What are we going to do? I groaned, burying my head in my hands. I knew our makeshift dam wouldn't hold us for long. We're trapped!

Mara sat up, her hands trembling. Are we, Mom?

Shh. We'll be all right, girls. Mom swam over and wrapped us in a large hug, the flukes of her tail covering our smaller ones. I asked you to trust me, remember?

Mara bit her lip to keep herself from crying. Yes, I remember.

Then how are we going to get out this mess? I asked.

Mom opened her mouth to reply, but a loud boom suddenly erupted from beyond the dam. The rocks shook and quivered, causing a few to topple to the floor. A large hand suddenly reached through one of the gaps and clutched at the water in front of us. We lurched away.

Well, there is one way, Mom replied, pulling away from Mara and I. She swam over to one the cave walls, her fingers lightly tracing over the bumps and ridges as she scanned her surroundings. Here! she exclaimed when she found a small cleft. She eagerly beckoned Mara and I forward.

I pushed off the sandy seafloor and headed over to the cleft, with Mara following. When I realized it was the exact spot where Mom had carved her message, my eyes widened in surprise.

Does it look familiar, Rayne? Mom asked with a smile. I nodded, and she scooted over to make room for Mara and I to peer inside. Sure enough, the message was still engraved into the cliff wall: The sea holds many secrets. – Miranda B.

I used to play in this cave with my friends, Mom explained, gesturing to our glittering surroundings. We would come here without our parents knowing. It was our own secret grotto, sheltered and protected from humans. Only later, after I met Clark, did my entire world change. Mom suddenly looked straight at me. We thought long and hard about the risk we were taking by starting a family. Without Clark knowing, I spent hours carving this message into the wall, thinking that if something ever happened to me—which it did—then our children could come to this cave and find this message.

But you kept it a secret, I replied. I never even knew I was a mermaid. What if I never found this message?

Ah, but I knew you would, Mom said with a smile. Once you were old enough, Clark and I agreed our children should know the truth. Once the time was right, we would let you swim in the ocean, and the transformation would officially begin.

I paused to let the information sink in. So Mom and Dad had obviously put a lot of thought and effort into their marriage. They had gone to huge risks to protect themselves and me, but after everything we had been through, it was hard to believe that it had all been for nothing. We were about to be captured—and most likely killed—by a race of merpeople I hadn't even known existed until a few days ago. I briefly wondered if Dad had been right after all. I couldn't rescue Mom, not even with all of us working together.

So what are we going to do? Mara asked quietly after another resounding boom came from behind the dam. The three of us watched in horror as even more rocks toppled over. We would only have a few minutes before the mermen broke through.

Mom immediately burst into action. Mara and I scooted aside as she reached through the cleft, twisting her body this way and that as she reached blindly for something. She grunted as she strained to grab onto the roof of the small opening. When her fingers finally latched onto a slight rock, she smiled and triumphantly pulled it out. The three of us backed away as a dozen other rocks suddenly came flying out of the hole. It was like she had unplugged a giant drain.

There, Mom exclaimed. That's our way out! Now all we have to do is remove these rocks.

I could hear the mermen working hard to break through our dam, so I quickly joined my mother in pulling the rocks out. Before long, we had a huge pile at the bottom of the seafloor, adding some width to the dam we had already created.

Now, to make the hole wider, Mom instructed. She glanced worriedly over her shoulder as her fingers flew over the cliff wall. She pulled and pulled with all her strength until one finally came loose, crashing down on top of the pile below us.

Mara and I smiled with relief. The small cleft that used to be impossible to see through was now a gaping hole, just big enough for us to squeeze inside one at a time.

Go! Hurry! Mom cried, pushing Mara through. The mergirl quickly forced herself into the hole and disappeared out of sight. I could hear the mermen toppling even more rocks behind us, so Mom pushed me through next. I scraped my back against the cliff wall as I struggled to fit through the hole, but I finally made it. I swam rapidly towards the glimmer of light ahead. Mara's silhouette cast shadows along the narrow tunnel. Before long, I saw her reach the surface and pull herself out of sight. I reached the surface a few seconds later, my heart pounding in my chest, and let out a cry of excitement when I realized the tunnel was an exit to the world above. It was a secret corridor connecting the beach to the underwater cave.

I gripped the rim of the hole with both hands and heaved myself up, my arms straining from the immense weight of my tail. Mara, lying on the rocky ground a few feet away, coached me out. Once I had shimmied onto dry land, I laughed with relief and wrapped her in a large hug.

"We made it!" I exclaimed breathlessly. We both cried tears of joy, knowing that we were finally safe.

But moments later, when we realized Mom still hadn't surfaced, we pulled away.

"Oh no," Mara gasped, the words sounding a bit funny coming from her mouth. She blushed in embarrassment. "Sorry, it's my first time talking above water."

"You've never been above water before?" I asked incredulously. The two of us leaned over the hole and gazed worriedly at the swirling water below. There was still no sign of Mom.

"I've been stuck in that cave with Mother my entire life," Mara said softly. "She taught me how to form words with my mouth, but I could never get it quite right because it sounds awkward underwater."

I nodded, even though in the back of my mind I wondered why she still referred to my mother as hers. Could she have been adopted? That wouldn't explain the striking physical similarities between her and Mom, but maybe all mermaids looked that way.

The two of us waited in nerve-wracking silence. The only sound was the crash of waves in the distance, pounding against the cliffs that rose on either side. We were in some sort of valley, surrounded by nothing but ocean and cliff on all sides. I had a sudden feeling that we were trapped once again, and the mermen would climb out of the water and capture us in any second. But when I turned and saw a few steps carved out of the cliff behind us, I breathed a sigh of relief. There was a still a way out—we could head farther inland.

I ignored the tingling sensation that had started in my tail. Even though my legs were about to return, I continued peering into the hole. "If Mom doesn't surface in another five seconds, I'm going down there," I announced.

"No!" Mara cried, more tears springing into her eyes. "You can't."

"But she's in trouble!" I argued. I winced when I felt my bones snapping into place. Before long, my tail had transformed back into legs.

Mara suddenly doubled over in pain. She let out an ear-piercing scream as she rolled away from the hole, hugging her tail.

"What's wrong?" I asked urgently, stretching out my legs before crawling over to her. Then my eyes widened in realization. "Oh, no...Mara, have you ever transformed before?"

She gritted her teeth from the pain and shook her head fiercely.

"Then it might hurt a little," I explained, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"A little?"

"Okay, a lot." I cringed when she let out another scream. "Just let your tail change naturally. It will only last a few seconds."

Suddenly, the sound of water splashing jerked my attention away from Mara. I gasped when I saw Mom struggling to pull herself out of the tunnel, her arms wobbling from the strain. I helped her climb out of the hole before wrapping my arms around her in a tight embrace. "Mom!" I cried happily. "You made it! What took so long?"

She wrapped her arms around me as well, her long ebony hair intertwining with mine. "We're safe," she repeated, crying tears of joy. I was overwhelmed with emotions—relief that Mom was okay, happiness that we were finally reunited, and hope that we would finally get to live as a family once again. We continued to cry into each other's shoulders until Mara suddenly cleared her throat from behind us.

"Oh, honey," Mom sobbed, wiping a few tears from her face. She gently pulled away from me and grabbed Mara's hand, squeezing it tightly. "Look at you!" she exclaimed, giving a little laugh. "You finally get to know what it feels like to have legs!"

Sure enough, where Mara's sparkling blue tail used to be was now a pair of white, wobbly legs. Mara wiggled her toes uncertainly and smiled a bit at her new motor skills.

"I'm sorry to have to say this, girls, but we're not completely safe yet." Mom glanced worriedly at the hole. "The reason I took so long getting up here was because I covered the entrance with more rocks. Once the mermen figured out we swam up to the surface, they'll try to catch us by swimming onto the beach." She pointed at the waves crashing on the shore a good distance away.

"Then we better get out of here." I quickly stood up and made my way over to the side of the cliff, where a flight of steps had been crudely carved out of rock. It was a dangerous slope, but it was our only chance of escape. Since the mermen could transform just as easily as us, they could swim around to the beach and catch up with us.

"Go ahead, Rayne. I'm going to help Mara," Mom called. I suddenly realized Mara was in no condition to walk—it was only her first time with legs, after all.

"Are you sure?" I called back, watching as Mom hoisted Mara onto her back. Though Mara was thin and light, Mom wasn't all that much bigger. I could tell it was going to be a long trek home.

"Don't worry about me," Mom said rather breathlessly as she stumbled towards me.

"Okay, but if Mara gets too heavy, just let me know." I took a deep breath before heading up the makeshift staircase. I nearly slipped a few times, but since I had a lot of practice going up and down the goat-trail by the private beach, I made it to the top of the cliff in no time. As soon as I was back on flat ground, I closed my eyes and relished in the cool sea breeze that tousled my hair, whipping it behind me and rustling my tank top. There was nothing to see for miles around except the glittering ocean, the endless stretch of rocky ground, and a few distant lights that marked the town of Shady Cove.

"We're almost there, Mara."

I glanced down and saw Mom huffing and puffing as she struggled to finish the climb. I reached out a hand to help her up, and within a matter of minutes she and Mara made it to the top.

"Wow!" Mom smiled and shook out her long hair, causing Mara to giggle as it blew in her face. "I'm winded! It's been ages since I used these old legs." Though there was a carefree tone to her voice, the threat of being captured still lingered over us like a daro cloud. We silently glanced down at the outcropping of beach. Somewhere over that rocky ground was the secret tunnel to the underwater cave, but there were no sign of the mermen.

"Mom," I said softly. "We're never going to be one hundred percent safe, are we?"

A faint smile was on the corners of her lips. "No," she admitted. "No, we'll never be completely safe, especially not in the ocean. But here on land, we are as safe as we'll ever be."

"What?" The news was both delightful and puzzling. "But won't the mermen just run after us? I thought all merpeople can transform."

"Oh, we can. But most have never set foot on land or experienced what if feels like to have legs. I certainly never did, not until my curiosity became too overwhelming to handle." Mom smiled. "You see, the merpeople have a fear of becoming known to humans. We prefer to keep our race a secret. Even now mermaids are considered a myth among humans, and we intend to keep it that way."

"But Luke—I mean, one of my friends—was kidnapped by the mermen. They ambushed him on the beach before transforming and carrying him through the water."

Mom's smile faded. "Then this is more serious than I thought," she murmured. "Only in rare cases do merpeople have an excuse to go on land, but even then we never go farther than the beach. We prefer to stay as close to the water as possible."

I grinned. "So we are safe."

"Yes." Mom hoisted Mara higher up onto her back. "Unless the merpeople suddenly decide to overcome their fear and try to find us on land, then we are safe. The odds against us being captured on land are too big for us to worry about."

A wave of relief washed over me. I could tell Mara was pleased, too, because she rested her chin on Mom's shoulder and smiled. My nerves were still jumpy from being so close to danger, but now I could finally relax. Home was only a mile or so away. The mermen could never catch us. But most importantly, I had my mother back.

"I love you," I murmured, suddenly rushing over and embracing Mom in a large hug. I wrapped my arms around Mara, too, fingering her long hair as she rested her head against my chest.

Ouremotions quickly became too much to bear, so the three of us sank to our knees,still wrapped in our embrace. We criedtears of joy and relief as we kneeled on the rugged, rocky ground. Safety had never felt so sweet.