Nina's Story

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Nina loved the full moon not only because it was what gave the mermaids their power, coupled with Mako, but it was beautiful. A large beautiful rock surrounded by stars that helped it brighten the sky. During this time mermaids of Mako gathered in circles in the water and sang songs together. It was a celebration of the moon, and Nina couldn't wait for it to begin.

She swam towards Mako, from her daily exploring, and entered the moon pool where there were a few other mermaids from her pod. "Have you guys seen O? She asked them but each shook their head and continued with their conversation. Without another word Nina left the moon pool and rose to the surface of the ocean. The moon was going to rise soon and the two friends always saw the first sight of the moon together.

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Amber was busy preparing for her camping trip to Mako island. She checked to make sure she had everything and double checked. She would keep checking until she was ready to leave. Her friend Colin was supposed to meet her at the pier, he was the only one with a boat that they could use for the night since her father wouldn't let her use his. She threw her bag over her shoulder and her tent and sleeping bag over the other. Carefully decending down the stairs, careful not to fall, she dropped her things at the front door.

"Dad, I'm going!" She yelled from the door. She didn't have to wait even a second before her dad came walking through the living room from the kitchen with a towel in his hands. He smiled at her "Have fun sweetie. No funny business, and don't go in the water. Sharks might get you." Amber couldn't help but chuckle, ever since she was little he warned her about the sharks around Mako but they never bothered them. "Bye Daddy." She said giving him a kiss and picked up her bags again.

She opened the door and walked out into the cool air and smiled, it was going to be a perfect night for camping. She was in a great mood until she got down the porch steps and heard her dad come out onto the porch, "Be home early, your mom is coming to get you tomorrow afternoon and you still need to pack." He yelled after her. She didn't even acknowledge him but she knew that he knew that she'd hear what he said. She'd been putting off packing for her weekend with her mother. She'd convinced her mother to allow her to go camping tonight since technically this was the beginning of the weekend which was usually the day she was forced to get in a car with her mother and make a half an hour to her mothers house where she lived with that joke of a new husband she hated just as much as she hated her own mother if not more.

Once she reached the pier she placed her things down and pulled out her phone to send a text.
To Colin
You had better be on your way. Dont make me wait too long or I'll swim there and live there forever.

She smirked at the text and pressed send, she was being a little bitchy but she just wanted to get away from her problems for the moment, plus he was late anyway.

Ophelia dived deep into the water looking for the shiniest shell she could find. She was searching for this shell for about an afternoon or so. She intended to find one as a gift for Nina as she knew Nina enjoyed shells. As she floated beneath the water, she remembered the time. "Wait, there's a full moon tonight!" She grabbed shell and swam to the surface.

"Have you guys seen O?"Someone called out. The sound was distant and vague. Who said that? She wondered. She swam fast towards the pod gripping the shell tightly. She came to a surprise only to see Nina there, waiting for her. "Here!" She gave Nina the shell. "I saw it and I thought you'd like it" She smiled.



As the sun began to set and the moon began to rise, Nori swam alone. She was humming her home full moon song. On the inside the idea that this would be her first full moon with a different pod terrified her, on the outside she tried to take it on full force. Do they sing? I always liked it when we all sang She thought as she began reminiscing of her home. Though I couldn't sing, I still liked it.

Someone fast swam by her. Nora flopped back a bit at the sight. "What was that?" she looked around. Ophelia was who passed her by. Knowing that O had helped her get used to the pod earlier, Nori thought that O was the one to ask about how they do the full moon in Mako. She gathered herself together and swam after the girl.

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Kat wasn't having a good day, even though the full moon was out. The decorations were all wrong to her. But no one would listen to her squabble. Swishing her tail, Kat swam away, glancing around for anyone that she knew. Kat was a strong swimmer, so once she saw Nori, she caught up to her within a fifteen seconds. "What're you doing?" Kat asked, crossing her arms. Normally she wouldn't talk to Nori, but it was the full moon so she had to be a little bit nice to her. Her eyes set on O and Nina.

Finally, a person Kat actually liked. She had her hands on a seashell. Wait, didn't she wear that last week? She scowled, almost wanting to scream. How dare she recycle something already used? But she couldn't yell at O, she was like a little sister to her. It would just break her heart. "Hey girlies!" She said in a very fake, yet cheerful voice. A fake smile was plastered on her lips as she looked at Nina, but when she turned to O, her smile was more genuine.

"What're you doing?" Kat asked. Nors could see the displeasment in Kat's eyes. "Oh...It's you Katharina..." She said back to her. She looked over to Ophelia who was talking to Nina only a meter or two away. "You stopped me so fast, I thought you were going to ask to give me a speeding ticket..." She said with a laugh. She tried to lighten the conversation as it was a rare ocasion for Katharina to be speaking to her. Something must have been up her tail annoying Kat. Nora tried her best to keep calm. "I was going to ask O this, but I'm sure you'll know too." She stopped and looked up at the sky. "What does Mako do to celebrate the moon?" She looked back towards Kat. Some of her upset, and discomfort shown throughout her face and body movments. She pasued.

The Kat still looked displeased with tonight's event to Nora, who caught her glimpsing at Nina and Ophelia. As she cried out "Hey girlies!" to them, she saw Ophelia smile back at Kat. Nora gave out a small smile as well.

"Do you need any last minute help?" She heard Ophelia ask. Nora did know if she should ask the same question too, or if that was too over bearing of her. She stood there silently waiting for Kat's responce to her question, but Ophelia quickly changed the subject matter. "Nora, have you meet Nina?" She asked to her. Nora snapped out of her daze and looked towrd the girl. She smiled, waved, and gave a slight bow of her head signialing hello to Nina. She knew Nina and would often wave to her. Nina seemed like a really nice person. Ophelia was quick to change to subject again "Well, anyway you're gonna love tonight! It's so amazing! We all gather, have lots of laughs, sing songs, eat the best prawns ever!...It's all in celebration of the moon!" O cried out.

Nora smiled. "Can't wait." She said to them as she smiled as looked to all thier faces. Ophelia basically answered the question Nora posed to Kat, but didn't mind.


As O looked back onto Nori's and Kat's conversation the smilled, hoping the Nori would find a different mermaid to befriend besides her. It wasn't that she disliked Nori, but it was more that she felt Nori needed another friend. "Hey girlies!" O heard Kat say. Ophelia's face light up and smiled. "Kat!" She said with excitment. Kat's appearence made Ophelia smile and that she called out to both Nina and her made it even more special, known that the two had a distaste for each other. O's two favorite people in the pod, Nina and Katharina, were engaing in a conversation together. "Hey Kat!" She spoke out as she looked around. "Do you need any last minute help?" She asked.

O looked to Nora who was just beside Kat. Ophelia could tell that something was upsetting her. What's wrong? She thought as she glanced at her. It finally hit her that I was going to be her first full moon with Mako. "Nora, have you meet Nina?" She said, trying to include her in the group. She felt bad for Nora as she could tell she was still being treated as an outsider. "Well, anyway you're gonna love tonight! It's so amazing! We all gather, have lots of laughs, sing songs, eat the best prawns ever!..." She said to her. She looked towards Nina and Kat, almost like signaling them to reassure to Nora that she had a place as a part of the pod now. "It's all in celebration of the moon."

Ophelia smiled. She knew that she, and only she, was the common ground between all of them. Without her they all would just have gone their own ways. She was hoping that this full moon would be the one were she didn't have to switch between celebrating with Kat and celebrating with Nina. She also hoped to make this a memorable full moon for Nora. She wished for once that they could all be friends. "You know,and after this maybe tomorrow we can all go search for shells?!" She exclaimed excitedly.

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"Here!" Nina turned around to see O holding out a shell to her. It was a beautiful shell and it was one she didn't have in her colection. "It's so pretty! Thank you, O She squealed and gave it a place in her hair for now, later she'd put it with the rest of her collection. "Hey girlies!" She turned to see Kat swimming over to them and giving Nina a fake smile. Nina didn't like Kat at all. It didn't make the situation good for either of them. Nina didn't like Kat and Kat didn't like Nina but they were both friends with O so the two had to deal with each other.

Nora had joined them, this was her first full moon with her new pod. She must be missing her old pod right now. "Nora, have you meet Nina?" Nina returned Nora's wave and smile, they hadn't talked much but Nina thought she was a pretty cool mermaid. "Well, anyway you're gonna love tonight! It's so amazing! We all gather, have lots of laughs, sing songs, eat the best prawns ever!...It's all in celebration of the moon!" O explained the celebration to Nora which made Nina smile. Nina loved the celebration. Normally O would have to switch between Kat and her since the two didn't like being around one another for more than they needed to be but for the sake of her friend Nina decided she wouldn't make her do that this time. "We can all celebrate together! I can't wait to teach you the songs, they're one of the best parts." Nina smiled at Nora.

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She sat at the edge of the pier and dangled her feet over the edge. The full moon looked brighter tonight than any other full moon. They way it hit the water would make anyone want to just jump in and take a swim. She pulled out her phone and read the texts and smiled. It was true, Amber's mom wouldn't have a clue where she was and would have to ask her father, poor man. Her father could never get a break from her mom no matter what he did, which was another reason why she hated the woman.

Then another text came in which only made her smile grow, extra smores was always a good thing. Of course now that Colin had promised her extra she hoped he would be a little longer, but he wasn't. He'd showed up just in time for his promise to be void. "Your chariot awaits!" Amber stood from her seat and smiled "Late, my chariot is late." She corrected and proceeded to throw her bags into the boat before accepting his help to get on. "Camping time!"

Kat's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. Speeding ticket? She really did not get the girl's humor. "I don't feel like bossing people around today, must be the festivities," she winked, resisting the urge to pat her on the back. As she studied Nori's movements, she barely heard her question. A look of surprise formed on her visage, but O had already answered the question, "I personally don't really care much for it, to be honest." Sure, she liked decorating for the event. But singing with other people sounded annoying.

She left it at that. She wasn't going to open up to the girl and sure as hell didn't need her to constantly ask about things. She turned back to the other two mermaids. "For once, I tried to be nice to you Nina," Kat's voice seemed to cut through the water like a knife - not literally of course, "Can we like put stuff behind us for the festivities?" A part of her also wanted to do this to make O happy. She knew how much O wished that Kat and Nina could be friends. But that seemed impossible. She then shook her head at the young mermaid's question. "No no, it's okay. You should enjoy the festivities without working. That's my job," she winked.

Ophelia's face light up when the two agreed to stay together this full moon. It was rare that Nina and Kat would been in the same general area for a few minutes, let alone an entire full moon. She took it as a happy sign that maybe all three of them could all be freinds. "Don't worry." She said to Kat. "I'll be sure to help out next month!"

"We can all celebrate together! I can't wait to teach you the songs, they're one of the best parts." Nina said. Ophelia became overjoyed. Singing was one of here favorite things to do, even if it wasn't a full moon. She would sing with Nina as they both practiced Siren Singing. If there was one power O knew how to control with precision it was singing.

"And you can teach me one of the Han songs!" Ophelia jumped in. The idea of learning a new song to master ran chills down her spine. Another song to collect and sing. She loved hearing Nori talk about life in the Han River. It was almost like her way of exploring the world without leaving the safety of Mako. "So anyway, we should all get going. We're going to be late!" Ophelia exclaimed. She smiled at all three of them.

Nora smiled again at Kat, hoping to show a more welcoming side to her, but it would prorbaly fail anyway. Kat's snarky remark seemed a little out of place for Nori's mood, but she tried to let it slide.

"We can all celebrate together! I can't wait to teach you the songs, they're one of the best parts." Nina said to Nori. Nori gave off a brief smile. Her eyes didn't make contact and the feeling around her was a bit awkward. Singing was definitely not her strongest power, but at this point she would do anything to be a part of this pod.

"Great! I'd love to learn them!" She said back to Nina. In reality, learning a new moon song felt like she was going to replace her identity, but she knew she had to do this.

"And you can teach me one of the Han songs!" O chimed in.

"I guess I could teach you Seom Jiba Gi, Ophelia." She said hesitantly. "That is if you want to learn it..." She hoped with all her might that O wouldn't, but knowing O for the time being she wouldn't miss this opportunity. Ophelia, though will golden intentions, would keep pestering Nori about her life in the Han Pod, a time she would like to not bring up. But Ophelia insists on knowing, and Nori didn't have the courage to tell her not to ask. Somewhere in her mind she got he impression that she would really be outcasted if the nicest person in the pod didn't talk to her. She didn't want to take the risk.

"What are we waiting for!" Nora said as she looked to the group. "Which way?"

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"Great! I'd love to learn them!" Nina was glad Nora was getting excited about this, as a Mako mermaid you had to learn the moon songs before getting your moon rings so Nina would do everything to make sure Nori knew them, even if she already had her moon ring. "And you can teach me one of the Han songs!" Nina nodded in agreement, she would love to learn those songs.

"For once, I tried to be nice to you Nina," Nina glared at Kat, "Can we like put stuff behind us for the festivities?" Nina didn't respond with words, she only nodded. Honestly she would try for O to be pleasant with Kat but she wasn't going to make any promises.

"That is if you want to learn it..." Nina turned back to Nori, "Of course we do! It'll be exciting and maybe next full moon we can sing them all together! Maybe that would help Nori feel more at home. "So anyway, we should all get going. We're going to be late!" Nina smiled and took her friends hand, "What are we waiting for!" Nina smiled at her, glade she was just as excited as the rest of them, "Which way?"

"This way, Come on! They had to get there quick or the pod would start without them. Nina dove under water and began swimming, slow at first to give the others a chance to follow then she'd speed up.

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Amber chuckled at Colin's attempt to sound annoyed and took a seat in the boat. "Thank god you managed to convince your mother to let you go camping tonight," She nodded "I know, and if we could just get back late in the morning would be even better." She said knowing it would annoy her mother if she was late "You probably won't see me for the rest of the weekend. You know how my mother is." No matter how much Amber tried to get her mom to know that she hated her and her new boyfriend her mom still tried to get them to do family things together. This meant the whole weekend for just the three of them, no friends and no cell phones. It's torture for any teenager.

Once they got going towards Mako Colin began digging around in his bag "Oh! Almost forgot." She watched curiously wondering what it was he was looking for. Then he pulled out a thermos with stickers all over it, typical Colin. He tossed her the thermos which she caught with ease, "I brought Apology Tea." Amber smiled and opened the thermos and drank from it. "Sorry I was late." She savored the taste of the tea before replying Don't worry about it, you'll make it up to me. You always do."

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Kat laughed, pursing her lips. At least she had attempted with the human-loving mermaid. Her blue orbs glanced around the night sky, suddenly feeling something odd. It was a low hum that came to her ears. Almost like a buzz; the look of concern on her face was obvious, "Something's not right, I have a bad feeling about the upcoming future." She wasn't going to say what was bothering her. No one would understand why a buzzing sound would bother her. But she had been studying sounds, and that buzz sounded like a motor. "Uh, never mind," Kat whispered, diving down under Nina.

She soon caught up to her - blonde hair flying behind her in the waves. She knew that she would be bored out of her mind, but it was her job to do what's in the best interest of her pod. She also wondered what it was like outside Mako Island. Not in the human world, but in the Han River Pod. She let a smile escape her lips. Kat rarely smiled in front of everyone besides O. She looked ahead, seeing the glimmer of the full moon hitting the water's surface. It was truly a paradise.

"Of course we do! It'll be exciting and maybe next full moon we can sing them all together?" Nina said.

Nora smiled. Her eyes slightly looked down at the water below her. "It's fairly simple" She said. "I'm sure you'd learn it fast." She looked up at the moon which was starting to climb up the horizon. She followed after Nina, then Ophelia, then Kat. She turned to the sound of a motor. No... She said as she looked around. "Is this place a human spot?" She asked to the group. "Do land people come to Mako?"

"Something's not right, I have a bad feeling about the upcoming future." Kat muttered. Nora looked to Kat. Does she know? Nori wondered.



Ophelia smiled as they headed on their way. For some reason she knew it was going to be one of the best full moons. Everyone she cared about was going to be together. "Something's not right, I have a bad feeling about the upcoming future." Kat said. "What are you talking about Kat?" O asked. "It's the perfect night for a full moon! It's going to be great!"

She looked to Nora. "Let's not worry about that stuff. Mako is a mermaid location, I have rarely even seen land people here." She reassured her. It wasn't that O never saw humans on Mako, but more that she seemed to hide from them. She looked to Nina. "Right?"

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The first to follow her was Kat, who caught up to her quicker than she'd liked but she didn't let that bother her. This was the new moon celebration plus she promised to play nice with Kat for the night. Once they reached the far side of the island Nina rose to the surface again. This time the group wasn't alone. Hundreds of other Mako Mermaids joined them, forming small circles in the ocean. "Don't worry, humans rarely come here. Especially at night." She said motioning them to form their own little circle.

This would have been the first time Kat even sang with the pod let alone with Nina. Maybe things would be fine, Nina could play nice with Kat but from Nina's point of view Kat was the problem not herself. One by one the circles of mermaids began singing in harmony. Loud enough for the rest of the pod to hear but not the unknown humans on the other side of the island.

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Once they got to shore, Colin helped he rout of the boat even though she really didn't need it. He also refused to let her help him unload the boat, which also annoyed her a little but she knew what he was doing so she didn't push it. She scanned area "Are we camping on the beach or in the forest?" Personally she loved the beach, it was much easier to set up your tent on the beach rather than the forest. She looked at her phone, two bars, The closer they got to the forest the less bars she'd have which was good for her. That way if her mother tried to call or text she wouldn't be able to answer which was another reason why her mother hated her going to Mako. Her mother just didn't understand, Mako has been a part of Amber's camping trips for years and it wasn't going to stop now.

Once things were unloaded she grabbed her bags and threw them on her shoulders, "Come on, quite texting. We have to find a place to set up camp. The sooner we do that the sooner I can get to extra smores." She said leading the way farther from the water.

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Katharina shrugged. She felt a little bit bad for scaring her pod, but she was always paranoid. If those selfish beings ever found out about them, they'd be screwed over. Emerging to the surface of where the other mermaids were, Kat smirked. Perhaps she'd just pretend to sing like last time, but she knew that she got in huge trouble for that before and she couldn't risk it again. "Let's get this celebration going!" she said in a very fake cheerful tone. Watching everyone else sing, a small smile formed on her lips. After a few minutes of watching, she finally joined in while looking to the sky with a little bit of hope. She liked to believe that the moon was the reason for her success and she should be thankful for it's shiny glory.

"Let's get this celebration going!" Kat said.

Nore looked to her, catching that this singing part obviously wasn't her thing. She then turned to Nina and Ophelia, who seemed to be enjoying the music and singing loudly with the other mermaids and tried to follow them in song. She began to let the words begin to flow from her mouth as best as she could, though they were a few seconds later than the rest of the pod.

She stared back up at the moon, which gave her a bit more comfort to her. At she looked back towards the group, the song was over.

"I have a suggestion for the next song!" O said from the group. "Can Nori sing something? Let's welcome her song into our pod!" Ophelia said. The other mermaids look on the four. Nori was there frozen still.

"Me?" She said to them? She looked out at the sea, all eyes seemed to be focused on her asking 'what are you waiting for'. "Okay, I guess." She looked to Ophelia panicked. "What do you want me to sing?"

"Your moon song." She said. "Don't worry, you'll be fine." She said to Nori, though it was not very reassuring.

"Eommaga seomgunure gul ddareo gamyeon. Agiga honja nama jibeul bodaga...." She began to sing



Ophelia looked to Nina as they started to sing. It was one of her favorite things about full moons. She sang to her heart's content and kept singing with a smile on her face. She looked to Nori who seemed a bit lost and confused with the new song. She thought, why not have Nori sing her old pods here. It may help her feel more at ease, it would open the pod up to different cultures and Ophelia could learn the song.

"I have a suggestion for the next song!"O said as she was going to announce her grand plan. "Can Nori sing something? Let's welcome her song into our pod!" Ophelia said. She hoped the others would agree

"Me?" Nora said to her "Okay, I guess. What do you want me to sing?"

"Your moon song." She said. "Don't worry, you'll be fine." Hoping that would her reassure the new tail.

"Eommaga seomgunure gul ddareo gamyeon. Agiga honja nama jibeul bodaga...." Nori began to sing. Ophelia listened on with awe.

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THe singing was Nina's favorite part of the celebration. After there were games and eating but the singing was the best part. O had suggested that Nori sang one of her own moon songs which wasn't a bad idea. No one else seemed to object and she began to sing. It was a beautiful song and everyone stayed quiet until the song was over. When it was Nina swam up to her That was great Nori, you'll really have to teach us that song. Then you won't have to sing alone next time! She said with a smile, she hoped Nori would teach them before the next full moon.

After the singing it was time for the feast but Nina wanted to get her new shell where it belonged. Nina smiled, "I have to put this shell with the others, She turned to Nori, "Would you like to see my collection? I have so many shells. I keep them in the moon pool. She said and dove underwater and swam towards the moon pool entrance. The entrance was hard to see if you didn't know where to look, there were lots of underwater plants covering the entrance. It wasn't like that before but the pod had feared humans would find it after a few had swam a little too close tot he entrance.

She swam through the vegetation and smiled when she rose to the surface of the pool. Inside was beautiful. The walls looked as if they were made of class and shimmered in the moonlight. Straight above the middle of the pool was the opening where the moon would pass over. A mermaid in the pool while the moon passed over was harmless, but you could always feel the magic coming from the moon. There were small step like stones all around the pool where the mermaids sat with only their tails in the water.

Nina swam to the right of the pool and pulled out one of few chests she had full of shells. She opened the chest and placed the shell on top of the many others inside. If you didn't know any better you would think most were just the same as others but they weren't, there was always a change in color, shape or design even if it was the smallest thing. Form time to time she would empty all of her chests and admire her shells as she washed them in the salt water.

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"I say right where the forest meets the beach. We can use the trees for extra shelter just in case, plus you can lose service so your mom can't call, and we can still come hang out on the beach." Amber like that he knew just what she was thinking when it came to her mother. She chuckled and turned to him ready to respond but saw that he was focused on his phone "Who are you texting?" She asked, if she actually thought about it she'd have known it was Henry the two were as best of friends as she and Morgan were.

She found the perfect spot for their tents and began setting up her's. She climbed inside, allowing Colin to deal with the fire, and unrolled her sleeping bag. as she crawled out of her tent she gave a suggestion,Why don't we go exploring? There is a lot of this island we haven't seen yet." Once she was up off the ground again she noticed two people joining them. She smiled Morgan and Henry, she sent them both a smile and nudged Colin knowing that he had done this. He knew how she felt about Henry and he knew that Henry was the only thing that made her feel fuzzy?

Amber could also tell the Morgan wasn't expecting to be joining them. "Come on Morgan. We don't bite. She said jokingly, she then turned to Henry "What are you guys doing here anyway? Painting? She asked, Henry's painting were beautiful they were one of Amber's favorite things. She remembers the first time he let her see one, she was really amazed and she told him so.

"That was great Nori, you'll really have to teach us that song. Then you won't have to sing alone next time!" Nina Said. Nori looked toward her and smiled.

"I'd love to teach you guys." Nori said as she looked around at them. It seemed as if the entire pod watched on and enjoyed. "It's an old folk song in Korea. Legend has it that the song speaks about how the first mermaid was found in the Han River, but that's just a story." She said.

"Really?" Ophelia asked. "You'll have to tell me the translation!"

"I have to put this shell with the others, She turned to Nori, "Would you like to see my collection? I have so many shells. I keep them in the moon pool.

Nora turned to her. "That seems really cool! I'll come with you." She dove down and followed after Nina. As she entered the moon pool her eyes looked up in amazement. "This is the moon pool?" She asked. She has always heard Ophelia talk of the moon pool, but she has never been inside, mostly because she couldn't find the entrance. "Wow.." She muttered. Her eyes trailed up to the opening at the top. "So this....is a volcano?" Her attention turned to the walls It's so beautiful in here.

Nori swam over to Nina. "Whoa...these are all your shells?" She looked at the box. "You have so many."



"That was great Nori, you'll really have to teach us that song. Then you won't have to sing alone next time!" Nina Said.

"You have to teach us Nori!Ophelia said. She applauded and smiled.

"I'd love to teach you guys.It's an old folk song in Korea. Legend has it that the song speaks about how the first mermaid was found in the Han River, but that's just a story." She said.

"Really?" Ophelia asked. "You'll have to tell me the translation!" She wondered what the words meant in English, it was such a pretty song in Korean, would the translations do it justice?

Ophelia smiled, now that songs were over it was time to enjoy the feast. She couldn't wait to eat! "I have to put this shell with the others, She turned to Nori, "Would you like to see my collection? I have so many shells. I keep them in the moon pool.

O looked at Nina. "You two go ahead, I'm gonna head with Kat and catch something to eat." She said. Who is on clean up?" She asked Kat.