Cerulean Found

Chapter 54 - Merrin, Leggins and Those That Change

The rest of the week I spend with Josh. He usually comes over when he's done with work and we go out to the beach or just hang at the villa, watching TV with my family and drinking Cuban coffee. The one thing we don't do is talk about Audrey or the diary.

I know better than to share with him my thoughts on the matter. He won't believe me. He will try to convince me that my last dream with Audrey, the one with Max Paisley and Amanda in it, was a result of thoughts I had during the day.

Just because I don't talk about Audrey with Josh, doesn't mean I'm not thinking about her. Because I am. Reading her journal has become a favorite pastime and I find that I am analyzing things I have read throughout the day. Trying to decipher what is actually true and what can be regarded as a teenage girl's wild imagination.

I read her journal religiously every night. I have gotten over my fear of doing so alone in my room. Before when I wasn't sure what had happened to Audrey, I was scared being there... in the room that Audrey used to call her own. But now that I have seen her with my own eyes, even if it was just in a dream, I feel there is nothing to be terrified of. I know that she doesn't want to scare me. She wants me to know that she is at peace.

Audrey debated for weeks on whether or not to tell Sabra that she had gone back to Menna. She knew her friend would be mad that she not only had broken her promise but that she was undergoing a drastic change.

Shortly after she had seen the piercing teal eyes of the merman, Audrey met a boy. A handsome boy with brown hair and the same striking teal eyes, just like the ones she had seen at Cerulean Bay. The boy's name was Vicktor. He was different from all of the other boys she knew. He appeared to only have eyes for her. Audrey sensed that she already knew him, but couldn't figure out how. When she asked Vicktor if they had met before he told her "yes."

The only boy she had ever seen with eyes like Vicktor's, was on a merman in Cerulean Bay. But he couldn't have been the same boy, or could he? Once they had become friends and she was more comfortable around him, Audrey eventually asked what she had been wondering... if he was a merman. He told her yes.

He had come to Jalukka to be her guide. Normally when a mermaid stares into the eyes of a human, a guide comes to aid the man or woman. They help with the Catalyst, or transformation. Vicktor said a Mermaid named Dalya was summoned to be Audrey's guide, but he requested to do it himself. He was so drawn to her from the first moment he saw her in the lagoon. He felt responsible for having been so reckless and letting his lingering gaze be the reason Audrey would be changing in the first place. His request was granted and he became Audrey's source of knowledge and her link to the Mermaid world. Audrey was speechless. But touched that he cared to help her.

The two became fast friends. He shared with her everything that he knew about Mennakenna and the Bay. They talked for hours about her mom. Her life as a Leggin (Merfolk name for human) and her recent life as a Mermaid. He shared with her the proper usage of the term, Merrin. Not all Merfolk are Merrin. Vicktor was a Merrin, meaning that he was born a Merman. Leggins, or humans, who transform are called Merrinas or Merrinos. That is what Audrey would become and what her mother now was.

Audrey learned about the royal family who ruled Cerulean Bay. They talked about the dangers of living in the sea and their predators. Their lifespan and how they grow old are the same as humans, and do envibldly die. The only merfolk who don't age are the ruling royal families and the guides. The one piece of information that stood out to Audrey was how definitive the mermaid life was. She could never go on land again so long as she was in the mermaid form, otherwise she would die. The only way to obtain legs and walk on land again was to become a guide. But becoming a guide was not easy. You have to be chosen by the Merrin council and then go through extensive training. Vicktor was friends with the Prince, Arkalain, who ultimately helped him secure his position. Apparently it's good to have friends in high places, when you're a mermaid.