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and glasses jumped in after him. Then she disappeared after Thomas washed up. They never saw her again.” She gave Kira another look, her eyebrows raised.
    â€œThe boys told the police about the girl. They searched all over but there was no sign of her. Or the jacket and boots she took off before she dove in.”
    Her father, alarmed, paused with his fork lifted. “Was she swept away? Is anyone missing?”
    â€œNo, no one reported missing. Not from around here, not so far. Police thought the boys might have overreacted in their panic. Hallucinated maybe. You know, smoking something they shouldn’t have.”
    Kira stared at her carrots, pushing them around with her fork.
    â€œBut all three saw the same thing? Hmm,” her father mused and resumed his meal.
    â€œAnd where were you this afternoon, Kira?” her mother asked.
    Kira looked up with a surprised expression on her face. “I was here, at the house,” she answered, trying to sound calm. “I heard the sirens.”
    â€œSo why are your jeans hanging up on the line? And your T-shirt?”
    â€œI, uh, decided to wash them. They were dirty,” she lied again, but she met her mother’s eyes this time.
    â€œYou couldn’t wait until washing day?” her mother challenged her.
    â€œIt’s my favourite pair of jeans. They’re the only ones that fit me anymore, so I didn’t want to wait. And, anyway,” she continued, on a roll now, “I need a new pair before school starts. These old ones are so worn, they’re about to rip. You don’t want me to show up at school in torn clothes, do you?”
    Kira’s father had a pained look on his face. Once again she felt guilty.
    â€œDon’t worry, Kira, you’ll have new clothes for school,” he assured her.
    Kira’s mother made a funny hrrumphing noise, and resumed eating. Kira had an enormous lump in her stomach and she could barely swallow. All she wanted at that moment was to disappear into her room, but she didn’t dare ask to be excused. She needed to act as normal as possible so her parents would not suspect that she was the mystery girl.
    That night, huddled under her bed covers, Kira lay awake, more worried and confused than ever. Besides deceiving her parents, she had a much more serious problem. Who, or what, was she? Why did her body change under water? Under seawater to be exact, because this never happened in her bath or in the swimming pool. Mermaids were mythical creatures in fairy tales she couldn’t possibly be a mermaid. She had legs, she breathed air, she looked like all the other people in town.
    Except for her eyes. They were larger than normal, and an unusual bright hue of blue-green that changed with the weather. Some called it azure, or teal, or sea-foam green. And, of course, her vision was terrible, except for her ability to notice the slightest movement at great distances and from the corners of her eyes.
    Then there was the story of her own rescue from the sea. Who were her real parents? Were they mermaids or merpeople? What had really happened when they fished her out of the sea? What if her true parents were still alive and living somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean?
    Kira began to cry, large salty tears trickling down her cheeks. She pulled the covers over her head and sobbed as quietly as she could. What a mess. She had to figure out what to do next. Should she confront her parents and confess to what she knew? Should she demand to know the truth about her origins? And if they admitted the truth, would that change anything? Would they no longer want her to be their daughter? Would they send her back to the sea? Or would they prevent her from ever going back to it? The only thing she knew for sure was that everything had changed for her, and she was afraid.

Chapter Seven—
Sea Folk
    Things were definitely different the next morning. The wind had calmed, the seas still, the sky a bright blue