Ava felt like she had been swimming for a very long time. She was getting tired but she didn't want to stop. She hadn't thought out her plan much more than this. She hoped maybe she could find a new pod, but mermaids were so careful and so fast, she doubted that she would be able to find one. Even if she did, she wasn't sure she would be accepted by one. Her mother always told her that she would never belong because she was half a land person.
She decided to try and find land, maybe she could find a place to fit in there. After all, land people didn't know about mermaids. She kept swimming, heading in the direction she thought she could find land. Rita had taught her some tricks to finding her way, she used what Rita had taught her to find her way to the land.
By the time she made it to land the sun had come up. Ava crawled onto the beach, unsure of where she had swam too. She pulled herself up out of the water's reach and waited for her tail to dry. She had never stayed up all night before and she felt exhausted. Feeling safer in the sunlight, she fell asleep on the sandy beach. She hadn't intended to fall asleep on the beach, she just couldn't stay awake any longer.
When she woke up there was a man standing above her. She knew that she hadn't been asleep for more than a few hours, but she couldn't be sure. The man smiled at her when he saw that she was awake. Ava was frightened, her first thought was that the man knew her secret. He knew that she had run away or he knew that she was a mermaid. The man extended his hand down towards her. Slowly and tentatively Ava took his hand and allowed him to help her up.
"Hey there kiddo." The man said to her, "How long have you been out here?" Ava looked at him too frightened to answer. "You look hungry would you like something to eat?" the man looked kind and she was hungry, she slowly nodded her head, and relaxed a little as she decided to trust him. He smiled at her showing his white teeth; Ava thought he had a nice smile.
She followed him to a nearby restaurant that over looked the sea. It looked a lot like the café back near Rita. Except it was a lot more family friendly and slightly bigger than the one they had. Ava ordered some crabs to eat, they were her favorite, the man ordered clams. He was even nice enough to let her have one. She was really starting to relax and trust the man. "Where are we?" Ava finally asked, something she had been wondering since she landed on the beach.
"Australia" the man replied, "Sydney."
"How far are we from Mako?"
"About a three days drive."
Ava nodded satisfied with the distance she was able to travel. She finished her meal making small talk with the man she learned was named Alex. Alex had been looking for sharks teeth on the beach when he found her. He told her that she reminded him of his own daughter and wanted to help her. His daughter didn't live with him and he missed her a lot. Ava had never had a father and fantasized that Alex was her father. Little did she know this was exactly what Alex wanted her to think. He had a skill for being able to pick out venerable children.
When they finished eating the pair took a walk down the board walk. Ava was enjoying the time she was spending with Alex. When he reached down to hold her hand she lit up, once again feeling like she may have found family. People told Alex how adorable his daughter was and Ava loved the attention she was receiving. She confided in Alex that she had run away and didn't have any family. That's when Alex invited her to come with him.
"You can sleep in my daughter's room. She won't mind, it'll almost be like you two are sisters." Ava liked this idea and readily agreed. She was so desperate for attention and love she didn't have to think twice about going with Alex. But when he hugged her she felt him reach down and touch her. It made her feel uncomfortable but she didn't know if it was normal. When Ava didn't pull away Alex caressed her a little more and Ava finally pulled away from him.
Alex held her and she couldn't get away from him. "Let go of me!" Ava cried. She was struggling against him, but the more she struggles the more he hurt her. "Please let me go!" She begged. Alex smiled, but this time it scared her. He began pulling her through the crowd, Ava was pulling trying to get away from him, crying out for help from people around her.
"It's okay," Alex would tell people, "My daughter is having a tantrum."
When nobody would help her she finally stopped crying out and allowed herself to be dragged behind Alex. She would just wait for a chance to use her powers and escape. "Rita I'm sorry" She cried, "I want to go home…"