Not long after he returned to his world, Garret was attending school. He tried his best to stay focused in his classes, but he couldn't stop thinking about what he had seen, the mermaid specter still fresh in his mind, so much so that he couldn't help but get distracted during class.

Soon school was let out, and Garret was over at the school library trying to study, but he still had the mermaid in his thoughts. He then stopped letting out a quiet but annoyed sigh.

"It's no use! I can't get it out of my head!" he thought. "That mermaid... I can't stop wondering who or what she is."

He then remembered what the mysterious specter had said to him before.

"You will know soon enough in time."

"Just what did she mean when she said that? And considering that she told me before I got sent back, does that mean that she knows about the mirror and this world too?"

Then, Ms. Gensar came walking past, carrying a small stack of books.

"Good afternoon, Garret," she greeted. "Studying as hard as ever, I see."

Garret looked up, snapping out of his thoughts. "Oh, h-hello, Ms. Gensar," he greeted back.

Ms. Gensar could see that Garret was a bit distracted. "Something the matter?" she wondered. "I assumed that you were studying, but you appear to be focused on something else."

"Oh, don't worry. Nothing's wrong or anything," replied Garret. "I was just thinking about something, that's all." He then noticed the stack of books. "Hey, do you need any help with those books? I can help you if you want."

"Why, yes. I would appreciate it," smiled Ms. Gensar.

The two then spent a bit of time putting the books back in their proper places on their shelves. Usually, whenever Garret had the time, he would help Ms. Gensar whenever she needed it while waiting for his parents to pick him up. Of course, there wasn't any compensation for helping her or anything, but Garret didn't mind. He was happy to be of some help.

It wasn't too long before the two finished.

"Thank you very much for helping me out, Garret," said Ms. Gesnar. "As always, you're a big help."

"You're welcome," replied Garret. "It's not a big deal or anything, but I'm happy I could be of assistance. I needed a break anyway."

"So, what seems to be on your mind?" asked Ms. Gesnar. "You don't usually get so distracted while studying."

"I guess you can say that something happened recently," Garret spoke, choosing his words. "I saw something that I think shouldn't exist, or I think it shouldn't exist."

"Is that so? Do tell me more," said Ms. Gesnar with interest.

"Well, you ever hear those stories about people seeing ghosts? I may have encountered one. It was something that I saw in a dream once," said Garret. "And you usually would think that it would be the spooky kind of ghost, and I'll admit it scared me, but... this one was different."

"How so?" wondered Ms. Gensar.

"This one seemed... kind and had this vibe of being serene rather than malevolent," Garret continued as he recalled. "Like it was more like a friendly spirit than a ghost. But I'm trying to figure out if what I've seen was real or something of my imagination. Either that or I'm going crazy."

Ms. Gensar smiled. "Garret, my boy, you are not crazy," she said as she placed a book on the shelf. "Well, technically, you are, but not in the way you're thinking. If anything, we're all a little crazy in our little way." She then went over to him. "If you're so curious about what you've seen, why don't you try and find out if it was real or not?"

"Easier said than done," said Garret. "I wouldn't even know where to begin."

"Well, I don't know what you saw, but we humans are naturally born with compasses in our minds that we call curiosity," said Ms. Gensar. "Once it peaks, you can't help wanting to satisfy it. But if you keep following that compass, trust your gut, and are ready to face the unknown, I'm sure that you'll be able to find the answers you're looking for."

Then, Garret's phone began to vibrate in his pocket. He took it out, and on its screen display, he saw a message from his mom that read: "I'm here."

"That's my mom. I gotta go," he said. "Thanks for the words, Ms. Gensar."

"You're welcome and good luck," said Ms. Gesnar.

Garret then packed up his things and exited the library while giving one last wave.

Not long after he got home, Garret spoke to his father, explaining what had happened.

Naturally, Tom couldn't help but be shocked. "No way! You saw a ghost mermaid?!" he couldn't help but exclaim. "And to think that I was only kidding around when I mentioned it before."

"I know, so I had to ask you, Dad," said Garret. "Are you sure you have no idea who or what I saw?"

Tom thoughtfully hummed as he took some seconds to think. Then he shook his head. "No. I have no idea," he said while tapping his chin. "But it does make me wonder. Based on what I've seen on TV and other media, ghosts usually show themselves whenever they have lingering regret or unfinished business. So if what you saw was a ghost, I wonder what hers is?"

"I just want to know who she is," said Garret. "And unfortunately, I still have no clue to go on."

"Why don't you ask someone around in Atlantica when you return?" asked Tom. "You can ask Ariel or anyone else if they know anything."

"That's what I originally was thinking, but I'm not sure if they'll believe me or not," said Garret. "I mean, even though the people of Atlantica are a bunch of merpeople with a king who wields a trident that blasts beams of death, even they're going to have a hard time believing me."

"You never know, son," said Tom. "After all, to quote a saying from a certain muppet show, "Asking questions is a good way to find things out." And considering that it's a place where people with fins and talking sea creatures love, a ghost doesn't sound too far-fetched. I'm sure that you'll find some kind of clue."

Garret went silent.

Then, they heard Charlotte calling from the kitchen.

"Boys! Dinner's ready!"

"Coming, darling!" Tom called back. He also quietly spoke to Garret. "For now, why don't you enjoy your time here for a bit until you're refreshed and ready?"

He then left, heading for the kitchen.

Garret stood there thinking for a moment, and then he followed suit after his father.

In the world of Atlantica, just outside the city, a single merman rode on top of his seahorse.

He appeared old, having short gray hair and a bushy mustache which showed his age, was a bit on the skinny side, and had a mertail colored blue.

The seahorse was chestnut brown with a light brown mane, was as large as a horse, and was just as fast as it whinnied with pride.

It zipped along the currents along the ocean floor until it came to a cave-like foundation close to a cliff. Outside the entrance of it stood three more seahorses.

The first was old, gray, pretty skinny, with a white mane. The second was just as big as the brown one but was colored bright silver with a white underbelly and white mop of hair. The third was in a unique gradient color of chestnut red with light brown patches all over its body and its hair matching in color.

"Good morning, all," the merman greeted. "How are y'all doing today?"

The three seahorses all whinnied in a friendly greeting.

Then came a whinny coming from inside the cave. Unlike the others, this whinny was loud and seemed to be a bit angry.

The merman sighed as he swam into the cave. Inside was another seahorse.

It was a bit larger than the other seahorses, a brilliant shade of purple with an indigo underbelly and mane, and had blue eyes in a scowl that glowed in rage. The creature was also strapped to a stalagmite to it wouldn't swim away.

Any average merman or sea creature would be intimidated, but not the old merman.

"And a good morning to you, too," he said to the seahorse. "Still sporting that same look in your eye as always."

The seahorse huffed and let out another mighty whinny as it struggled to get free from the rock.

The merman shook his head. "Now, settle down," he said firmly. "You know you ain't getting free. I know that you got a wild spirit and want to go around and do what you want, but you can't."

The purple seahorse snorted as he continued to pull at his rock, refusing to listen.

However, the merman paid no mind as he started feeding him along with the horses.

"It is a darn shame, really," the merman spoke to himself. "Unlike the other seahorses I've trained, that seahorse refuses to listen to anyone, let alone ride him. He'll go wild and go so fast and out of control that he'll almost injure them if anyone even attempts to. But, on the other hand, I have to admire his spirit."

He then glanced over at the purple seahorse.

"I still don't understand why I can't just let him go. Wishful thinking that I'll be able to tame? Or maybe it's because I'm hoping that he'll eventually see reason and let someone love him? I don't know. I suppose all I can do is keep trying to train the critter and hope that he'll settle down one day. But when that day comes, I don't know."

Garret was now in his room listening to music while lying in bed and staring up at the ceiling. It was around evening time, and he was settling down, counting the minutes before going to bed.

He was still thinking about the ghostly mermaid he had seen and trying to figure out who she was. He thought about where he had seen the mermaid before, aside from his dream and encounter. He even thought about any other merpeople with red hair besides Ariel, but he couldn't think of any.

"Man, this is bugging me so much. I know that Dad said to wait until I go back to Atlantica, but I can't help but keep wondering," he ruminated. "Is she someone who passed away in that world and is now a wandering spirit, as Dad said? If that's the case, why was she in my dream before?" He groaned in slight frustration. "This doesn't make any sense at all!"

Then, he sat up, took a deep breath, and then let it out.

"OK, Garret, you need to calm down. Getting like this is only going to make you even crazier."

Garret then glanced over at his desk, where he did his homework and studied. Aside from books and a couple of other objects here and there, there was also a computer. He mainly used it to look up some things for school and, on some occasions, watch Youtube or play some games. He then got an idea.

"Maybe I can find something online that can give me an idea. At least, it's better than sitting around wondering."

He then went over to his desk, sat on the chair, and started searching on the browser. On the search bar, he typed; "ghost mermaids" first. The results showed various fanart of ghost-like mermaids. Some were cartoony and cute, while others were pretty ominous and haunting.

"Well, that didn't help much," Garret thought. "Maybe it'd help if I typed up something more specific?"

Garret then went back to the search bar and typed "Water Mythical Creatures." The results showed different websites with articles describing the many other mythical creatures that lived in the water. Finally, after glancing over a couple of the links, he clicked on one that read: "Incredible Sea Creatures from Mythology."

After a few seconds, his computer showed an article about particular mythical creatures and where they came from. He skimmed over paragraphs about finfolk, sirens, and even some about mermaids, but he didn't see anything that matched what he had seen.

Then, his eyes fell upon a paragraph that read the following:

Nereid

Nereid is the collective daughter of Nereus and Oceanid Doris in Greek Mythology. Dubbed the old man and the sea, Nereus is the father of 50 nereid female nymphs. These beautiful, gentle nymphs symbolize everything good and wonderful about the ocean.

"Interesting. That does sound like what I saw before," Garret hummed thoughtfully. "And I think that Oceanids comes from Greek mythology, so that could be it. After all, King Triton is based on a real Greek god, so I shouldn't be surprised."

He then scrolled down to check for more possible guesses until he stopped on another paragraph.

Ashrays

Scottish mythology tells us that Ashrays, or Water Lovers, are entirely translucent water creatures often mistaken for sea ghosts. They can be both male and female and can be found only underwater. Being completely nocturnal, one would never encounter such creatures during the day. When captured and exposed to sunlight, ashrays supposedly melt, and only a puddle of water remains.

"Hold on a minute! This info sounds even more like what I've seen!" realized Garret. "She did look like a ghost, but, then again, it says they're often mistaken for one, but still... Considering both of these paragraphs, I wonder if that ghost mermaid is a mix of the two?"

Then, there was a knock on the door as Garret heard Charlotte's voice.

"Garret, I just wanted to say good night, kiddo! Make sure you get to bed on time!"

"OK, Mom!" Garret replied. "Night!"

He then bookmarked the website and closed the browser while turning his computer off. Then, he went to his bed, got under the covers, and made himself comfortable. But he couldn't sleep.

"Man, I guess Ms. Gesnar wasn't kidding about humans being curious creatures because I'm feeling all sorts of curious. Well, this much I know, I'm going to find out who that mermaid was, and hopefully, she's not some kind of siren or evil creature. And starting tomorrow, I'm going to ace that test and then start my little investigation."