Thirteen years later
Ashley Paige sits at his desk and checks his braille watch for the umpteenth time. "Thirty-three minutes to go then school is out for the summer", thought Ashley to himself. It's not like he hated school when he enjoyed it, but it's been a long year. It is still hard to believe that today is my last day of eighth grade middle school and next year I will be a high school freshman. This whole year, Ashley had worked his tail off, he has managed to earn almost straight A's, whereas he made the honor roll and even made the dean's list.
Ashley feels the moonstone bracelet on his left wrist that he wears as a reminder of where he comes from and the son-ring on the pointer finger of his right hand. The base of the ring is silver with a white opal stone. He has been told that it gives off a bright green glow, green meaning a new life, a new creation. This ring was given to him when he accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior.
Ashley continues to live with his adoptive Mer-parents, Isaiah and Sierra while my adoptive sister, Esther, lives with her Mer husband, Luke. Esther is in the middle of her eighth month of pregnancy. We live on Calvary Island in a remodeled lighthouse.
This doesn't mean that I don't think of my birth mom or my sisters for I think about them all the time. From a note left with me from my birth mom, her name was Marina, and she was already a mother to two mermaid daughters, a ten-year-old named Aquata and a seven-year-old named Sarina. I still have Marina's moon ring too.
Ashley feels a kick from behind him and he knows it's his BFF, Emily Taylor, Emily is a land girl and is the only person he trusted with his merboy secret. Emily is one inch taller at 5 ft. and he's at 4'11" and she's busting my butt about it but it's always a good-natured ribbing. Ashley may be small for his age but he's also feisty Back in the third grade, he thought about trying figure skating, thinking that his feet would never touch the water but within ten seconds of the toe picks on his skates hitting the ice, his legs buckled, and he was flat on his belly in all his merboy glory. Note to self, ice is still water frozen over. Ashley knew that he had been lucky that only Emily and her dad were there to see it.
Finally, the final bell sounds, Ashley unfolds his white cane with the red tip and reaches to grab the handle of his seeing eye guide dog, Frisbee and Emily grabs her two hand crutches that she used to help her walk.
Emily lives with her parents, and they know all about the merfolk pod on Calvery Island. We go to the same church on the mainland. They have a beach house that's private and it's where my seeing eye guide dog is kept and Scarlett my seeing eye guide dolphin that guides me back and forth from the island. The private beach is where all the Mer people come on land to go into town.
Two weeks later
Ashley awakens on the morning of his fourteenth birthday. This is always the day when he thinks about his mermaid birth mom and his mermaid sisters. Is Marina still alive? What about his older sisters, Aquata and Sarina? What are their likes and dislikes? Ashley comes to the realization that he knows next to nothing about his birth mom and sisters. He pulls out Marina's moon ring, he puts it on the pointer finger of his left hand. It still amazes him that it still fits. Ashley knows that it's supposed to go on his right hand but that is already occupied by his son- ring. Good no magic. He's fine with that. Like the rest of the merfolk on Calvary Island, we try to avoid magic like the plague. The only exceptions are bending water to avoid getting wet or cloaking ourselves to dry up when we get accidentally splashed to get our legs back. The main reason I wear Marina's ring is to feel close to my birth mom. Suddenly the moon- ring begins to heat up. Now that's weird. That's the first time that's happened. Ashley attempts to remove the ring, but it won't come off. He tries to twist it off, but it refuses to budge, and it still feels hot. He wonders if it is glowing blue. Since I'm blind, I can't see it. I'll go find mom; she'll know what to do.
Ashley rushes to find his mom.
"Hey mom"!
"Hello sweetie, what's up"? greeting Sierra.
"Well, you know I usually wear Marina's moon ring on my birthday",
"Why yes, you always do. It reminds you of your birth mom and sisters".
"Usually, I don't feel anything but it's heating up and it refuses to come off". He thrusts it out to show Sierra. "Even my Sun ring is heating up and it won't come off".
"Oh my, exclaimed Sierra. The moon ring is glowing its bright blue and your son ring is simultaneously glowing its bright green at the same time.
Suddenly, Sierra notices that Ashley's son-ring changes its color to bright blue and Marina's moon ring starts glowing bright green.
"What's happening, Mom", asks Ashley. "Both rings are going whacky on me".
"Well, the only thing that I think of is that's a full moon", offered Sierra.
"Ah Mom, sighed Ashley, you know the full moon has never affected me since I'm blind".
"Maybe we need to wait this out. Your dad may have an idea of what's going on with your rings. Now why don't you get some rest in the son pool so I can finish preparing your birthday dinner. It's your favorite—shrimp scampi. Esther and Luke will be coming over at five and they'll be bringing your niece, Tabitha. Not to mention Emily and her parents".
"OK, mom", agreed Ashley.
Ashley walks down into the son pool room and enters it. As usual, his tail is back and immediately feeling the sun-colored water swirling around him as he lays back to just float with eyes closed. As he listens to the sweet voice of Jaci Valasquez, singing "On My Knees", he falls asleep and dreams. In this dream, he can see it, usually he is just as blind in his dreams as he is when awake. What he sees is an image of an island but it's not Calvary Island. He wonders if it's the island of his birth-Mako Island. He also saw the image of two girls with golden hair and ocean blue eyes like his. He knows these are his sisters, Aquata and Sarina. Ashley does a quick calculation and realizes that Aquata would be 24 and Sarina would be 21. Ashley is awaking when his friend Emily comes into the room to fetch him for his party.
Looks like the guest of honor has arrived, greeted Sierra and they greeted happy birthday Ashley in unison.
Throughout dinner, Ashley kept picking at his dinner, for he couldn't get the image of the island and his sisters out of his head. Even after he opened his main birthday gift that he wanted, the state-of-the-art electronic keyboard. All he could do was flee from the room, leaving a stunned family and friends.
"Let me handle this. I'm his best friend, he'll talk to me", explained Emily.
Emily enters the room where Ashley escaped to. "Hey Ash, you know that you can tell me anything, what's wrong," Emily said throwing her arms around him. You realize both of us go way back even before kindergarten. Heck we've been friends since we met in Sunday school. Ashley remembers that we learned all about Noah's Ark and the great flood.
"Oh Emily, ever since I put on my birth mom's moon ring on my left hand, both rings have been going nuts. In fact, when I first put on the moon ring, I felt a kind of a surge of energy from my son-ring go up my right arm, across my shoulders and down my left arm and to my moon ring. Then I have a vision of the island of my birth and my sisters and we're together"' explained Ashley.
"You mean Aquata and Sarina", asks Emily.
"I saw them, and you know I never see vision in my dreams. They look exactly like me, added Ashley. Now the moon ring and my son-ring have switched colors. All this causes me to wonder about who I am and my place in this world.
"Ash, I think you should talk this over your parents and Esther and Luke, Emily suggested. Maybe we should all call it a night. This could just be an adolescent thing, we're not children anymore but teenagers about to start high school.
Emily guides Ashley back to the dining room. "Well, I think that we should be getting back. Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Paige, Esther, and Luke for inviting us to Ashley's birthday. I think the four of you have things to talk about. And, Ashley, let me know what you decide to do.
Goodbye Emily, love you and thanks for coming, Mr. and Mrs. Taylor.
After Emily and her parents leave, Ashley is the first to speak. "Mom., dad, Esther and Luke, Ashley begins, ever since I put on Marina's moon ring this morning on my left hand now it won't come off, like it refuses to budge and now it's switched colors with my son-ring. That has never happened before.
"We already know that", Ashley, said Isaiah. The only thing that I can think of is your moon ring was changed by your son-ring.
"There's more dad, answered Ashley, this afternoon while I was relaxing in the son pool and listening to my music, I fell asleep dreamed, and I was able to see in this dream and you know that I'm as blind in my dreams as when I'm awake".
"Continue, Ashley", Sierra said.
"I dreamed that I was seeing the image of the island of my birth-Mako, and I was also seeing my sisters and myself together again and they look just like me. I think that I must go the gold coast for I have to find who I am and my place in this world and finding out God's plan for me. I can make it for Scarlet can guide me.
"Absolutely not, Sierra said sternly. You have only just turned fourteen. Scarlet is your seeing eye dolphin. It would be one thing if you were sighted but you're not. You're blind! The gold coast is so far away.
"I agree with mom, agreed Esther just as sternly. Going alone is just too dangerous".
"You're the ones that always say to trust God", countered Ashley.
Isaiah let it sink in as he thought about it, he let out a breath and continued, Ashley may be right, but he is NOT doing this alone, for your mom will be coming with you.
"I can't believe that you're on his side, Isaiah, yelled Sierra.
"All I'm saying is if Ashley feels this strongly about doing this. Explained Isaiah. I always knew this day would come but I didn't expect it so soon. We have always taught Ashley to trust in the Lord. The only way that I will allow this is that your mom will accompany you.
"Then I'm coming too," demanded Esther. For mom and I have the same connection to Mako as you".
"No, answered Ashley, you have Tabitha to care for".
"I'm still coming with you and mom, Ashley, countered Esther. Besides I think that Luke is very capable of taking care of Tabitha
"Fine then," says a tired Ashley. I'm going to bed now. I'll be packing first".
"We will see", Sierra responded.
After Ashley leaves the room,
"When did he become so darn stubborn"? asked Sierra? Where's the sweet little merboy that used to cling to me?"
"Or the annoying little Mer brother that used to swim with me"? asked Esther.
"Well, we did teach him to always think for himself and to trust in God", Isaiah said.
Once in his room, Ashley grabs his backpack and packs a flashlight, a Swiss army knife, his braille bible, his I-phone and charger, and earbuds, and includes the things that Marina left with him when he was still an infant, a few changes of clothes and a dress shirt and dress pants for church. Finally, he packs the photo of Emily and himself in a photobooth last summer acting like a couple of goofballs.
Then he goes to bed.
The next morning
Ashley awakens and he checks his braille watch. It's 9:30 a.m. He goes into the kitchen to find his mom and dad and Esther talking over coffee.
"Just to let you know, I will do this, and I will not be talked out of this", announced Ashley.
"We get it, Ashley, Sierra and Esther agree. But we won't be heading for the gold coast till this afternoon".
"Perfect, Ashley agrees, it gives me time to swim over to Emily to say good-bye".
Ashley walks to the lagoon and into the ocean where Scarlet joins him to guide him to Emily's house. Once again on dry land, Ashley dries himself and he's back to land legs. Immediately he sees Emily and her mom and dad come over to him.
"So, Ashley, you've decided to do this, make it to the gold coast to find your sisters", asks Mr. Taylor.
"Yes Mr. Taylor, I have, explained Ashley, my parents, Esther, and Luke talked about this till after 11:00 p.m.. This is something that I must do and besides my mom and Esther will be coming with me to keep me out of trouble.
"So, lets you off in prayer, replies, Mr. Taylor.
"Oh, Heavenly Father, we pray that you send this boy, Ashley, as he goes into the world. We ask that you keep him safe in your arms. We ask in the name of your son, Jesus. Amen.
Emily goes to embrace her friend Ashley. "Just stay safe, Ashley".
"Don't worry, I'll be in God's hands. Goodbye and I'll be back. Just pray for me", requests Ashley.
"Oh, we will, agrees Emily. We all will".
Ashley heads back to the water's edge and back to Calvary Island.
Once back at Calvary Island, Ashley is greeted by his dad, Isaiah. Well, everything is ready. The only thing that's to do is to gather in prayer. The four of them Isaiah, Sierra, Esther, and Luke lay hands on Ashley in prayer that all-mighty God will guide and protect him on his quest for truth and discovery.