WHEN THE SEA CALLS
Chapter 84: The last day with Aquamarine

Chapter 84: The last day with Aquamarine

Rhea opened her eyes. It was morning again. She stared at the wall clock for a while, before standing up from the bed. It was just a few minutes to seven. Rhea still has some hours before Leslie comes to pick them up.

Their father had spoken to them yesterday about his need to travel, hoping they would be willing to stay with Leslie until he returns.

Rhea had thought at first that Celia would not want to go to Leslie’s place and would prefer to stay with Rosa’s family, which of course, their father would not be against, but she did not say that.

"That is not a bad idea," Celia had answered, and that settled the case.

Rhea who was curious to know why Celia agreed to go to Leslie’s place without a second thought, asked Celia about it.

"Rosa told me they have a better sea view and a lot of fun places to go to," Celia had answered.

"Are you not going to miss Rosa?" Rhea had asked again.

"I already spoke to Rosa about it. She will be coming over. Her aunt stays close to Leslie’s apartment."

"When did you speak to Rosa? Did Dad speak to you about it already?"

"He texted me about going to Leslie’s place for the holiday, though he did not tell me why. I told Rosa about it and she spoke to her parents too."

Celia’s answer was clear enough, there wasn’t any need for further questions, and that ended the conversation.

Rhea entered the bathroom to brush her teeth and quickly ran a shower. She still needs to visit Aquamarine before breakfast. She wanted to go early because she didn’t know when Aquamarine would leave.

After taking her bath, Rhea got dressed and went to Celia’s room to check on her. Celia wasn’t in the room, so Rhea went downstairs. Her dad was in the living room, seated. Beside him was his bag for his journey.

"Good morning, Dad," Rhea greeted.

Her father smiled. "Good morning, Sunshine. Are you heading out?"

Rhea nodded. "I want to take a stroll. I will be back soon."

Her father nodded. "I will be leaving soon. Will you be back before I leave?"

Rhea wasn’t sure when she would be back so she shook her head. "I don’t know, Dad. I can just wait until you leave."

Her father smiled. "That won’t be necessary. Just make sure you are back before Leslie comes."

Rhea assured her father she would be back before Leslie showed up.

"And don’t miss breakfast," her father added.

"I won’t, Dad," Rhea hugged her father. " Safe trip Dad. Bye, Dad." Rhea headed to the door. " Rhea," her father called and she turned. "You should let Celia know you are going out."

Rhea nodded. She was supposed to do that. It just escaped her mind.

Rhea headed to the kitchen and peeped into it. "Hi, Celia."

Celia turned. Seeing Rhea dressed up, she furrowed her brows. "Where are you going?"

"I am going out for a stroll. I will be back soon."

"What about breakfast?" Celia asked.

"When I get back," Rhea asked. She waved at Celia. "I have to go... Bye, Dad." She waved as she walked past him.

"Bye," her father waved.

She left the house and walked down the street. There were only a few people who were outside. Some waved at Rhea which made her wonder how they knew her. She waved at them too.

Rhea got to the House of Seashells and began to look around for Aquamarine. There wasn’t any way to call Aquamarine out. Rhea decided to sit and wait, hoping Aquamarine had not left yet. After waiting for a little while, she sat down on the bench.

What if Aquamarine had left already? Rhea thought.

She decided to listen to music but soon realized she did not come with her phone and headphones.

What is she going to do? She wondered. And how long would she need to wait for Aquamarine’s appearance?

Different thoughts ran through Rhea’s mind. To prevent herself from getting worried, she began to hum a song instead.

"Rhea?" Rhea heard and she turned quickly.

It was Aquamarine. Rhea stood up and rushed towards her. Too bad she can’t hug her.

She waved instead. "Hi, Aquamarine."

"It’s good to see you, Rhea," Aquamarine answered.

They stared at each other in silence for a while.

"Aqua told me you are leaving," Rhea said, breaking the silence between them.

"Oh, yes. I can see you have merged with the stone completely," Aquamarine answered.

"I have," Rhea answered. "I wished I did not," she mumbled.

If she knew merging with the stone would take Aquamarine away from her, maybe she would have delayed it a bit. She thought.

"It’s a good thing you did, Rhea. Did you get your tail too?"

Rhea nodded. "I did. Do you want to see it?"

"I don’t know how much time I have before I leave, Rhea. Why don’t you ask me questions instead?"

Rhea whined slightly. She just wants to spend some time with Aquamarine.

"If I am still here, you can show me your tail. I am sure it’s a beautiful one."

Does she have questions? Rhea wondered. She will need to think about it.

"You should sit, Rhea," Aquamarine said.

Rhea sat on the bench. She looked around for a while and then sighed.

What happens to this place after Aquamarine leaves? What if she doesn’t get along with her new water guardian?

Rhea turned to face Aquamarine. "Do you know who my new guardian is?"

"I don’t. You haven’t met her yet?"

"I haven’t," Rhea answered.

"You will meet her soon, Rhea," Aquamarine said. "I am sure you will love her."

"What does it feel like to be a water guardian? Is there anything I need to know about water guardians?"

"There isn’t much to know about water guardians. Every water guardian is unique in her own way. They can also work based on their master’s power. For me, I did not get to serve Aqua for a long time before she was killed, so I was limited until I met you. Though you had no power or memory of being a mermaid, you had such a strong aura, it helped me out a lot."

Rhea sighed. Too bad Aquamarine cannot stay back.

"I wished you could stay back. Can’t I choose you as my water guardian?" Rhea asked.

Aquamarine shook her head. "You can’t, Rhea. The moment you merge with the stone, Aqua’s connection with the stone has been cut off and a new water guardian has been born."

Rhea sighed. She is going to miss Aquamarine.

"But what if I don’t get along with my guardian?"

"You will, Rhea," Aquamarine answered. "What name are you going to give her?"

Rhea furrowed her brows. "I am supposed to name her?"

Aquamarine nodded. "You will need to name her. Do you have a name in mind?"

"Aquamarine," Rhea answered. "I want to always remember you."

"Aquamarine? That sounds like a good name but I think you should give her something different. She is going to be a completely different person. Giving her my name, you might want her to act like me. Don’t you think you might begin to compare the both of us? That won’t be a good idea."

Rhea had not thought about it that way but listening to what Aquamarine said, she decided she was going to choose a new name instead.

But what name?

"Can you suggest some names for me?" She asked.

"I can. But I want you to name her yourself. Let’s do it this way. Is there any name you like? We can start from there."

"Annabelle," Rhea answered.

"Annabelle?" That is a good name.

"Do you want to connect that to the sea?"

Rhea furrowed her brows. "Do I have to connect that to the sea?"

Aquamarine shook her head. "You don’t have to, but... It makes it sound magical."

"Can I choose Aqua then?"

Aquamarine nodded. "Like Aquabelle?"

"Aquabelle?" Rhea shook her head. "It’s a good name, but..." She shook her head. "Nah. I don’t want that."

"Do you want to choose a different name then? Or do you want to get the Aqua out of it?"

"I will choose a new name. What about Ariel? I also love that name. I want to choose that as my mermaid name. What do you think?"

Aquamarine nodded. "That is a good name. Your friends can call you Ariel and you call your guardian Aquariel. What do you think?"

Rhea nodded. She loves that.

"That is perfect. I love it."

"I hope you can love Aquariel like you love me."

Rhea nodded. She will try her best.

"Can I show you my tail now?"

Aquamarine nodded. "I guess you don’t have any questions for me. So, why not? You can show me your tail."

"Do you think people will be in the sea?"

"We don’t have to go to the sea. There is a lake over there." Aquamarine pointed.

Where? Rhea wondered.

"Behind those trees. Come with me."

Aquamarine took Rhea to where the lake is located. That was the first time Rhea had seen it.

Has it always been there?

"I did not know a lake was here."

Aquamarine nodded. "There wasn’t a lake here before. I made that for you a few days ago. Look..." Aquamarine pointed. "It’s directly connected to the sea, so you won’t have to always go to the sea to get a bath. It’s also well hidden. And it’s big enough for you and your friends. What do you think? Do you like it?"

Rhea nodded. Of course, she loves it.

"Do you want to go in and try it out?"

Rhea nodded. She wants to but what if she doesn’t change?

"Go in, Rhea," Aquamarine urged her.

Rhea entered the lake. "But I don’t know..."

Rhea realized Aquamarine was gone. She smiled. "Goodbye, Aquamarine. And thank you for this beautiful gift."

Beside the lake was a necklace. Rhea picked it up. On the necklace was the name ’Aqua’ inscribed. The name changed from Aqua to Rhea and then back to Aqua.

This must be another gift from Aquamarine. Rhea thought. And she loves it.