Chapter 2

The first thing she felt when she regained consciousness was the extreme dryness coming from her environment.

The familiar laughter of her younger siblings wasn't heard nor was the current from the water pulling her hair. Everything felt so unfamiliar and… heavy.

She quickly sat up when she heard a knocking sound,her heart pounding erratically against her ribcage. Sweat covered her forehead and some trickled down her back. She scanned the room with wild eyes,her hazel eyes wild and disoriented. She could remember fragments of what she thought was a dream. No,a nightmare. The screams of her people as they were killed rang in her ears causing her to cover them with her palm, shutting her eyes tightly as though it'd stop the noise in her head.

The rough material around her body irritated her skin. Fabric. She never had to wear things like this to cover herself. The scent of burning wood filled the air causing her to crinkle her nose in disgust.

Where was she? How did she get here? Was she being held captive?

She rubbed her eyes trying to get the remnant of the sleep from them,her eyes widening slightly when she finally noticed the flickering glow of fire burning from the fireplace. It was her first time seeing a fire. She had only ever heard of it. The walls were made with wood,the kind the ships that sailed over the sea were made from. Everything looked so different and strange. They had a rough edge to it. The room was filled with things she had never seen before. The windows revealed dark skies and she noticed the green of the trees swaying from the distance.

Her brothers had told her trees and other things they saw when they went about the water surface but this was her first time seeing them with her own eyes. She was no longer underwater. She can't breathe on land.

Panic surged through her when the realization finally dawned on her.

I'm going to die if I don't find water.

Discarding the thick rough fabric covering her lower she tried to stand but the moment she tried to move her lower limbs, they gave out. She fell to the wooden floor with a scream, some wood splinter cutting against her skin. Pain enveloped her whole body. Her arms shook from holding up her body weight.

Her tail. It was gone. Long dry legs were now attached to her waist.

She froze.

She sat up until her back was against the bedframe, staring at the bruised alien body part. It had no fins or scales. Just skin.

"Wh…" She opened her mouth but was unable to form anything coherent. Lifting her trembling fingers she traced the soft skin of her thigh, goosebumps rising against her skin. Does this mean that she's not cursed? That was the only explanation she could come up with.

Hot tears threatened to spill from her eyes. Grabbing the blanket from the bed she covered her legs with it as if it would suddenly transform into a tail. The thought of never being able to return to her family scared her.

What's happening to me? I want my father. He always makes me feel better.

A loud sound came from the other side of the door followed by a voice. It was though the person on the other side was singing.

It was a female voice and she was singing something in a strange language Serelina didn't understand. She froze when she heard footsteps coming towards the door,slow and controlled.

Her blood went cold.

Who was it? Where were her parents? Was this a trap? Had she been captured?

She pressed her back against the bedframe,her spine erect as she breathed through her mouth. She needed to hide but there was nowhere to hide. She felt trapped and suffocated. She wanted to go back home.

The light footsteps stopped just outside of the door followed by the heavy clink of a metal latch.

The door creaked open.

And there at the doorstep stood an old woman hunched over,a wooden stick in her hand. Her silver hair was packed in two long braids that reached her mid back,skin wrinkled resembling driftwood and her eyes glistening like sea glass. She looked so full of life despite her age. She had a tiny frame but was sturdy wrapped in a long blue shawl. A gruesome scar ran from the corner of her lips to her ear disappearing underneath her hair.

Her eyes darted across the room before landing on Serelina's trembling form. Her gaze softened as she walked Serelina.

"What are you doing here?" She asked in a gentle tone. "The floor can be very cold and I don't want you getting sick again. You've been asleep for almost two days."

Serelina flinched as she tried to touch her hand causing the woman to pull back slightly.

Coming to stand in front of her,she pulled a small stool from the corner and sat on it.

"I'm harmless, child. It's impossible for me to hurt you as I'm very old and might break a bone trying" she joked. "I'm just glad that you're fine now. I found you close to the northern cliffs and I was worried that you were no longer with us. I was fishing with my neighbor when the tide dragged you in looking like a half-dead angel. You must have been a survivor of the ship wreck that happened days ago"

Her brow furrowed as she scanned Serelina's injuries.

"They're already healing. The bruises" she clarified. "You have to have a really strong spirit to have survived all of this."

She pushed the stool back, giving Serelina a little space to avoid overwhelming her.

"What's your name? Where are you from? Maybe I can help you get back to your family"

Serelina stared at her blank,her lips parted. She tried to speak. She had many things to say,many questions to ask but the words seemed to be stuck in her throat.

Silence.

She hated the silence. She wanted the woman to keep talking. Silence brought painful memories that kept clawing its way back to the surface.

Noticing the young woman in front of her wasn't going to answer any of her questions, the old woman nodded quietly as though she understood what had happened.

"You don't have to say anything if you don't want to. You must have been through so much" she said, voice calm and low. "We need to report that you are okay. The papers stated that there were no survivors and here you are… You must be God's favorite"

She stood slowly, joints cracking as she did.

"You can stay with me as long as you like. An old woman like me sometimes craves a friend. My name is Maela."

And with that, she left the room, closing the door gently behind her, leaving Serelina alone in the room.