Ava was swimming alone in the ocean. She hadn't seen her mom in almost a week. At nine years old she wasn't sure how much longer she could fare by herself. She caught glimpses of other mermaids in the water, but was never able follow them; they were too fast for her. Ava had never belonged to a pod and hadn't seen a lot of other mermaids before.

Ava's mom was cast out of her pod when she fell in love with a human and had a baby girl with him. The boy left Ava's mother when he learned the truth of who she really was and she was left alone to raise her baby girl. Since Ava was half human and half mermaid, she was able to change into a human when she was dry and back into a mermaid when she was wet. Ava never fully belonged in either world.

Her mom had left her about a week ago, searching the water for a pod she had heard about nearby. Ava was left because she couldn't swim fast enough to keep up with her mom. She was afraid being by herself for so long though. She kept feeling like she saw a merman, but her mother told her there were no mermen anymore.

Out of the corner of her eye Ava caught a glimmer of orange and pink. She turned quickly and saw the unmistakable sight of a mermaid's tail. She hid, not wanting to scare the mermaid off. She hoped that if she followed the mermaid she would find the pod her mom was talking about. The mermaid was young, with blond hair and had a carefree way about her.

She began swimming off collecting seashells she found on the ocean floor. Ava followed swiftly and quietly behind her. The mermaid swam into what looked like a hidden cave entrance. Ava waited a few moments before following her in. She hoped more than anything her mother would be inside, but she waited outside to collect herself and to stuff her hopes down inside of her.

She entered the cave and the first thing she noticed was that her mother was not there. But neither was the other mermaid, in fact she was alone in the cave. She looked around and noticed a staircase, something she recognized from the land world. She heard voices coming from the staircase and her curiosity got the best of her and she pulled herself out of the water and onto the land.

Once her tail dried her legs appeared. She stood up and began walking up the stairs. She followed the voices into another room that was just off the stairwell. The room was filled with lots of mermaid things, it was beautiful, and the little nine year old stood awe struck. She saw four older girls looking at her, one of which was the mermaid she saw earlier. Ava broke down crying, "I want my mom" she sobbed.