Secrets of the Deep [Wattpad Featured Story]

Chapter Twenty-Three

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.