"Daughters, I have come to a decision" My mother called us. We were home from our feeding early today which was very peculiar. "Take your brushes to the surface and we will discuss then" She swam out of the cavern we called home.

My sisters and I did not protest Naida took her mirror and all of our combs to the surface handing them out as we perched ourselves onto the rocks. I partnered off with Yara, she combed my hair back and decorated it with shells.

"We all know that there has been a shortage of sailors in the bay." Mother began to brush her own hair, "It has come to my attention that it is not just our clan. I fear that humans may have become extinct. So I purpose that we all go out into the ocean. We will have to look for humans and if they are not found and really are extinct well we'll have to alert the other clans. We all know that we as a species can survive without the help of human inter action but nonetheless that would mean our species could run its course."

We all sat in silence I couldn't believe what I was hearing, that humans could no longer be alive. That would mean we could no longer reproduce. I could hardly wrap my head around the idea.

That night we gathered what we could take, we searched ship wrecks to find anything to take the necessary items for travel. None of us slept that night no matter how Kyla soothed us telling us humans were still alive.

We were all afraid, this could mean the end of us as a race.

None the less morning came, mother wasted no time. We were told to hunt as we went along. As you could assume our day was boring full of blank ocean with only fish but no boats. No sign of humans, in fact it took us a week to reach any point in our search.

"Excuse me" My mother spoke up to a passing fish (I forgot to tell you they can talk to fish being part fish... On with the story)" Are we close to shore?"

"Very close ma'am dangerously close for your kind"

"What do you mean?"

"The humans of district four"

"Humans!" Vailea squealed, all of our hope had been returned. Humans were alive.

"Yes lass but you best be careful"

"Wait what are the districts?" Mother asked calming all of us.

"You haven't heard? Where have you been for the past thirty five years?"

"Across the sea" My mother said, "Please tell us what has happened?"

(I just saved you from a hunger games history lesson... You're welcome)

"A game... of killing?" My mother asked with a sly smile creeping on her face.

"Yes ma'am, anything else?"

"No thank you sir, I hope you have a safe journey through the sea." My mother said sending him on his way.

"Mother this is great! Humans are still in existence!" Maren smiled

"Yes Maren I heard," Mother turned to face us, "Girls I have an idea"

"What is it mother?" Yara asked.

"You heard what he said about these games. One of you girls will have to compete." We all gasped at the opportunity, "Girls listen to me, we shall send one of you into the human world and you shall play these games. It will be a great chance for one of you."

"But mother" Talise spoke up, " Won't it be suspicious if just a random teenage girl showed up and won the games? "

"Yes you're right Talise" Mother went over to her and put a hand on her cheek "So what do you suppose we do?"

"Why don't we..."

"Use a spell mother!" Maren said.

"What kind of spell?" She asked now making it apparent that she was giving a lesson.

"One to turn, one of us into a baby again" Kyla smiled.

"What would we do after we use the spell?"

"Leave the baby and lure a human to find her!" Yara smiled.

"And then?"

"She'll grow up again. She'll live a new life and win the games." I speak up.

"Very good Lassa" Mother swims to me.

"Then she could bear a child and return to the sea. To rejoin the family" I smile

"Excellent Lassa, you're quickly catching up with your sisters. I do believe that I have made a choice on who shall represent our clan." Mother smiled. "Thalassa are you up for the challenge"

"Yes mother" I smile.

"Mother?" Naida speaks up, "I think we should find another district."

"Why would we do that here she could learn to swim?" Mother say knowingly.

"Yes but if she is from another district than she'll be even more impressive among the humans" Naida smiles her perfect smile.

"That is very wise of you Nadia."

"Should we write all this down for Lassa? I mean since she'll be a child again won't she forget?" Talise speaks.

"No she will not forget not with the spell we'll use." Mother turns back to me, "Lassa I want you to go swim and adventure for a while leave us and hunt for yourself I believe it may be your last time"

"Yes mother" I obey and leave immediately.

"Now" Mother turned to my sisters. "We will remain here and 'celebrate' our discovery"

I roam the seas freely for more than an hour before returning to my mother.

"Lassa" My mother says swimming to me."Come I will tell you everything on the way,"

We start off on our way to my new home, "Lassa, when we reach the twelfth district I will say my spell and you will take the form of a new born human. You will not remember anything for the first three years of life. But when you do begin to have memories, you will remember our family.

"I want you to have no fear and be relentless in those games. I have no doubt you will return to us in time. I warn you do not stay in their world longer than forty years. Because as we know you will not age past sixteen."

"Aw and I wanted to seem like an ageless beauty" I giggle.

"You are my daughter" Mother laughs, "Be carefree have fun in your time in their world. When you return to us our clan may be bigger or smaller depending on how well your sisters fair on this raid."

We reach the banks of district twelve and I'm freezing. "Mother it's cold." I say in the dark of the sea.

"Yes dear I know, it won't always be this way." Mother turns me to face her, and even at night I can see her perfectly. "Thalassa, my youngest daughter, destiny is calling you. You belong to this world now. Do not be reluctant to love your new family. My daughter embrace the human world and return to your family in happiness."

"I love you mother" I hug her.

"I love you Lassa" She kisses the top of my head and holds me to her chest. "Thalassa are you ready?"

I look up to the stars and nod. "Yes"

"I evoke the long forgotten arts, to let me turn the tables of time" I see gold come up from the sea floor and it begins to swirl around me, "Change the fate of this young girl, send her back to times before" My tail is soon out of my sight. "Take her through the change, take her back to live new life."

I cannot see through the blinding gold light. I feel a shrinking and pain. Terrible awful pain, I want to cry out but my mother's voice sooths me. I feel every nerve in pain, I can feel pain but not once do I feel fear.

The gold is fading and so is my vision I'm going to be human. The last words I hear are, "I love you my little Lassa"

I couldn't be at home right now. My wife had just lost our baby. He was a still born, I had delivered him with my own hands and in my hands he died. My wife refused to let him go. I know it must be hard for her so I had to leave. I had to let her say goodbye.

I left our home in the market and wandered around the seam. It was a different place to me growing up in a wealthier part of district twelve. I can't stop thinking that I was born in a more privileged life. Yet My wife and I couldn't have a baby.

I loved her more than anything else in this world. She wanted a little girl. But she would have loved a son just as much. I just wanted her to be happy.

I was walking parallel to the river that ran partially through the seam when I heard a soft cry that I thought belong to some animal. As I continued my walk I saw a bundle of cloth in the river. I listened harder and knew the crying was coming from the bundle.

I sped up and fished the bundle out of the river and saw a child. Why was a baby in the river? Only a cruel person would put their new born baby in the river in December. That didn't matter though, what mattered is that the child was alive.

I ran back to my home bouncing the child as I went which quieted it's cries. I slipped inside and ran to my wife. When I reached our room. She had stopped crying and our son was gone. She was sitting in a chair next to the window.

"I couldn't look at him anymore." She sighed, "But I guess that was to be expected when he was so early." she turned to me and saw I was holding the bundle. "What is that?"

"It's a baby" I said smiling.

"A baby?" She gasped walking up to me looking at the sleeping child.

"It was abandoned in the river I had to save it" I said.

"What do we do with it?" She asked.

"We keep it."

"What?"

"I figure we can tell everyone you went into labor early because you were having twins and only one of them made it." I say as she takes the baby out of my arms.

"Well, I don't see why not," she says with a new light in her eyes, "Hey there little one." She coos "Let's find out what you are"

We walk across the hall to the nursery we had built. Good thing we didn't know we were having a boy. My wife puts the baby on the changing table and takes off the heavy wet cloth.

"Hi there little girl" She smiles and sighs happily, "I'm your mommy, and I'll take very good care of you. I promise" She changes the little girl and wraps her in a warm blanket laying her in the crib I built. "She's... Beautiful."

"What do you want to name her?"

"Um..." She says grabbing a book of names and flipping to a book marked page "Noelle." She smiles.

"Noelle?"

"It means new day. She's our new day" She smiles.

"Alright Noelle Love Garner" I smile.

"Love?"

"My mother's name" I say looking at her.

"Oh she's so beautiful." Noelle's eyes open at my wife's words. Her eyes are bright green. "She has your eyes"

"She's not really ours." I laugh.

" She's our baby, and we'll have to tell people anyway. She has my hair and your eyes." She says picking up the child. "Hi Noelle," She says sitting down in the rocking chair in the corner of the nursery."We'll buy you cloths tomorrow. And I'll show you off to everyone. " She smiles. I walk over to her and kiss her head.

"She really is our baby. Isn't she?" I kneel next to my wife.

"She is, she's our little girl." And in that moment all our dreams, all our hopes, and all our prayers were answered. We had a daughter.