Eleven-year-old Ashley Kringle Matthews, a Christmas elf, has been having a hard time since the death of his papa, Georges, who had died in sleigh accident on Christmas Eve and to make it worse his momma, Grace, that died two years ago.
"Dream on Ashley, there's no chance that Mr. C will pick you to ride in the sleigh with him next Christmas Eve when you're just a half breed, only part elf", teased Noel.
"Not true, challenged Ashley. Miss. Enid says that I have just as much of a chance as anybody of getting picked to be the one boy elf along with the one girl elf.
"The rules are clear, you got to be 100% elf to have the Honor. For you're only half elf on your father's side", chided Noel. We don't even know what your mom was, she wasn't even human.
"Your wrong, Noel. "My momma was just as much an elf as you and me, cried Ashley.
"Your mom was only an honorary elf which was a charity case. She was only brought into the elf village because everybody felt sorry for her. Everyone knows the story that she would sprout a tail every time she got wet. Your mom was a mermaid, Noel continued to taunt. Soon you'll probably sprout a tail when you get wet. Merboy Ashley is what we will call you or better, yet we can call you Ashley the merboy-elf. Mer elf Ashley is going to sprout a tail! Chanted the little jerk.
"We know that mermaids don't exist, Ashley defended himself.
"If elves can exit, so can mermaids when you're the son of one. Like mother, like son. Face it, Ashley, you don't even know how to make toys. The ones you did make were defective and they all ended up on the island of misfit toys.
"I'd much rather hangout with the reindeer in the stables than a jerk. Maybe you're just jealous that Mr. C lets me ride on the back of the reindeer anytime I want", Ashley countered.
"Only you've mastered the ability of communicating with animals. "Questioned, Noel.
"Stop it. Please stop it"! cried Ashley.
"You still don't believe me, then go and ask Miss. Enid directly. You know that elves are incapable of lying", challenged Noel.
"OK I will", Ashley accepted the challenge." With tears in his eyes.
Ashley enters the elf classroom where Miss Enid is.
"" Miss Enid, can I have a word with you", asked Ashley.
"Why yes, Ashley", answered Miss Enid.
Are the rumors true about my mother. Was she really a mermaid and not an elf Please tell me the truth", pleaded Ashley. Please say no, please"!
Enid took a breath before answering Ashley's question. Oh, how she dreaded having to answer the little elf boy's question for he was so much like his mother, Grace, The same longish auburn hair and Ocean blues eyes but with the ears of a typical Elf.
"You know that I can't lie. The answer is yes. Your mom was a mermaid.
"Then where did my momma come from then? "Do you know", asked the little elf and possibly Mer-elf boy.
Your mom came from a place off the gold coast of Australia at a place called Mako
"Ashley, you also need to know, continued Miss Enid, you mom is still alive and back in the south pacific. Your mom needed to go back home, or she would've died. She had become very ill, since being from the gold coast, she wasn't able to cope physically from the Finland winters. I know for a fact that leaving you was the hardest thing for her to do. It had been decided that you should go find her at Mako Island since your father died. Vixen can take you there but once you get there you must sent her back in about three days for reindeer can't survive very long in the southern hemisphere since they're used to northern climate. Use your personal elf snow globe so we send out a beacon signal she can follow it back home.
"How did my momma get back home", asked Ashley.
"She was flown on a special flight by sleigh, led by your dad, for she was so weak, answered Miss Enid. try to get some sleep! For you should get an early start in the morning. We'll have everything ready for your journey back home. "Oh, here's a letter from your father explaining everything about your mom", explained Miss Enid. She hands Ashley the envelope.
"Ok," replied the little elf boy.
That night before going to bed. Ashley read his late father's letter. It reads.
Dear Ashley
If you are reading this, it means that I'm no longer around. It has been my pleasure to be your father. I want to let you know that your mother is still alive. She was a mermaid and she had gotten very sick; she no longer could cope with living in the winters of Finland. She was so sick, that I had to use Mr. C's sleigh to get her back to where she came from, off the gold coast of Australia. We landed at an isolated beach and that's where I placed her in the water. She immediately got better. I then gave her own magic snow globe and the sliver locket with the picture of all three of us that I had made for her, just like the one you wear. We said our goodbyes and we left. She went back to the ocean and to mako and I went to the Christmas elf village. We both decided this was for the best.
Now with me gone, you should go to Mako. I'm sure that Vixen can get you there.
I love you so much, my wonderful elf boy. I couldn't care less if you weren't a full-blooded elf but only half. For the other half is your momma, a mermaid. So, if you develop as a merboy, I will still love you.
Love, your poppa.
With tears in his eyes, Ashley refolds the letter and puts it back in its envelope and places it in his satchel. He looks at his snow globe and picks it up, shakes it. Ashley sees a new image in it. It looks like an island with a volcano. He wonders if this could be Mako Island, where his momma came from. He places the snow globe in his satchel.
So, Ashley Kringle Matthews, says his prayers and goes to sleep, dreaming of seeing his momma again and the new life that he's about to embark on. Was it possible that he would become a merboy or a merboy elf, as Noel referred to him, not even knowing how that would work. That was the question, if he was to become a merboy like his mermaid momma, would he lose his elf identity. Why can't he keep both, he asked himself.
The next morning, Miss Enid wakes him.
"Let's get you some breakfast, Ashley", announced Miss Enid. While Ashley is eating, Miss Enid packs his lunch in his satchel.
Before Ashley sets off, all the elves in the village see him off, especially his friend, Becca.
Vixen kneels so Ashley can climb aboard her. Vixen then leaps into the air and the two are off.
As Ashley holds onto Vixen's reins, he knows that he'll miss this the most, flying with Vixen. Looking down, he sees oceans and land masses but mostly ocean. He was amazed at this, for he'd had never seen it, only in books. Ashley sees this as his momma's world that he cannot enter or so it seemed.
"Oh, we just crossed over the equator, so I guess we are now in the southern hemisphere", according to what Vixen told him telepathically.
They kept flying until they came to what looked like Mako Island according to his snow globe. It is nighttime, right before the full moon.
Vixen flies around looking for a clearing to land, when they are directly over the opening of the volcano, Ashley loses his grip, losing his balance and he falls right into it. As he falls. Ashley sees a blue pool of water and it's starting to bubble. Splash!
Ashley turns over to look up at the opening as the full moon passes over the opening of the volcano. He feels nothing but calm, no fear, just calm and contentment as if he's now in his momma's world. He feels like his body is changing, he falls asleep, just floating on water.
The next morning, Ashley wakes on his side as Vixen licks his face. He stands to find that he is completely dry but feeling dirty. So, he walks over to the shore to wade knee deep in the water and ten seconds later. 1 2 3 the the and finally 10.
Then everything in his body tingled as his legs merged to form a mer tail like his momma. He sees that his tail is a bright red and bright green with thin streaks of silver, like tinsel, kind of like his everyday elf outfit. He ventures out a little farther to discover how his new appendage works.
Ashley, the elf merboy dives under the water to swim like his momma. For some reason, he knows where to go. This leads him to an underwater cave that leads to the very same pool that he fell into last night. The water is much calmer now and peaceful.
Emma, Rikki, and Cleo have just swum with their daughters from the gold coast to spend the day at Mako Island after a harrowing night of a full moon.
There's Emma's daughters, Elisha and Ellie. Rikki's daughter, Melody, and Cleo's daughter, Harmony. As the seven of them enter the underwater cave and into the moon pool, they find a merboy that they had never seen before. Immediately they notice his red and green tail with silver streaks in it. They see his auburn hair and blue eyes, not to mention his red and white stocking hat he's wearing.
"What is your name, sweetie", asked Emma.
"My name is Ashley Kringle Matthews", the boy answered. As he looked at the three mermaids and four mergirls. He sees their tails are orange and white.
My name is Emma Dove, and these are my eleven-year-old daughters, Elisha and Ellie.
My name is Rikki Bennet, and this is my daughter, twelve-year-old, Melody.
And my name is Cleo MacCartney, and this is my nine-year-old daughter, Harmony.
"Why does he have a red, green, and silver tail", asked Harmony. When the "very few merboys that we know have blue and white tails.
"Do you happen to know of my mermaid mother, her name is Grace Matthews", asked Ashley.
Emma, Rikki, and Cleo look shocked at this merboy's mention of their old friend, Grace Matthews. For Grace was the fourth girl that had entered into the moon pool on that fateful night of a full moon when they were all sixteen years old.
"Do you mean that Grace Matthews is your mother", asked Rikki.
"It's amazing that you look so much like her", commented Cleo.
"Let's take this outside", suggested Rikki.
"Good idea, agrees Ashley, but I have a little problem. I don't have any idea how to get my legs back. Just before last night, I was just an elf boy".
"What do you mean by elf boy", asked Emma.
"I might as well show you. Ashley takes off his hat to show his elf ears. I had powers as an elf long before".
"Wow wouldn't my husband Lewis love to see you", explained Cleo.
"Now, let's get you back to normal. It's quite easy to do. We use our hands to heat up our tails to dry them. It just takes practice", continued Rikki.
Soon all eight of them are back to leg form.
As they leave the cave, Melody hears a jingling. "What's that sound".
"Ah! That would be Vixen. She's the one that brought me here from the north", explained Ashley. He makes a whistling that brings out the reindeer. Vixen is quite gentle. Go ahead, pet her", offered Ashley.
"Do you have a place to stay, Ashley", asked Emma.
"I was hoping to find my mother, I guess I could stay at the island", suggested the elf merboy.
"I can't allow that for you are Grace's son. You will be staying with me until we find your mom", Emma suggested. Let's all swim off to the coast where can meet our husbands at Rikki's café.
First Ashley retrieves his satchel, opens it to pull out his snow globe that he shows to the mermaids and the four mergirls. Just then, Mika, the brown winter mouse jumps out to climb on Ashley's shoulder.
"Ick cried, Harmony, a mouse.
"This is Mika, my smart aleck talking mouse", explained Ashley.
"Hey dudes", greeted Mika. How's it shaking"?
So, the eight of them jump back into the water to swim to the mainland. Ashley the merboy elf kept thinking that even though he hadn't found his momma yet, being around her old friends wouldn't be quite so bad. Wondering if his elf boy Christmas magic would merge with his developing merboy magic.