After their song of nostalgia ended they began singing faster and swirled to the music, their tails in sync as they swam faster and faster within the bubble. Two of them swam to the top of the water bubble and thrust themselves out in an arching jump. Flicks of water rained down on the children’s heads as they splashed back into the water. The crowd erupted in cheers.

“Oh, there he is!” Indie suddenly said. Lily snapped back, remembering they were trying to catch up to Oliver. Looking in the same direction Indie was looking, Lily spotted Oliver at the very front of the crowd, mesmerized by the performance. He was so focused his feet were slowly shuffling forward. No other child around him noticed, too busy looking up and laughing. “Ugh, what is he doing?”

The mermaids swam merrily, enticing the crowd with jumps, spins, and singing. They hardly looked at the crowd as they danced, however as Oliver got closer part of their dance seemed to flinch, noticing his presence. The purple mermaid, still singing swam to the bottom of the bubble, observing Oliver with a lovely smile. The other mermaids still swam but as Lily watched them there was something...impatient about their swimming now. It was getting faster and more eager and in turn children were cheering louder. Lily felt odd in her chest.

“Maybe...maybe we should go get him.” Lily said, but when she looked at Indie and Chrys, she realized they couldn’t hear her. People in the very front began noticing the little boy who was now standing right beneath the floating bubble, locking eyes with a beautiful mermaid. Some just looked in awe and some cheered, wanting him to touch the bubble. Oliver raised his arm slowly toward the mermaid, wrapped in by her golden and purple speckled skin and hair floating like soft seaweed. The mermaid watched, now unmoving, just tiny jerks of her tail fins showed she was alive.

It’s like she’s waiting, Lily thought to herself and that odd feeling began to make her stomach squeeze. Lily measured the distance from where she was to where the little boy was. She wanted to rush forward but her brain was in stalemate. She knew she couldn’t reach him in time and when she did then what? Why did she need to reach him? Lily was overcome by her own mind, trying to jolt herself to lunge forward – I’ll look for the right time...the right time...

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“Hey, what’s wrong with you?” Chrys said, leaning over to stare Lily in the face. She had hunched over in deep thought without even realizing it.

That was it! She would tell Chrys to do something! Lily jerked up, a look of slight excitement on her face. Chrys was taken aback.

“We should get to him – to Oliver! Please!” Lily blurted out. Chrys looked at her face in confusion. She hadn’t explained anything but looked panicked. Lily wanted to explain but her nerves were so on edge she couldn’t. Chrys’ face became grim and he nodded. Somehow, he just understood he needed to do this one thing for Lily, and she was relieved.

The two began pushing through to the front, shimmying sideways to reach Oliver. Indie was left behind just looking on.

Oliver kept reaching his hand up, wanting to be with the mermaid whose face beckoned for him to swim with them, to be a mermaid like them. He wondered if he could dream up being a mermaid. He strained his little hand to reach the bubble, but he was too short, barely missing touching the water with the tips of his fingers. The mermaid tilted its head, still smiling as if saying Why aren’t you coming with us?

“Oliver!!” a voice yelled. Oliver turned his head toward the sound of his name and looked at the older boy who gave him the bubbles. He and that other girl were coming towards him. Did they want to swim with the mermaid too? He felt a twinge. Oliver wanted to swim with the mermaid all by himself. He just learned how to swim and he didn’t want older kids to hog all the fun. That’s what older kids did all the time. Oliver turned back to the mermaid and flinched.

It wasn’t smiling anymore. Its face stared deeply into Oliver’s, half its torso was hanging out of the water, it’s large eyes bulging with intensity. It had Oliver’s arm gripped in its webbed hands and before Oliver could yelp he was whisked up and into the water bubble.

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