father glowed brightest of all. The glow beckoned to him, promising to feed his fire.
Rose's father suddenly stopped looking angry. Now he looked surprised, almost frightened. He started to back away. Billy couldn't allow that. He started to move toward him.
"Billy!" It was Rose, "Billy, your eyes!"
Billy turned toward her, surprised by the outburst. As he turned, he caught a glimpse of his reflection in her bedside mirror. The shock of what he saw made him turn cold, the flames quickly dissipating. For a moment, staring out of the face he had always known, his eyes had shown pure gold.
*******************************************************
Since the incident at the aquarium, Mary had tried again and again to summon the sun and the beach into her mind, to try and find some comfort. Again and again she failed, and the tempestuous storm continued to rage on in her mind.
It didn't make sense. Mermaids didn't exist. People couldn't just disappear into some swirling vortex and be gone.
She had sat at the edge of that pool for so long, willing Alex to reappear. And then, the aquarium staff had come looking for Alex. Of course he wasn't there, and she had no sane explanation for where he had gone.
Once the yelling stopped and she managed to convince them she wasn't part of some scam to con them out of money, her and Rose had finally managed to leave. Rose didn't really seem to have registered what happened. She kept looking around as if she expected Billy to appear at any moment. Mary wanted to scream at her, to make her understand that the world didn't work that way. But then, she wasn't sure she understood how the world worked anymore.
And now here she was, sitting in the school parking lot. She had contemplated calling in sick. There were bound to be questions about the student that went missing on her "field trip". She couldn't even think of a plausible lie about what had happened. Telling the truth was definitely out. The disappeared into a mystical portal in a storage room at the aquarium story just didn't sound plausible.
With a deep breath, she summoned all her courage and pushed the car door open. Hiding wasn't the answer. She knew that if she had to be alone, remembering her last image of Alex over and over, then she would go permanently, irreversibly, insane. There was nothing to do but go through the motions of life and try to find some shred
Rose's father suddenly stopped looking angry. Now he looked surprised, almost frightened. He started to back away. Billy couldn't allow that. He started to move toward him.
"Billy!" It was Rose, "Billy, your eyes!"
Billy turned toward her, surprised by the outburst. As he turned, he caught a glimpse of his reflection in her bedside mirror. The shock of what he saw made him turn cold, the flames quickly dissipating. For a moment, staring out of the face he had always known, his eyes had shown pure gold.
*******************************************************
Since the incident at the aquarium, Mary had tried again and again to summon the sun and the beach into her mind, to try and find some comfort. Again and again she failed, and the tempestuous storm continued to rage on in her mind.
It didn't make sense. Mermaids didn't exist. People couldn't just disappear into some swirling vortex and be gone.
She had sat at the edge of that pool for so long, willing Alex to reappear. And then, the aquarium staff had come looking for Alex. Of course he wasn't there, and she had no sane explanation for where he had gone.
Once the yelling stopped and she managed to convince them she wasn't part of some scam to con them out of money, her and Rose had finally managed to leave. Rose didn't really seem to have registered what happened. She kept looking around as if she expected Billy to appear at any moment. Mary wanted to scream at her, to make her understand that the world didn't work that way. But then, she wasn't sure she understood how the world worked anymore.
And now here she was, sitting in the school parking lot. She had contemplated calling in sick. There were bound to be questions about the student that went missing on her "field trip". She couldn't even think of a plausible lie about what had happened. Telling the truth was definitely out. The disappeared into a mystical portal in a storage room at the aquarium story just didn't sound plausible.
With a deep breath, she summoned all her courage and pushed the car door open. Hiding wasn't the answer. She knew that if she had to be alone, remembering her last image of Alex over and over, then she would go permanently, irreversibly, insane. There was nothing to do but go through the motions of life and try to find some shred
