Chapter 133

Katya fidgeted nervously, alternating between ringing her hands and tapping her foot. She was so excited yet anxious about this important meeting. She had moored her boat to one of the docks on the public side of Mako Island and was now waiting for Anna. Katya glanced at her watch. It had only been a minute – why did time feel like it was taking forever to pass? She adjusted her laptop bag strap.

Out of the corner of her eye, Katya saw a flash of auburn through the trees. She turned to look and saw Anna emerge from the bush path.

"Katya," Anna greeted, coming closer, "Thanks for coming,"

"Thanks for the opportunity," Katya replied, trying to sound more confident. Katya took a steadying breath; this was just Anna – they had talked on the phone. Katya's nerves were exacerbated by her desire to get this right – she wanted to say the right thing.

"Katya, we are glad you are here," Anna smiled gently, giving Katya's arm a light squeeze. "Don't worry – we're not going to bite,"

"Thanks for the reassurance." Katya chuckled nervously. Katya was unsure how to feel about Anna seeing straight through her.

"Let's get going, shall we?" Anna started walking from the beach to the bush, "Follow me,"

To Katya's surprise, Anna engaged her in small talk as they walked – asking 'how are you?' and sharing a bit more about her work as an architect. By the time they neared their destination Katya was feeling a lot calmer. Note to self – thank Anna for this later.

"Everyone is home today," Anna said. "I hope it isn't too overwhelming – we are a bit of a tribe,"

"Will everyone be there for the discussion?" Katya asked.

"We do like making sure everyone hears the information and is on the same page for decision making, so there will be a decent number. Some of the guys have volunteered to keep the kids occupied so we won't have to worry about that. They were keen to let us mers lead the discussion,"

"I think I'll be a bit overwhelmed regardless," Katya laughed. She hesitated. "So 'the guys' aren't mers?"

"My husband, Ben, is, but the other men are all humans – they've just known about the secret for a long time. It's very helpful to have parents here that don't accidentally turn into mers when it rains or when kids are having a bath," Anna chuckled.

"Your lives are fascinating." Katya replied, eyes wide. "I can't wait for this discussion,"

Anna laughed again.

It was a decent walk to the private side of the island, and to the hidden village. It was amazing how easily you could miss the entry way – especially if you didn't know what you were looking for.

"Here we are," Anna announced.

Katya remained silent as she followed Anna in.

A few children were running around playing tag by some houses on the left, ignorant of the arrival. A few older children were climbing trees to the right. The older children stopped climbing and stared at Katya as she walked. Katya's heart thumped loudly in her chest when she recognised one of them as Jenny.

Anna slowed and pointed towards one of the houses. Leading the way, she opened the door.

"Welcome to my humble abode," Anna gestured. "Come in,"

Katya half-expected a room full of people staring at her, but she was relieved to just see one man sitting on the couch. He stood up as they came in.

"Katya, this is my husband Ben,"

"Pleased to meet you, Katya," Ben greeted, shaking her hand. "Would you like a cuppa? Tea, herbal tea, coffee, hot chocolate?"

"Oh, a herbal tea please – any kind is fine," Katya replied. Why was she so surprised at how normal this was?

"Make yourself comfortable," Anna said, "I'll go and round up the others,"

Katya sat on the couch and took off her laptop bag, placing it on the ground against the coffee table. She took in her surroundings. She was in a lounge – a very typical looking lounge. A three-seater couch, a few bean bags in the corner, a small television, a coffee table with a sea-shell pattern rug beneath it. Ben was making the tea over at a kitchenette at the far end of the room with a kettle, fridge, microwave and small oven. Interesting that it wasn't a full kitchen. Maybe the mers had a communal space? She was sure she would find out.

"Here's your tea," Ben placed in on a coaster on the coffee table.

"Thank you, Ben. This is a lovely home. How did you get it built over here on Mako?"

"We built it all the buildings here ourselves – Anna drew up the floor plans and I'm a builder by trade so it worked out well. Everyone helped so it was a team effort. We finished all these buildings this year – they looked a lot different before," Ben grinned.

"Wow, well done – they look great,"

The front door opened and Anna entered – with a group of adults behind her in the doorway.

"I know this will probably be overwhelming, but here are the introductions," Anna began as the adults started filtering into the room, taking seats on the couch, the bean bags and the floor. "You've met Rikki and Cleo. Ash and Zane who you've met are looking after the kids. This is Emma, Bella, Lewis, Will, Jessie and Alan. Jessie and Alan don't live here on Mako, but this meeting involves them too. Don't worry if you can't remember all the names,"

"Hi everyone," Katya acknowledged. "Thanks for having me,"

"Okay, onto business," Anna led. "As I told you on the phone, we've all agreed to give you a chance – at least to explain your proposal. So, the floor is yours,"

Katya took a breath to steady herself against the expectant faces starting at her.

"Thanks Anna," she began. "Thanks for giving me this opportunity – especially after the way we met. I'm so sorry for the role I played. I want to preface this by stating that I don't have any alterior motives – if you don't consent, that's where it ends. You won't have to worry about me going crazy – just having the personal knowledge that mermaids exist is enough for me,"

"We appreciate that Katya," Anna replied. "What is your proposal?" she encouraged.

"I have drafted a research paper about mermaids based on the findings I made when still working with Ryan. My proposal is that we publish the article and research findings about the existence of mermaids on your terms – completely anonymous if you wish. I was thinking about how I could help, especially after what I helped Ryan do - if mermaids have already been proven, there should be less obsession about proving the existence of mermaids at any cost. Yes, people would have increased awareness of mermaids which could lead to more people looking for them, but if we normalise it, then there is a possibility that you won't have to fear being found out in the same way. Of course, the outcome would all depend on how we reveal the information, and whether we can seek protective laws against hunting mermaids – there would be lots of things to think about, but that is why I think publishing the article on your terms could help in the long term. This draft paper cannot legally be used due to the fact that the evidence was gained while I was still working with Ryan – so we would need a new set of research to publish. I have brought the draft so that you can see the kind of things we might publish."

Katya paused and examined the effect her words had had on those in the room. There was a mixture of unease and interest on their faces.

"What would finalising the research look like?" Bella asked.

"For the research to be believed, we would need evidence that could be presented on request, for example, scales, photographs, videos. We can blur faces or just take them without including heads in the shots or getting you to wear hair dye in addition to the shots not including faces from the front. We would figure that out, but we would need more than just what is written. In the article itself, it can include when/how mermaids were discovered, the evidence, anonymised information about who took part in the research if relevant, details about what mermaids can do, etcetera. You would decide what would go in and fact check the information I have written,"

"What would happen once it is written?" Rikki asked.

"It would be peer-reviewed by another researcher- likely a few other marine biologists with research credentials, and published in a research journal. While this is occuring, we can approach the Department of Conservation and discuss protections against hunting mermaids - we would need to show them the article and evidence. Ideally then this protection would be put in place at the same time as the research is published. I fully expect there to be a media circus after publication due to the revelation that the mythical exists, but it shouldn't stick around forever. If you consent, I would like to get another researcher on board as well, because if it is more than one person publishing something, it is more likely to be believed. It can be challenging though finding someone willing to research the mythical," Jessie and Alan shared a look. "Anyway, what happens completely depends on what you consent to and how we go about doing it, if we do," Katya finished.

"Can we see what you've already written?" Emma asked.

"Absolutely," Katya affirmed. Digging into her laptop bag she pulled out a few printed drafts and handed them around.

Katya waited as the group started flicking through the draft article pages.

The article included her findings about the mermaid genome, the cell evidence, cell structure changes, and how mers live normal lives as humans do.
It was hard to read the expressions of the people in the room with her.

"Okay, I think we've heard enough to make a decision," Cleo began. "Would you mind leaving us for a few minutes?"

"Oh yeah, no problem," Katya stood up quickly. Anna got up to and left with Katya. Katya appreciated the care to do so.

'I'm for it,' Anna communicated over mindspeak to Cleo as she opened the door and stepped outside.

As soon as the door closed Katya heard the murmur of voices speaking up.

"Let's head to the dining hall," Anna said with a smile. "This way,"

OoOoO

Some time later, Anna was contacted by Cleo via mindspeak to let her know that the decision was made. Katya noticed that Anna had paused mid sentence. They had been chatting about the fish on the reef around Mako.

"Is everything okay?" Katya asked.

"Oh, yes – sorry! They're ready for us to return," Anna replied.

"How do you know?" Katya asked quizzically.

"Oh! Mermaids can communicate with our minds to each other – it really helps for chatting while swimming," Anna grinned.

"Amazing," Katya said, eyes wide.

"Let's head back,"

OoOoO

The discussion at Anna's house had been lively – as all of the mer conversations usually are.

The pros and cons had been discussed again, and participation in research had been discussed, as well as possible outcomes. Ultimately, everyone agreed that they were interested in what could happen, and everyone agreed that Katya seemed to be telling the truth about her motivations and interests. Everyone also agreed that the fact that they had agreed to talk to Katya about this at all suggested that they were interested to do this if the situation was right. And what could be more right than a researcher willing to let them call all the shots?

Anna and Katya returned.

Katya wrung her hands in anticipation. She wasn't nervous anymore – an excitement at the potential had taken over.

"We've discussed in depth," Cleo began, "and we have all agreed that we would like to give this a try. Let's do it!"


A/N: Hey everyone! I hope you have enjoyed this chapter :) Please let me know your thoughts! I love to hear what you think about the plot haha

Thanks so much to the following people for reviewing - I really appreciate it and love reading your comments: Icy-Petals, Eleanoodle, Sammiloveschoc, YaleAceBella12, CrazyHayniac, and Guest.

In reply to Icy-petals - yes the character profile will be a bit out of date haha. I am planning a full rewrite/update of the Fishy Tale first story - with better grammar and overall consistency haha - the plots would mostly stay the same. It will take a while as I'd like to finish it before publishing it.

See you all next time!