Part Two

Luna left her home the next day, a pouch with pearls, shells, and seaweed with her. She was going to be early for her meeting with Leo and decided she'd make some jewelry while she waited. She had a knack for making beautiful pieces and Akiza sold them at her temple. It brought in a tidy sum of money but Luna simply loved to weave the items into hair clips, necklaces, bracelets, and belts. She surfaced and pulled up to the shallows before lifting up her pouch and opening it to continue with a clip she had started the day before meeting Leo. She soon became deeply immersed in her work, her delicate fingers weaving shells and pearls in between strands of seaweed. She paused in her work and looked up at hearing rapid footsteps. Leo appeared around a bend and his grin made Luna smile as she put her work away. "Hi, Leo."

"Hey, Luna. What were you doing?"

"Making a hair clip. I have a knack for making different kinds of jewelry and belts and then Akiza sells them at her temple." She pulled out the partially done clip.

"Wow, it's pretty." Luna put it away as Leo stripped to his swim trunks. He entered the water as Luna glided backwards to deeper water.

She watched her twin demonstrate that he knew how to swim but only as long as he could put his feet on the bottom. "Why can't you move further out?" she asked.

"I…don't want to drown," he answered as if ashamed.

"Oh, I understand. Humans can't breathe underwater."

"Yeah. I'd like to come further out so I could play with my friends and you too, Luna."

"I remember when I was learning to swim with my tail. I was told to kick real hard in order to strengthen the muscles and move faster. So, maybe if you kick your legs harder, you'll be able to stay afloat."

Leo grinned. "Kick harder, huh?" Leo did as suggested as he stroked toward the mermaid who smiled at his approach. "Great, Leo. Maybe I can help you tread in place. Just keep kicking and move your arms across the surface." She demonstrated the motion.

Leo mimicked the motion but felt his legs starting to weaken and though he kept kicking, he felt himself starting to sink. He took a breath as he went under.

"Leo!" Luna exclaimed as she dove under and toward her twin, hand outstretched. She reached for him and grabbed his hand. Suddenly, there was a white flash that made both close their eyes. Luna opened her eyes after the flash, looked at Leo, gasped, and dropped his hand. "Whoa, Leo!"

Leo opened his eyes to see an astonished Luna looking down. He looked down and reflexively gasped. His legs were gone and a blue tail was in their place. "I'm-I'm a merman!" he gasped and his eyes went wide at realizing he was breathing and talking underwater. "How? How did this happen?"

"I don't know," Luna said. "But, please calm down." Leo was breathing fast and hard, his fins twitching in agitation. "We can go see Akiza. She may know how this happened." Taking his hand again, she pulled him along, teaching him to use his tail to swim.

Leo kicked his new tail as Luna pulled him along. He was having trouble accepting what had happened. One moment he was holding his breath and grabbing Luna's hand, and the next moment he was breathing and had a tail instead of legs. He was confused and a little scared. Why did this happen and was he stuck as a merman? He didn't notice any of his surroundings as he was lost in thought. I can't stay like this! My parents would worry as would Tanner and my friends.

The temple came into view and Luna called, "Akiza!" The shaman came out in response to her call and a curious expression came to her face upon seeing Leo before it became a look of understanding as the twins reached her. The understanding look gave Leo comfort and hope that she did know what to do. "Akiza, somehow Leo became a merman," Luna said.

"I can see that." Akiza noticed the distraught look on the boy's face and deduced the reason why. She smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, Leo. It's not permanent. You'll be human again when you reach land."

Leo perked up. "I will?"

"Yes. I did some digging on twins when Luna told me about you and discovered a very old scroll about the legend. It states that if the twins hold hands in the water, both become merpeople and if they're hold hands on land, they'll be human. The one who changed returns to normal when he or she touches land or water."

Luna's eyes went wide. "I could be human?"

"You could."

Leo grinned, his worry gone. He wasn't stuck as a merman. He would only remain one until he touched land. "Well, in that case, how about showing me around?"

"Okay. You do still need swimming lessons, though."

"Hey, I am learning. I've got a tail I need to know how to use."

Luna giggled. "True, but after that, you need practice with legs."

"I could use the pool at the community center for that."

"A pool?"

"It's a rectangular container of water with different depths of water. I can grab the edges and kick my legs so when I tire, I won't sink. Honestly, I should have thought about that earlier."

"That does make sense. Well, come on Leo. Let me show you the village and my home." She took his hand again and led him out of the temple grounds and toward the nearby village.

Leo was in awe at the village. There were merpeople everywhere and they noticed that Leo looked similar to Luna and asked if they were twins. "Not by blood, but yes," he would reply before adding that he lived elsewhere which was obvious as they had never seen him before.

"Wow, everyone was so nice," Leo commented as they surfaced and headed for shore.

"We're a gentle race," Luna admitted. "We can get mad and be mean when threatened, but that's rare."

Leo pulled himself out of the water and the moment his fins left the water, the limb spilt into legs. He got to his feet, glad to be human again. He looked at Luna. "Luna, would you like to visit me next weekend? I'll meet you here in a week."

Luna smiled. "I'd love to. I'd like to be human for a little bit."

"Great. I know Dexter would like to meet you."

"And I'd like to meet him." She dived down as Leo got dressed and headed home. He started thinking of his favorite places he could show Luna as well as a couple of places she might like. He smiled slightly. I've got a date with a mermaid.

Luna giggled and twirled. "Leo asked me to visit him next week!" she said to Akiza that night.

She smiled at the young mermaid. "I envy you a little. You'll see a world very few merpeople will ever see."

"I promise to tell you everything." She paused as questions came to her mind. "Uh, Akiza? Will Leo need to bring me clothes and will any kind of water change me back?"

"Good questions, Luna and the scroll had the answers. Now, when you hold hands, you'll have the female version of the clothes he's wearing. I'm afraid any water will change you back but as long as Leo's with you and neither of you are in water, his hand will change you back to human."

Luna sighed. "I guess swimming lessons are out of the question. But there's bound to be a lot of things we can do."

"I'm sure there is." Akiza wondered what Luna would see experience when she became human for the first time.