Karen stood in a ball room of some beach front hotel, it was a nice hotel, and the service was great but none of that mattered. Her only daughter, Taylor along with most of her friends and her boyfriend Sam were missing at sea and had been missing for almost 2 weeks now. She wanted to scream at the other family members of the missing whom had gathered. Rose’s Father and stepmother where possibly the only people acting with any sign of sadness, Rose’s father seamed to be taking it harder then her step-mother but sadness was clearly visible on her face. Stacy’s and Mike’s parents had not come down to Florida to await any news on their children instead they where awaiting news at home, she could respect that. The flight down here knowing her only child was missing was heart ranching and almost broke her.
Kenny and Kelly’s parents all four of them where out raising money and threatening to sue people, they seamed to consider the lost of their kids to be a path to getting rich. Kenny’s parents had already hired a lawyer and was preparing to sue someone and Kelly’s parents where talking about joining them in the suit. They had approached her to see if she wanted to join them but only got a death glare.
Still it was Amanda’s parents and Sam’s parents who she really wanted to slap.
Amanda’s parents where going on about this is God’s punishment for their children living in sin and their innocent daughter died because of the sins of her friends. While that was bad enough Sam’s parents who where the parents of her own daughter’s boyfriend was talking more about forming a foundation to honor their son and how it could help them politically.
“With a storm coming in, we have no choice but to call off the search.” Said the coast guard officer as Karen put her head into her hands and began to cry. She didn’t listen to the rest instead she walked out of the room and headed toward the beach.
It was actually a very beautiful night, the surf was up and the waves where crashing against the sand but beside that it was nice and cool. It was too cool to go swimming so the beach was mostly empty aside from a few couples on a walk. None of that mattered right now, she walked to a more secluded place on the beach. The place she ended up was in front of a hotel which was closed for renovations, so she was alone as she sat down in the sand and began to cry over the lost of her daughter and her friends. Rose was like a second daughter to her, Sam while from a stuck-up family was kind and saw that he loved her daughter and she loved him. Nate was a good man as well and she was impressed by his kindness even if he came from horrible situation. The rest of her daughter’s college friends she did not know as well.
“Are you alright Karen?” said a voice as Karen looked up, standing beside her was basically her third daughter, Angelia. Taylor, Rose and Angelia where all best friends in high school and they where almost inseparable. They were separated when Angelia decided to attend a different college but they where still great friends and she would have been on the yacht with Rose, Taylor and the others if it wasn’t for her school ending late. Angelia had rich dark skin, thanks to her Jamaican father and her Spanish mother, with her black hair pulled back in a tight bun.
“I have been better.” Said Karen as the older woman pulled her knees to her chest like she was a little kid instead of an adult woman but she missed her daughter so much. “I…I just can’t believe they are gone. First my husband and now Taylor and Rose.”
“It’s alright.” Said Angelia as she sat down beside the women she saw basically the Aunt she never had.
“Ya…too bad they are gone.” Said a new voice as both women looked up to see a woman about of age with Angelia and therefor Rose and Taylor. She looked like she had been crying and had black eyeliner running down her face. Her hair was in a short pixie cut and died a mix of black and silver. She was skinny very skinny with a tight top showing modest size breasts and a long black cargo pants. The shirt jumped out to her at first, it read. “Your God doesn’t have a say over my Body.” She seemed like a goth and as far as she knew none of her daughter’s friends where goth. The one thing which stood out was the large black and silver dragon tattoo on her forearm which then had a rainbow of colors, the pride flag colors coming off the wings and going down her arm before coming to a point on her ring finger.
“Ah…who are you?” inquired Angelia as the women let out a sigh and then held up a bottle of whisky.
“I am a drunk lesbian who just lost their girlfriend who hadn’t even worked up the nerve to come out of the closet to her bigoted parents.” Said the girl before sitting down as well. “You can call me Kat….want a drink?”
“Amanda…Amanda was your girlfriend?” inquired Angelia as the drunk women, Kat gave a sad smile.
“Yes…what is that old saying opposite’s attract?” inquired Kat with sadness in her voice. “Choir girl who was secretly a lesbian going out with a goth lesbian who protests when religious people go to far. Fuck…I will miss her.”
“Well…” started Karen as suddenly a giant wave shot out of the water like a bullet and then did the impossible. It wrapped around the three of them and pulled all three of them into the water with impossible force. When it stopped, they found themselves in a bubble of air on the seabed.
“Sorry about that.” Said a voice as the three of them soaked now with sea water looked up to see a mermaid with black and red tail sitting on a rock. Around them in the water just on the other side of the wall of water separating their pocket of hair from the sea around them where six merpeople dressed in strange armor. “My name is Crown Princess Amara, I believe you all know my missing brother Cain better known as Nate to you.”
“Wait…what?” inquired Karen as the older women got up first and brushed off the sand from her shirt. She prided herself in staying fit even doing a full marathon as she approached 50 but that still hurt.
“Well maybe this will help explain.” Said this mermaid as she pulled out a small disk as a holographic image of her daughter appeared, her hair was brighter, but it was still her daughter.
“Taylor.” Said Karen as she took the disk which began to play a message. As she listened, she had trouble believing what she was hearing. A magical island, a magical world, turning into a mermaid but not by choice but no way to come back her and how Nate’s parents where the King and Queen of a Kingdom in this world. She was so wrapped up in her own video message she didn’t notice that both Angelia and Kat where watching their own videos, Angelia had a message from Rose and Kat from Amanda.
“So your choices are to leave the surface world behind and everyone you know on the surface or you become a mermaid and rejoin your loved one in our world.” Offered Amara as all three of them began to consider the offer before them.