Becoming the Ocean

At my request, Hope also got a makeover so she would fit in at the party. The fairy girl looked even more magical when adorning sparkling shells and iridescent pearls. Her dark brown hair with sunset tips was similar to the coral reef near the kingdom. During our party transformations, we talked while the maids styled us. I had never gotten to know Hope very well, but she was really easy to talk to. It must have been the other-worldly aura, it just made her so relaxing to be around.

Hope was one of the smartest people in the academy, which was why she had permission to student-teach my class, but I never say the side of her that her close friends or Ms. Silvenda got to see. It made me ecstatic that she would come to my crowning.

We were walking to the ballroom when she asked me, "Are you going to be okay? I noticed at the play you were a little shaky on your lines."

I sighed, "That's what I'm worried about. I can get on stage with other people, but it terrifies me to be up there alone."

"Hey, you have been practicing on that stage for weeks. You are going to kill it!" Hope stopped me to adjust the pearls in my hair. "And if you do mess up, just laugh it off. Everyone will love the speech either way if they see you having a good time."

Her kind words lit up my heart. I had never thought about it like that before. Even though I knew she was right, I still felt like hiding in a hole for a solid hour. Truth be told, my stage fright was horrible when I had to face a crowd without anyone else. That's when I had an idea. "Hope, I know this is a lot to ask... but will you go onstage with me?"

I could see her eyes sparkle, "I would be happy to go with you!"

Before I knew it, I was onstage, Hope's hand in mine. All of the promises I made to the people were from the bottom of my heart, because I had come to love Aquasoa over the course of that month. Despite being under a lot of pressure constantly, it felt refreshing to be a mermaid. The mermaids of the kingdom were wonderful to be around and very hard working. Everyone there was loyal to the kingdom, and it inspired me. It must have been the mermaid blood in my, but the kingdom truly felt like home.

"With all this to say," I began. "It will be an honor serving the people of Aquasoa."

I bowed my head to Queen Serena, and she placed the princess's crown on my head. At that moment the entire room was bursting with clapping and cheer, and it made me want to cry of happiness (and maybe a little embarrassment too.)

Hope and I walked off stage together, squealing about the fact that I was wearing the crown of Aquasoa. I wasn't thrilled at how heavy it was, but its decoration made me seem so elegant and official. Hope and I hung out for the evening, eating food, dancing, meeting people and having a good time.

I decided to swim Hope back to the surface and we said our goodbyes for the night. Class M-5 was staying in a town nearby, and it was within walking distance so she would be safe. I could see the town lights from the shore.

When she stood, she turned around and said, "I know it's going to be hard from now on, but never forget all you did to get here and the friends you made along the way."

She smiled as if she knew something I didn't. "How would you know?"

"I little celestial bird told me," she giggled, but it confused me.

"Can I get a hint on why that is?" I questioned further.

"Just don't get discouraged. You are bound to do great things for this kingdom!" Hope reassured.

"T-Thanks?" I wasn't really sure what she meant. I was positive she knew something.

"Oh, I almost forgot to mention!" her eyes widened with realization. "Kai blushed when the boys mentioned you name back in the city!"

Every inch of sleepiness in my body suddenly vanished. "Hu?! What were they talking about?"

"Hard to tell, but the same bird told me that the boys were making fun of him for talking so highly of you," the fairy girl gushed. "Maybe a few, awkward, out-of-place comments on you in a pretty crown and being an official princess of the kingdom. I even heard he blushed a little!"

She started skipping along the path into the night, conjuring a small ball of light in her hand to use as a lantern. When she was out of sight, I simply sighed. I floated on the surface facing the sky and taking in the night view. The moon in this world was odd. It looked to be made of glass or crystal material. The stars floating around it still seemed familiar, though. But I couldn't pick out any constellations.

I think I was still looking for home in the sky, but I felt in my heart that it couldn't be the same universe. The trees weren't the same, the mountains weren't the same... not even the sky matched up completely. Why did I belong in two places, two homes, and two different universes at once? Then the thought hit me.

Like pockets, mermaids can hide things under their scales. Only thin things, but tight enough to hold a small key. The dimension key had been hiding in my scales for the last month, and I had forgotten that it was even there. I took it out and stood up. If I was lucky, mom wouldn't be having an existential crisis at me having suddenly vanished.

It was time for my trip home.

I got used to walking on foot by the time I got to my doorstep. My body was soaking wet, and it was the middle of the night by the time I got home. I pressed the doorbell, my heart fluttering in my chest. What would she think, what would she do? Would she even remember her life as a mermaid? It seemed like a daydream when I got to the real world, and it always felt like that.

The door flew open, a last tear of hope, shedding from mom's eyes. Astonishment grew in them as she wrapped her arms around me. "LILY!!!"

She yelled my name so loudly that it probably woke the neighbors. We both started bawling on the porch like it was the end of our lives, when really it was the beginning. I cried, "I'm sorry! I was in Aquasoa!"

It came out so blunt and unexpectedly by accident. I was so happy to see her and so eager to tell her all the things I did and places I went to that it was hard to control anything I was doing. My statement caused her to freeze and step back. "You know?"

"It was my fault, I'm sorry," I gritted my teeth and held my head. "I'm so sorry."

"Well, why did you come back?" I looked up at her in confusion. That was the last thing I would have expected her to ask.

"What do you mean?" I asked, failing to dry my tears with my wet hands.

"I haven't been to Aquasoa in years," her face filled with sorrow. "They would never let me step foot there."

"Yes, they would!" I protested. "Queen Serena said if I became princess, I could invite you after the crowning ceremony. I was planning to invite you for lunch sometime."

Her eyes lit up. "Did mother really say that?"

I took the key out of my pocket, walked over to the middle of the road, and opened the portal. "There's only one way to find out!"

'Maybe it was our destiny to become the ocean.'