As Lewis walked Emma home through the quiet streets, the moon casting its soft glow over their path, he couldn't ignore the sadness in her eyes. He offered words of comfort, acknowledging the weight of the sacrifice she had made for the sake of Mako Island.
"Emma, what you did was selfless. Mako owes its magic to you," Lewis said, his voice carrying a gentle reassurance.
Emma managed a small smile, appreciating his support. "I know, Lewis. It just feels strange, you know? Like a part of me is missing."
As Lewis struggled to find the right words Emma took her keys out of her pocket and opened her front door. "Don't worry, I'll be okay," she managed to say but it was obvious to Lewis that she was holding back tears.
"Right...then...we'll see you tomorrow?" Lewis stuttered. Emma just nodded, knowing that she would likely start to cry if she tried to talk right now.
That night, as Emma drifted into sleep, she found herself having a dream that felt stragely realistic.
"You have given willingly, and for that, you shall be rewarded." a voice whispered.
When Emma woke up the next day she could remember that sentence so clearly, like it wasn't even a dream. She decided to keep it to herself when she went to meet her friends, thinking it was just some reaction she had to all the stress and to what happened the day before.
When she arrived at the café, Cleo, Rikki and Lewis were already there, having a chat and enjoying some drinks. Cleo and Rikki shared the joy of their restored powers, their connection to Mako seemed stronger than ever. "We saw a pod of dolphins this morning at Mako!" Cleo told Lewis with bright eyes. "It was amazing, we -" Cleo stopped. When they saw Emma walking towards them, they immediately tried to change the subject, not wanting to cause Emma more pain about loosing her powers.
"Wow, that smoothie is very...smooth today," Cleo started to say, struggling to find something non-mermaid related to talk about.
"Yeah, totally...uhm...I've never seen a smoothie that...smooth. Must be a new recipe," Rikki joined in.
"Guys, you don't have to do this. I know what you were just talking about. And it's okay. You know we can always talk about anything!" Emma interrupted.
"Are you...sure?" Cleo asked hesitantly. "We don't want to..."
"I'm sure," Emma responded. "What's done is done. I can't be sad about it for the rest of my life. Now tell me more about those dolphins you saw!" Cleo and Rikki smiled and started telling Emma all about their morning swim.
Later that day, Emma met up with Sarah, their shared history as swim team companions creating a special bond, much like the one she shared with Rikki and Cleo . Emma and Sarah decided to go out into the ocean, enjoying their first swim together in years.
The next night, Emma found herself once again having the strange dream.
"For your sacrifice, a reward awaits - a return of what was taken," the voice murmured.
Emma woke up with a sense of anticipation. She knew it was time to tell the others about it. The following day, she met up with Cleo, Rikki, and Lewis on their secluded beach that they always used to get dry after going for a swim. When Emma arrived her friends were playing around with their powers, clearly happy about everything being like it used to be.
Emma, still thinking about the mysterious dream, decided to share the whispers that had reached her in the night.
"Guys, I had this dream again," Emma began, "The voice said something about rewarding me for the sacrifice."
Cleo, Rikki, and Lewis listened intently.
"It talked about giving back what was taken," Emma continued, "I don't really understand what that's supposed to mean. The book said giving up my powers would be permanent."
Rikki chimed in, "Well, there's only one way to find out. Let's see if your powers are back."
Encouraged by her friends, Emma waded into the water, the sea lapping gently at her ankles. The familiar sensation of mermaid magic didn't appear, and a flicker of disappointment crossed Emma's face. Cleo, Rikki, and Lewis, however, offered reassuring smiles.
"Try using your powers," Lewis suggested, his voice filled with encouragement.
Emma nodded, taking a deep breath. She closed her eyes, focusing on the dream and the mysterious promise within. As she reached out with her hand, tiny flowers began to bloom around her.
"Wow! That's amazing, Emma!" Cleo exclaimed, her voice filled with awe.
When Emma opened her eyes she could not believe what she just did.
Rikki added, "I've never seen anything like it. It's like you've gained a whole new set of powers."
Emma was speechless. She never thought anything like this would happen. For the first time since the full moon she felt truly alive again.
In the days that followed, Emma embraced her human life with a renewed sense of vitality. Joining a competitive swimming club with Sarah brought a new rhythm to her days.
Yet, her connection with Mako was far from broken. It gave her new powers as a reward for her actions - control over nature.
As Emma continued her human life, being a successful competitive swimmer, the bond with Cleo and Rikki remained unbroken. They still met up by the shore, sharing laughter and stories.
One sunny afternoon, they gathered by the beach, the ocean breeze blowing softly onto their faces. Cleo was amazed by Emma's new abilities, the flowers creating a rainbow of colours on a patch of grass nearby.
"I never thought I'd see something like this," Cleo admitted, her eyes filled with wonder.
The friends spent the day basking in the sunlight, embracing their powers. Emma, Cleo, and Rikki knew that the magic they carried within them would remain no matter what.
Well, that's it for now. This is the final chapter of this story. I really hope you enjoyed reading and I'm sorry I didn't get to put in more characters but I just wanted to keep it simple as I'm still learning and don't have a lot of writing experience, especially in English. But I really enjoyed creating this as my personal explanation of what happened to the moon pool after it got destroyed in the final episode.
Again feel free to leave me a review and let me know what I can improve for future stories. See you next time :)