It’s hurrication time! A week since Tracey returned to the ocean with his father to heal, the city of Charleston has been put under a mandatory evacuation due to the incoming hurricane. Luna Cora, though, refuses to leave until Tracey returns. She spends countless hours every day waiting for him at the Waterfront Park.
The hurricane isn’t the only piece of excitement; it is Luna’s nineteenth birthday. This birthday is different from her others, however. She does not want to go on a shopping spree with Candice or do yoga with Aiden. Instead, she is drawn toward the ocean.
Before Luna knows it, her life is rapidly changing. Dolphins are speaking to her, and Luna herself is starting to question the history of a mysterious music box her parents gave her. What is going on? Does it have to do with the hurricane, Tracey, or something else? Could there be more to Luna than she thought?
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“Isla, it’s time for lunch. What are you doing?” Melody, twelve-year-old Isla’s mother, called. She, Isla, and Isla’s dad, Hunter, left early to fish before the marina closed for the incoming hurricane. It was predicted to hit over the weekend. It was Tuesday, September 8th, a week since Tracey returned to the ocean with his father after he hurt himself on land.
Isla sat on the trampoline at her catamaran’s bow, studying the endless ocean through binoculars. To her mom, she said, “Not now, Mom! I’m looking for whales!” Isla would never forget the excitement she felt when a humpback whale paid a visit to the Charleston Harbor a week ago. If there were one whale, surely there would be more. Isla was a pretty young girl with long, brown hair and brown eyes. She wore a bikini with a sundress over it and Rainbow sandals.
Her mother chuckled before explaining, “Isla, that was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. There are sharks in the Charleston Harbor, but not whales. That whale must have stumbled in there by accident.”
Isla wasn’t listening. Her eyes had landed on something splashing in the water, a fair distance between the boat and some rocks. “What’s that?”
The second she said that, a head poked out of the water before quickly disappearing. Following it was a green-and-gold fish tail. The head looked like that of a young man.
Shocked, Isla dropped her binoculars. “Huh? A merman? Are you kidding me? Mom, Dad! I saw a merman!”
Her mother burst out laughing. “A merman? You’re funny, Isla.”
“I’m serious!” Isla argued. “I didn’t get a good look at him, but I know it was a merman!”
“That’s enough, Isla! Come over here and eat your lunch!”
“But—!”
“Now!”
Eventually, Isla had no choice. She picked up her binoculars and headed toward her parents, head down. While doing so, she made a promise to find that merman again.
***
Isla was right. She saw a merman, but not just any merman. She saw Tracey Freeburg. The young claxton prince was making his way to the Charleston Harbor when he stumbled upon their boat. When he saw Isla looking at him, he ducked underwater and hid behind the group of rocks.
A handsome young man, Tracey had long black hair, but it turned light brown with black streaks when he was in the ocean. His eyes were golden brown, and he had long, pointy ears.
Tracey was on his way to the College of Charleston after recovering from his injury. He remained hidden behind the rocks, but his eyes could not leave Isla’s catamaran. Something about the girl on it intrigued him. He had to find a way to see her again without giving away his secret.
Tracey ensured the coast was clear before diving underwater. He couldn’t wait to return to College of Charleston, but he was especially looking forward to seeing Luna, who turned nineteen today. However, he made a wrong turn when he passed Fort Sumter. Instead of ending up at the Waterfront Park, he stumbled upon The Battery.
The Battery was a large park in Downtown Charleston, which, like the Waterfront Park, was on the water. It was a popular spot for weddings because of the grove of trees that encased it. The edge of the park had a walkway for people’s convenience. They could take in the sea breeze and even spend time on a small beach at the far end of it. Some people even liked to fish from the walkway.
Tracey poked his head out of the water. Wait a minute, he didn’t recognize this part of the Charleston Harbor. He didn’t recognize the Ashley River Bridge on the left, and he certainly did not remember that large cargo ship anchored beside him. He was a pea compared to it.
The ship was waiting for its turn at the ship’s port authority terminal. It faced The Battery, which was crowded. A wedding was occurring.
Tracey snuck to the ship’s anchor, trying to figure out where he was. Oh, he saw what he did. He overshot the left-hand turn beside Fort Sumter. The Waterfront Park was further away to the right.
Ducking underwater, Tracey prepared to swim in the correct direction, but stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes caught something sparking at the harbor’s bottom. It looked like it was off the anchor.
Instantly, Tracey gripped the anchor’s chain and flicked his tail. The deeper he swam, the darker and colder it turned, but the light grew brighter. Finally, Tracey reached the harbor’s muddy bottom. He felt like he was at the bottom of the ocean. Only a few fish swam in the area.
Tracey released the anchor. He positioned himself on top of it as he tried looking for the source of the glow. Then, he saw it. Something was buried in the sand beside the anchor.
Tracey pulled hair out of his face and got to work immediately. He clawed through the sand as if he were a cat. Finally, he pulled something out. It was a conch shell about the size of a phone. The shell was orange with a white interior, but it was empty. Now, that was interesting. What was a conch doing at the bottom of the Charleston Harbor? Why was it buried under an anchor? Tracey definitely held onto it. He felt like he had just made a huge discovery.
When he prepared to leave, the shell glowed. It was so bright that Tracey looked away.
The image of the harbor faded, replaced by an underwater kingdom. A blurry castle appeared before Tracey. Merpeople swam toward it. Most laughed, but some also cried. Tracey didn’t know if it was out of happiness or sadness. All he knew was that there was definitely something interesting about the conch. It was connected to his home realm, Atlantica. Although he still wondered why it was so close to a human ship. Many questions flew through his brain, even as the image faded, and he was back in the Charleston Harbor.
Tracey hugged the shell close, flapped his tail, and took off toward the Waterfront Park.
***
Candice Hope invited Luna Cora on a shopping spree, but she refused. Every day, she would go to the Waterfront Park and wait for Tracey. Candice didn’t want to go shopping alone, so she ended up inviting Aiden Macon, Tracey’s roommate and bodyguard.
Candice wanted to get as much shopping done as possible before she, Aiden, and Luna evacuated for the hurricane. The governor had declared a mandatory evacuation, but Luna, Candice, and Aiden’s parents weren’t able to pick them up until Thursday. Until they came, the kids had to find fun ways to take their minds off the hurricane. Candice’s comfort was shopping, Aiden’s was yoga, and Luna’s was waiting for Tracey.
The day was warm with very few clouds. It was hard to believe a hurricane was coming.
Luna was at the Waterfront’s farthest dock, beside the Charleston Yacht Club. She dangled her legs over the edge, watching the boats, Fort Sumter, and the ocean with Gina, Tracey’s best tern friend. Unfortunately, she had fallen asleep beside Luna, but she let her stroke her.
Luna had long auburn hair and green eyes. She wore a short, blue dress with a reef design along the rim and blue flip-flops. Resting in her lap was a tote bag. Inside it was her wallet, a book she found on the beach last year, and a music box. The music box was the most interesting object. It was ocean-themed, with waves, dolphins, seaweed, and shells. Inside the box were a mermaid and a mirror.
Luna lowered the mermaid so she could use the mirror. She always kept the music box’s key in her wallet. She also sometimes wore it around her neck. She had it on her neck that day.
Luna didn’t know what it was, but today’s birthday felt different. She felt like something had changed inside her overnight. As her birthday drew closer, she started to feel drawn to the ocean. It had been especially bad for the past week since Tracey left.
Luna reached into her bag and pulled out her music box. Whenever she had a bad day, she would listen to it. Something about the song was familiar to her. She even knew the lyrics to the first part. Did her parents use to sing it to her when she was little? That wasn’t the only thing. The music box sometimes made Luna feel sad, but why?
She took the key off her neck and stuck it in the box’s keyhole. Right when she did, Gina stirred, but didn’t wake.
The box top opened, revealing the mermaid figurine, which began to twirl in a gentle circle. Luna sighed, but listened to the song. After thirty seconds, she started to sing. Her voice, like Tracey’s, was spellbinding.
“As the moon rises, it casts a moonlight beam on the sea. The mermaids dance in the breeze. And the magic is alive. Within you and within me. This is who you are.”
Luna held the box in her open palms and slowly stood from the dock. Her movement woke Gina.
She shook her head, then focused on the young woman.
“But you don't belong here. There is a place out there. A place that's not here. A day will come when you can learn the truth. Someone is out there. Someone for you.”
“Wow, Luna. You have such a beautiful voice.”
Luna leaped ten feet in the air. She almost dropped the music box, but caught it. “Who said that?” she asked. She quickly searched the area, but then noticed Gina looking over the edge of the dock. Therefore, she joined her, gasping at what she saw. “Tracey!”
Sure enough, Tracey floated in the water before the dock’s edge. He held his arms out to his sides. “Happy birthday!”
Splash!
Luna was so excited that she leaped into the water with her music box to greet him properly.
Gina squawked and flapped her wings.
“Tracey, you came back! I was so scared you wouldn’t!” Luna threw her arms around him.
“Luna! Your music box!”
“Don’t worry. It’s waterproof,” said Luna.
“No, I mean it’s gone!”
“What are you talking about?” Luna peered down at her hands. Sure enough, the music box was gone. It must have slipped when she landed in the water. Her face turned green. “No! Where is it? Where is it?”
Tracey gave her a friendly smile. “No worries. I’ll look for it.” With a quick flick of his tail, he dove underwater.
Luna remained at the surface. “I’ll just wait here!” she called.
***
Tracey again swam to the bottom of the river. He was lucky it wasn’t as deep there as it was at the cargo ship. It was only twenty feet. Even with that, he had trouble finding the box. It must have been buried under the mud.
Tracey came to a screeching halt when he noticed something was glowing in his tail pocket: the conch shell. It gave off a burst of green magic, startling Tracey. However, he remained calm.
Slowly and carefully, he pulled the glowing shell out of his pocket and held it to his face. The green magic reflected off his eyes. Not only that, but something else started to glow at the bottom of the river. That one was purple.
The closer Tracey approached, the brighter the shell shone. Finally, he found himself hovering over a pile of mud, which had a few fish and seaweed swaying with the waves. Half-buried in the mud was Luna’s music box. It was still open and still playing its tune, indicating it was indeed waterproof.
“What the—?” Tracey asked himself. He positioned himself beside the mud pile and the box. The box was the one glowing purple, but when Tracey brought the shell close to it, it stopped glowing. No longer were the objects shining. What was that music box? He had to ask his dad about it. Unless music boxes came from the Magic World, they were rarely waterproof.
The sight of the mermaid interested Tracey even more. He hated lying to Luna, but had to ask his father before he returned it. Why was Luna carrying around a magic music box? He closed it and slipped it into his other tail pocket so it wouldn’t bump his shell. He also wondered why the music box and shell glowed when he brought them close together, and why they stopped when they were beside each other.
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