Drowned

When a child of the ocean is abandoned on land, what is she to do but wait?
Talia was never one to hope for a better life. Sirens were not known to be dreamers. Her pod abandoning her when she was only five years old proved that a better life was hardly a realistic goal. However, her mother's parting words stuck with her all these years:
"I will come back for you, I will make things right."
On the twentieth anniversary of her abandonment, she hoped the ocean would finally call her back home, but the message she was sent was nothing of the sort.
She soon finds herself as far away from the ocean as she had ever been, surrounded by people she didn't trust. And why? Because of her mother.
Will she find her way back home? Or will home prove to be something else entierly?

ONC 2026 participant
Prompt 7. One morning, the ocean washes up a message. One you've been waiting your entire life to hear.