| For a Moment by Christy This story is dedicated to my dear friend Jamie, who has a heart of gold and the courage of a lion. I love ya sis! "Mom, I want this to be my best birthday party ever!" said Medody. "Well, we'll see if we can arrange that," said Ariel, "After all, thirteen is a very important birthday!" To herself, she then muttered "And anything should be an improvement over last year's party." Melody gazed out the window of the dining hall at the great ocean. "Mom," she said, "this year I want to do something different." "Like what?" Melody pressed her nose against the window and watched the sunlight rhytmicly making the waves sparkle. "The veiw looks so nice now that there's no wall blocking it," she said. "Yes, it does," agreed Ariel as she joined her daughter at the window. "Well Mom," continued Melody, "you know, it now just my birthday that we should be celebrating. It's also the anniversary of the day I, you know, found out who I am." She fingered the locket she now always wore. "My gosh, I can't believe it was almost a year ago," said Ariel, "So how would you want to celebrate that?" "Well, to be honest," said Melody, "it's been my dream party for as long as I can remember, but in past years it would have been forbidden." "Yes?" said Ariel. Melody turned to face her mother. "I want to have a party at the sea!" she exclaimed. "For all the humans and merpeople! Grandfather can come, and all my aunts, and we can swim all evening long! What do you think?" Ariel tried her best to hide how thrilled she was. "That sounds wonderful!!!!" "Does that mean we can do it?" asked Melody. "Of course!" Melody squealed with delight and hugged her mother. "Thanks Mom, you're the best!" Then she turned around and headed for the door. "Where are you going?" asked Ariel. "Outside to collect seashells for the party!" said Melody, "We'll need lots of decorations!" Not even five minutes later, Melody was on the beach, stripped down to her underwear, with a bag slung over her shoulder. She gazed out at the ocean and smiled. A year ago she couldn't see the ocean from this beach-just a large, forbidding stone wall. A wall that held secrets, and had the sole purpose of keeping her away from the sea. But she wouldn't accept that. She couldn't remember the first time she had touched the cool waters of the sea: all she knew that for all her life she had felt at one with it. She couldn't explain why: she just felt an urge to go out into the ocean. There she felt free, content, and....she didn't know how to describe it. Thank God for the lose pole in the wall's vent, which allowed her to squeeze through and visit her paradise. She never understood these urges until her twelth birthday, when she found the locket that revealed her true identity. Melody stepped into the sea and let the waves carry her out to the deep water, where she would find plenty of shells for her party. Within fifteen minutes, Melody's bag was almost full of odds and ends: seashells for the party, an interesting stone, a fork (she always kept forks she found in the sea-they reminded her of her mother's story), some pebbles, and a small piece of glass that glittered like a jewel. She considered heading home now, but then she thought "What's the big hurry to leave?" So she opted to linger in the ocean for a while. After what seemed like only a few minutes, Melody spotted Sebastain sitting on a rock, relaxing in the sun. "Hey Sebastian!" she called, waving at him. Sebastain opened one eye. "Oh brother, what is dat girl up to now? I hope it doesn't involve me!" Melody swam up to him. "Hey Sebastian, guess what happpens next week! My thirteenth birthday! And we're going to have an extra special party!" "Oh, dis had better not be like last year!" Sebastain moaned. "Don't worry," said Melody, "This year will be different." She told Sebastain about her plans to have a party at the sea. "...well, what do you think?" "Well," Sebastian said, "anything has gotta be better den last year!" Melody laughed. "Oh come on, last year wasn't all bad." "Well Melody," said Sebastian, "de sun is straight up. Aren't your parents expecting you for lunch?" Melody looked up and grinned sheepishly. "I guess I did kind of lose track of time." She was about to head for home when she noticed someone on the beach. A girl of about thirteen stood behind a rock gazing out at the ocean. Melody could only see her head and shoulders, but she had long brown hair that brushed curled over her shoulder, soft blue eyes as deep as the ocean itself, and appeared to be wearing something as blue as her eyes. "Hello!" Melody called over to the girl. The girl appeared startled, then she backed away slowly and came out from behind the rock. Melody gasped when she saw that the girl wasn't walking! Rather, she was seated in a big chair with wheels on the bottom and pushing herself along. "Sebastian," Melody breathed, "who is that girl?" "I do not know, I do not care," declared Sebastian, "Now you'd better be getting back to...Melody? Where'd you go?? MELODY!!!!!!" But Melody was already swimming for shore to meet the girl in the chair. Go to Chapter 2 Back to Non-HoND Fanfic Back to Index |