The light was dim, but Angie found she could still see oddly well. As she looked up to see why the incoming light was so blue, she saw in the distance ripples, almost as though she was under...
"Oh my god!!" Angie gurgled, realizing how far she was from the surface. Frantically, she thrashed around but found herself moving at weird angles instead of up. Just as she despaired of reaching air--
"Now then, dear, you won't get anywhere like that," an oddly ethereal but familiar voice rang in her ears. Angie gaped at the godmother, who was floating next to her. "Now, just move your tail in a forward-backward manner, that should do it."
Angie's mouth hung open as the godmother swam slowly past her to reveal under her skirt a delicate tail, almost like that of an ornamental fish, with iridescent scales, reminiscent of her fairy wings, which now fluttered like fins as well. It was only after the godmother went past her that Angie realized she hadn't drowned...yet.
"How...what is going on? Where am I?" Angie warbled out, her voice distorted by the water.
"Ah, speech underwater requires a bit of practice, think of it as singing at the pitch that works best for you," the godmother smiled kindly. "As for where we are, it is the realm of the merpeople, of course."
"Mer--" Angie adjusted the tone of her voice a bit. "Merpeople? Merpeople exist? And how am I breathing underwater?"
"Why, with your gills, of course, sweetie," the godmother replied, pointing to her own neck.
Angie reached up and felt the slits on her neck, as well as the water moving through them. It was only then she looked down, and realized that instead of her pajama bottoms, sticking out from under her t-shirt was the tail of a fish--no, a mermaid? Also, her hands had webbing between the fingers.
"What is going on? Why did you bring me here?" Angie asked, stunned. "Is this some kind of hallucination?"
"Oh, my, no child, it is magic," the godmother giggled. "You have the rare privilege of spending the weekend in a place few humans ever see, and enjoying it from the perspective of a local. Now, shall we proceed?"
Angie couldn't believe she was going along with this. She wasn't sure if she was actually swimming along with a fish tail or if she had truly gone bonkers. However, she followed the godmother's instructions and moved her tail in an orderly fashion, propelling herself to follow the godmother towards a reef in the distance. She was still somewhat confounded, but a part of her wanted to relax and enjoy the experience, even if it was just a dream. After all, here there was no ex, no snarky kids, just the swish of the water. That is, until the two happened across...