#swynhea

Several things happened that morning. Blue watched two sorcerers duel for the first time, a fantastical and mesmerizing spectacle unlike anything he'd seen before. He said his goodbyes. He pocketed a seashell from the shores of Atlantis Lake, and left behind one from the deep sea. And then he returned.

The journey back to his pod took longer this time, but each day brought new unfamiliar sights that Blue just knew would make amazing stories. Deep-water merpeople have particularly acute migration instincts, and so Blue had little trouble knowing which way to go. The currents guided him too. And with so much time to listen, Blue thought he even heard some familiar voices floating along beside him.

Occasionally, he encountered other merpeople. Once, even a caecelia. And Blue knew he should have learned his lesson about making deals with sorcerers, but they swam together for several weeks, and when they parted ways, she left him with a gift. Freely given.

As he expected, Blue's pod was furious when he returned. But it was difficult to stay angry for long, and Blue's stories about his time on land sustained the pod through many long swims into the deep. One night, Blue's uncle confessed that his return reminded him very much so of his father's. And for the first time, Blue thought he might know what he meant.

He kept his promise to Mim, too. Blue knew he was swimming in choppy waters at first when it came to making suggestions to the elders of the pod, but eventually, he attempted to explain himself. Everyone should have one adventure, he pleaded with his grandmother. And it shouldn't be so risky to do.

She was reluctant, but eventually, agreed to allowing Blue to bring a curious cousin of his to the surface the following summer, a little island in the Pacific where shallow-water merpeople frequented. Communicating in Mermish, Blue managed, with the assistance of another merperson, to arrange for a letter to be sent to a little family in a little town in England.

Watch for a conch shell on your shores. It was a gift from a caecelia. If you put it to your ear, you can hear the ocean. My part of the ocean, that is. And if you sing to it, the ocean can hear you too. (I have the other shell).

I miss you and I hope you are well. Thank you again for everything.

-Blue