Shelly looked at him in a panic, clawing at her neck, but nothing was wrapped around it. Fortunately, her father was still half asleep, and it was dark, so he couldn’t see her gills. But that was the least of her troubles. She had almost drowned in the kitchen sink, which, now that she looked at it, was empty, no black ink or plastic garbage in sight.
“Uh, I—I think I was sleepwalking,” she stammered. The lie slipped from her lips.
He screwed up his mouth. “Everything okay?”
“No. I mean, yes. I’m fine,” she said, working to slow her breathing.
Her father grabbed a glass and filled it from the tap, and she watched, frozen in horror.
But only clean water filled the glass.
Shelly breathed out in relief as her father took a slow drink. Once the glass was empty, he grinned and held it up to the light.
“I don’t know why everyone insists on buying expensive filters these days,” he said. “Triton Bay tap water is crystal clear—and it tastes great.”
Shelly smiled and rubbed her eyes. “Right. Yeah. Well, I’ll just be heading back to bed.”
* * *
Shelly didn’t sleep a wink. All night, she listened for the steady drip, drip, drip of the kitchen faucet. She kept thinking about the seaweed wrapping around her, pulling her into the contaminated water. Finally, morning arrived. She threw back the covers and ran her hands through her hair, but something felt weird. Her hair was snagged between her fingers. She pulled them back to inspect them, and her stomach dropped. No. It couldn’t be.
Her fingers were webbed.
Panicking, she glanced at her feet.
They were webbed, too.
Thin, translucent skin stretched between her fingers and toes, connecting them. Terrified, she waited for Dawson to get up and leave the room, then rustled through the hall closet until she found an old pair of her father’s work gloves. Combined with the scarf, it was the best she could do to hide her new abnormalities. She knew she looked ridiculous, but fortunately her family wasn’t the type to judge her various clothing phases.
Across the kitchen table, her father eyed the old work gloves paired with the wool scarf. “The new fashion trend, eh?” He chuckled. “Back in my grunge days, I wore my dad’s work boots and flannel to school.” He patted her on the back, making her worry that the scarf would slip down. “Glad my old gloves are good for something,” he added with a wink.
* * *
The aquarium—which usually cheered Shelly up—wasn’t any better than her sleepless night.
Instead of chatting with the staff while they worked or feeding the dolphins or reef sharks or any of her favorite sea animals, she searched for somewhere to hide. The tunnels under the main exhibit seemed like a good choice. She entered the dark corridor. It was lit only by the eerie light that filtered through the water, casting strange shadows. Fish and other marine animals darted past the portholes. The taunt of fish lover echoed in her head. She tried to shake it.
“Maybe they’re right,” Shelly whispered to her reflection. “This is where I belong.” She pressed her face to the glass, feeling alone and misunderstood. Every fish that swam past reminded her of what was happening. Her eyes fixed on the sunken pirate ship and the trident. The trident was corroded, covered in barnacles, but underneath she caught a shimmer of gold.
That trident was old and warped. How could it be shimmering like that?
She studied the forked spear.
It happened again.
Another flash of light. Another shimmer of gold.
Suddenly, a tentacle slapped the glass.
Shelly jumped back with a start.
But it was only Queenie again. At least this time Shelly knew she wasn’t losing her mind. Queenie was real. The sea witch . . . well, she couldn’t be real, but then how else could Shelly explain her webbed digits and the neck gills? She shuddered. The octopus floated by the porthole, almost as if she were saying hello. Her long tentacles undulated.
“Hey, Queenie,” Shelly said. At this point, the octopus was practically becoming her best friend. “Do you know what’s happening to me?”
The octopus seemed to shake her body as if answering no.
But Shelly knew it was only an optical illusion caused by the water.