It was a beautiful day in Le Havre. Ulrich and I were vacationing for the summer in his grandparents' old beach house. It was willed to him when they died. And it was on that ordinary day that I drowned.

Ulrich had gone out first, to go swim in the ocean. I stripped off my clothes and went in after him. But I couldn't find him. I saw his foot prints lead up to the water, so he must have gone in, but I couldn't see him. Of course, Ulrich liked to swim, so he was probably far out, and was on his was back.

I waded my way through the water, until I could no longer reach the bottom. I swam out a ways before balancing out to float on my back. Nothing feels better than the sun shining on you while you're naked in the water.

I was floating on the water when I heard a voice whisper my name.

Odd, it called, Ulrich is with me now. He will be with me forever. Would you like to join him?

I started panicking. "Where is Ulrich?" I cried.

He is underneath you. He has been converted. Would you like to join him?

"Converted into what? Did he drown?" I yelled at the whispers.

Yes, he has been drowned. He is now with the Atlantians. Would you like to join him?

Ulrich drowned. My love, gone. I must join him.

"Yes," I whispered to the voice. "I will join him."

You have chosen well. You will be pulled below. Your body will be converted to accept your new life. You must breathe through the shell.

Suddenly, I felt a hand on my foot. It pulled me beneath the waves. I tried to open my eyes under the water, but I knew the salt would sting them. I felt a round, hard object being shoved onto my lips. I used my tongue to feel around the edge and found a small hole in the center.

Breathe through the shell. The voice whispered again. It was different this time.

I must have the shell in my mouth. I thought. So I tried to suck air in, as a last hope for life. But, alas, all I found was water. It entered my lungs and sped up my death.

Breathe through the shell. The voice said again.

I decided it couldn't make me any worse, so I inhaled more water. My lungs were nearly filled with liquid. But, the pain of drowning was ebbing away.

Breathe through the shell. That phrase was saving my life. So, I inhaled once more, and felt a strange sensation take over my body. My chest started tingling, and my feet moved together until I could no longer feel them. I then felt all the liquid leave my body, but strangely, it didn't go through my airway. Then, my eyes started to twitch, and I suddenly, involuntarily opened my eyes. What I saw shocked me.

My Ulrich was swimming next to me, but he was different. He was wearing an elaborate necklace, with gold covered shells around the string. But his body was what shocked me. He had six moving flaps on his chest, above where his lungs should be. They were arranged in three rows of two.

But what had happened to his feet shocked me the most. They were no longer feet. In their place, was a long, colorful fish tail. His fingers were now webbed, and his hair was flaying in every direction. And the view of the sea was beautiful.

Odd. It wonderful to see you. I heard in my head. I recognized it as Ulrich's voice.

Ulrich! You're alive! A voice in my head said you had drowned!

Technically, we've both drowned. But now look at us. We can live out our lives exploring the depths of the ocean. And we will never be bothered by sea creatures. All Atlantians are naturally friends will all the people of the sea.

He looked behind him. And here comes Poseidon to explain our mission.

The God? I asked.

Yes. He is our lord and master. But he is very lenient. Just listen to what he has to say. Before he gets here, you should examine yourself.

A large shadow was approaching from behind Ulrich. It was coming towards us very fast. While we waited, I looked down at myself. I saw that I looked a lot like Ulrich. My feet were now a long, multi-green-tinged tail. On my chest was a set of flaps. When I took a breath, they closed. When I exhaled, the water went out through the flaps.

Are these gills? I asked.

Yes. They are the Homoaquias equivalent of gills. He replied.

Homoaquias?

We would call them mer-people.

So, we're mermen now? How?

I'm not sure. I was asked if I wanted to explore the ocean for free, to which I replied yes. Then, all of a sudden, I was dragged beneath the water. I had to go through the same thing you just did. I helped you with your transformation, as Aaron helped me.

Aaron?

He was put in charge of getting me safely transfigured. I wanted to wait and see if you would join me before we got our mission statement. Aaron said Poseidon always told new recruits where to go after they have been accepted.

And that's him? I said, motioning to the large merman coming towards us.

Yes. He will brief us at the same time. Get ready.

Large was an understatement. This merman larger than a blue whale, and was carrying a glowing, green trident. He swam up to us and swam down so his face could examine us. Ulrich and I combined would only fit in one of his nostrils. His eyes were the size of super-large bouncy balls.

Welcome to the Ocean, Odd and Ulrich. Welcome to your new lives. Do you have any preferences to where you would like to go? He asked, in a deep, booming voice.

I thought about that for a minute. In the entire ocean, where would I be happiest?

Can we breathe above the water? I asked.

Yes. As long as you keep your skin moist, and your air sacs below the water, you can survive on regular air. Is there any particular reason you ask?

Yes. I would like to swim in the Great Barrier Reef. It's in…

I know where the Great Barrier Reef is. I know where everything in the ocean is. He snapped. He pinched the crown of his nose and continued. There are currently no Atlantians guarding that reef, though they should be. This will be your mission, then: protect the reef, and everything in it. Every five years, check back in at Atlantis with a progress report. You shall be given the power to re-build the reefs if they are damaged, and you will not need to eat.

Ulrich, do you agree to Odd's decisions?

Ulrich looked at me and back at Poseidon.

Yes, I do. Do we need to sleep?

No, Ulrich. Homoaquians were gifted with many talents, which you will discover on your journey to the Reef.