Profesora: Alumna:

Camacho Mairedys Madriz Araly

 Introduction

It was a night like any other. At that time of the early morning, almost all the
students on campus wore hours sleeping. Yet on the shores of the lagoon, on the
dock, a group of boys and girls had no intention of going to bed still. They had
turned on the loud music while they played letters, they danced and had fun. They
didn't care about the architecture they had the next morning.

They loved that meeting place because there were never people around. It was
far enough off campus, but not far enough away that they were too lazy to get
there. It was the ideal place. Also, the views were beautiful. The water was calm,
as always, and they could wear short sleeves: in that tropical climate they were
always hot.

One of the boys was contemplating the tranquility of the lagoon while sipping his
beer when, suddenly, he he choked on the drink. He had seemed to see a shadow
expanding through the water. But no, now that he was looking better he he realized
that there was nothing. The night was very dark, and in Sometimes the imagination
played tricks on him, that was all.

At that moment, the moon came out of the clouds, and a ray of its light reflected
off the lagoon. The boy could perfectly distinguish ripples in the water, though not a
wisp of wind. They were not his imaginations: there was something there.

"Did you see that?" He asked the others. But his friends kept drinking and
dancing, oblivious to his growing restlessness, and no one paid him the slightest
attention.

He put the beer can on the ground and walked slowly up to the end of the
spring. His skin prickled as if he were cold. He leaned over the edge of the pier,
trying to make out a shadow in the dark, but at that moment the moon went back
into hiding behind a cloud and there was absolutely nothing to be seen.

He would never recognize him in front of his peers, but I was scared. His teeth
were chattering and he was beginning to shiver. However, he felt that he was
about to discover something exciting and he didn't want to look like a coward.
When they teach the others what he had found in the lagoon, all they'd die of envy
and I'd be the center of attention for the rest of the week.
 He moved closer to the dark waters. I still didn't see anything. The heart beat a
thousand an hour. He thought of turning on the cell phone, but remembered that it
had run out of battery. And then an unknown force caught him and dragged him
towards the bottom of the waters.
 CHAPTER 1

Iden was reading an architecture book sitting at the bar from the Ondina
cafe, his favorite place. His sister Liv worked at the place, and he took the
opportunity to stop by when he had no class. They had always been very close and
now she helped Eiden to pay for college with the salary of a coffee manager. The
The boy was taking his upbringing very seriously, and Liv didn't know regretted
allocating part of his savings to his studies brother

At the time, Eiden was underlining with fluorescent yellow practically

everything he read.

"I think there's still a little white in your book," he joked. Liv. There, in the
second paragraph on page 57, do you see it? You have left a whole sentence
without underlining.

Liv loved to tease her little brother. "This is all very interesting," he excused
himself. He dreamed of becoming an important architect one day, one one of the
best in the world, but for that I needed to dedicate many hours of study to your
passion. Liv was a little concerned that his brother was so focused on college that
he left aside his social life, so he fought back:
 "What you should do is go out there and sunbathe, with the good morning. I
don't believe that this five hundred pages is more interesting than… ”Liv looked
over the Eiden's head - that the girl who just walked into the cafe, for example.

A small blond girl had just entered the premises. Looked around him
curiously, as if he were studying each detail of the cafeteria. Suddenly his gaze
met Eiden and stared at him, without any discretion. Eiden flushed, visibly
embarrassed. Why that stranger did not take her eyes off him? There was
something magnetic about her look; it was so intense that the boy felt slightly dizzy.
They kept looking into each other's eyes until Isla and Lucas, waiters from the
Ondina cafe came to greet her.

What had just happened? I was suddenly very curious for knowing who that
strange girl was.

Her sister Liv gave a malicious giggle.

—I see that you are interested in other things besides architecture, Hey? Come on,
get up and tell her something: she is clearly new to the campus, and I'm sure
you're looking forward to making friends, ”she encouraged him. Eiden looked at Liv
in horror. Under no circumstances he would listen: his ears burned with shame just
thinking about go over to talk to that girl. Eiden was very shy, and for much that his
sister bugged him, he was not going to take that step.

So he just sat on the stool observing the scene with dissimulation. Lucas and
Isla were waving effusively to the unknown girl. It seemed that I did have friends,
he thought a little disappointed, but how did he know them? Lucas and Isla were
older than that girl and did not live on campus, but in a small apartment; Eiden had
once been there With her sister.
 After greeting the new girl, Isla took off her apron and went cheerfully to
Eiden's sister:

—Liv, we take advantage of our free time to show you the campus to Diana, okay?

"No problem," she replied. Have a good time!

Eiden was ecstatic. DIANA. He had a nice name, like it could not be
otherwise. He was absorbed in contemplating the place where until Diana and the
two waiters had been there for only a few seconds. they had just slipped out the
cafe door.

"Are you going to be gawking all day about that girl do you even know His
sister snapped at him, holding back laughter.

Eiden's cheeks instantly reddened.

"I wasn't gawking," he lied.

He knew Liv was watching him closely, so he made a effort to immerse

himself in the book he was reading. From Suddenly, concrete structures no longer
seemed so interesting as at the beginning.

EPISODE 2

And this is where you will study - Isla was telling him at that time. instantly
as they strolled through the university campus. We will have to buy you clothes, of
course. The one that I have lent you it is too big.

"You start astronomy classes tomorrow;" we have already advised all the
teachers that you were joining the middle of quarter, no problem, ”Lucas added.
Handed him a paper sheet-. This is your schedule, don't lose it. Here you have All
the classes you must attend have been written down.

—Of course, you have us to ask Any questions, you know where we work, ”Isla
continued. And you roommate Edlyn, whom you will meet soon, will it will help you
adapt to university life. So you don't have to worry.

The two waiters at the Ondina Cafe had taught the girl new every corner of
the university campus, that they they already knew by heart. They had lived in the
area for several years. Diana was hallucinating with the number of people studying
in that campus; he was dying to adapt and to make friends. She decided that as
soon as Lucas and Isla finished their talk she would go to investigate on your own.
 However, his two mentors still had a lot left for say. They led her to a bench
away from the people and they took their seats. They had suddenly acquired a
much more formal, and Diana guessed what was going to happen next.

Remember, Diana, that there are different rules that we must fulfill being
among humans, ”Lucas began. Diana knew the rules by heart, they had been
made to her learn before coming to campus, but let them do it. I knew that it was
her duty to remind him.

"Rule number one: you cannot reveal your true identity to a human being.
This is the most important rule, ”Isla warned him. "Rule number two: try to go
unnoticed," he continued. Luke-. If we don't attract attention, no one will realize that
We're different.

—Rule number three: act according to human conventions - her companion added.
If you blend in with them, everything will be more easy. Maybe the first few weeks
will be a bit complicated, but you'll see that they are not so different from us either.
—Rule number four: you cannot go more than seven days without bathe in the
waters of the lagoon, Diana. Please don't let me know never forget or ... you would
gradually weaken until you turn off for full. Isla and Lucas shuddered at the idea.

—I recommend that you have a bucket of water from the lagoon inbedroom, for
emergencies, ”Isla suggested. Not always you'll have time to take a real dip, and
now You know that the water in the lagoon is the only one that works for we.

"Has everything been clear to you?" Any questions?

Diana repeated the rules aloud, like a diligent student:

—Not reveal my true identity, go unnoticed, act like humans, bathe in the lagoon
every seven days and have buckets of water in the bedroom. I think I can do it. He
smiled sweetly to his mentors. Don't worry about me, really. I'll be fine. He got up
from the bench wanting to finish the talk and start exploring on your own, and it
was about to be run over by a speeding bicycle. Isla and Lucas they held her down
before she hit the ground.

"But what was that so strange?"

—Her heart was beating a thousand times time. "A boy on a bicycle," Lucas
explained. It is a means of transportation to go faster to the sites, you know. Lucas
and Isla looked at each other with concern. Maybe Diana still she was not ready to
live among humans.

"Oh yeah, a bicycle…" Diana sounded vaguely like that. word. However, she
did not want her two mentors to be watching all the time, or worse, to be returned
to the place where He was coming, so he blatantly lied. I know everything about
bikes, of course. In fact, I'm dying to ... transport myself by bike too.

Isla and Lucas breathed easier and Diana swallowed hard.

There was a lot to learn.

CHAPTER 3

They had finally left her alone! Felt the thrill go away seizing her at times: it
had been a long time, years even dreaming of this day. She was human, real
human! Or, at least, it would be as long as it did not touch the water of the lagoon,
Clear. And that was her first day as a human, she could not joy. He really wanted
to explore the campus on his own, studying how humans behaved, looking at how
they they moved and what they said… It was all extremely fascinating to her. He
wandered around campus. I've never been to a place so bright and surrounded by
so many people and so much noise. It seemed that everyone knew where he was
going; maybe they all had papers with schedules, like the one Lucas had just given
him a while before.

Everything was very… colorful. There were posters everywhere attracted a lot
of attention: an ad urged her to try A fragrance with which he would be able to
seduce all his suitors, another poster invited her to attend the conference on
literature that had place in the auditorium, the one below announced a show of
theater that would be held after a couple of days ... too much information to be able
to assimilate it all.

Ecstatic, she approached to examine a strange machine that it contained

canned food. He tried to get a packet of cookies but between her and the food was
a glass as a barrier. Then a boy a little older than Diana approached the machine,
inserted a coin for a slot, pressed a strange button and the machine spit out a can
of soda.

"Wow!" He hallucinated. The boy looked at her strangely and he walked

away shaking his head, as if she was nuts. Diana tried to make an effort to look
normal. I had to pretend not it was the first time in his life that he saw all those
strange things. Although she had been informed about many of them, and there
were even passed an exam on human customs (for example, I knew they brushed
their teeth after eating and sleeping with light off), couldn't help gape at meeting
surrounded by real humans who they did real things. It was one pass!

He watched as a boy greetedanother raising his right hand with fingers

together and bringing it to his temple. His partner replied in the same way and they
both started laugh and they headed towards one of the classrooms. Diana made a
mental note: this was how the humans with each other. If you wanted to blend in
with them and pass unnoticed, he would have to act the same way.

Near her, a group of boys and girls was commenting something. Diana
pricked up her ears as she watched them discreetly. He was very curious to know
what the humans said about his age.

"Isn't it strange that you didn't take the exam today?" - one of the girls was
asking at the time.

"Come on, don't worry about him, what happens is that yesterday we We went
to sleep very late and the sheets have stuck to him. answered a boy.

—The truth is that we spent a bit with the party at the pier, ”said another.

—But last week we were studying together. strange that it has not appeared, is
going to fail the subject - the first girl insisted. Also ... remember what happened
yesterday in the pier.

"That was weird," one of the boys agreed. He disappeared for a long time,
and when we were about to return to the campus without it goes and reappears,
drenched as if submerged in the lagoon and without opening his mouth. I don't
know why we don't he wanted to tell where he had been.

"And today she hasn't answered my phone calls," he added. the girl. "That's
because you are so heavy." "No, something's happened to him, it's not like him,"
he insisted. she. Diana got tired of spying on the conversation. They were not
interested in absolute, neither the gossip nor the mysteries, and it did not seem
that group of humans were going to do anything interesting, so he continuedhis
path.

Feeling like an explorer, she wandered around campus with his eyes wide
open so as not to miss anything that was happening to your surroundings. It felt
like his heart was going to explode in him chest of emotion. For the first time in his
life, he felt absolutely free, with no one to tell him what to do.
 "I finally find you." Can you tell where you're going out there alone on your
first day? A sullen voice sounded behind their backs. Diana turned around and
found herself before a girl who must have more or minus your age or at most one
year or two more. She was tall and dark, she transmitted a lot of confidence in
herself and I looked ... annoyed by something.

—I am Edlyn, your companion from room, and your shadow from now on. Lucas
and Isla have asked me to make you as a babysitter and accompany you
everywhere because they are afraid that you will put the paw and leave us all in
evidence.

Diana realized that the face of Edlyn's annoyance was for having to take care
her-. They are not yet cured of scared by what happened to Mako when got here: it
looked like it was wearing a label that would put "I am not human »hooked on the
forehead, you can not imagine the nonsense that came to do. Edlyn took a deep
breath and glared at Diana-. Anyway, don't get lost, don't do anything crazy, and if I
like you, we can even become friends.

CHAPTER 4
That night Diana and Edlyn went to Lucas's house for dinner and Isla, who
lived in a small two-bedroom apartment close to campus. Edlyn called the building
intercom, and at the To Diana's surprise, the door opened as if by magic. The
Humans were far more advanced than she thought.

"Well, you'll see when you see the elevator," Edlyn joked.

Diana couldn't help but constantly show her amazement. He was living a
dream come true and everything was working for him fascinating. However, I knew
I had to start controlling his reactions or he would end up having problems.
 Isla and Lucas welcomed Diana very warmly and introduced her to Mako, a
thin boy with an easy smile.

"Mako is our little piranha," Edlyn scoffed. lovingly.

"Hey, don't overdo it," he complained, giving him a little slap. her friend-. Welcome,
Diana. Pay no attention to anything that you say Edlyn. We all really wanted you to
get to the campus, including her.

"Hey, don't go overboard." "Now it was Edlyn who gave him a little smack Mako.

"These two are the same all day," Isla explained to Diana. Well… who wants
Chinese food?

Chinese food was absolutely delicious, but Diana wasn't he knew what to do
with chopsticks. How was i supposed to eat the noodles using those two wooden
sticks? He concentrated very hard and tried to put the food in his mouth, but…

A toothpick went flying through the air and hit Edlyn in the face, while the bite
Diana was about to taste was left scattered all over her skirt. After a moment of
astonishment, the others burst out laughing. Diana was a real mess with human
customs!
 Diana couldn't help but constantly show her amazement. He was living a
dream come true and everything was working for him fascinating. However, I knew
I had to start controlling his reactions or he would end up having problems.

Isla and Lucas welcomed Diana very warmly and introduced her to Mako, a
thin boy with an easy smile.

"Mako is our little piranha," Edlyn scoffed. lovingly.

"Hey, don't overdo it," he complained, giving him a little slap. her friend-.
Welcome, Diana. Pay no attention to anything that you say Edlyn. We all really
wanted you to get to the campus, including her.

"Hey, don't go overboard." "Now it was Edlyn who gave him a little smack
Mako.

"These two are the same all day," Isla explained to Diana. Well… who wants
Chinese food?

Chinese food was absolutely delicious, but Diana wasn't he knew what to do
with chopsticks. How was i supposed to eat the noodles using those two wooden
sticks? He concentrated very hard and tried to put the food in his mouth, but…

A toothpick went flying through the air and hit Edlyn in the face, while the bite
Diana was about to taste was left scattered all over her skirt. After a moment of
astonishment, the others burst out laughing. Diana was a real mess with human
customs!

CHAPTER 5

It was beginning to get light when the five boys reached the dock. TO That
time in the morning there was no one else in sight they were safe from prying eyes.
If someone discovered your secret ... It was better not to think about that.

Diana was beginning to realize how exhausting she could become your new
situation. He felt how every fiber of his being cried out to come into contact with
water, it had been too hours out of your element. Wished with all his might
immerse yourself in the depth of the waters of the lagoon. Maybe being on the
surface was more difficult than he had thought in a beginning.
 He got into the water along with Edlyn, Isla, and Lucas. A second later, Mako
jumped out doing the bomb with much roar and splashed them all. Edlyn bounced,
and at the moment where Mako lifted his head out of the water, plunged it back
down.

Diana felt her entire body relax and connect, for Finally, with the water of the
lagoon, with his house. He looked down and smiled: where her legs should be now
was a beautiful mermaid tail of iridescent colors. Dove down full and began to dive,
filling its gills with water. The lagoon had always seemed a depressing and
oppressive place, but it was still in her nature. When i was away of the water he
couldn't help but miss her.

"This is why we call it piranha," Edlyn whispered laughing to the see Diana
was noticing Mako. Is our little shark. Isla and Lucas had been pulling towards the
cafeteria, since they it was time to open the business, and Edlyn had decided
accompany them: I needed to start the day with a good dose of coffee. Instead,
Diana and Mako had preferred to take advantage of the The lagoon was calm to
stay a few more minutes in it. From the pier the views were incredible, and Diana
felt very strange, contemplating from the surface what even did so only a couple of
days it had been his home

On the way to campus, along the boardwalk, they passed surprise with
Eiden. "Man, what are you doing up so early?" -he was amazed Mako, knowing
that Eiden's sheets used to stick. Are you going to see your girlfriend in the
morning? -He snapped, conscious Eiden didn't have a girlfriend. But then, in the
distance, two girls greeted Eiden and they motioned for him to join them.

"... Or girlfriends," Mako snapped, then visibly stunned. Embarrassed, Eiden

shot him a dirty look.

—I have a meeting with some classmates at the Ondina café to prepare a

presentation that we have this afternoon, ”he explained. Eiden looked at Diana,
Diana looked at Eiden, and for a few moments, everyone was silent. Then all of a
sudden Mako he realized it and exclaimed:

"Ah, it's true, you two don't know each other!" Eiden, shem is Diana. Diana,
this is Eiden, the best uncle in the world - he declared proudly patting his friend's
back. Eiden, a little embarrassed at the displays of affection from Mako replied:

"I'm his roommate." It was the first time Diana had ever met a real human. At
last he could put into practice all that he had learned after spend a whole day on
the surface! "Nice to meet you," she exclaimed, outlining a smile. Bright as the sun.
 CHAPTER 6

Diana was very proud of herself. I had achieved: not only had he
survived his first day at the faculty, but it could even be said that it had been quite a
success. He had memorized the schedule Lucas had given him the day before and
had attended all his classes without exception, and that that Mako had proposed to
skip the second hour and stay sunbathing on the campus flower bed. According to
him, that was what they used to do college kids actually, and if you didn't want to
call the attention, the smartest thing to do was to skip classes, like everyone else
world. However, Diana was very diligent and playing hooky was not it entered their
plans. On the contrary: he sat in the front row, took notes with great care and
listened to the teachers with great Attention. Now that he had finally fulfilled his
dream of being human, she felt prepared to face any challenge imaginable.

In the break between classes, he met Edlyn and Mako at the Ondina
coffee. Isla served them coffee and toast and winked at them smiling, not
commenting on her first-rate little adventure time in the morning.

Eiden was still in the cafe with his classmates: the preparation of the
presentation was taking longer than provided. Mako, seeing his friend, raised his
arm to call his attention, and Eiden looked up at them and greeted them slightly
awkwardly with his hand. His gaze shifted for a moment to Diana, who was
watching him casually with her usual curiosity, and then he looked down at his
notes again, a little embarrassed.

After a while, Eiden's companions left and the boy was left alone. Mako
realized the situation and returned to calling his friend, making such extravagant
signs that It caught the attention of all the cafe customers.

"Ho-hi," he stammered visibly nervous. Diana was still watching him with
obvious curiosity, as if was analyzing. He was very tall, had tanned skin, and wore
hair all tousled, as if it had just been raised. The boy stared back, and when their
eyes met, he felt as if her heart stopped for an instant.

"Have you finished preparing the presentation?" -I ask Mako, oblivious to that
staring game.

-More or less; you know that this from group work to Sometimes it can be a little…
complex, ”he sighed. We carry all the morning and it took us all to agree.
 "I see ... well hey ... But then someone cleared his throat. Eiden noticed the
third person occupying the table: Edlyn, a dark-haired girl with edge, which, for
some strange reason Eiden couldn't understand, she was friends with the nice
Mako. Edlyn glared at him, as if he wanted it to disappear from view, and Eiden
couldn't avoid taking a step back.

Diana rededicated her special greeting, and Eiden kept it. staring as he
visibly flushed and waved back military. Edlyn turned to Diana, then to Mako, and
then another once towards Diana, without understanding what was going on and
feeling a little of someone else's shame. Clearly, the new one was still very green
in the matter of being human.

Eiden walked quickly to the bar, sat on a stool and he hid his face under
one of the menu cards. The ears will burned with shame and cursed himself softly
for not have dared to sit with them. I was never going to meet Diana did show so
much shyness...! And Mako's friend gave her a little fear; Why did she seem to
hate him?

Liv, who had witnessed the entire scene, served him a smoothie of Coco
and ruffled her hair even more affectionately, without saying anything.VHis little
brother might have a lot of knowledge of architecture, but he still had a long way to
go in terms of social relations.

Eiden, sitting on a stool with his back to the cafe tables, he couldn't see the
scene that happened next. As long as he sipping her coconut smoothie, Edlyn
nudged Mako and his behavior ugly between whispers:

"You know very well that we cannot befriend humans."

"Come on, what harm can Eiden do to us?" -She complained Mako. Look at
him, he's a good guy.

"It's not about whether he's a good guy or not," she contradicted him. No I
need to remind you that if someone discovered the truth, we would be in danger
not only us, but all beings aquatic world. And you don't want to be the cause of
destruction of various species, right?

Mako rolled her eyes. When edlyn was on that plan there was no one to bear it.

"So we can't let just any human sneak into our lives and spoil it all, ”he
concluded firmly.

"Eiden isn't just any human," Mako protested. Is my roommate and also a
great friend. And if you endeavor to get to know him a little better, you would
realize that there is nothing to fear. I promise you: Eiden wouldn't hurt a fly. On the
contrary, he would put himself in the place of the fly to prevent him from suffering!

CHAPTER 7

The sun was shining high in a cloudless blue sky, blowing a very nice
breeze, and Edlyn, Mako and Diana, with a full belly after having gorged
themselves at the Ondina cafe, they returned quietly towards the campus
residence.

anquilamente towards the residence of the campus. "How's your

adaptation going?" Edlyn asked suddenly. You have never been so long out of the
water. "Oh well, you know," Diana replied vaguely. "You can tell us anything,"
insisted the first -. We know how tough the first days can be when You miss being
in contact with water constantly.

—During my first week here I bathed three times a day in the lagoon, ”Mako
confessed. I was spending more time inside the water it out!
 Edlyn and Diana laughed.

—It is true that my body misses swimming in the waters from the lagoon, "Diana
admitted," but the truth is that I had been as happy as I am now. You see, I ... I in
the lagoon I did not associate with anyone. He had no friends, ”he confessed. I am
an Aysun mermaid.

Edlyn jumped in surprise: "Are you a daughter of the Moon?" He inquired,

with a mixture of admiration and suspicion in the voice.

-What is that? Mako wondered. "Have you never studied or what?" Edlyn became
impatient. exasperated by her friend's few notions of aquatic culture

-. A daughter of the Moon is a mermaid who is born on a blue moon. All mermaids
with the surname Aysun are daughters of the Moon.

They are born with a gift, they have special powers that make them more
stronger than the rest of us ... They don't mix with the others mermaids, they are
raised in solitude. Diana nodded, noting that Edlyn knew the subject well.

"I know there are other Aysun mermaids elsewhere in the world. world, but I've
never met one, ”he said. The daughters of the Moon we have special powers and
precisely because of this why we are always so alone ... The other mermaids do
not know they are comfortable with our condition.

-The truth is that I do not know. In the lagoon right now there is no no other
daughter of the Moon that you can ask. Me guardian trained me very hard to
develop my powers, but he did not tell me about this one in particular, and the truth
is that I've never told him ... I didn't feel like being his guinea pig and to make me
kiss the whole world to see what would happen. It is something very intimate, you
know? He hadn't told anyone until now.

The other two were aware at that precise moment of what much that Diana
was opening up to them, and they promised to they would keep the secret. They
began to understand how difficult it must be of being for Diana to be an Aysun:
everything that was expected of her it was overwhelming.
 For her, the thought of becoming human had been the escape that had
allowed him to move on. When it was sad, when she felt lonely and vulnerable,
when she wished she had born on any other date except a blue moon, it was
repeated herself that one day she would be human. Outside nobody knew nothing
about the daughters of the moon, she would be someone ordinary and they would
not feel that enormous weight on their shoulders. To support her loneliness better,
over the years Diana used to repeat as a his goal mantra: upon coming of age, he
would pass the test from the lagoon council and go live with the humans. And the
Isolation of your life in the water would be a thing of the past.

Aron, although he was greatly enraged when he met the Diana's decision, he
could do nothing to retain her in the world aquatic: his protégé was of legal age and
could now take his own decisions. Furthermore, he was convinced that Diana he
would return, sooner or later, to the waters of the lagoon, to his home. However, at
the moment the girl did not regret at all of your choice.

For several decades, the council of the lagoon allowed mermaids and mermen
choose when they come of age yes wanted to stay underwater or preferred to try
their luck in the human-like surface. Every candidate to be human performed the
oral exam in front of the seven wise men who were part of the lagoon council. The
council headquarters consisted of a imposing stone and coral palace, built along
two centuries from old shipwreck debris. Construction, enormously complex and
robust, it was seen from almost any point of the village of the sirens: the bridges,
the arches and the catwalks were exponents of the golden age of the beings of the.
To get to the council you had to go through various tunnels of marine currents,
and the building was protected by swordfish acting as sentries.

The wise men who made up the council were in charge of legislating the
underwater world of the lagoon and ensured that the strict rules, imposed several
centuries ago, were strictly adhered to. The council members also studied the
ancient world and kept alive all the traditions that mermaids and mermen from
earlier times they had left engraved on the shells. By For example, between the
various traditions archived in the library of the council was the one that concerned
Diana: being an Aysun, she had to receive a separate education until reaching the
age of majority and it must be guarded by a guardian at all times. Own Diana had
gone in person to the council archives in a occasion when she was a child: Aron
took her there so she could read the inscription engraved on a shell that would
mark for always your destiny.

Last but not least, the sages who formed the lagoon council saw to it that
peace reigned, not only among the other aquatic territories, but also with the
humans in the area. They had discovered that the best way to that there were no
conflicts between mermaids and humans was sympathizing with them and joining
ties. For this reason, since the previous council of sages approved a quite
revolutionary agreement, the aquatic beings could decide when they came of age
whether they wanted to try their luck on dry land. However, it was a most risky
undertaking, since humans do not they should know about the existence of
mermaids under any circumstances, so that any breach of the rules would nullify
strictly the agreement.

CHAPTER 8

They had no class that afternoon, so Eiden and Mako were in the bedroom
they shared, lying in their respective beds, reading comics. However, Eiden could
not concentrate in your reading. He kept glancing at his companion: wanted to talk
to him about a subject, but did not dare to jump.
 Actually, it didn't matter. I would bring up the subject in another chance. The
boy decided to focus on the comic he was reading, but after half a minute he was
already looking at his partner again. "Drop it now," Mako said suddenly. Eiden was
startled. "The what?" He asked, perplexed.

—It's obvious that you want to talk to me about something, about Otherwise; you
wouldn't have been spying on me for half an hour while pretending to read comics.

Despite his clueless and carefree appearance, Mako was more insightful
than it might seem. I shared a bedroom with Eiden for several months now and
was beginning to get to know his partner.

"Okay, you're right ..." acknowledged the other. Wanted to ask about the
new girl, you know, Diana. I have seen that lately you go everywhere together and,
well...

Eiden buried his face in the pillow completely frustrated, and Mako felt
terrible for finishing lying to his friend. However, he had no other choice: he knew
that the relationships between humans and mermaids were frowned upon by the
council of the lagoon, it was too dangerous and complicated. If I encouraged Eiden
for him to try to conquer Diana, everything would go wrong. The voice of Edlyn
echoed in her head: No human can know our true identity or we will be in danger. It
felt pissed off with himself: why did he always end up listening to Edlyn? Her friend
acted like some kind of voice in his conscience that prevented him from being all
spontaneous and unpredictable you wish. However, if it ended by listening to him
was because, deep in his heart, Mako knew that Edlyn was right.

CHAPTER 9

The semester progressed rapidly. Diana was adjusting from wonder to

campus life, it almost seemed like I had lived always on the surface. The truth was
that he managed a lot better than Mako, who despite having spent almost a year
living between humans, sometimes he still behaved somewhat peculiar. For
example, he had an irritating habit of greeting strangers he met on the street as if
known for a lifetime. Edlyn kept warning him not to That was how humans
behaved, but he replied that I was just trying to be polite to people.

On the other hand, he got in a very good mood when it rained and went out
to "take the water" like someone who takes the sun: he was completely fascinated
by this atmospheric phenomenon. The waters of the lagoon they were the only
ones who turned him into a newt; still he loved all form of water, wherever it came
from. "I love when clouds water the land!" He exclaimed out of his mind, as he
raised his arms up and moved feet in what looked like a kind of rain dance. Anyone
who saw him in that state thought Mako was completely crazy.

Another aspect in which Mako scored was when testing a new delicacy. The
others still laughed as they remembered the ruckus that your friend made when he
first tasted the food hot spicy. They were having dinner at Isla and Lucas's
apartment, where used to organize theme evenings, when suddenly Mako put a
huge spoonful of jalapenos in his mouth, thinking that they would be harmless
sweet peppers. When he realized his terrible mistake, the damage was done. Tried
to scream asking help, but no sound came out of his mouth. Lucas handed him a
glass of water that the boy drank in one gulp; However, the trail of thejalapeños
were still burning on his tongue and now he was beginning to also go down his
throat. Diana, Edlyn, Lucas and Isla they laughed with tears in their eyes at the
sight of a Mako Completely overwhelmed by the spiciness. And suddenly his friend
He ran to the apartment door and disappeared. Others, intrigued, they hastened to
follow him and verified with great astonishment that the boy, desperate, went
straight towards the lagoon and he threw into the water fully clothed.
 A quarter of an hour later, calmer and calmer, Mako acknowledged to his
surprised audience that the glass of water that Lucas had given it hadn't seemed
enough to calm the itching and that it occurred to him that he could only cool off
with the water from the lagoon. He had made a hasty decision by instinct, but the
truth was that he already felt much better. Yes: after that night, Mako stopped
putting any food that was offered, especially if it looked like a pepper or was green
color.

To all this, the exams were getting closer and closer, and each one faced
the study hours as best one could. Diana, who was very diligent and constant, she
decided to teach Mako techniques to to concentrate. I knew the boy had
suspended several subjects from the previous term and did not want me to
happen. They met almost every afternoon at the Ondina cafe and made outlines
and summaries of all subjects. Then they were made You ask each other about the
topics, as if it were a game. Although Mako constantly complained about how
tedious those long study afternoons were, Diana knew that in the I really
appreciated it.

CHAPTER 10
The summer solstice that year coincided with the strawberry moon. The full
moon of the month of June received that name since, with her, spring gave way to
summer. For Diana, every full moon It was special and magical, but the strawberry
moon was by far her favorite. And, on top of that, on campus they celebrated the
Moon Festival! Strawberry and the summer solstice! The girl felt very lucky to be
able to experience the entry into summer on the mainland; the years earlier he had
had to settle for swimming until surface without anyone seeing it and stay a few
minutes gazing at the huge full moon from the water.

Everyone was delighted with the Strawberry Moon Festival: the The lagoon
had been filled with street stalls where all kinds of handmade garments: bracelets,
earrings pendants, notebooks, bags ... Some stalls were decorated with lanterns of
light, and on the shore of the lagoon they had lit several bonfires to celebrate the
summer solstice.

Mako, Eiden, Diana and Edlyn really wanted to take advantage the shortest
night of the year. They bought at a food stand itinerant the specialty of the
Strawberry Moon Festival: skewers of strawberries dipped in chocolate. Diana
looked around her with eyes wide open; he still had a hard time getting used to the
bustle and crowds, but it was most exhilarating to be surrounded of so many
different little shops and to be able to decide what to do in each moment.

He must have stayed a while longer than anticipated watching a postcard

stall, because when he wanted to realize it, there was lost his friends. He scanned
around him, trying to glimpse them in the crowd, but nowhere to be seen. When
moments later, Eiden realized that Diana was not next to them, turned his head
back and tried locate it with your eyes.
 They must have kept moving through the stalls. Eiden she bit her lip, not
knowing where to pull: in the midst of so much people, it was impossible to tell
them apart. Meanwhile, Isla and Lucas had taken advantage of the fact that
everyone was entertaining with the Strawberry Moon Festival and having Liv had
given the night off to enter the dark waters of the lagoon. They had a firm purpose:
to find out if suspicions of Isla and the others about the merrows were true, and, if
so, discover where the souls of the students were being taken.

Lucas still hoped his friend was wrong, and despite that the evidence
pointed to the contrary, that merrows did not were involved in the curse of the
campus. As they swam, Lucas couldn't stop thinking about his friend Mica. They
had met years ago, in the dead zone. The Lucas's companions, treating him as a
coward, had challenged him to swim up there. To prove that he was not a freak,
with only seven years, Lucas had stepped into the dead zone of the lagoon,
beyond the boundary of the village, where there were no fish or algae, or any other
form of life.

But Lucas found the friend he didn't have in the dead zone. the village. Mica
was a lonely merrow newt, who liked wander through the forbidden territory. At first
when they met face to face, both were scared: until that moment, Lucas thought
the merrows were a legend, while Mica was alerted that the village mermaids and
mermen were his enemies. However, curiosity overcame fear.

The dead zone became their meeting place. They looked one or twice a
week and questions and confidences were asked about his life. They found that
despite what adults had told them counted, mermaids and merrows were not so
different. Little by little, Mica and Lucas were growing and becoming aware of how
dangerous it was their forbidden relationship. If someone were to discover them ...
a lot at stake. The secret meetings were held every more sporadic: Lucas feared
for his own life and that of his family, since he knew that if they discovered that he
was a friend of a merrow newt, the punishment would be exemplary.

And then the merrows appeared. A dozen of them They surrounded Isla and
Lucas. The mermaid's teeth chattered when see them: they were absolutely
repulsive. They seemed very powerful and sinister, and he felt fear. They were at a
disadvantage, they were two against twelve, they had everything to lose. Lucas,
oblivious to Isla's dire thoughts, searched with anxiety a familiar face among the
merrows. And suddenly it found: his childhood friend Mica was among them. Mica
had recognized it too. They looked into each other's eyes for a very long second,
and then the merrow newt nodded almost imperceptibly with the head.
 Liv had headed for the dock, and now, standing right on the edge, gazing
out at the pond with outstretched hands and Rigid body. He closed his eyes for a
few seconds. Seemed concentrated in something. When he opened them, his gaze
sparkled for a few moments an icy glow like frost. Then, as if someone had told
him a joke, he smiled slowly and said in a mocking voice: "Family comes first, right,
Eiden?"

Long ago, one of the strangest beings that inhabit this world emerged from
the darkest depths and cold from the lagoon to live on land firm… He made a pact.
A pact that it was hastily accepted. Once sealed, there would be no going back...
 CONCLUSION
Long ago, one of the strangest beings that inhabit
this world emerged from the darkest depths and cold
from the lagoon to live on land firm… He made a pact.
A pact that it was hastily accepted. Once sealed, there
would be no going back...