A/N: This chapter was edited by KatAndEmmy.
Chapter One
April 7 2011. Aged 14
Zelda Brainella Hoiely. In case it's hard to tell because of the weirdness of it all, that's a name. I know what you're thinking - yeouch. That's exactly what I thought when my parents gave me that name. It's one of the reasons why I've never written in this diary before; I didn't want to say anything about my name. It's so embarrassing… My dad was kinda disappointed when he got me this diary and I wouldn't write in it. I plastered this over exaggerated grin on my face and everything and Dad actually fell for it. But today he asked me if I'd written in the diary yet, and when I told him the truth, he was crestfallen. He got it for me last year and I guess he was expecting me to have written in it already. So here I am, writing in it now. As much as I despise my dad sometimes for giving me such an awful name, I still love him. I don't really have much to write about though. Right now, I'm just sitting here, staring at a fake plastic candle. Dad got that for me too, when my mum died. He said it will remind me that Mum's soul will always glow inside me. Or something like that.
After thinking for almost ten minutes of anything else to write, I closed my new journal. Well, it wasn't new, but this was the first time I had ever used it. And don't go accusing me of being a bad daughter for never using something my dad wanted me to use so badly, or anything like that. It's not my fault I have such a boring life. Or at least, had. I guess you could say that my life is a lot more interesting now, ever since I started afresh…
Four months later
Knock-knock-knock!
After a few knocks, the trailer door swung open to reveal a short bland looking man with a receding hairline and a greying beard.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"Rikki." I said it without thinking. I had been calling myself that for a while now - in my head of course, since my father would know something was going on if I called myself Rikki aloud. "I'm homeless. Please take me in," I begged, and as easy as that, the man opened the door wider, smiling.
"Welcome," he greeted, then added, "daughter," with a wink. As I stepped inside, I wondered, was my real father okay? Was this man trustworthy? Had I made the right choice leaving my home?
Two years later
"Um… Rikki." Cleo chose me. She, Emma and I were sitting in the café on a hot summer's day, sipping smoothies and playing a game of truth or dare. Or, as we liked to call it, truth or truth. When we were playing it in the café at least. I met Cleo and Emma shortly after I moved into the trailer with that guy who I now know as Terry, and who I address as Dad.
"Hmm… What would your parents have named you if they couldn't call you Rikki?" Cleo finally asked.
"Zelda," I answered. I wouldn't have told most people that, but Cleo and Emma are my best friends; we tell each other everything. After all, having been called Zelda in the past was nothing in comparison to the secret that I share with my best friends now. Believe it or not, we're mermaids. As Emma, Cleo and I laughed at the stupidity of the name Zelda, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I took it out and tapped 'answer.'
"Hey, Rikki. It's Lewis. Are the others with you?"
"Hey," I replied. "Yep. We're at the café."
"Can you guys meet me on the beach in ten? I found some information about a missing girl named Zelda who loved water, but during the days leading up to her disappearance, she avoided water. I think she could be a mermaid too."
I couldn't speak. My mouth felt as dry as sawdust.
"Rikki? Are you still there?"
"Uh… She… She can't be…" I eventually managed.
"Well I think she is. She could have become a mermaid, and then ran away from home when the anxiety got to her. Or maybe she swam away."
"Okay… Well, I'll tell the others to meet you at the beach then. Bye."
I cut off the call before I could drop the phone - my hands were shaking hard. Was this me that Lewis was talking about? Or was it pure coincidence that we shared such an uncommon name? After all, I didn't avoid water back when I was Zelda...
"Guys, I've gotta go, and you need to go and meet Lewis on the beach. Tell him I couldn't make it. I have to go and help my dad with something."
"Why do we need to meet him?" Emma asked, but by that time, I had already leapt off of my chair and sprinted out of the café.
When I arrived back at the trailer, I sat down on my bed and took a few deep breaths to calm myself down. I then proceeded to pull my phone out of my pocket again, and google my real father - Manny F. Hoiely. I clicked on the first website that came up. The title screamed:
MANNY HOIELY'S DAUGHTER MISSING
As I thought about my two fathers - my stressed but loving adoptive father, and my depressed and alone real father - I did the only thing I could. I cried.
It took four minutes before I yelled in grief.
Another seven as I sobbed.
Then three more as I went back to crying silently.
