The Twins from the Sea

Chapter VIII

After what seemed like an eternity of pretending to be in the bathroom, Ophelia closed the door and tried to walk calmly to her bedroom. She had made Moana promise not to use the shell until she got back. When she entered the bedroom, Moana had the book out and was holding the shell, studying the words. Her head snapped to her sister's direction and she smiled excitedly. She held the shell out.

"You do it. You found the shell," she said. Ophelia creased her brow.

"But you found the book," she countered.

"Well..." Moana hesitated. "Let's do it together." Ophelia nodded and smiled. She grabbed the other side of the shell.

"One..." Moana started.

"Two..."

"Three!"

And they pushed the shell in the cover. It was a perfect fit! Suddenly, a blinding light shone from the shell. Ophelia shrieked and Moana covered her eyes. A roar erupted from the book like that of a tsunami about to crash on the shore and wind whipped though the large bedroom, knocking several framed photos off the wall. Then, as suddenly as it began, it stopped. All was still.

Then, the indecipherable letters on the book's cover began to glow and shimmer like sunlight on the ocean's surface. Ophelia's eyes widened and Moana leaned in closer. The light became blinding as the shell had been, and the letters began rearranging themselves, spinning and transforming. Then, with one bright blast, all was normal again. Ophelia rubbed her eyes and looked at the book. She let out a small yelp, and tears welled up in her eyes. Moana grabbed the book and held it up to her face.

The Sirens' Legacy

Moana took several deep breaths and embraced Ophelia as she sobbed with happiness.

"We did it! We did it," she said in between sobs.

Moana smiled and hugged her sister tighter. Suddenly Ophelia's eyes shot open.

"All that noise," she said worriedly. "I hope they didn't hear."

Moana nodded with realization. She gulped. "You stay here, I'll go make sure everything's okay."

Ophelia nodded, and Moana slowly crept downstairs. Lawrence was snoring on the couch beneath the stairs. Moana sighed with relief. He was the real concern, anyways. She walked to the study, where she was sure her aunt would be. Sure enough, her aunt sat at the chair in her desk, with her headphones on, listening to classical music, no doubt. She grinned and slipped back upstairs without anyone realizing that she had left the room.

When she entered the bright bedroom, Ophelia sat by the still-closed book, biting her nails. When Moana smiled, Ophelia sighed, smiled, and got up to put the picture frames back on the wall. Moana ran her hand along the spine of the book, over the now legible words. She could hardly wait to read the book's contents. Ophelia sat down again, bent down, kissed the book, and opened it.