Chapter Text
Rikky gazed at the waves in front of her. Today, the weather was pretty nice, and the ocean looked calm and welcoming. She was contemplating going for another dive, but she was out almost all night and still hasn't found anything. Her muscles were sore, and even if the water seemed calm, she didn't want to risk it.
She's been in the area for five days already, which was very unusual for her. Normally, she was able to find and retrieve the items within two to three days before moving to the next location. But the money was good, and the client was very adamant that the shipwreck happened around the coordinates her boat was currently at.
Rikky let out a tired sigh. She had to catch some sleep if she wanted to be able to continue the search later. Suddenly, her phone rang. Confused, Rikky looked at the message.
"Happy anniversary!" read she on the screen. The phone rang again, and the woman stared at the mermaid emoji that appeared. The smile crept on her face. She totally forgot it was today! After quickly typing "Happy anniversary to you too!", Rikki looked at the water again. She couldn't believe it's been 15 years already.
When she first came to the Gold Coast, she never thought it would change her life and her generally in such a drastic way. Already within the first week in a new school, she met her best friends - Cleo and Emma. The message she received was actually from their group chat. And then, one day, exactly 15 years ago, they decided to go camping on Maco Island and accidentally stumbled across the cave that was inside the old volcano. After this adventure, the three of them grew even closer by sharing a big secret: they became mermaids.
Rikki chuckled to herself, lost in the memories. She remembered how panicked they were, unable to find the exit from the cave, how fascinating the full moon above them was, and how bright the water in the moon pool was. She also remembered flopping down on the lawn after getting a few drops of water from a sprinkle on her skin.
To be honest, all of them were pretty clumsy the first few months with their tails, and it took a lot of practice to get used to them. Emma had at least some experience with water before, being a water athlete, unlike Cleo, who even refused to get into the ocean for the first few weeks. She got it the worst, but eventually she also started liking her fins.
It was amazing having friends who really stayed with her throughout the years. Usually, all the friendships she had were lost after she had to move with her parents, as her father found a new job on the other side of the country. But friendship with these two girls didn’t seem to disappear, even though all of them moved on with their lives. They still talk on the phone at least once a week and visit each other relatively often, and of course, support each other through the most important events in their lives.
“I have to visit them soon,” said Rikki out loud, letting out another sigh. Her arms and legs felt heavy and tired. “But now I really have to sleep,” she thought, and went to her cabin.