"Bjei…"
The whisper came again.
This time, it was so close that I felt the sound against my skin.
I grabbed Shawshank's hand.
"Who is that?"
He didn't answer.
His eyes remained fixed on the dark corridor behind me.
"Shawshank?"
"Don't turn around."
My heart pounded.
"Why?"
"Because I said so."
There was something in his voice that frightened me more than the voice itself.
I slowly turned my head anyway.
Nothing.
Only a long corridor covered in glowing blue flowers.
Then I heard it.
A woman's soft laughter.
I stepped closer to Shawshank.
"I'm going home."
"You can't."
"I don't care. My mother is going to be worried."
"Your mother already knows."
I stared at him.
"Knows what?"
"That you're here."
My stomach tightened.
"How?"
Shawshank looked away.
"Because she has always known about this place."
I shook my head.
"No. My mother doesn't know anything about mermaids."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Then why did she always warn you never to come near the sea?"
I opened my mouth.
Nothing came out.
I remembered Angela's warnings.
Every single one.
Don't go near that sea.
There are things in that water you don't understand.
One day you'll regret not listening to me.
I had always assumed she was simply being overprotective.
But now…
"What does my mother know?"
Shawshank sighed.
"You should hear it from her."
"Then take me home."
His expression became painful.
"I can't."
"Why?"
"Because the sea has already accepted you."
I laughed nervously.
"What does that even mean?"
Before he could answer, a group of people passed outside the room.
They stared at me.
Some whispered.
Others bowed their heads.
I frowned.
"Why are they looking at me like that?"
"Because they recognize you."
"I've never seen any of them before."
"They've seen you."
I stared at him.
"How?"
Shawshank stepped closer.
"Every time you came to the shore."
My eyes widened.
"You've been watching me?"
He didn't deny it.
"How long?"
"A long time."
"That is creepy."
A small smile appeared on his face.
"You talked to yourself."
My face became hot.
"You heard that?"
"Sometimes."
"Oh my God."
I covered my face.
Shawshank laughed.
For the first time since I had arrived, I laughed too.
Then our eyes met.
Something changed.
His smile disappeared.
He looked at me differently.
Not like a stranger.
Not like someone who had just rescued me.
Like someone who had been waiting for this moment.
My heart began beating faster.
"What?" I whispered.
"Nothing."
"You're staring."
"I know."
"Why?"
He leaned slightly closer.
"Because you're different beneath the water."
I frowned.
"Different how?"
He reached toward my face but stopped before touching me.
"You glow."
I looked down at my hands.
There was a faint golden light beneath my skin.
I gasped.
"What is happening to me?"
"I don't know yet."
"You don't know?"
Shawshank's expression became serious.
"But I know one thing."
"What?"
"You weren't brought here by accident."
Suddenly, a loud bell rang through the kingdom.
Shawshank immediately stepped away.
"What is that?"
"The royal bell."
"Royal?"
"Yes."
"Why is it ringing?"
He looked toward the palace.
"Someone has discovered that you're here."
"Who?"
He didn't answer.
A second bell rang.
Then a third.
The people outside began running.
Shawshank grabbed my hand.
"We have to leave."
"Where?"
"Somewhere safe."
He pulled me through a hidden doorway.
We entered a narrow underwater tunnel illuminated by tiny golden lights.
I looked behind us.
"Shawshank, where are we going?"
"Far from the palace."
"Why?"
"Because if they find you…"
He stopped.
"What?"
His grip tightened around my hand.
"They may never let you return to the surface."
My heart sank.
I thought about Angela.
About Christel.
About my home.
My phone.
Everything I'd left behind.
"Christel…"
Shawshank looked at me.
"Who is Christel?"
"My best friend."
"She'll be looking for you."
I nodded.
"She'll probably tell my mother."
"And then?"
I looked ahead.
"I don't know."
For the first time, I wondered what was happening on the surface.
Christel stood outside my house, staring at Angela.
"Mrs. Angela, Bjei isn't answering her phone."
Angela's face had gone pale.
"What time did you last speak to her?"
"Before evening."
"And what did she say?"
"She said she was at the sea."
Angela closed her eyes.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she whispered,
"Not again."
Christel noticed the fear in her expression.
"Mrs. Angela?"
Angela looked toward the sea.
There was something in her eyes that Christel had never seen before.
Fear.
Real fear.
"She's gone," Angela whispered.
"What?"
"She has found it."
Christel frowned.
"Found what?"
Angela didn't answer.
Instead, she grabbed her keys.
"We have to get to the sea."
Christel followed her.
"Why? What's happening?"
Angela stopped at the gate.
Then she looked directly at Christel.
"Because if the sea took my daughter…"
Her voice broke.
"…then it has finally come for her."
And far beneath the waves, I suddenly heard my mother's voice.
"Bjei, run."