WATER(5)
1401 Words
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
The girls sat in uneasy silence, the empty shrimp plates between them. None of them dared meet the others’ eyes.
Finally, Monica shifted uncomfortably and muttered, “Well… that was humiliating.”
“Yeah,” Beyoncé whispered, dabbing at her chin with a napkin. “I don’t even like shrimp that much.”
Miranda leaned forward, her brow furrowed. “Exactly. That’s what we need to talk about.”
The others glanced at her.
Monica frowned, arms crossed. “So what are you trying to say?”
Miranda exhaled sharply, her thoughts clicking into place like puzzle pieces. “A tail. Half-human, half-fish. That’s the only thing that doesn't makes sense. Think about it, first the island incident, when we lost hours we can’t explain. And now, after touching water, we’re… seeing things. Not random things. The same thing. A mermaid. Us.” Her voice was steady, but there was an urgency under it. “It’s like whatever happened on that island started something and water triggers it. Some kind of… metamorphosis.”
The word hung heavy, like a fog no one wanted to step into.
Beyoncé’s eyes went wide, and her hands flew to her cheeks. “So what, we’re fish now? Oh my God, are we turning into monsters? Are we actually cursed?” Even in her panic, her voice carried a soft, almost childish lilt, as if she were half-pleading for someone to tell her it wasn’t true.
Annalise rubbed her temples, unease clear in her eyes. “We can’t ignore this.”
Elina finally spoke, her voice quieter than usual. “I have heard stories about the curse of the Port of Oceania and Queen Marabella Island. I thought they were just sailor’s tales. But now…” She trailed off, dread filling the silence she left behind.
Miranda straightened. “We can’t keep guessing. We need proof. If it’s real, if we’re changing, we have to know.”
Annalise’s gaze sharpened. “And where exactly do you think we’re supposed to test this?”
Miranda met her eyes, unflinching. “The beach. Vylonia beach.”
Beyoncé leaned in, whispering fiercely, “Are you crazy?! What if we… change? And people are there? Do you want us to end up as some science project?”
Miranda’s lips pressed into a thin line. “What’s happening to us is already insane. So what do we do? Hide and hope it goes away, or find out the truth?”
Monica rubbed her arms, frowning. “She’s right. We can’t risk being seen. This… whatever it is, it isn’t something we can explain right away.”
Elina tapped her nails on the table, thoughtfully. “But if it’s tied to Oceania’s curse, then maybe Miranda’s right. Maybe we need to see what water does to us.”
“No,” Annalise cut in, sharper than she meant to. “This isn’t a game. I’m not about to drag the rest of us into some experiment just because we’re panicking.”
Miranda leaned forward, eyes steady, voice calm but firm. “Listen. The bathroom gave us a glimpse, then it vanished. Just enough to mess with us. If it’s real, a bigger body of water will make it hold. If it’s fake, the beach will prove it. And trust me, today, no one will be there.”
A heavy silence settled over them.
Finally, Beyoncé chewed her lip. “You better be right about that.”
Monica exhaled, resigned. “I hate this. But fine.”
Elina nodded slowly. “Then we test it.”
Annalise was the last to speak. She closed her eyes, then muttered, “If anything happens… it’s on you, Miranda.”
Miranda didn’t flinch. “Fair enough.”
* * *
The sky was overcast, waves sluggishly rolling onto the shore as if exhausted from a long night of battling the wind. Vylonia Beach was nearly deserted, just as Miranda had hoped.
Elina let out a breath, a small smile tugging her lips. “Well… thank God no one’s here. At least we don’t have an audience if this gets weird.”
Miranda’s arms tightened across her chest. Her eyes swept the horizon before she spoke. “So… are we ready?”
Beyoncé hugged herself, shifting from foot to foot. “Honestly? I don’t even know if I want to be ready. Part of me’s scared it might actually be true… and part of me’s scared it’s not. Ugh. Okay, Beyoncé, be positive.” She muttered the last part like a pep talk to herself.
No one laughed.
For a moment, the only sound was the surf tugging at the sand.
Then Annalise turned her sharp gaze on Miranda, suspicion flickering. “Wait a minute. How did you know no one would be at the beach today?”
Miranda smirked, her voice calm against the wind. “Weather reports. The tide has been unstable since last night, storm predicted later. Locals don’t bother coming out when the waves get unpredictable.”
Annalise stiffened. “You’re insane. You actually want us to risk our lives when a storm’s on the way? The ocean isn’t safe.”
Miranda arched a brow. “Since when did the great Aqua Girl get scared of waves?”
Annalise froze, caught off guard. “Excuse me?”
“Your trophies are all over the internet. Plus, you literally wrote it in your CamChat bio.”
A muscle ticked in Annalise’s jaw. “That’s not the same thing and you know it. Swimming in a pool or even a calm ocean is one thing. This…” she gestured at the dark, restless surf “…this is different. This isn’t something I can outswim.”
The group fell silent, the air heavy with her words.
Beyoncé broke the tension, her voice low but edged with nervous humor. “Okay, but, um… how exactly are we doing this? Are we, like, diving in headfirst or just dipping our toes in and hoping for tails?”
Monica hugged herself, eyes darting to the churning horizon. “God, this beach looks… wrong. Like it’s waiting for something.”
The waves rolled in again, frothy and loud, as though daring them closer. The five girls stood frozen, the ocean stretching before them, endless and dark, waiting for an answer.
The surf hissed against the sand, curling around their shoes like a living thing. For a long moment, no one moved.
Miranda’s voice was barely above the wind. “On three?”
They exchanged nervous glances. Annalise swallowed hard. Beyoncé chewed her bottom lip. Elina’s hands twitched at her sides.
“One.”
They laced their fingers together.
“Two.”
A gust of wind tore across the beach, rattling the boardwalk behind them.
“Three.”
Together, they stepped forward. The ocean swallowed their ankles, icy enough to sting. Another step, and the chill climbed to their shins.
Beyoncé let out a shaky laugh. “Okay… still legs. Totally fine. See? No tails.”
But then it happened.
A current pulled at them not from outside, but from within, like something buried deep in their bones had just woken up. Their muscles seized, spasmed. Monica stumbled forward with a gasp. Elina doubled over, clutching her thighs.
And then...shift.
Not skin. Not legs. Something else, sleek and heavy, unfurling beneath the water. The girls staggered, clutching at each other as scales shimmered into existence, catching what little light slipped through the storm-thick clouds. Their bodies bent in ways they shouldn’t, knees dissolving into fluid motion, spines arching with new weight.
Annalise choked on a breath. “No, no, no...”
Beyoncé shrieked, then clapped both hands over her mouth, muffling her hysterical laughter. “I—oh my God—guys, we’re—we’re—what the ACTUAL hell?!”
Elina’s eyes were wide, unblinking, as she dragged her fingers across the glistening length of her new tail, scales catching under her touch like armor. “It’s real,” she whispered.
Monica made a sound somewhere between a sob and a laugh, her trembling hands pressed hard against her lips as tears burned her eyes.
Miranda, normally composed, could only stare. Her chest heaved, her voice shaking with the weight of impossible truth. “We’re not human anymore.”
The waves curled higher, frothing around their shimmering forms, as though the ocean itself had claimed them.
- Writer
