Julie sighed as she and Miley surfaced where her family was. Julie's parents and younger brother Patrick were standing there.
"See, Julie is a real mermaid!" the young boy said as his parents still looked skeptical.
"It's true." Julie said, surfacing her tail as she bent it in ways impossible for a costume. Her parents stood there stunned.
"How.." her father asked, the truth starting to sink in. Julie sighed as she explained everything to them. Her mom broke down in tears when she learned her oldest child was stuck as a mermaid and would have to depart with Miley. Her father was more angry than upset.
Patrick jumped in the ocean and cried into Julie's shoulder. It broke Julie's heart to see her brother this sad. Julie hugged him close, trying to calm him down, even though she was just as upset.
"There's one more thing. Every merperson can only transform two humans into merpeople in their entire lives. Miley can transform one more of us into a merperson." Julie said. " I wish I already knew how to do it, so we could stay together, but it takes centuries to learn." She added.
Her parents nodded. " We want you to choose." her father said.
"But daddy!" she protested.
"I'm your father, don't you dare talk back to me!" he said sternly.
Julie nodded as she made her choice.