As the sun began to slowly sink at the edge of the pacific, there still remained a young girl by the beach. She stared out to the sea and sighed. Today was the last day of her family's vacation on the coast of California. Her older sister arrived and poked her shoulder. She turned around and saw her sister leaning over.
Her sister began to sign to her, "What's wrong?" She gestured.
"I'm just sad we're leaving tomorrow morning." She replied.
Her sister thought for a moment about what she said. "Maybe a round of volleyball could cheer you up?" She signed.
A wide grin spread across the younger sister's face and she nodded quickly. Without hesitation, she ran over past the volleyball net and over to the cove. Last she checked the ball was left over there when a group of college students spiked it there and called quits right after. She arrived at the cove and scanned the area for it. The ball was located between a few rocks dangerously close to the water. She had to be extra cautious in retrieving it from its spot. Slowly and carefully, she headed towards the ball. She had her arms ready to grab it and inched her way closer and closer to the ball.
Quickly, she reached down and grabbed it only to find the ball was slippery from sea water. The ball slipped out of her grasp and flew straight into the water past the rocks. The rocks were scattered all over the area, making it very difficult for her to get it back. Despite her excellent climbing skills, she knew she was too short to be able to reach it from where it landed. She sighed and sat down on the silky sand and watched the ball drift further away from the coast.
As if her day couldn't get any worse. Now she had to go back empty handed to her sister. So much for any fun before having to leave first thing in the morning. She continued to stare at the ball floating in the water until within a few seconds, the ball unexpectedly was tugged down into the water. She got up quickly and went up as close as she could to the water to see what it was. There was no sign of the ball anymore, meaning whatever took it must've dove down deep enough to hide from her.
She leaned over and looked over the rocks to the water, "Hello? What did you do with the ball?" she asked, as if she expected the marine animal that took it to respond.
The ball quickly popped up to the top of the water once again and she nearly jumped when it happened. Then, hands popped out to the sides of the ball and grabbed onto it. What was another person doing over here at sundown? Bubbles began to form on the top of the water and a blob of dark brown hair appeared up out of the water. It was very long and covered whoever's face it was. Before she could reach out to push it out of the stranger's face, she flipped it back herself.
The stranger appeared to be the same age as her. She had tan skin and very noticeable bright, big, fuchsia colored eyes. Her pink lips formed a big smile to her and she handed the ball to her. "Sorry if I surprised you! This must be yours, right?" the strange girl surmised.
She nodded and took the ball out from her hands. "Thank you...um, what's your name?" She questioned.
"Oh, of course! I'm Feferi! A mermaid!" the girl exclaimed.
Her eyes widened with surprise; an actual mermaid? This seemed ridiculous. She tilted her head, "Really? I want proof." She demanded.
The mermaid girl nodded and lifted a tail out of the water to show her. The tail was the same color as her eyes. "This enough proof for you?" She chirped.
Her look of disbelief changed to one of excitement. A real mermaid! This was a fairy tale come true for her. The happiness on the mermaid faded slightly as she turned around to listen to something. She couldn't make out what it was she was listening to but stayed to wait and hear from her new friend. The mermaid turned back to her and sighed, "It was my sis. She said I'm gonna be dead unless I get back before it gets dark out."
She frowned, disappointed at the news. "But I'm leaving tomorrow morning! If you leave now, how can I see you again?" She questioned.
"I know we'll see each other again someday! It can't be too hard for you to find someone who looks like me." The mermaid giggled.
"Good point." She admitted.
"I hope to see you soon, dear! I'll find you one way or another!" The mermaid smiled and waved goodbye to her.
She plunged deep into the water once more and the girl waved back to her. She smiled and turned back around to head back to the beach. With the volleyball back she and her sister could play one last game before the end of their vacation.