The Magic Within; Shadows of Two Worlds

Chapter 66 ~ Ella

     The next day, we woke up around 10. We ate breakfast then went to the beach. As soon as we got there, I got into the water and transformed. Thomas slowly joined me. "The water is cold!" He said. I laughed. "Big baby. It's refreshing." He chuckled. "Easy for a mermaid to say." Fish started swarming around me. I heard their scattered thoughts. Mermaid! Mermaid! Fin said there was a mermaid here a few days ago. I can't believe I doubted him. I laughed. Of course one of the fish was named Fin. Several of them swam off, presumably to spread the word. One of them shyly swam up to me. What's your name, mermaid? I smiled and waved. "My name is Ella. What's your name?" Before the fish could respond, Thomas cleared his throat. "Uhh, are you talking to a fish?" I nodded. "I am. Now if you could please be quiet so I can continue this lovely conversation..." He held his hands up in surrender. I turned back towards the fish. "Sorry about that. My boyfriend has no manners." I winked at Thomas. The fish seemed to smile. No worries, Ella. I think ignorant people are funny. Surely all humans know that mermaids can understand fish. My name is Umbria. I chuckled and smiled. "I like that name. I wish I could come here more often. Unfortunately, I will likely have to leave soon." Umbria looked disappointed. Why is that? I sighed and explained everything that had happened since I started school. As I told the story, the fish continued to gather. By the time I was done, there were around 50 fish and two dolphins surrounding me. One of the dolphins nuzzled my hand. I'm terribly sorry about your parents! I'm sure they are very proud of you and your friends for being so brave. I pat the dolphin on the head. "Thank you. It means so much." I talked to the many sea creatures for a bit longer until I heard the others calling my name. "It seems my friends want my company. I hope to spend more time with all of you, though!" Bye, Ella! They chorused. I swam back onto the beach. "What's up?" They all grinned at me. "We are each going to bury our partner in sand," Jamie said. Chris smiled. "We are going to have races to decide who gets buried. Could you have a dolphin be the finish line?" I rolled my eyes, but nodded. I got back in the water and whistled. The two dolphins that had come before were soon back. Is something wrong? I shook my head then explained what my friends wanted. We will be glad to do that, Ella! I smiled "Thanks. Stay right here. I think this is a good place." When I got out, I asked, "Who is racing first?" Jamie and Chris stepped forward. "We are," Jamie said. They got into the water and I counted them off. It was close, but Chris won. "Are you ready to get buried in sand?" Chris asked teasingly. Jamie smacked him playfully. "You are so lucky I am agreeing to this." Amelia rolled her eyes. "This was Jamie's idea," she informed me. I looked at Thomas with an evil grin. "Are you ready to race?" He groaned. "This is not at all fair." We got into the water. "I'll give you a head start. And I won't form my tail." Thomas still looked nervous. "Take it or leave it," I said with a smirk. "Fine, fine. Better than nothing I guess." Amelia counted us off. I waited until Thomas was about halfway there, then took off. I overtook him almost immediately. He was still several feet away when I reached the dolphins. I smirked at him. "Wanna race back too?" He merely groaned. "How are you so damn fast even without your tail?" I laughed. "You do realize that I have been swimming without it most of my life, right?" I formed my tail, used it to flick water in his face, then sped back towards the shoreline. I was back on my feet before he was anywhere near me. "Hurry up. I don't have all day to bury you." He flashed her perfect, overwhelming grin. "You caught on." Once he got back, I had him start digging the hole. "You mean I not only have to get buried in sand, I need to work too?" I rolled my eyes. "It's only while I count off Lilly and Amelia. You'll survive." Once we were out of earshot, I leaned into them. "Take several minutes to get out there." They nodded, smirking. After they started, Thomas called out to me. "Come on!" I shook my head. "I have to make sure they don't tie." I laughed as he groaned and continued to dig with his hands. I also hadn't told him that we brought three shovels, not just the one Chris was using. Amelia won the race. I grabbed another shovel and walked over to Thomas. The hole was pretty pathetic. "Really? Why didn't you tell me there were more shovels?" I smiled. "That would be no fun." I started digging out a hole. With a shovel, it didn't take very long. Once it was big enough, I gestured to it. "Get in." He gave me puppy dog eyes. "Do I have to?" I laughed. "Yes. You should have known better than to race against a mermaid. If you had suggested that we ran instead, you would have one." He looked dumbfounded. "Shit." He climbed into the hole. I got down on my knees and started to fill it in. I could immediately see that I had made it even bigger than necessary. Thomas seemed to come to the conclusion that it was wide enough for two people at the same time I did. "Come here, Ella," he said smiling. Oh, that smile! I scooted away. "I don't think so." I noticed that Chris had finished burying Jamie and was now walking towards us. I narrowed my eyes. "You two had this planned the entire time, didn't you?" Chris was behind me, preventing me from scooting back more. Thomas reached out and somehow managed to lift me up and into the hole. Our faces were inches apart. "To answer your question," he said, smirking. "Yes, we were planning this the entire time. Chris started filling in the hole with both of us in it. "You're a really sore loser, you know that?" He chuckled then kissed me. I kissed him back. Suddenly, I didn't care that I was getting buried in sand. That part didn't matter because I was with Thomas.