Rita ran over and embraced the little girl. Ava clung onto Rita and buried her head into her shoulder. Nixie, Serena, and Lyla crowded around the girl attempting to comfort her. They guided her over to the ledge and sat her down. "Sweetie what's going on?" Rita asked. Ava paused for a moment, how could she know that she could trust them? She saw the moon ring on Rita's and Serena's fingers it was the same as the one her mother had. She knew then that she could tell them and told them everything.
Rita took Ava upstairs into the main part of the house and fixed her some food. The girls headed down the café where Serena was meeting David to sing. Ava was so hungry she stuffed the food into her face and ate every last thing off her plate. Rita smiled at her, "when was the last time you ate?"
"It's been a few days I think."
Rita sat down next to her at the table. "Honey, I'm afraid that I have some bad news." Ava looked up at her with her bright blue eyes, fearing what Rita would say next. "I'm not sure that your mother will be coming back. A number of things could have happened to her, but it's really unusual that a mermaid would come back after a week. She would have been able to get almost anywhere and back by now."
Ava nodded, she already knew this much. "She left me to join another pod didn't she?"
"What makes you think that?"
"She always blamed me for the fact that she lost her family. Told me I wasn't worth all of the loss and that she would be able to join a new pod if she didn't have me." Rita just nodded, this was a possibility that she had considered and Ava just about confirmed it.
Rita pulled the girl onto her lap and Ava put her arms around Rita's neck and rested her head on her shoulders. "Honey you can stay here, for the time being until we find a place for you okay?" Ava nodded.