Chapter 2
The splash came from somewhere behind the small hill. Abby could feel her cheeks turn red, but she didn’t have time to be embarrassed. She had to know who splashed her. Abby made her way around the tree and up the backside of the small hill. She continued moving farther away from the barn, forgetting all about the deal she made with herself—get the seashell and go back.
It didn’t take long to get around the tree and to the top of the small hill. Once there, she found a large pool of water. The pool was wide and deep enough for a whole family to swim in and the water looked cool and inviting.
Who splashed me? She wondered.
Behind the pool, she saw a huge hill made of smooth rocks and forgot all about the splash. Abby knew she couldn’t climb it. That would be too dangerous. She wished she were more adventurous, because in the center of the hill she saw a waterslide made out of rocks. Water flowed down the smooth rock and into the pool.
“How fun,” she said out loud.
Abby turned around to search for an easier way to get to the top of the rockslide, when suddenly cold water hit her again. This time, the splash completely drenched her backside. She jumped and gasped, and then turned around to face the pool. She saw a teenage girl, with bright, Crayola-red hair, looking up at her from the water. Before Abby could say anything, a green fish tail poked out. It raised two-feet in the air, and then smacked down hard against the surface sending water everywhere—and this time drenching the front of Abby.
“Oops sorry,” the redheaded girl said, in what Abby thought was a pretty snarky sounding voice. “I was just trying to get your attention. I have a hard time with tails. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you, Sofia.”
Abby stood still and felt completely perplexed. She thought, is there really a mermaid in front of me? And did the mermaid just call me Sofia?
“My name is Cecilia,” the mermaid said.
“I’m Abby.”
“No, your name is Sofia. It’s okay; you’re not the first to have forgotten their name in my presence. That happens a lot when people meet me. I don’t want to brag, but my beauty is too much for most people to handle.”
“No, my name really is Abby.”
“That can’t be.” The mermaid began to push herself up onto a flat rock shelf, but some of her long hair caught under her hand and when she tried to push up she pulled on her hair, causing her head to jerk forward—narrowly missing the rock. “Ouch!” she yelled.
Normally, Abby would probably have laughed, but seeing a real mermaid had put her in a very serious mood—plus she was a little frightened.
The mermaid sat on a rock with her long hair and tail floating gently next to her in the water.
Abby moved to the other side of the pool, carefully keeping her distance. “Are you a mermaid?”
“Sometimes…not often though. The hair is really a pain to manage.”
“Sometimes?” Abby repeated. “How can you be a mermaid sometimes?”
“Are you a little girl?” the mermaid asked.
“Yes, but all the time.”
“Well, how can you be a little girl all the time?”
“What?”
The mermaid laughed and then in a rather dismissive tone asked, “Are you sure you’re not Sofia?”
Abby rolled her eyes, and smiled. “Yeah, look.” She moved closer to the mermaid, lifted her shoe—some dirt fell on one of the mermaid’s hands. “I wrote my name on the side of my shoes, see?”
In black permanent marker on the side of her blue converse were the letters A-B-B-Y with a peace sign in the bottom bubble of one of the B’s. “That proves it,” she said pushing her foot closer to the sometimes-mermaid’s face.
“Well this is strange,” the mermaid said more to herself then to Abby, “I must have come out of the wrong hole. I need to find Sofia. I must be off.”
“Wait,” Abby said, reaching for Cecilia’s hand, but instead grabbing her hair.
“Ouch.”
“Sorry! I meant to grab your hand. Don’t go! Not yet. I’m sure Sofia could wait.”
“Do you know Sofia?” the mermaid asked.
“No.”
“Well I have to go. I have a job to do.”
“What kind of job? Maybe I can help.”
“I have to find Sofia,” Cecilia said, pushing off the side of the rock and into the water.
“Wait!” Abby shouted. The mermaid floated on the water and looked up at her. “I just remembered, I do know a Sofia – yeah... she goes to my school.” The lie immediately anchored itself against the bottom of her stomach.
“Bring her here?” Cecilia demanded.
“I can try. I have school tomorrow.”
“Yes, you must make sure she has it when you bring her.”
“Has what?” Abby asked.
“I can’t tell you, but you better make sure she has it, because if she doesn’t, bad things will happen. But you don’t need to worry about that. All you have to do is bring her here and everything will be okay.”
Abby’s mouth dropped opened and her palms began to sweat. She wished she hadn’t said anything at all. “Like what?” she asked.
“Umm, bad luck, for the rest of your life. You said you can get her here, so now you have to, or you’ll suffer.”
“Okay…but I don’t understand.”
“I know.” The mermaid smiled and giggled. It sounded dark and mean. Then Cecilia grabbed Abby’s feet and before she could pull away, Abby toppled into the pool, arms flinging and feet kicking. When she reached the surface, she spun around and looked for Cecilia, but the sometimes-mermaid had gone.
