New chapter! this one's really long and I worked hard on it. If you have any suggestions for the next chapter, feel free to PM me anytime! Enjox :)

Should I tell her.. I didn't know. But somewhere I felt I had to. I took a deep breath. I was going to tell Lily my deepest secret. 'Lily, If I told you a secret, the biggest secret you'll ever hear. Could you keep it?' Lily gave a a weird look but then smiled. 'Of course! You're my best friend.' Again a deep breath. 'I know this is going to sound crazy but, could you please close all your curtains?' Lily closed her curtains.

'Okay, this is going to sound even crazier. Throw water at me. Just a few drops is enough.' Lily looked at me then walked away and came back with a glass full of water. 'Is this okay?' I nodded. 'Just.. do it.'

She splashed me. I was wet now. I wanted my tail. I wanted to show her. But Rita.. No, I wanted to do this. Okay there we go. I felt my tail forming and my hair fell out of my ponytail. I lost my balance and fell on the ground with a thud.

I did it. Lily didn't say a word. I slowly looked up. Lily stood there, eyes full of disbelief. She blinked a few times and kept staring at me. 'Y-you..' She stammered. I was so scared of what she might say.

After a minute or so I decided to say something. 'Listen Lily, I've wanted to tell you for so long. I know this is hard for you to believe but what you're seeing here is me. The real me, how I was born. With a tail. In the ocean.' She probably was mad at me for not telling her.

'I don't know what to say. Why didn't you tell me before. You know I'll never tell anyone.' She was mad at me, and I deserved it. I should've told her before. 'I know but try to see it from my side. There are other mermaids, a whole other world out there. I have to protect that world.'

Then it seemed like she finally realized what she actually saw. 'You're a mermaid. A real mermaid. My best friend is a mermaid. But.. how?' 'Uhm.. genetics?' She looked at me. 'Can I, uhm, touch it?' It? Oh right my tail. 'Uh yes.. Of course.' When she touched my tail she shivered and took her hand back. 'It feels just like.. Like a fish.' 'I know..' I wasn't lying there comfortable. 'You know, there is more than just the tail.' I grinned and started to steam dry myself. Lily's mouth opened wide and she shook her head. 'This.. This isn't possible. Wha..' I was dry and my legs appeared. She was blown away. 'How.. how?'

'Let's just take a seat, I'll explain everything.' And I did. I told Lily everything. About pods, Mako, my story, dolphins, magic.. She was amazed. 'What is the coolest thing you can do?' Her eyes full of exitement. 'Hold my hand.. Yes, like that. Is there anywhere you always wanted to go? Be specific.' Lily smiled. 'I always wanted to visit Hawaii..' I looked at her. 'Where exactly on Hawaii?' 'Honolulu' she said. Honolulu, okay, that was where we were going. 'Prepare yourself, this might feel a little weird the first time.'

I focused on Honolulu and a single second later we were on the beach. I immediately checked Lily. She was incredible happy. She looked at me and gave me the best hug I've ever had. 'Thank you thank you thank you! Look how beautiful this is.. Wait.. Did we just teleport here? That's.. Incredible.' I replied happily. 'Yes, we did. Teleportation is a mermaid power, but not all mermaids control it anymore. In fact, I'm one of the only ones who can do this.' 'But.. how many mermaids are there?' She was so honestly interested. She just wanted to learn about my world. 'Thousands, even more. There are mermaids everywhere. I think, if you swim a few hundred meters off shore, there'll be mermaids.' Lily was so happy. She took this all so well. 'Can we swim here? There's nobody else on the beach.' I nodded. 'Of course! You want to swim?' I dove in the water and let my tail form. It felt good to be in the sea again. The water was a little saltier than at Mako, but it was so warm and nice.

Lily looked at my tail and then she smiled at me. 'It's so beautiful. You look so beautiful.' Then she dove in too and hugged me.

There was a small spark. For a little second. We both moved our heads closer and for one second I thought it was going to happen.

But then I heard voices. Lily looked at the beach and there were people there. 'Ava swim away! Now!' I immediately dove under. I saw how Lily swam closer to the shore and then stepped out of the water. I stayed under the surface until

I saw two feet entering the water. Those weren't Lily's. Next to the feet another pair splashing and running. I heard voices, Lily was screaming. She made gestures with her hand but I couldn't see them. I swam further away. The other person swam closer, until he was right above me. I cloaked and slowly swam to Lily. I tapped on her shoulder and wrote: I'm Ava on her back, with my finger. She nodded and then told the man 'see? I told you it was just a fish or something!' The man looked grumpy and yelled 'it wasn't. It was a person. You and I both know that. This isn't over.' He sounded dangerous. Then he swam back to the shore and walked away.

I made myself visible. 'That was way too close. Hold my hand, I'm going to show you somewhere else. Somewhere really special to me.' Lily didn't just hold my hand, she put her arms around my waist and her head on my shoulder. She closed her eyes. It felt so good. I focused on Mako and the next second we were there. Lily opened her eyes and looked at the island. She lifted her head. 'Ava.. Is this Mako? It's magical.' I nodded. 'There is a place you'll like even more. Just hold me really strong, I'm going to speed swim.' With Lily, I could do it.

I swam to the Moon Pool and we surfaced. Lily removed her hands from my waist and looked up. She was speechless. 'Ava.. This is so beautiful.. I can't believe you're showing me all this. What is this place called? 'The Moon Pool.' I replied. 'On a full moon, you can see the moon from here. Something magical happens then.' She looked around and then we saw something or someone coming in.

I grabbed Lily and cloaked, in case it was a diver. But it wasn't. It was Rita. She probably had no idea we were here. I knew she would not be happy to see me together with Lily. Not only did I not follow her advice by telling Lily, I also took her to the biggest secret mermaids have. I wanted wait until Rita swam out, but Lily moved. Rita couldn't see us but she could she the spot of moving water.

She coughed. 'Is anyone there? Ava?' I didn't say anything.

But Lily did. 'Ava and Lily.' I uncloaked. Rita looked at Lily and then at me. Disappointment in every part of her face. She swam out. 'Rita wait..' I tried, but she was already at speed. 'I'm sorry..' Lily said. 'It's okay, I just have to get her. Wait here okay? I'll be back before you know it.' It wasn't okay. I speeded up and saw Rita. She was at the reef, swimming sadly. I swam down to her and she lifted her head. Her eyes were full of anger. For the first time, Rita was mad. She swam up to the surface and I followed her. 'You promised you wouldn't tell her, and now she's here?' Rita's voice was different. 'I'm so sorry and I can explain. I-It just ha..' Rita stopped me. 'No. Now get her back home. She didn't do anything wrong. Please do not come to me tonight.' With that, she swam away, in the direction of her house.

I was so disappointed in myself. I swam back to Lily. 'What's wrong?' She asked. 'Not-Nothing. I just have to get you home.' Lily looked me in the eyes. 'I can tell you're lying. Now tell we the real story.' I sighed. 'That mermaid was Rita, a really good friend. I tell her everything, I come to her every night to talk. She helps me with everything and teaches me a lot.' Lily looked sad. 'And..' Her eyes, so deep and pure.

'A few days ago I told her I wanted to tell you, but she didn't want that because it'll blow our cover. And I just didn't follow her advice about something really serious. Not just me telling you, it's this place. She's mad at me for taking you here. This place is really special to us. To all mermaids.' Lily looked sad, her lip slowly curling up and her eyes became watery. 'I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have asked. I never meant for this to happen.' She blamed herself. Why, I was the one who did everything wrong. I made a mistake and it'll stay a mistake, but I didn't regret it. I finally told Lily everything, she finally knew about about me and she was just honestly interested. A weight lifted of my shoulders. I just felt so bad about Rita. Lily took my hands and placed them around her neck. 'You're still there?' She asked softly. 'Yeah, yes. I was just thinking. I.. I'll just take you back home.' She understood. I focused and we were in the Netherlands. My tail was replaced by legs. Lily was still wet, so I told her this might tickle a little and then steam dried her. She giggled and then thanked me. 'I have to go now, I have some things to sort out. I'll see you tomorrow at school, you can ask me anything after. Bye..' She nodded. She put her hands around my waist, her head on my shoulder. She breathed slowly. 'Bye Ava.. I love you.' Then she got out of the hug and I teleported back to Mako.

I didn't go to the grotto, I just wanted a swim to clear up my mind and relax a little. As I swam over the reef, I saw how much I missed this extreme comfort. When I surfaced, I saw the sun began to set and the moon was rising at the other side. Isabelle would always call this moment: interim, which means something like between time.

Isabelle, I missed her so much. She always saw the good in the bad, when it was raining, she saw the rainbows. I just wished I knew where she was. Why she never came back, why she let me here alone. She would never do that on purpose. She cared as much about me as I cared about her. I sighed.

I dove under again and heard dolphins clicking in the distance. They said something about mermaids. Mermaids?! The pod! I immediately speeded to the dolphins and asked one about the mermaids. They only saw one she said. I didn't care, I wanted to see that mermaid. The dolphin said she was out on the reef but didn't respond when they said hello. I greeted the dolphins and searched for that mermaid.

After a while, I saw a golden tail swimming away. I was so happy I could felt my heart beat in my throat. I swam a little closer and saw blonde hair moving on the rythm of the waves. Finally, after all these years, I could see the pod again. This mermaid would just tell me where they where and I could see all my friends and maybe even Isabelle again..

that's it for this chapter! Another cliffhanger, but the next chapter will be surprising! I hope you enjoyed!

Mimi :)