I can't sleep tonight. I can hear the sea through my open window. The waves are calm and gentle on the sandy shore and Ingo is peaceful. I close my eyes and sigh in happiness. My Mer blood and my Earth blood aren't fighting anymore; I can live in both worlds.
"Sapphire..."
I sit up suddenly. It's been ages since Ingo called me. I can still visit and talk to Elvira and the dolphins and the other sea creatures but it hasn't needed me for months.
Oh crap. Just by thinking about it, Faro comes into my mind.
He's the reason Ingo hasn't called me. He's gone.
The pain in my chest comes back. I try and calm myself down as the sobs rise in my throat.
"He's not gone forever. Just a little trip..." I whisper to myself
But even the thought that he'd return couldn't take away how much I miss him.
"Sapphire…"
I listen more closely this time. It's not Ingo's voice. It's his! Faro's back!
I smile, wiping the tears away. I put on my jeans and a tee shirt and tiptoe downstairs, careful not to wake anybody. As soon as I'm out of earshot of Mum, Connor and Roger, I start to run.
"He's back!" I tell the world. "He's back!"
I rush down to the cove, stumbling on the rocks and grazing my knee but I don't care. All I can think about is him. I look at the debulk around my wrist, the two strands of hair almost identical.
Then my feet touch the wet sand and I'm running towards the sea. As soon as I'm deep enough, I break the surface of the water and swim towards deeper water.
"Hello sister" the little shallow water fish greet me.
"Hello brothers and sisters" the liquid language flows out of my mouth.
But then I heard his voice.
"Little sister?"
"Faro!" I swim towards the sound.
Ten seconds later we meet in a flurry of bubbles as he hugs me.
"Sapphire!" he says happily with his face buried in my hair "I've missed you so much"
I inhale his salty, masculine scent. "I've missed you too Faro"
He takes my hand and we dive into a current. I feel alive again as the water rushes past me.
"Faro!" I shout. I don't expect an answer, I just want to tell him how amazing this is.
He understands.
"I know, Saph" he hesitates "It's never the same without you…"