Mimmi entered the moon pool before her mother, looking around to see if they were alone. They were, most of the pod would be finding lunch at this hour, so they had the moon pool to themselves.

Mimmi swam to the side and turned so she could see her mother. Nerissa surfaced, shaking the salt water out of her eyes. She swam to the opposite side of the pool and settled. She looked around the room with awe.

"I haven't seen the Mako moon pool in years. I forgotten how big it was" she said. Nerissa turned to look at her daughter. "Do you know that the Northern pod has their very own moon pool?" she gestured around. "It isn't as grand as this one, but it is beautiful. It's located in a cave off the shore of Canada. You should see it when the full moon is in the sky. The entire cavern lights up. It's simply breathtaking." She stopped and looked at her daughter, who was crossing her arms.

"But that's not why I stopped you" the older mermaid finished.

Mimmi sighed. "then why did you stop me? What did you want to talk about?"

Nerissa gave a sad smile. "My darling girl. I haven't seen you in 13 years. I know nothing about you. We are total strangers. I wanted to get to know my daughter."

Mimmi cocked her head in confusion. "wait, I thought you wanted to try and convince me to go back to Canada with you. I thought that was the reason why you are here."

Nerissa drifted over to her daughter's side. "Not at all" she said, settling down. "I mean, I would love it if your brother and you came back with me, but I didn't even take into consideration that you have a life here. We can discuss that later though. Tell me about yourself."

Shrugging, the brunette answered, "what do you want to know?"

Nerissa gave her a genuine smile. "Anything, everything. I want to know your likes and your dislikes. Your favorite food and your greatest fear. Tell me about your best friend. I believe her name was Ondina."

Mimmi nodded. "yup, that's her. Let's see. I am really into learning. I want to absorb everything I can. I was top of the class in mermaid school and I still want to learn more. I want to learn about land. I even went to land school for a day. See Rita, the mermaid who we live with, is in charge there. She is kind of like Veridia. Everyone listens to her. I find everything about land school so interesting. I…" she stopped when she saw her mother grinning. "what?"

Nerissa shook her head giggling. "It's nothing. It's just that you reminded me of myself when I was your age."

This made Mimmi's face light up. "Well, I do have your DNA."

Nerissa put her hand on Mimmi's shoulder. "That you do. Now what else?"

"Well, to answer your questions, my favorite food is fruit. I wish they grew underwater. I mean, once you've tried pineapple, there is no going back. My greatest fear is heights. Do you know that land people have this metal tube that flies in the sky like a bird? They get inside and they can fly anywhere in the world. It is a lot faster than swimming, but there is no way that I would get into one of those death traps. It's just not natural to fly."

that lay closer to water. I was never one to climb up high. So, being on land so long seems to get boring after a while. What do you do for fun?"

Mimmi was starting to relax. She realized that Nerissa was not up to something. She was genuinely interested in her daughter's life.

"Well, we hang out at a café a lot and we just sit, eat and talk. It's a great place to talk and have a great time. To fit in on land, I got a job. I work at an aquarium." She stopped when she saw her mother's confused look.

"It's a place where land people come to learn about the ocean and marine life. They have animals there and they can preform shows. Don't worry though. They are completely humane. The dolphins love to show off their skills and the land people love to watch them. It's a win-win for everyone. I sell souvenirs there, so I am in no danger of getting splashed. As I told Ondina, there is really no risk. Well. Most of the time."

Nerissa was nodding contently. She loved to see her daughter so happy and passionate about what she was doing.

"I don't know why, but I have the feeling that there is someone there who makes the job more enjoyable. I mean, playing with dolphins are fun, but judging by the blush that is creeping up on your cheeks, there is someone special.

Placing her head in her hands, Mimmi giggled. "How did you know?" she asked, her voice muffled by her hands.

Nerissa's laugh was light like summer air. "Because I felt that exact same way once," she said dreamily.

Mimmi stopped giggling instantly. "With- with my father?" she asked timidly.

Nerissa paused. "That is another story child," she said quietly. The moon pool went into an awkward silence. Nerissa broke it by asking "so who is this lovely boy or girl who has stolen your heart?"

Mimmi blushed. "His name is Chris and before you ask, no he does not know my true identity. We got off on the wrong fin- I mean foot, but once I helped him get a job as a dolphin trainer, we kind of fell for each other. He then had to leave for 3 months to become a dolphin trainer, but he is back and we are doing well." She paused. "Does it bother you that I am dating a land boy?"

The older mermaid shook her head. "I've never been one to disapprove with love. I believe love is love an no one has the right to forbid it. Just be careful though."

Mimmi nodded. "He is really wonderful. Oh mother, you would just love him. He loves the sea almost as much as we do. And he is so smart," Mimmi said, sighing dreamily.

Her daydreams were interrupted by Zac's voice in her head.

"Hello? Mimmi, are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here. What's going on?" She answered.

"Where are you? I'm on the west side of the reef. I can feel your presence in the water. It's more of a remnant, but I can tell you were scared here. What happened? Are you okay?"

Mimmi rolled her eyes. Typical older brother. Always worrying about her. "I'm in the moon pool with Nerissa. She scared on the reef by accident. She wanted to get to know me better. Everything is okay."

Mimmi could feel Zac's hesitation. It was like he choosing his next words carefully.

"What?" she asked when he didn't answer right away.

"Nothing. It's just, didn't you want to stay away from Nerissa? Why are you talking with her? Weren't you concerned that she would try to convince you to go back to the Northern pod?"

"I might have been wrong. She hasn't even mentioned going back up north. Why don't you swim over here and talk with her too? It might help us understand some things."

"What is Zac up to?" Nerissa asked, cutting through Mimmi and Zac's conversation. Mimmi jumped back, startled.

She turned to face her mother in surprise. "Wait. You know about mind speak?"

Nerissa grinned deviously. "There is a trait that is very rarely in our family. It mostly has been apparent in the years before the Great War, but the stories still lived on. Most of the family believe it is an old sea tale, but I knew from the moment that you two were born, you inherited the trait. Whenever one cried, the other did. You did everything together. Your bond was so strong that it hurt to break you two up. I knew though, that with the mind speak, you will once again find each other. So, what did your brother say?"

Mimmi blinked in surprise. "He…" she stopped as a searing pain shot through her temples. She winced. Zac was trying to get her attention.

"Mimmi?" Her mother asked nervously seeing her daughter in pain. Mimmi held up a finger.

"What?!" Mimmi mind shouted to her brother.

"Finally. I was trying to get your attention for a while now."

"Sorry, I was talking to Mother. What is your answer? Are you coming to join us?"

"I'll be there in a few seconds. Keep your scales on."

And with that, Mimmi felt her brother disappear from her mind. She turned to her mother. "Zac will be here soon."

Soon was the next second as a figure with a blue tail entered the moon pool. Zac emerged and shook the salt water out of his eyes. He eyed Nerissa and settled next to his sister, who playfully splashed him with water.

Nerissa smiled brightly. "hello son."

Zac nodded in acknowledgement. Mimmi elbowed him in the ribs. "Hello? Birth mother. Be polite"

"What have you been talking about?" Zac questioned.

"Nerissa just wanted to learn more about me. I told her about my job, my likes and dislikes. I've told her about Chris and our situation. Stuff like that."

"Do you have someone special Zac?" Nerissa questioned.

Zac seemed to open up pretty quickly, despite being hesitant at first. He told her about Evie, about his upbringing and his journey with discovering who he was. Nerissa filled in some gaps and answered some of their questions. She told them that Zac was exactly 7 and ½ minutes older than Mimmi, but Mimmi was the first one to swim and talk. They also found out that they had a grandmother who was still alive named Mira. She was the only one who attended the twins birth and the only one who knew about Zac. She would have kept Mimmi and raised her, but she soon fell sick after the twins were born. It was Mira who casted the spell to conceal Zac's fins until his 18th birthday. This left Mira very weak and so Mira was too frail to care for an energetic mermaid like Mimmi. It was also wise to keep Mimmi close to Zac and Nerissa had already decided to have Rob and Lauren Blakely raise her son.

There was one thing that Nerissa wouldn't reveal though. The identity of Zac and Mimmi's biological father.

Hello there.

Sorry for being so infrequent. I'm out of school for summer and I have been travelling. I just got back from New York for the first time and I loved it. So much history and culture! I'm home now and I can catch up on some reading, Netflix and writing.

So, I never intended to make Nerissa a bad guy. She just thought that her children would come home with her, but will they go with her?

Also, what do you think their biological father will be like? You might meet him in future chapters. *devious smile*

Thanks for reading!

~Moonlight Mermaids