Page 10 of Mermaid on Heels
Placing her palm against the sea arch, Liriya leaned over and peeked at where the prince and his brother had been. Her giddiness only increased when her eyes landed on the shore, the dry land. How would it feel to be out of the sea andfeelthe land? A sudden desire roused in Liriya, and along came a certain idea.
Another audible gasp escaped her lips and her face grew alight. Casting one last glance around her, Liriya ducked and dived down to the depths to find her sisters.
She had completely forgotten that the three of them had parted ways for their daily food-hunt when she came across the human—the prince—in the first place. She could not believe she forgot about her sisters. She swam back to their home as fast as she could, with the biggest smile on her face in the past three months, wondering if both of them were back and worried about her being late.
When the rifted rock they called home came in sight, Liriya spotted Ella swishing back and forth outside. Her eyes scanned the surroundings for Sessa but she was nowhere. Dread began to fill her stomach and all the giddiness disappeared; surely, Sessa would be with Ella if she were back, and not seeing her meant she hadn’t returned. This had never happened before.
Liriya’s mind began to work up all the possibilities of what might have happened to their little sister, increasing her dread, as she neared Ella. She began mapping out a rescue mission when Ella looked up and saw her.
“There you are!” Ella’s tensed shoulders slumped in relief. “I have been getting sick about you both!”
That confirmed Sessa hadn’t returned yet. “Sessa is not back yet?” she asked anyway.
“No, do you think we should go looking for her?” Ella asked frowning, her tone laced with worry.
“Yes, yes we should.” Liriya turned, but she paused when her eyes caught Sessa gliding towards them from the north. Unspeakable relief washed over her and she smiled. “Oh, good oysters! Here she comes.”
Sessa swam closer at such a speed that made Liriya’s eyebrows scrunch up in bafflement. Their little sister looked incredibly shocked and horrified.
“Go! Get in!” Sessa hissed aloud. “Pirates!”
“What?” Liriya and Ella exclaimed in unison.
“Pirates!” Sessa panted as she reached them, her face incredibly paler than it already was.
“Where?” Liriya inquired in utter shock, panic building in her chest.
“I-I saw their ship,” Sessa stammered frightfully.
“Where?” Ella pressed impatiently.
“At the bottom of the sea!” Sessa cried out, equally impatient. “Now, for love’s sake, get inside the cave!”
Liriya blinked at her little sister. Surely, she misheard her. “What?”
“Pirates at the bottom of the sea, sillies!” Sessa admonished them seriously. “If you are not going to hide, well, I am!”
Sessa glided towards their cave when Ella burst with laughter. Liriya soon joined her, another wave of unspeakable relief sweeping over her.
“What?” Sessa turned to them bewildered.
“At the bottom of the sea?” Ella choked out. “Bottomof the sea? Really, Sessa, have you lost your head or hit it somewhere? Because pirates cannot breathe underwater.”
She threw her head back and laughed hysterically.
“B-but…” Sessa’s wide eyes darted from Ella to Liriya, in utter confusion.
Liriya stifled down her laughter and smiled tenderly at her youngest sister. “The ship must have been whipped out of the surface, sweetheart. What you saw is definitely a sunken ship.”
“And every human in the ship is undoubtedly dead, so we have nothing to worry about.” Ella said and added with mirth, “What an intelligent creature you are!”
Ella continued to snicker, probably recalling Sessa’s face when she delivered the news.
Sessa realized she was utterly and beyond wrong. “So we are safe then?”
Liriya’s mind began pondering again. If humans could breathe underwater, the people in the ship were definitelynotdead. Wherever this ship was, they were there, surviving. Or, who knows? Perhaps they had swum up to the surface like the prince.
Yes, that makes sense.Liriya decided to believe in her theory and pulled Sessa to her in a hug. “Yes angelfish, we are safe.” She smiled into her hair before adding, “And,I have something for you.”