The Mermaid's Last Wish

Chapter 17 - The Golden Locket

Erina couldn't believe that Gavin would stay until the end of the night ball. He didn't utter a word until they got home. She was lucky that he didn't hear her conversation with Morpheus. She would feel embarrassed if he was. She wore her white dress paired with white sandals. She got her bag and went out of the house to enjoy the view of the ocean.

The wind blew at the ocean full of waves. The heat of the sun would make your skin tanned as you swam on it. The birds were flying to an island.

There was a small girl who was playing and then, worked with her sand castle.

Erina was walking near the shore when she saw the small girl crying. She immediately went to her and asked, "Are you alright?"

"No, I just missed my mother. She's not coming today." She was sobbing and Erina was tapping her back to calm her. "It's my birthday today and my dad's going home at five o'clock in the afternoon."

"Come, let's go to the city." She invited the small girl to the restaurant and there they found Gavin who was wearing an apron and resting after cleaning the kitchen.

Gavin looked at the small girl. He blinked twice as if he wanted to see if this was true. "Where did you - ?"

"Gavin, she's my newfound friend. She's Annie." She was still holding her hand and walked with Gavin.

"So, what are you going to do?"

"It's her birthday today. I want to give her something special. What do you think it should be?" Gavin's eyes went small and ignored her. "Gavin."

"Let's go somewhere. It's my treat." Erina's eyes went wide and smiled. She hugged him from his back but he became annoyed. "Stop hugging me."

"Sorry." She made a peace sign and they went to the city.

The small restaurant was not full of customers today. Maybe, all of the people were busy with their work. The scent of the foods was aromatic. This was the first time that Erina went to eat there.

She smiled at Annie and asked, "Are you okay? Let's celebrate your birthday here."

The kid nodded. "Thank you, Miss."

Gavin gave the list of foods he wanted to eat with them. He knew that they would love this place because it was calm and how delicious the food was.

The waiter gave the plate and opened its cover. It revealed a beautiful cake designed with white and pink colors and strawberries. The ice cream was served too. The two girls smiled while seeing it.

"Thank you, Gavin!"

"You're welcome." He smiled back at her and whispered, "As long as you're happy."

"What did you say?", Erina asked as she finished gulping a spoon of ice cream that messed with her upper lip. Gavin shook his head and wiped the ice cream by using the table napkin.

Erina's heart skipped a beat. She wondered why he would do such a thing with a smiling face. Although she liked how he did it it was making her uncomfortable with her heart.

She smiled at him and ate some ice cream. Annie was a little kid who wanted a close friendship but she was a wicked girl when it came to her classmate. She didn't know why but she despised her so much.

The road was full of streetlights. Delilah was walking around their street to find her missing sibling. She wanted to know where she was but the kid wasn't picking up her cellphone.

"Where is that kid?" She burst her anger and kicked the can of coke beside a trash bin. The can was thrown to a man and when she lifted her face, it was Morpheus looking at her. His face was soaked with the coke and he wiped it with his hand.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to.."

"Just step aside." He was grumpy and fierce. Delilah was frightened that was why she invited him for dinner.

He refused and said seriously, "I don't want to get in trouble with you."

Her eyes widened when she heard it. She seemed so attacked by his words silently. Perhaps, he was reminding him about Nancy because she was her best friend.

Morpheus just waited for a moment and tried to find something to eat. He went to the restaurant where Erina, Gavin, and Annie went.

"Morpheus?" Erina's eyes went small and when Gavin looked at him, they met their eyes.

"What are you doing here?" Morpheus was confused about the two with a kid who was sweet with Erina.

"Mommy!" Annie was teasing Morpheus. She had seen him in the pictures from her sister's gallery on the laptop while she was doing her homework.

His eyebrows met as he was observing the two. They looked happy and excited.

"Well, she's celebrating her birthday today and we wanted to give her a treat." Gavin stopped him from thinking suspicions.

"Okay, fine. Maybe, we should go home, Annie." Morpheus was seriously hurt when he saw them as a good couple. That was too much. All he could do was watch her from afar. Although, he could take the courage to be close to her, Gavin was there for her every time he had the guts.

Delilah was looking for her sibling and there she was, walking lively with Morpheus. They stopped when they saw her. She couldn't believe her eyes now. Morpheus was standing and holding Annie's hand in front of her.

"Did you miss me, Big Sis?" Annie was pissing her.

"Yea. We should go home and thank him."

The girl obeyed her and said goodbyes to each other.

Morpheus was curious about the two if they were a couple. Probably, not.

Delilah asked Annie where did she go but she refused to give her a hint.

"Just tell me and I'll not be mad at you." They were in front of their house and asked her to open the door for them. Annie kept silent and when they entered, the dinner was ready and a big white cake with simple pink decorations of flowers was on the table. "Happy Birthday!"

Annie's tears went rolling down her cheeks. She couldn't believe it was real.

"Where did you buy that?" Annie was simply wiping her cheeks with her hands.

"I just kept a mini-box to save money. I know that it's your dream to eat a cake on your birthday." She gave her a smile and a hug.

"Thank you, Big Sis. I'm sorry for being mean to you." She kissed her cheek and they both went to the dining table to have their dinner.

"I don't want to eat this vegetable salad." Annie was grumpy until Delilah put it on her plate.

"Just taste the fruit salad."

"What? Fruits?" Her face lightened up and ate many of the fruits. They were laughing and caring for each other and watched a movie after.

Erina looked at the neck of Gavin before having a shower. He was wearing a necklace that she had never seen before. It was unfamiliar for her and when he put it on a small table, it was a golden locket. She tried to peek and saw a beautiful woman smiling. Her hair was curled big with a mole on her right cheek.

"Maybe, this is their mother." She was amazed at how beautiful the woman was. She placed it back on the small table before Gavin went out.

"Have you seen it?" He was pointing at the golden locket.

She tried to speak but nothing was uttered.

"She's our mother."

"She's beautiful." She smiled at him and decided to go next on the shower.

Gavin stared at the golden locket and smiled at it. "If you'll be back, you'll see her."

"See her? Who?" Georgie interrupted his thoughts as she was sweeping the floor.

"Nothing."

"Nothing? You said, 'See'." Georgie was being mean but he didn't buy her words.

"Then, fine. I'll go back to my bed."

"Alright. Let's be honest someday. I smell something fishy." She was trying to allure him with her words but he just kept silent while blushing. He knew what she meant after all.

Things weren't going well that night. Erina couldn't go to sleep while Gavin was looking outside the window, counting the stars. He wanted to sleep but he remembered his childhood which was too painful for him.

Erina closed her eyes until she got tired thinking things and fell asleep. She was determined to sleep because it would hurt her head if she didn't get enough sleep.

The lights were off when Gavin closed his eyes. He was frustrated about things happening to them.