As Jeff pondered over what to do next, he saw that the girl was no longer breathing. His heart began to race as he tried frantically to revive her. But then his ears picked up a distinctive sound. She was taking short breaths. And then he saw that there were gills on her neck.
Shocked, he let her go. He watched as the girl began to undergo changes, the same as his: her face flattened, scales covered her body, her hands were now claws, and her legs merged together into a tail. Once the pain of her transformation wore off, the mermaid swam around the pool before latching onto Jeff. In the language of the mer-people, which was not spoken but communicated through movement and gestures, she asked him from where he had come. Jeff replied that he was her neighbor, and asked if her parents knew. The mermaid simply gestured upwards as Jeff heard voices.
"Honestly, I never thought that trip would take so long. You said you didn't need a map!!"
"I don't need a map!! We've driven this way hundreds of times before!!"
"Well, I suppose it doesn't matter. All I want is to get rid of this sweaty, disgusting human body."
"I know, sweetheart. We only need to keep these bodies for a little while longer, until I can find the rest of the colony."
"Daddy, I'm gonna cannonball!!"
"Go ahead, sport. Let's jump in!!"
And with that, the rest of his neighbors jumped into the pool, all completely naked. To Jeff's shock, they also underwent the same changes, and suddenly there were two merman and another mermaid swimming around, taking in the joys of being underwater before they suddenly noticed him. The older merman growled and charged Jeff, trying to rip out his throat with his sharp teeth before the younger mermaid intervened. She told her father that Jeff was lost, like them.
The older merman approached Jeff as the rest of his family gathered behind him. He asked Jeff if he knew where the colony was, and Jeff replied he didn't even know there were others like him. The merman told him that the mer-people were establishing a home for themselves somewhere, and that he and his family had been searching for them for years without success. That's why they left on vacation, Jeff realized.
Jeff asked the family if he could join them, because he needed a new home. The merman replied that he was welcome to, but first he needed to know if Jeff could, as he called in, "Rejoin". Jeff learned that when the mer-people needed to leave the safety of the water for land or if they were in danger of being discovered by others, they could temporarily transform themselves into humans, although the process was quite painful and the mer-people resented having to lose what made them unique, even for only a day or two. When Jeff followed the family out of the pool and felt his tail splitting back into a pair of legs, he knew instantly what they meant. He felt angry that he had to leave the water, the only place he truly felt safe, for the danger and wickedness of the surface world.
The neighbors gave him some clothes to wear and gave him the guest room to use. That night, as Jeff slept in a bed, the only thing he could think of was where the rest of his people were hiding and how he could find them.