Cerulean Found

Chapter 46 - High Tide

I study his face, unsure of what to think. I just told Josh that I think Audrey's mom actually became a mermaid. I must be crazy, I think to myself.

I wish he wasn't wearing his sunglasses, regardless how cute he looks in them. The dark frames make it impossible for me to see his eyes, so I have no way of knowing what he is thinking. The silence is killing me. I don't know if that is a good sign or not.

I figure it is the latter. "I believe, er, Audrey believes, believed, whatever the right tense of the word is," I stammer. "That her mom found Cerulean Bay and became a mermaid," I repeat, just in case he didn't hear me the first time. I'm still not sure he has heard me, His face is expressionless as he stares at me.

"I know it sounds crazy, right?" I say. "Josh? Say something. Anything!"

"She found Cerulean Bay?" Josh asks curiously.

"Yes...and I think Audrey and Sabra did too."

"But how?" he asks.

"What do you mean how?"

Josh takes his sunglasses off and looks into my eyes. "How did they discover it? People have searched for years and have never found it. Trust me, I know, my dad is one of the ones who has devoted his life to the fruitless search. And now you say you think these two young girls knew where it was?"

"Yes. I don't really know how they discovered the way to Mennakenna but I think from what I have read the key was Sabra and her connection to the Melleiro. There's bits and pieces about what they had to do and find in order to get to the island, but none of it made any sense to me. I haven't finished reading the diary though."

"So Audrey actually talks about how to get to Menna?"

"Yes. What difference does that make?"

"Do you know what it means if this girl is right and her diary does holds the secret of how to get to the isle?"

"No."

"My dad's search was not in vain. My parents' marriage ended because of his quest to find proof of this island. I started to doubt if this mysterious island ever even existed because no one had ever found it. People spent their entire lives searching for Mennakenna, the location of the great Cerulean Bay, supposedly home to a large colony of Merrin. I never doubted the truth behind the mermaids of course, I saw one, remember I told you the story?" He doesn't wait for me to answer his question, I then realize it is meant to be rhetorical. He just keeps on talking, excitement filling his voice.

"If this is true... this diary could be the key to Cerulean. The proof my dad has been searching for all these years. And who knows, maybe now there's actually hope my parents might reconcile."

He abruptly stops talking and turns his head to gaze out at the sea.

"But I can't get ahead of myself just yet. We don't even know if these girls were speaking the truth. Maybe this whole story about Menna is Audrey's way of dealing with her mother's sudden departure."

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"Well, it makes sense. A young girl whose mom leaves her and her father for another man, wouldn't want to believe that her mother was capable of causing so much pain and hurt to the family. So she concocts the story of Menna to help her deal with the severity of the truth. It's like I said to you, it's easier to believe in magic then to believe in the truth sometimes. She very likely convinced herself that her mom found Menna and ultimately Cerulean Bay, where she found a merrin, and then transformed. Remember what I told you about the stare of a mermaid?"

"Kind of," I say, as I remember the bogus story about how mermaids are capable of transforming humans into one of their own just by staring into their eyes.