Making a Splash

Cleo's Secret

"Wow! This is amazing!"

Lily's feeling was shared by Marie and Emma as they swam around. They were in a part of the ocean near Cleo's hometown. With Cleo acting as a guide, they were exploring an area totally unknown to them. They had plenty of time to go far out from their usual area with it being the weekend.

Having been born a mermaid, Marie was no stranger to swimming around in different places and knew how different the ocean could be even from short distances apart. But it was always fun to explore those new places under the sea.

"I'm glad you like it." Cleo said with a bright smile. "I've always swam around here alone. But it's a lot more fun with friends."

"That's for sure." Emma said in agreement. "It really is amazing how much my life changed since becoming a mermaid. Even if I did almost end up getting eaten a couple times."

"Sharks I'm guessing?"

"Yup. You ever run into any?"

"I've noticed some in the distance a couple times. I just make sure to turn around and swim away before they notice me." Cleo explained.

"You ever run into any mersharks?" Lily asked.

Cleo gave a puzzled look, showing that she did not. "Mersharks?"

"Yeah. Basically merpeople like us, but mean and carnivorous." Marie explained. "We've nearly been eaten by them a few times."

A shiver went down Cleo's spine. "Yikes. That sounds way scarier than a regular shark."

"They are." Lily's mind flashed back briefly to Kyle and what they were forced to do to him. She quickly shook the terrible memory out of her head. "Let's move on. Where to next?"

"Hmmm..." Cleo thought to herself as she tried to recall any particularly beautiful places in this part of the ocean. Finally, she decided on a location and began swimming away. "There's some cool reefs over this way. Follow me."

Lily, Emma, and Marie followed their new friend as they swam together. Lily especially found herself taking in all the sights as they moved through the ocean waters. There were various kinds of fish swimming about, as well as other random sealife on the ocean floor.

And of course the terrain. Like the underwater crevice they were passing by just now.

"Huh?" Lily stopped in her tracks as she peered down into the crevice. It was faint, but she could make out an opening that seemed to lead into what appeared to be a cavern.

Noticing their friend had stopped, the other mermaids stopped swimming as well. "What is it, Lily?" Emma asked.

Lily pointed down towards the cavern she had seen. "What do you suppose is in there?"

As Cleo followed the trail of Lily's finger, she caught sight of the crevice and widened her eyes for a brief moment. "Umm... well... nothing. There's nothing down there."

"Oh come on. It has to be something at least."

"Nope. Nothing at all." Cleo assured her. "We should just ignore it and move on."

"Just a sec. I want to check it out quickly for myself."

"Lily, wait!" Cleo called out. But it was already too late. The red-haired mermaid was already making her way towards the cavern.

Marie and Emma glanced at each other before shrugging their shoulders. "We might as well go look too then." Marie suggested.

Cleo watched as Marie and Emma followed Lily. Worry began to overtake the yellow-tailed mermaid. "Oh this is bad. This is really bad." she muttered to herself.