After Enid left the Kahl household, she decided that this would be a great time to go to the pier. She assumed that she'd be able to get a nice view of the ocean from here, which truly made for a good memory.

While she was on her way, much to her delight, she bumped into Mugman! The walk to the pier was a rather long one, so she was excited to have someone as sweet as him to talk to during it.

"Cuphead's out at the press turning something in for Marmee. She's still a bit on the grouchy side, but she doesn't do it around us. When she got so upset, her weekly routine got all messed up, so Cups decided he'd do it for her. She doesn't know about it, though," Mugman said, starting the conversation.

"Really? How on earth did you get in her room without her seein'?" Enid asked.

"Once, when Pansy tried to get her to come out, it almost worked...then she decided that she didn't want to and went runnin' right back in. She happened to somehow drop it...and it was a chapter of her book. It's being published in the newspaper, and people really like it! It's been getting rave reviews! We've all had the suspicion that Biddy was the one writing it, but now we know for sure! Cups is gonna ask them to give her credit for this chapter."

The two talked for a while, then eventually decided to part ways so Mugman wouldn't be late for supper. As she continued, she saw a little pirate girl who seemed to be showing off some kind of sword. Since everyone in Inkwell Isle was rather friendly, Enid decided to wave.

"Ahoy, little lass!" The pirate girl called.

"Hello, ma'am! I was just headin' off to the pier!" Enid replied with a smile, walking up to her, curtseying as the pirate girl swung her sword, smiling and nodding.

"Aye, I see! Yer that kid wearin' purple that Cap'n Brineybeard told me about! Any chum of the ol' cap'n is good in my book! Just know that the entire crew's got yer back now!" The pirate girl said, giving Enid a somewhat rough pat on the back.

"Your words mean a whole lot to me. Thank you," Enid said, curtseying once again as her back tingled from where she was "patted." After that little conversation, she finally reached the pier. She quickly took her shoes off again, running down the smooth, warm wood of the pier. The creaking that came from under her feet excited her and the warmth of the wood made her heart race. The people around her probably thought that she was crazy. She just spun around, laughing and giggling like a little maniac.

Here in Inkwell Isle, Enid felt freedom that she'd never felt back in South Carolina. Back in Port Royal, her freedom felt restricted...restricted by her own mother and best friend of all people. Though, whenever Audrey found a boyfriend and became infatuated with him, she was able to have more freedom than she had when she was single. When the two of them were making out somewhere, Enid could escape the talks of fame and fortune, which was never really something that she desired. All she wanted to do was be an actress. She wanted to be an actress because she liked it, not for the money. This is why she was so excited to visit Sally Stageplay! According to Biddy, she appeared to be an amazing actress...and a kind one, too.

But...Enid was filthy! She'd make the mistake of not cleaning herself properly when she was staying in the Kahl household. There was absolutely no way that she was going to go and visit Sally looking like this. Sally would surely just laugh in her face. As she was thinking about what to do with herself, she felt the pier starting to shake.

"Mamma, mamma, look down there!" A child said, Enid quickly looking at where he was pointing. He was pointing at some kind of shadowy figure that lurked underwater. Enid just couldn't make out what it was...but whatever it was, it was huge. It admittedly intimidated her, but she wasn't too worried, considering that everything in Inkwell Isle seemed to be friendly.

Still, Enid kept running and enjoying the feeling of the wood, wind, and sunlight...before she realized that she was running toward the edge of the pier. The water was incredibly deep, and though Enid could swim, she knew that she wouldn't be able to handle that kind of depth. She quickly stopped herself, but she accidentally let go of one of her shoes...and it went straight into the water.

"A-Ah…" Enid mumbled to herself, watching as her precious footwear sank into the depths below. With how expensive the shoe was, it was rather heavy. She couldn't do anything about it now. Though...she couldn't finish her journey with just one shoe! She was't going to ask Hilda for another pair…she could always sell her necklace or her hatpin to get some money for a decent pair...or she could use the gold that she was given. The latter she doubted. She didn't know the currency rate here.

While Enid sat and pondered, she barely noticed that the shadow that the child had once pointed at was moving closer and closer to her. She heard the pier creaking, felt the pier rumbling, but she was so deep in thought to do anything about it...until the creature surfaced right in front of her. Enid was initially terrified, but then she saw that the creature that popped up in front of her was a mermaid! A real-life mermaid! She was gorgeous! And she was holding her missing shoe!

"I believe this belongs to you," the mermaid said, having a noticably thick accent. She looked Enid over and saw that she was dirty, and ended up scooping the small girl up and swimming away. Of course, Enid's first reaction was to be afraid, but...she wasn't. Her experiences in Inkwell Isle were all mild. It wasn't like she actually mustered up courage or anything.

"You need a bath. I can help," the mermaid said, smiling sweetly after placing Enid on a rock. Enid was absolutely flabbergasted. This mermaid, whom she barely knew, was asking to give her a bath. Was this...uhh...normal?

"W-Well, I appreciate your offer, ma'am, and though I do need a bath, I think I'm capable of doin' it myself...th-thanks, though!" Enid said, occasionally looking back to see if the mermaid was still watching. Surely enough, she was.

It all happened in a flash. Before she knew it, she was plunged into the cold water, and the mermaid was washing her with a starfish. She constantly made sure that this large woman wasn't actually trying to squish her.

"Uhh...ma'am...I said it was all right," Enid shivered.

"Call me Cala. My name is Cala Maria," the mermaid, seemingly ignoring her, replied.

"M-Miss Cala...are you sure that rubbin' me with a starfish is safe? My human skin is mighty different than yours, y'know. I'm not sure how my skin will react to a starfish," Enid said, trying to be polite and respectful...but Cala just laughed at her! It was more like a cackle, actually. What was so funny…? Enid just accepted her fate at this point. This seemed to be a friendly gesture more than anything else, so she just assumed that Cala meant well. What did Enid know? Bathing people could have been a part of mermaid culture or something. In Inkwell Isle, you never really knew.

Having a starfish rubbed against her hair was something that Enid could safely say she never expected would happen to her. Well...actually, that was true for nearly everything that had happened to her here...including falling down to a whole new world after touching a set of dice. Cala seemed to be washing her hair nicely...but now it was a mess! She also noticed that there were occasional hisses coming from the mermaid, which frightened her. At this point, Enid was sick and tired of potentially being eaten.

"We are friends...correct, Enid?" Cala asked. About a billion thoughts rushed through Enid's little head at once as Cala dunked her in the water to rinse her off. Friends?! FRIENDS?! Also, how on earth did Cala know her name?!

"W-Well, Miss Cala, I suppose we are...mainly because of the...er...situation that we're goin' through together. Though, I'm a bit confused on how you know my name. I don't think I've told ya," Enid said, keeping her "polite and respectful" philosophy, even though Cala almost drowned her.

"Trust me, I have been keeping an eye on you," Cala giggled as she plopped Enid back on the rock. Not even taking time to think about what Cala just said, Enid rushed to her belongings, wanting to get her dress back on as soon as possible. She'd been indecently exposed for long enough. She was glad that Cala was female, though. If she were a male...Enid would have probably died. That would've went from embarrassing to downright immoral.

Whenever Enid finally dressed herself, Cala grabbed a sea urchin, starting to deal with Enid's tangled mess of strawberry blonde hair. Enid grumbled a bit, assuming that the urchin's spines would break off and mess up her hair even more, which Enid felt was her most flattering feature, even though long hair still wasn't necessarily in style. Society, however, wasn't going to stop Enid from enjoying her long locks.

"I am glad that we are friends. It is not easy for me to make friends," Cala suddenly said. As she was detangling Enid's hair, she'd been humming, and the melody nearly lulled Enid to sleep before the sudden voice jolted her awake.

"I'm glad that you're glad," Enid replied with a smile, rubbing her eyes and feeling her hair. Cala did a splendid job. Her hair was free from even the smallest kinks or knots. As much as she hated to admit it, she felt cleaner than ever! She hadn't felt this clean since she was back in South Carolina! She tried to keep that thought in the back of her mind. It made her feel incompetent.

"It is getting late. I think you should sleep here," Cala mumbled as the two women sat on the rock, watching the sunset together. Enid raised a brow.

"Miss Cala, there's still some light left. I think that if you'd carry me back to the pier, I could walk back to the Kahls' house and stay there another night," Enid replied. Cala shook her head and immediately grabbed the girl, holding her close to her breast. "That would make me a bad friend," she replied.

Enid had met so many people with so many differing opinions here in Inkwell Isle that she learned not to question it. Was Cala really that lonely? Was she really going to depend on a fifteen-year-old traveler for friendship? The more Enid thought about it, the sadder it made her. She decided to stay with this unfortunate woman, hoping that she could at least make her a bit happier.

Night fell, and Cala lay on the rock, insisting that Enid lay on her belly. Enid heard the humming again, and within minutes, she was out cold. Sleeping on a mermaid was one of the strangest experiences that Enid had ever felt.