This is an entry for the Flash Fiction challenge in the Festival Bonanza held by WattFest.

PROMPT 1] Celine lived in West Virginia her whole life had never been to the ocean - until today. She was accepted to a university in California, and one of the first things she did when she arrived was visit the ocean. Back to when she first started swimming in her parents' backyard pool, she noticed how quickly swimming came to her and how natural it felt to move in water, and since then she has dreamed of seeing the big blue ocean one day.

And so when she dove into the cold, salty waters for the very first time, it was literally a dream come true; she was at peace and felt like she belonged nowhere else. Then, to her surprise, her body began to transform to that of a mermaid. The longer she stayed in the ocean, the more her body changed and remained. The first thing that appeared were gills, and now she's stuck between completing her transformation to start a completely different life, or to hide the change and continue with her current one.

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This is beyond any insanities.

Celine caressed the recently formed pair of gills, which replaced her old skin. Not that she hates them though, truthfully, she admires it, but only until realization struck her again.

She massaged her temples altogether, trying to find a solution to this sudden occurrence. Obviously she can't return to her parents' house and spill everything, they'll be absolutely disappointed and ashamed at her. Dropping out of her university doesn't sound rational either, since she tortured herself for it.

Why did she dive, anyway?

Her groan echoed along the seaside, as if she's declaring to the world about her complications.

Later, she also found her legs coated with turquoise scales.

Again, she was grateful that nobody was insane enough as she is to wander near the mystical sea on the frosty midnight.

They were wonderful, flawless. Celine almost forgot about the dilemma she's facing when she stared at the fascinating...

"No, I shan't be honored to have all this! What am I going to do with my beach shorts?" She muttered grumpily to herself.

Suddenly, her eyes caught a flicker of light in the distance. Assuming it's just a mere vessel, she turned her head away from it, and crawled back to the sandy shore. Teeth chattering, she slowly rose while embracing her wet upper body. Strangely enough, the scales-covered skin isn't freezing at all.

The light in the distance becomes brighter, moving closer to her. Celine gazed at the unusual light, which drowns and resurfaces by itself every now and then.

She was utterly clueless. There aren't any ports or decks to anchor on this shore.

Scrutinizing her eyes, she searched for the light's source. And how shocked she was when a real, fully shaped mermaid surfaced a few miles ahead of her!

Her eyes were wide and deeply blue. Her tail was violet-coloured, and a silver tiara sat atop her head.

The two stared at each other startlingly, each unexpecting the other's appearances. For Celine, she looked friendly, although a bit defensive.

"Hu.. Human?" She asked lowly, fear clouding her eyes.

"Yeah.." Celine answered uncertainly, still too mesmerized at the mythical being. "M-Merma.."

"Anyway, have you seen any mermaids nearby?" The pearly haired mermaid cut in, "I'm supposed to meet a new mermaid somewhere... Oops! I broke my word!" She shrieked, tail splashing frantically. Sheepishly, she covered her mouth with her decorated palms.

"Wait, hold on a second." It's as if her lungs stopped breathing for awhile. She stared at her uncovered scales, and back to the panicking mermaid. "You can't be.. looking for me, right?" Her words went out dubiously.

The mermaid gasped, a bit too loud for Celine's tolerance. She observed her from afar, up and down. Celine expected her to say 'no', but instead, her reaction was, "Maybe."

Celine's heart almost fainted at the plain answer. She doesn't want to get involved any deeper in this mess, which is somewhat impossible now, judging at the mermaid's eager expression.

"Olive told me someone finally dipped in the sea, after a long period of absence. You see, we've waited for someone like you for a.."

"What? So you did this purposely?" Celine exclaimed, forgot that she's not supposed to wake anybody up.

Without any plea of guilt, she answered, "Of course. The sea needs more mermaids. You see, there's this ominous chaos in the deeps.."

"I don't hella care!" Celine rose up, fuming. "I'm a human! Just breed more of your kind, can't you?" She snapped at the confused mermaid.

"I know you're upset and terrified.." she approached carefully, aware of the human's instability.

"Of course I am! Humans should've remained on the earth, and mermaids don't! Each of us are settled into our own habitats. You can't force me to be a part of your tribe!"

The mermaid silenced down, grasping every words the human uttered. A blade sliced through her heart, a distant reminder of herself in the past.

"I was a human, too." Her timid voice caught Celine off guard, shattering her defences at once.

Celine stared at the mermaid, who's fiddling with her thumbs restlessly.

Now guilt's overriding her.

As she apologized repeatedly, a small smile returned to the mermaid's face. "That's alright. But I have a favor." She pointed over the distance of the sea. "We aren't going to be like this for the rest of our lives, don't worry."

"But what about our wasted times? What about the search they'll held for me? My family, studies, and life?"

"This sea is enchanted." She muttered wistfully, averting her gaze to the wavering sea. "A sea witch did it. The moment we reach a certain spot in the ocean, we'll instantly got erased from people's memories. But if you return, their memories will retrieve themselves. And so do time—they'll be reversed."

The sickening dilemma engulfed Celine again. She was deeply curious - and concerned, actually, despite her reluctance in admitting it - about the uprising chaos.

Granted with this transformations, it felt so wrong for her to remain uncaring with these conflicts, when each mermaid counts.

"Trust me. I'll guide you there, and so will my friends."

Can she trust this mermaid, who's nobody but a same-experienced stranger?

"I'm Wynter, by the way. More convenient to mention than mermaid, since you're gonna be one too." A playful smile appeared on her face.

Celine hesitantly dipped her feet into the cold, wavering ocean. Another urge to swim coursed through her body, and the will to neglect her old life for awhile's getting stronger.

Yes, she's ready to do this. She'll become a part of them for some while, trying to be as useful and impactful as possible.

"I'm Celine." She smiled. "Promise you'll help me through this, all right?"

"My pinky's for you." Wynter grinned, obviously delighted at Celine's blooming trust. "Let's get your transformation done first, then we'll swim together to the Unseen Gate. It's where your journey will start—the entrance of the undiscovered world."