RIPPLE

{Eight}

"My darling, Nerissa . . . we meet at last." My mother draws herself out of the pool, and her orange tail changes instantaneously into a pair of long, sun kissed human legs. She looks exactly like the photographs, exactly how my father described her . . . his lies now ring through my mind as my mother smiles at me, wrapping a towel around herself. "Cat got your tongue?" she asks, glancing towards Lachlan with narrowed eyes. "So am I. Follow me."

She leads us through a door marked management only, and I gaze halfheartedly around the room, not wanting to miss a moment of this. There are vending machines in one corner of the room, circular tables set up all around the room, a countertop with a steaming coffee machine and a small box of granola bars near a microwave, sink and refrigerator.

Mother goes to pour herself a cup of coffee, snagging a chocolate chip granola bar before sitting back down again. Dad was right. I look like a younger version of her. "What brings you to the surface world, child?" her gaze moving towards a dumbfounded Lachlan. He stares, waiting for my response but doesn't get one.

"The tide," I lean forward, "what are you doing here? Father said - "

"I told your father what to tell you all. I left on my own, and the wind blew me here. The people absolutely adore me here, Nerissa. Cordelia too. You'll understand when you make your tough decisions."

"Almost ten years gone, and that's all you have to tell me?" My voice is getting louder, and anger churns my inside like a bomb ready to go off. "You left us to become some show girls? Cordelia too? I guess it was just too easy to leave behind your daughters."

"Rissa - " Lachlan tries to reach for me but I pull back.

My mother nonchalantly sips her coffee, "Keep your voice down. Its not safe for us to talk here. They'll figure out who and what you are, Nerissa, and nobody can get you out of that trouble, my darling sweet. Not him. Not even me. I left because the ocean never knew how to make me happy. Its filled with sorrow. Look at your situation." Her eyes gaze down towards her necklace on my neck. "Or his. Or your sisters. News spreads fast, and even if I wasn't with you in the ocean, I have eyes everywhere on the surface. News travels fast around these parts."

"S-so you know about Aquamarine?" My heart drops in my chest like a balloon deflating all of its air.

"I knew as soon as she entered the building. She was shroud in sadness, and frantic. But they allowed me to meet her. They allowed me to calm her down. She talked and cooperated because I told her to, because I knew there was a small chance that she could stay here in the sanctuary with us."

"Have you gone mad?" I'm raising my voice, my fists clenching and unclenching. "Aqua would never want to stay here."

My mother shakes her head, "she killed a sailor in cold blood. Aquamarine has no choice."

* * *

I was silent as we drove back to the palace, slumped in my seat, listening to Waverly ramble on and on and on about how sweet Lucien had been in the werewolf exhibit and how she thought it would be very productive to bring him to the palace for the bash tomorrow evening.

I get angry all over again when my mother's words echo in my ears, "we're all happy here. This sanctuary was built to keep mermaids, magical creatures and rare animals safe from the rest of society before we opened to the public. They will find out about you, Nerissa, and when they do this is where you'll end up. Go back to the ocean... While you still can."