Kendra’s parents ignored her as they walked off. Bursting into tears, she ran to the back of Lisa’s yard and jumped the fence.
“You know where she’s headed, April.” Lisa said. “Go there, I’ll try to talk to Kendra’s parents.”
“Right.” April said as she ran after Kendra. “I just pray that you have better luck with them than my parents.” She said to herself.
It was late afternoon when Kendra found herself at a small beach. No one ever came to it much anymore, and the sound of the waves seemed to calm her down. Still she had a lot on her mind, and so she walked near the shore, just barely out of the reach of the waves, and sat down.
Kendra sat for almost ten minutes absorbed in the ocean’s sound. “How could they do this to me?” Kendra finally said aloud to herself. “Eighteen years they raised me, said they loved me, and they reject me just like that? Did I scare them? Do they think I’m a monster?”
“You are no monster and never let anyone tell you different.”
“April?”
April sat down beside Kendra. “You are a beautiful human being and an even more beautiful mermaid.”
“Tell that to my parents.” Kendra said dejectedly.
“Lisa’s trying to do so as we speak.” Kendra still looked depressed. April continued. “Look, I know what you’re going through. The same thing happened to me when my parents discovered I was a lesbian mermaid. Despite Lisa’s attempts to explain what we are, they still disowned me. I’ve been living with Lisa ever since; but just because I was disowned, it doesn’t mean you will be; and if they do, it’s their own loss for rejecting such a wonderful person.”
Kendra cracked a smile for the first time since she arrived. “Thanks, April.” She said.