Chapter One

Another boring day... WAIT! is it?

    Since it was summer, you expect me to be in a pool, swimming, or doing something exciting. Well, no, actually. I was sitting on my purple chair, with my dog, looking out the window. I sighed. I wish something EXCITING would happen! But my wish seemed like it would never come true. 

I was on vacation this summer at our summer house with my mom and dog. Which turned out to be BORING. Boredom I do not like. 

I suddenly heard a loud splash. A splash from a- tail. Was it a dolphin?! I was about to grab my sandals and run to the beach. But my mom called me to dinner. Right when I was free from boredom, my mom HAD to call me. ‘’Coming, Mom!’’ I said to my mom even though I wanted to explore. I went down the stairs to see a delicious meal. ‘’Mmm, vege taco! Thanks, mom.’’ My mother smiles at me as she takes a seat to eat the delicious meal that she cooked. ‘’So, what did you do today?’’ She asked.

‘’Oh, nothing much. I read my book. Played my guitar. Played with Cookie.’’ Cookie was my dog, by the way. ‘’Oh, and also I heard a splash from a tail. I think it’s a dolphin. I WAS going to see it, but YOU interrupted me.’’ My mom smiled. ‘’ Sorry, pumpkin. Well, this vacation was a- little boring, don’t you think?’’ I nodded. ‘’Yep, definitely boring. I was suffering from boredom ALL day! Tomorrow, I’m going to swim in the ocean.’’ My mom’s eyes grew wide. ‘’Going swimming?! In the ocean? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!’’ I look at her in surprise. ‘’Hmm?’’ I said, feeling baffled. ‘’There are sharks. SHARKS!’’ ‘’Mom, you’re not scared of sharks. You

are always interested in them!’’ It’s true. She LOVES learning about sharks. 

    ‘’I know, but- I just don’t want you going there!’’ 

‘’But, mom- ‘’ ‘’NO!’’ She interrupted me. ‘’I do NOT want YOU going THERE! You STAY HERE. Do you understand?’’ ‘’Mom you’re talking to me like-.’’ ‘’DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!’’ I gulped. ‘’Understand- I mean yes!’’ Her face softened. ‘’Good. Now finish that taco or I’ll eat it.’’ I smiled at her, but I really wanted to go to the ocean. Will I forbid my mother’s wish and disobey her? I look at my mom. She didn’t seem to be worried about me. I took a deep breath. Tonight, at night, I will see the ocean, I thought. The ocean seemed to be calling me. I

had to go. I just HAD to.

 Chapter Two

I can’t believe what's happening!

    I woke up from my alarm. ‘Ding, ling ding. Ding, ling ding.’ I turned it off so it doesn’t wake up my mom. I yawned. I put on my sandals and bathing suit and headed to the beach. 

I shivered. It was cold. The water was even colder.  I put my toes in the water. They started freezing. I walked on the shore until I stepped on a seashell. ‘’OUCH!’’ I yelled. ‘’OW, OW, OW!’’ I bent down to look at the troublemaker shell. It had two humans on it. Wait. It was a- human and a MERMAID! They looked like- TWINS! And the human looked like ME! Wait again. Am I a twin to a mermaid?! I looked at the ocean. Adventure was waiting for me. I touch the shell- not only a troublemaker shell, but it’s also a beautiful shell. Then I suddenly felt stiff as a statue. I looked at my legs. They were turning- PURPLE! Since I couldn’t stand anymore, I fell into the ocean. Since I can’t breathe in the water, everything turned black.

I woke up. I saw a ceiling of green stuff. I opened my eyes wider. SEAWEED! Cool! I pushed myself up to see my- legs. They were purple! They were a- TAIL!!!! I gasped. My black hair floated in the water. I noticed I can BREATH IN THE WATER! I felt like I was going to faint. Suddenly, I saw a girl who looked like me.

 ‘’ Are you okay?’’ She asked in a voice like mine. Then she blinked as she noticed how I looked. I blinked and she did, too. We stared at each other. ‘’ Um,’’ I said. ‘’Um,’’ she said at the same time. ‘’Are you my twin or what?’’ We both said. We grinned. We high-fived. We hugged. ‘’Wow, you’re my TWIN?!’’ we said. We nodded. We laughed. ‘’Let’s go to my dad,’’ my twin said as I said, ‘’Let’s go to my mom.’’ We stared at each other, not sure of what to say or do. I finally asked, ‘’What’s your name?’’ And of course, she asked for it too. ‘’I’m Marina,’’

I said as she said, ‘’I’m Marine.’’ We smile. ‘’Let’s go to our dad.’’ This time, she didn’t read my mind. ‘’Ok!’’ And that’s how I started looking for our dad as a mermaid.

‘’He should be in his chamber,’’ Marine said. We weren’t talking much because we already knew what was going to happen. We read minds. It’s pretty awesome. Marine and I wrinkle our foreheads. ‘’You say it,’’ I said. ‘’How do we know if we are twins?’’ Marine asked. ‘’Your or our father should have the answer,’’ I replied. My twin

nodded. When we arrived at the chamber, there was a note on the door. 

Marine read:

Dear Marine, 

I am on a trip to see other people in need. You’re going to have to be a queen until I come back to be King Aldrich. Good luck, Queen Marine. Maybe when I come back, you can still be Queen Marine!  Thanks for everything, Marine. You’re the best. [Dad smiles]

Love, Dad

P.S. Make sure to feed your Mercat, Cinnamon!

Marine looked at me. I knew what she was thinking. ‘’Okay, we can go to my mom,’’ I said. Marine bit her lip. ‘’Is she a mermaid?’’ My eyes widened. ‘’No! And I might never be able to see her again if I can’t turn into a human!’’ My eyes started to get wet. Marine immediately noticed and sat next to me. ‘’Hey, it’s okay.’’ I looked up. ‘’No, it’s not.’’ ‘’How did you turn into a mermaid in the first place?’’ she asked me. ‘’Why does tha- oh, never mind. Well, when I touched a shell that had both

of us on it, I felt stiff and I saw that my legs were purple. Then, I fell asleep, I guess.’’ Marine’s eyes were glued to mine. I realized the solution. ‘’Let’s find that shell!’’ We both shouted. Then I realized something. ‘’Don’t you need to be Queen Marine?” I asked. Marine shook her head. ‘’My maid can help with the castle. Let me write a quick note.’’ ‘’How do you write letters?’’ Marine looks at me. ‘’You don’t know? Well, I suppose you don’t.’’ She pointed outside. ‘’Merpeople have to go up to the top of the ocean to write letters on paper. Or, they can buy expensive rooms that don’t have any

water. Royal people usually have these rooms.’’ 

She pointed to a door on the ceiling. ‘’Follow me.’’ 

Once we were inside, she started writing a letter with a quill pen and- seaweed paper? Anyways, she showed me. I read:

Dear Sally,

I need you to watch over the kingdom today. My dad’s busy and I’m busy so please do so. Thanks, Sally! You're the best. [I smile] I promise to give you a reward when my dad’s done with his job, okay? Oh, and also please see if you can get some new clothes for me. The clothes that I

wear don’t fit anymore. Maybe get some at the store Cleo’s Clothes. 

Thanks, Marine. 

P.S. I leave some sea money at the end of the day so you can shop a little! 

I look at Marine in surprise. ‘’Your handwriting is much better than mine or your dad’s.’’ Marine smiled shyly. ‘’Thanks,’’ she said in a tiny voice. I forgot I got shy sometimes. ‘’You’re welcome,’’ I replied. She smiled. ‘’Let’s get the shell now.’’ 

So we went to the room I arrived in.

‘’There it is!’’ I spotted the shell. Marine smiled and we both touched the shell. Our tails were turning- OLIVE! We couldn’t breathe underwater without being a mermaid, so everything turned black.

Marina and Marine’s 

         Dream

I felt like I was swimming out of control. I saw Marine next to me, swimming uncontrollably, too. She looked at me. ‘’We’re going to your house. Don’t worry.’’ I obeyed. 

 woke up on the sandy beach. ‘’Where are you, Marine?’’ I asked. ‘’Here, Marina!’’ I heard her shout, and I crawl to her, careful not to crawl on any shells.‘’I can’t believe I have LEGS!’’ ‘’I can!’’ I shouted back. ‘’Wait, why are we yelling?’’ Marine asked. We looked at each other and laughed.

‘’Le- Let’s go to my house,’’ I said, my teeth chattering since it was cold in the dark night. When we went to my house, the lights were on. Mom spotted Marine and hugged her. ‘’There you are, Marina! I was worried sick and was about to call the police!’’ Marine stared at my mom. ‘’Um, I’m

not Marina. She is,’’ Marine said, pointing at me. ‘’Uh, hi?’’ I said nervously. Mom sighed. ‘’I knew this would happen someday. Sit you two for the story.’’ She said, examining us. ‘’Well, your father and I were having trouble living together. I mean, I had legs and he had a tail.’’ Mom paused to pop a bagel in the toaster for herself.’’Want anything to eat?’’ She asked. ‘’What you’re eating seems nice!’’ Marin and I said at the same time. Mom laughed. ‘’Well, as I was saying . . . . .

Cordelia and Aldrich

Cordelia and Aldrich Elrod were meant for each other, but . . . . Since one was a mermaid named Aldrich and the other was a human named Cordelia, it was hard to live with each other. They had twins named Marina and Marine, and that’s when it got harder. The twins were troubling to them, but only one twin was human and the other was a mermaid . . . .

The couple had an argument and split up. Cordelia took the human baby named Marina, and Aldrich took the mermaid baby named Marine. But only one thing almost stopped them. A seashell, a magical seashell, and the twins would always find each other with it. Aldrich hurled it into the ocean, so the twins would never find each other again. But, the Oracle says that one day the shell will end up on the shore, and Marina would find herself as a mermaid and would find Marine. The twins might be together again, or maybe not. Their parents had made the shell, and they could do something with it.