Where He's Really From
Zac, Cam, David, Carly and Evie were all sitting together at a table outside the ocean café. The night before, Mimi had used the bracelet on the dragon and it really turned out to be their mother under a horrendous spell. The family was finally reunited and they were all extremely happy. The pod was finally safe and Mimi got what she's always wanted: her mother back.
"So, you're telling us: last night, there was a massive magical storm, this bracelet destroyed the dragon and no one took any photos." Cam said breaking the silence.
"Cam!" Carly chastised him. "It's a beautiful story. You must be so happy to have your mother back." She said with a warm smile and gushing a little.
"I'm still having trouble believing it." Zac admitted.
"Bring her in for a meal any time. On the house." David offered.
"You know what the really weird thing is? I now have two mothers." Zac said to his friend.
"Are you gonna tell your parents about Nerissa?" Cam asked his merman friend.
Zac nodded. "I think I will. They took me in and gave me everything. They deserve to know where I came from and who I really am."
"I think they'll be good with that." Evie said as she leaned on his shoulder.
They all smiled at Zac realizing that everything was finally falling into place and Zac had accepted who he really was.
Zac was nervously waiting for Mimmi and Nerissa to join him in his little loft. They had all agreed that now was the time to tell Zac's adoptive parents the truth about his origins and why Nerissa had to give him up on land. It had been a week since Zac and Mimmi reunited with their mother and he had gotten to know his biological mother pretty well, not mentioning that he and Mimmi also got a lot closer now that they spent more time family bonding.
He heard a knock on the door and his heart skipped a beat. It was happening, his biological mother was here and they were going to tell Rob and Lauren what Zac had hidden from them for about two years.
"Come in." Zac said as his sister and his mother emerged from behind the door.
"Hey." Mimi greeted as Nerissa just went for a hug.
"Mom, you don't have to hold on that hard. I'm not going to leave." He told Nerissa.
"I know. I'm just so happy I finally found my children that I'm making up for lost time."
"So, are you ready to do this?" Mimmi asked.
"I am. I want them to know the truth. They deserve to know." Zac said confidently.
"This is really mature of you, Zac." Nerissa said.
The three of them heard a knock and they knew it was happening.
"Zac, are you here?" They all heard Rob ask.
"Yes, come in." He said.
Rob entered the garage and Lauren followed right behind him. Both of the adults were a bit startled by Nerissa and Mimmi.
"Mimmi, it's always a pleasure to see you." Lauren said with a warm smile. They had met Mimmi a bit after they had told Zac he was adopted and they got to know her a bit since she was a part of Zac's circle of friends.
Rob, on the other hand, walked towards Nerissa and shook her hand. "I'm Rob."
"And I'm Nerissa." She said to the man with a warm smile.
"I'm Lauren." Zac's adoptive mother said as she shook Nerissa's hand.
"I'm so blessed to finally meet you two." Nerissa said to the couple while Zac and Mimmi stayed quiet. Rob and Lauren were a bit confused by her reaction. How did she know them?
"You've heard about us?" Rob asked confused.
"Yes." She said, but they looked even more confused.
"Are you one of Zac's teachers?" Lauren asked.
"No. She's your wish granter." Zac spoke up.
"What?" They both asked at the same time.
"Remember when you guys told me about who I really was? You said you were trying as hard as you could to have a baby, but you just couldn't. You said you felt like they ocean heard your wish when you found me and that your wish of having a child was granted." Zac explained slowly. Rob still looked a bit confused, but Lauren caught on and her eyes widened.
"You mean…" Lauren started to say.
"Yes. Nerissa is my biological mother." Zac said and both of his parents froze in place.
Rob and Lauren looked at each other with a startled expression and then they stared at Zac.
"How did you find her?" Rob asked his son.
"It's a very long and complicated story." Zac said "And I'll start from the beginning."
"It can't be that bad." Lauren said.
"It all started two years ago." Zac said.
"You found her two years ago?" Rob exclaimed a bit insulted thinking his son had lied to them this whole them. Well, he did lie to them, but not about that.
"No, about a week ago." Zac responded honestly.
"So, as I was saying, it all started when I went camping on Mako Island with Cam two years ago. Before we decided to go to sleep on the first night, I wanted to take a leak, so I walked into the woods and I saw this bright light. I followed it and entered some kind of cave. I touched a trident symbol and the ground opened under my feet. I fell into a pool of water and blacked out."
"What does this have to do with anything? I've heard this story before and we all agreed that you hallucinated." Rob said and the three merpeople shared a look. "Nothing about this story is logical, Zac."
"The next morning, when we came back, I tried to rinse the fishing pole under a hose and I ended up bending the water with my hand. It was like it reacted to the movement of my hand. So, after a few other tries, I ended up making the water come out of the hose and I fell into the water near the dock. A couple of seconds later, my legs were transformed into a tail." Zac said carefully watching his adoptive parents' expression. The looked stunned. His mother just looked like she was trying to process all of this and Rob looked a bit mad.
"What are you trying to say, Zac?" Lauren asked.
"That I became a merman." Zac responded seriously.
"You're joking." Lauren exclaimed.
"I'm not." He told them.
"But mermaids aren't real." Rob said. "None of this is rational. If mermaids were real, people would know about them and they don't, so they're not real."
"They are." Mimmi intervene trying to convince her brother's adoptive parents.
"I'm not trying to be rude, but why are you here?" Rob asked realizing her presence didn't make sense to him.
"Oh." She said and she looked at Zac who nodded. "I'm Zac's biological sister."
"What?" Lauren asked stunned.
"It's true." Zac and Nerissa said at the same time.
"Wow. This is a lot to take in." Lauren said. "But Zac, can't you tell us the truth. I can believe that Nerissa, Mimmi and you are family, because, let's face it, you look alike, but you being a merman, impossible."
"Lauren, I know this is hard to believe, but Zac is telling the truth. That's why we're all here." Nerissa said to the stunned couple.
"Zac, what does your story have to do with anything?" Rob asked. "What does supposedly being a merman have to do with your biological mother and sister?"
"Once I get to the end of it, you'll understand." Zac said. "So, as I got used to getting a tail every time my skin came in contact with water, I learned that I have magical powers and I learned to control them. I had the help of three other mermaids that I met along the way." Zac told his adoptive parents.
"Other mermaids? Zac, this is the real world, not some fairy tale. You're literally saying that you became a merman with magical powers and that mermaids with magical powers helped you control them? That is insane. It's not real." Rob said trying to reason his son.
"Anyway, the mermaids I met needed to convince the mermaid council that I wasn't a threat since mermaids are afraid of merman. Veridia, that's the name of the head of the council, wasn't convinced, so the mermaids went back to the pod for a while. One of them came back with two other mermaids that I hadn't met before." Zac continued his explanation and looked at Mimmi signaling she could tell them about herself.
"One of those mermaids was me." Mimmi said to Zac's parents.
"What?" Lauren asked surprised. She had a hard time believing her son was a merman, so believing that his sister also was a mermaid was far-fetched.
"It's true." Zac said.
"This is just too weird." Lauren responded. "Wait, if you and Mimmi are merman and mermaids, does it mean…"
"That I am a mermaid?" Nerissa asked. "Yes. Yes I am."
"Zac, why are you doing this to us? This is highly improbable." Rob said to his son. "Are you trying to trick us into something?"
"No, of course not, dad. I'm telling the truth." Zac defended.
"Anyway, to continue, Mimmi knew that Nerissa was her mother, but I didn't. The day I asked you guys if I were adopted, Veridia had revealed that Nerissa had a son who could share visions with her daughter, which is Mimmi, and I did share visions with her and I still do. That's how I learned Mimmi was my biological sister."
"Go on." Rob said suspiciously.
"A couple of months after, I proved to Veridia that I could be trusted, so the pod came back to Mako and Wei Lan arrived. She's a mermaid from China and a water dragon followed her here and was threatening the whole pod; even sailors." Zac continued to explain and his adoptive parents looked skeptical.
"A water dragon?" Rob asked. "What kind of fantasy world do you live in? You know this isn't possible."
"Dad, please let me talk." Zac demanded. "Eventually, Mimmi, Ondina and Wei Lan learned about a Chinese legend concerning a water dragon and a water spirit, which is another name for a mermaid. Anyway, the legend said that long ago, a mermaid fell in love with a land boy and the mermaid was turned into a water dragon as a punishment. A magical bracelet was able to break the curse on that mermaid. Nerissa had been put under the same curse during a war and Wei Lan, Ondina and Mimmi found the bracelet. Mimmi used it on the dragon and it revealed our mother." Zac finished his part of the story.
"This is insane." Rob said. "A water dragon, mermaids, magic? Zac, why don't you tell us the truth?"
"This is the truth." Zac said.
"I think it would be best if you saw a psychologist. It's not normal for someone your age to believe in fairy tales." Rob said.
"Rob." Lauren scolded. "I believe him. Do you think he would make such a huge story up?"
"But this is nonsense, Lauren." Rob said.
"Do you want proof?" Zac asked seriously. He knew it was time he showed them. His dad was thinking Zac was going insane, so he needed to do something about it.
"If you can find proof, yes." Rob said. "That'd be entertaining."
Staying seated, Zac raised his hand lazily and made water come out of the glass of water Lauren was holding. He separated it in three different water bubbles and controlled them so there would be one over each merperson. Rob looked at his son stunned, was he really doing that? Lauren looked at his husband with a you-should-have-believed-him glare.
"This is amazing." Lauren said. Zac let go and the water fell straight on them. A couple of seconds later, their tail had appeared and both of the land people were staring at them blankly. At least they were seated on the couch and didn't fall flat on the floor like it happened many times before.
"Say something." Zac demanded waiting for his parents to react.
"How is this possible?" Rob asked his son stunned by what he was seeing.
"I told you, dad. I was born like that. I was born a merman." Zac said.
"This isn't rational. This shouldn't be happening."
"But it is happening, dad. I am a merman and I just proved it to you." Zac said trying to convince his father.
"There is one thing that still bothers me though." Lauren said to his son. "You speak like Mimmi and Nerissa have been mermaids all of their life, but not you. That doesn't make any sense if you say you were born in the ocean."
"I think I can answer that." Nerissa said putting a hand on Zac's tail. "When Zac and Mimmi were still very young a rebel mermaid called Aurora threatened the Northern pod where I was living. I wanted my children to be safe, so I sent Mimmi to the Mako pod knowing they would take care of her. I couldn't do that with Zac since there were few mermen and mermaids were afraid of them. Then I saw you guys and I heard you wishing you could have a child. I took that as the perfect opportunity to find a safe place for Zac since he was the only merman born from a mermaid. I sent him on land near you guys and I knew you would take care of him and cherish him. I put a spell on him to give him legs and keep him from growing a tail, but when he fell into the moon pool on Mako Island, the spell broke and his true origins took over." Nerissa explained to the couple calmly.
"And about you being a dragon?" Rob asked.
"Well, the same mermaid, Aurora, attacked the Eastern pod, we tried to defeat her, but she ended up using a spell to turn me into the dragon and she used me as a weapon. To protect herself, she made me attack the Eastern pod, where Wei Lan is from, and take away the tail of each mermaid in that pod. After that, I went into a deep sleep only dreaming that Zac and Mimmi would find each other and when they did, it woke me up, but I was still the dragon and still had the instinct of destruction. I saw Wei Lan and followed her here. I knew my children were here and I knew they would be able to break the spell eventually." Nerissa explained and then Mimmi took over.
"One day, Ondina, Wei Lan and I went to a book signing about the secrets of the deep and all of the relics the author found at the bottom of the ocean. That's when we found the bracelet. It was accompanied by a legend and when we put two and two together, we realized that it was the weapon we needed to fight the dragon. Later on, we realized that the bracelet wasn't going to kill the dragon, but was going to save the mermaid that was cursed as the dragon. On the full moon last week, I used it and it revealed our mother." Mimmi explained and Nerissa took her hand between hers.
"And I've never been so happy in my entire life." Nerissa said.
"Wow, I never thought this would be happening. I never even imagined that mermaids might be real." Rob said.
"Why didn't you tell us from the beginning what was happening to you?" Lauren asked Zac a bit hurt.
"I was scared." Zac admitted.
"You were scared to tell us the truth?" Rob asked.
"No. I was scared of myself. One day I was a normal teenage boy doing normal things and the next I turned into this creature with a tail and magical powers. It took a while to adjust and then it all became about keeping the secret. What would have become of me if everyone found out? I didn't want to blow my cover." Zac explained.
"But still, we wouldn't have done something to hurt you." Lauren said.
"I know." Zac responded. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys sooner. You deserved to know the truth. I could never be more grateful than I am for what you've done for me and all I did was lie. I'm so sorry."
"Well, the past is in the past and I am glad you finally told us the truth Zac. What about you, Rob?" Lauren asked her husband.
"Of course I am glad he told us even if I still have trouble believing it and this seems irrational." He said.
"Rob, he's right in front of you, with a tail. What other proof do you need?" Lauren asked.
"I know, but this scientifically impossible." He said.
"Not everything can be explained by science." Lauren said.
"Well, I guess I have to believe that now." He responded to his wife.
While they were talking the mermaids and the merman used their powers to dry their tail and gain legs again. Zac's adoptive parents stopped talking and stared at them.
"This is incredible." Lauren said.
"Nerissa, why don't you and Mimmi join us for dinner tomorrow night?" Lauren suggested without even consulting Rob.
"We'd love too! Right, Mimmi?" Nerissa said.
"Yes, of course!" Mimmi said enthusiastically. She couldn't have been more thrilled. She was reunited with her family and it seemed like Zac's adoptive parents accepted her and she loved it. She finally felt like she belonged somewhere.
"Great, we'll leave now. I guess Rob and I have a lot to discuss and a lot to adjust to. I'm glad you told us Zac. I'm happy you trust us with all of this." Lauren said and Zac smiled warmly. The couple left the room to sit on the patio behind the house.
"I'm so glad they took it well." Zac said turning to Nerissa.
"I knew they'd take it well. Your parents are very good people. That's why I chose them." She said to Zac.
"Thank you, Mom." Zac said as he hugged his biological mother. Mimmi, feeling left out, joined the hug.
"I'm so glad I have a family now." Mimmi said to her brother and her mother. "I knew you weren't dead. I always hoped you would come back."
"I love you." Nerissa said to both of her children.
"Why don't we go for a swim?" Zac suggested.
"I'll be happy to." Nerissa said.
"Me too." Mimmi added.
They all exited Zac's place and walked towards the small dock near the house. They walked on it and he turned around for a second only to notice his parents sitting on the chairs on the patio and staring at them weirdly. "We're going for a swim." Zac said loud enough so his parents would hear. He turned around again and nodded to the two mermaids. They dove into the deep blue and torpedoed to the moon pool to relax a bit.
While their son and his "real" family went for a swim, Rob and Lauren stayed on the patio and talked about this whole situation. It was very disturbing after all. Their son isn't even the same species as them and he doesn't belong on land, but in the sea.
"I'm really happy he told us the truth." Lauren said.
"That explains so much." Rob said.
"What do you mean?" She asked her husband.
"Well, for a starter, I thought he was cheating on Evie with his sister, so that explains why she was hanging around so much. Also, that explains why he quit being a life saver, fishing and doing water sports." Rob explains.
"Yes, I guess it all makes sense." Lauren responded. "Doesn't it make you feel weird that our son isn't even human?"
"A bit, but what can we do?" Rob asked.
"I know." His wife responded looking down.
"What is it?" He asked her. He knew something was bothering her.
"It's just, I'm afraid." She said.
"Of what?" He asked.
"He has way more in common with Nerissa than he does with us. Don't you think he'll put us aside at some point? She is his real mother and she has a tail just like him." Lauren admitted.
"Honey, we raised him. I'm sure he won't put us aside." Rob said.
"Rob, it will happen naturally. He'll spend more and more time with her and maybe even in the ocean. Maybe he'll leave land to live with her in the ocean." Lauren said as tears filled her eyes.
"Lauren, it's a possibility, but there are millions of them. Of course he'll spend more time in the ocean, but his friends and his girlfriend are on land. I'm sure he won't give up all of this." Rob said to reassure his wife.
"I really hope so." She said as he hugged her. "Maybe he'll want to go live in the ocean one day."
"Why don't we go and talk to him when he comes back?" Rob suggested.
"Yeah. We should do that." Lauren responded.
Zac had come back from Mako Island about an hour ago. Mimmi went back to Rita's to see Ondina and Wei Lan before they leave for Shanghai and Nerissa went to meet the pod to discuss with Veridia who still sees her as a threat and a danger for the pod.
Zac was laying comfortably on his couch listening to music when his parents, biological one that is, walked into his loft, but he didn't notice them since his eyes were closed.
"Zac." Rob said, but he couldn't hear them. Lauren walked up to him and pulled on his headphones, which startled him.
"Oh. Hey guys." Zac said. "What's up?"
"Your mother and I wanted to talk to you about something." Rob said. "Without them."
"Oh." Zac answered. "What is it? It sounds serious."
"You know this whole thing has been such a shock to us." Rib started. "Realizing that you aren't even human after all and that you're true home is the ocean."
"I know." Zac said. "This is shocking for everyone."
"Who else knows about you?" Lauren asked bluntly.
"Erm… Evie, Cam, David, Carly and Chris." Zac responded to his mother.
"Who's Chris?" Both of his parents asked at the same time.
"Mimmi's boyfriend." Zac responded.
"How long have they known?" Rob asked his son.
"Cam, from the start. Evie found out a bit more than a year ago, Carly and David found out about six months ago and Chris found out last week."
"Right. Those are all of your normal human friends." Lauren asked not so subtly. Zac found his mother's reaction a bit weird and she definitely looked like something was on her mind.
"I'm sorry?" Zac asked a bit confused. "You don't have to categorize them as normal human friends. They're my friends and it's always gonna stay that way whether they are mermaids or not. They're my friends. That's it."
"I'm guessing you made lots of friends from the ocean though?" Lauren asked.
"Mom, what's up? Why are you acting that way?" Zac asked her.
"I just found out my son is merman. I'm a bit shocked. That's all." She said to Zac.
"No. Something is on your mind. Ask away." Zac asked his mother.
"Alright. I wanted to know if you ever considered going back to ocean." Lauren said and Rob just watched his son's reaction.
"What?" Zac asked surprised and shocked. Did they really think he would abandon them just like that? "You think I want to leave?"
"Well, we aren't even the same species as you and it would be completely normal to want to live with people like you." Lauren said as Ron stayed quiet.
"No, it wouldn't. What would make sense is to live with the people who raised me. No matter what you think, you guys are still my parents and always will be." Zac said to sooth his mother who just smiled.
"I know this is a lot to take in for you guys and I know this is really weird for you, but I'll always be your son. You guys raised me and gave me everything. It wouldn't be fair on you to leave and besides, I don't want to. I'm perfectly happy here, with you. I've got everything I need here with you and as a bonus, we live near the ocean. Nerissa might be my biological mother and I'm truly happy we found her, but I don't know her that well and she could never replace you." Zac finished his little speech and Lauren's eyes were filled with tears.
"We always felt like you were distant for the last couple of years, but now everything makes perfect sense even if it is still really strange to think that our son is a merman." Rob told his son.
"I love you guys." Zac said as he hugged both if his parents. "Now, I'm not saying I'll never go to visit the ocean, but it will never be permanently. I'd love to see the world from the oceans, but I'll always tell you guys first if I intend to leave for a couple of days."
"We love you too, Zac." Rob and Lauren said.
Zac was comfortably sitting on the couch in his room with Evie leaning on his shoulder. They had hung out all day. Now that everything was back to normal, Evie really missed being a mermaid. She was glad she solidified her relationship with her father, but she really missed going swimming in the deepest part of the ocean without fearing to drown. Zac also missed Evie's tail as weird as it sounds. He loved to have her by his side in every sphere of his life.
"So, I was thinking." Zac said.
"Well, that's not a good thing." Evie responded to tease him.
"Ha ha." Zac said sarcastically. "I was going to say that you should join us tomorrow."
"To do what?" She asked.
"Well, last night, Nerissa and Mimmi ate dinner with us because my mom invited them. Nerissa was really grateful, so she invited them for a swim tomorrow. She's planning on meeting them on Mako Island tomorrow at around nine. I was thinking you could come and dive with us." Zac explained to his girlfriend.
"Why not. It would be good for them to have an expert in diving gear around and it would be nice to see the reef around Mako again." Evie responded with a hint of nostalgia in her voice that Zac immediately noticed.
"I am very sorry you lost your tail Evie. I never meant for this to happen." Zac apologized to his girlfriend.
"I know, Zac, but you don't have to apologize. I shouldn't have gone to Mako in the first place. What's done is done. Even if I miss swimming without gear, I am a grateful that I don't have to lie to my dad anymore." She explained to her boyfriend.
"I'm so happy you're so positive about this." Zac responded.
"So, I take it your parents took it very well?" She stated and asked her boyfriend at the same time.
"Yeah, they did. Dad was a bit skeptical at first and he didn't understand, but once I showed him proof, he believed me." Zac said.
"That's wonderful." Evie said cheerily.
"I was so afraid they wouldn't want me anymore." Zac said. Evie's eyes widened.
"Zac, they're your parents. They took care of you since you were a baby. They're always going to want you." Evie said.
"I know that now, but before I told them, I was afraid they'd be scared of my true identity." Zac admitted.
"Your parents are amazing people, they will always love you." Evie said.
"I know." Zac said with a smile.
"So, you're coming tomorrow?" Zac asked.
"Of course. I'll join your parents tomorrow morning so we can leave for Mako together and we'll join you there." She said with a warm smile.
"Do you know how amazing you are?" Zac asked.
"I think you've told me a couple of times." Evie said teasing.
"Well, a woman as amazing as you deserves to be loved. I love you Evie." Zac said.
"I love you too Zac." She said as she kissed his cheek and hugged him.
"Well, isn't it a beautiful day?" Zac said as Rob, Lauren and Evie arrived on Mako Island with a boat.
"Indeed." Lauren answered.
"I am really excited about this." Rob said. Zac was pleased with his father enthusiasm. Just two days ago, he didn't believe him and now it seems like he accepts it. Zac couldn't be happier. He doesn't have to lie to people he loves anymore and he could do more activities with his adoptive parents now not fearing revealing his secret.
"You've got all the gear?" Zac asked looking directly at Evie.
"Of course we do. I'm an expert in diving, remember?" Evie said and winked.
"Even if something went wrong, we would have people with a good knowledge of the deep with us." Lauren said.
"That, you do." Nerissa said with a warm smile to Zac's other mother.
"So, now that we are all set, we'll bring the boat a bit farther and we'll prepare to dive." Evie said.
"Sounds good to me." Mimmi responded excited to dive with Evie again.
"We'll join you guys there." Zac said as his parents and Evie re-entered the boat and sailed away.
Zac, Mimmi and Nerissa dove in the water and followed them until they stopped. They surfaced at that point and waited for the landpeople to get ready.
"How long can you hold your breath for?" Lauren asked curiously.
"I don't know. I've never really counted until I needed air, but pretty much as it pleases me." Zac responded and Mimmi chuckled.
"Actually, Zac, a mermaid, or a merman in your case, doesn't have to come back for air when you're under water." Mimmi explained to his brother.
"Well, even after two years, I still learn about my real identity." Zac laughed.
After that, they all dove in and the merpeople showed the landpeople the beautiful and colorful reef around Mako. Lauren and Rob were hypnotized by how magnificient their son, his mother and his sister were while they were swimming.
Thank you all so much for reading. I just found a lot of interest in writing one-shots for Mako Mermaids, so other ones will come in the next couple of weeks. Thank you for your support on my other stories and don't forget to favorite and review! Peace out :)