The sun set over an azure sea as a child peeped through the glass floor of the ship. The child saw a turtle, some catfish, a few anemones, coral hair and two big bright eyes staring back at them.

They gasped.

"Mommy, mommy," the child said, "mommy, come quick!"

"Not now, River, mommy's on the phone," the lady signed the child to stay silent. "Anyway," she continued, "as I said: the nerve Sheily had to put on that dress...."

"But mommy," River pulled on their mother's jacket.

"Shhhhhhhh."

River drooped off. They kicked a small pebble while walking away from their mother. Not fair, they thought as they crossed their arms.

The disappointment didn't last long, though, because soon they saw their grandfather.

"Pawpaw, come look, pawpaw!" River took their grandfather's hand and guided him to the glass floor. "Look."

"That's a beautiful turtle," the old man said as he kneeled next to his grandchild.

"Yeah, that too, but look there." River pointed to where they had seen the corally hair and bright eyes.

"Hmmm," pawpaw said, "that's utmost beautiful seaweed."

Seaweed?

River looked down. The eyes had disappeared. Instead they were now staring at seaweed.

Where did those eyes go?

Vigorously River searched every inch of the glass floor, taking on every possible position in the hope of seeing a little bit more to the left and right of the view the glass floor had to offer.

It was all in vain until pawpaw was called in and River was left alone on top of the glass floor.

Two bright eyes peeped from behind the side of the floor.

River gasped as their eyes met. They looked up about to fetch an adult as they stopped in their tracks.

It might scare them.

River carefully placed their hands on the glass floor as they stared in the creature's eyes.

The creature looked at River's hands and then at something hidden from River's view. Carefully the creature placed two small hands on the outside of the glass at the same height as River's.

River's eyes widened as they realized the creature was a mermaid.