With the drama mostly settled for the moment, I thanked Nicholas for his help. He smiled once more at me.
Then we split ways, and I made my way down to where the children were playing to check on Elva. As I drew closer, I could see how tired she was.
It made sense, while the other children were swimming around using their strong tails, Elva had only her two weak legs. Of course she would be exhausted trying to keep up.
She was still smiling, still having fun, but she wasn’t moving with quite the vibrancy she’d earlier displayed.
When she saw me, she waved. I kicked my way over to her, opened my arms, and immediately she came closer to rest.
“Are you having fun, sweetheart?” I asked her.
“So much fun,” she said with a yawn. “Don’t make me go home, Mommy.”
“Not yet, dearest. But yo
