it, we do not have time to play by adding another tooth to your collection." "He might be one I've already fought." Meredith said as she kept her focus on the shark. "How can you tell from here?" Ernest asked. "I can't, I have to get closer." Meredith answered before she started swimming cautiously toward the shark. "Meredith!" Ernest cried back to get her to come back but she does not listen.
She swam upward to the swarming shark looking for food. As Meredith got into his vicinity, it came slowly towards her. "Hey, boy, I remember you now. You must have swum pretty far out from where I last saw you back in Samudra." The shark nuzzled her hand to pet him on the nose. From a distance Haruto and Ernest observed the interaction. "I don't believe it; how does a flesh-eating beast listen to her?" Haruto blurted out. "It's the game. Traditionally Samudrans are a prideful group of mer that does not let anything stand in its way especially when those creatures come with the intention to harm. But the people discovered that most sharks will give you respect if you earn it." "And how is that pray tell?" Haruto asked. "By snatching one of its teeth." Ernest calmly responded. "What?! Are you all crazy?" Haruto said scolding him. "I don't partake in it, but Meredith found it to be intriguing and found it to be a way to gain respect throughout the seven seas." "How so?" Haruto continued on asking. "A shark will only obey one victor who extracts a tooth from them first. A shark with a tooth missing already is already claimed by another and cannot be fought again. But a shark, who has not lost a tooth to a mer, is fair game for them." Ernest explained further. "What's it called?" Haruto asked. "The people call it Sammaan ke lie, but we call it Sammaan for short." Ernest replied solemnly.
Meredith then rode down while hanging on the top fin of the shark directing it to go towards Haruto and Ernest. "Oh no... NO! You cannot be serious!" Ernest cried out in protest knowing what she had in mind. "He won't bite unless I tell him to. Haruto needs to ride in majestically on the hippocamp to give a well-versed appearance if he's going to crusade throughout each area of Oceanus." After some time convincing Ernest to get on the shark, he reluctantly got on the other side along with Meredith. Aberdeen looked up at them. "Good luck, Your Highnesses. I will return to Hikiana at once to spread the word as well as our neighboring villages."
"Thank you for your insight, Aberdeen. Hikiana is lucky to have such a wise elder as you contributing to them." Haruto humbly thanked Aberdeen before he whisked the reigns to get the hippocamp going in the direction he was heading. This would be the start of their journey of bringing Oceanus together as one realm. This would be the start of Haruto's campaign for his rightful claim as the rightful ruler of Oceanus.
Back on the shore in Delaware, Eddie was cradling an unconscious Amelia in his arms. He kept begging for her to come back to him. Those unheard pleas echoed in the empty boathouse. As minutes became hours, hours setting the sun, he started shedding tears. He never saw Amelia in this state before. He's witnessed quite a few of her episodes in both their lifetimes, but nothing resulted in her being unconscious for such a lengthy period. Her breathing became shallow as her pulse became steady. As the night drew out, Eddie pleaded with Amelia, "Please, don't die on me, Amelia Elaine Coppinger. I can't bear losing you. You were the only one who actually took my crap when I should have behaved better. You believed in me to become a better person. You're doing so much now to restore a lost kingdom under the sea. Can't you see you're important to everybody around you?"
He then broke down and started crying again. The night was long as he cried himself to sleep. Dawn broke as the seagulls were flying high and the waves were shifting to the tidal pull. Eddie was still asleep holding Amelia in his arms. The sun broke through the cracks of the beaten down boathouse. It then struck in Eddie's direction as he slowly opened his eyes. He looked down but saw Amelia still not responsive.
Hours of daylight went by and Rimulus emerged from the shores from flopping on his shimmering dark green tail. After brushing the water away from his tail using his water bending powers, he gained his legs. He looked for his garment to wrap himself around his waist but it was missing from its usual hiding place from when he would pick up Amelia weekly from her visits to see her boyfriend Edward. Then a voice out of nowhere startled Rimulus. "Looking for this?"
It was Keanu draping the garment from his two long slender fingers of his hand. "Master Keanu, I thought you had every intention of leaving early?" Rimulus asked as he grabbed the garment and wrapped himself around it.
"It was my intention, but I know if I didn't do this, I would not hear the end of it from either that brunette girl or the other girl we're here to pick up." Keanu explained averting his eyes.
"My lady would never guilt you. Lady Lynae, on the other hand, is another story." Rimulus responded.
"Well let's get this over with, where are they?" Keanu said bluntly. "They should be here meeting us. Something's not right." Rimulus said pondering over the feeling he had inside of him. "Maybe they're late from eating breakfast together. Give them some time." Keanu said facetiously.
"No, I know there's something not right. Luckily I can sense my lady's presence nearby." Rimulus then cautiously snuck around the boat house that was near the shore. He went to the other side and his senses confirmed his suspicion. He knocked on the door. "My lady, we're here to come escort you back to Atlantica. Are you alright?"
He pressed his ear on the door and heard crying on the other side. He slowly unlocked the door with Keanu behind him. "My lady, I'm coming in. Don't be alarmed." Rimulus said as he opened the door. But when he did, the crying he heard was not from Amelia, it was from Eddie still weeping over Amelia's state.
"My lady!" Rimulus rushed over to her. "I tried everything I could to wake her. She just won't wake up. I'm so sorry, I let you and the ocean down." "Slow down, Eddie, start from the beginning. Tell me what happened." Rimulus said calmly. "We were on a boat..." "A boat? For a guy who knows she's mer, you're not too sharp." Keanu said criticizing him. "It was a fishing boat. Water didn't splash on her. We were kind of investigating the waters cause my coworker suspected something fishy going on with the fish decline. She had a splitting headache from the way she acted. She was nauseated. We got off shortly after. She said some pretty dark things like she saw from her vision." Eddie explained as he was trying to calm himself down. "What visions? What did she say she saw?" Rimulus asked anxiously. "She said, she saw bodies were lying everywhere both on land and in sea. Then she heard someone telling her this was her fault because she chose her selfish desires over what's right. That's all I can remember her say and then she blacked out. I didn't mean to hurt her I swear. I love her." Eddie then broke down into tears once more.
"Edward, listen, this wasn't your fault. I've been around my lady long enough to know that these things can tax her body. I've seen it first hand when she was getting use to having the amount of power channeling through her body. I know we didn't get along at first, but understand that none of this was your doing. It'd be easy to blame you, but I know deep down that it would be a lie I would be telling you and myself." Rimulus consoled him.
"Any way to wake her up?" Keanu asked impertinently. "What do you think I've been doing for the past eighteen hours?!" Eddie cried out. "Unfortunately, with her being in this deep of a slumber, there isn't at least to my knowledge." Rimulus admitted. "This isn't right for her to live like this. She doesn't deserve any of it." Eddie mumbled. "Cry me a river, a lot of things happen to good non-deserving people all the time. That's the harsh reality of life. I feel sorry for the kid, I really do, but crying or feeling sorry for her will not make her better." Keanu said lashing out.
"You don't know what kind of hell she has been through!" Eddie said gritting his teeth in anger. "You're right I don't, and frankly I don't care." "Then why the hell are you here, you bastard?" Eddie snapped at Keanu lashing out. "Because I'm the reason she's still living." Keanu replied with barely any emotion.
As they were both still arguing, Amelia began moaning still not fully awake yet. "Please....stop this madness....don't let anyone else die..." The two of them stopped bickering as they were much disturbed as what Amelia mumbled out. Rimulus rushed to Amelia's side as did Eddie. She kept crying out, pleading, and begging to stop the massacre that was pictured in her dreams. "My lady, my lady, it is time to go. We have a lot of things to prepare for the day," Rimulus slowly said what he usually told her each and every morning as he prepared her for each day back in Atlantica. She moved her hand forward going towards the voice she heard. "My lady, we mustn't dawdle any further, we have a full day ahead of us." Rimulus continued to calmly and firmly speak to Amelia coaxing her to wake up.
Slowly, Amelia opened her eyes. "There we go," Rimulus breathed out a sigh of relief he was able to wake her. "Amelia?" Eddie cried out to her as he held her hand. "Eddie? Rim...? What's going on?" Amelia asked weakly. "You had a terrible vision, Eddie told me all about what you told him. How do you feel? Are you dizzy?" Rimulus asked with great concern. "Yeah, I am." "We won't go until you don't feel dizzy anymore. For right now, lay back," Rimulus instructed.
Amelia did as she was told. Keanu stood there scrutinizing her trying to get more of an understanding behind what Amelia was facing. "How did you do that?" Eddie asked. "I'm with the kid on this one, how did you wake up Sleeping Beauty there?" Keanu asked.
"I'm linked to her." He replied coolly. "Please elaborate so we don't assume anything," Keanu requested as he glared at him. "I'm linked to her through her special abilities." Rimulus explained prudently. "And how are you linked exactly?" Keanu asked skeptically. "I gave him part of my power which is surged in the amulet you see baring on his chest." Amelia spoke tranquilly.
"And how is that a good idea to give it to someone else?" Keanu asked disapproving her decision. "In case...something happens to me," Amelia said taking a deep breath in mid-sentence while clutching her fists together. "You'll be okay, Mia, I know you will be in good hands. Say hi to all of the merfolk for me down there, okay?" Eddie said glancing at Rimulus before he gave her a quick kiss. "I'll be back before you know it." Amelia said as she got herself up. "I'll be here waiting like always."
Everyone exited from the boathouse and traveled down the beach underneath a pier to say their farewells. Everyone except Eddie stripped down and made their way to the rough waves coming in. As more water came rushing in past their ankles, they transformed into their mer form. Before Amelia dove back in, she glanced back at Eddie as he waved to her. She gave him a weak smile feeling torn that they would be two worlds apart from one another.
This would be one of the most painful goodbyes she had to say to her boyfriend as she had an unsettling feeling welling up in her chest.