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With care, she swam toward the bottom of the clear lake using one arm, the pain agonizing. It was deeper than she expected. The lake was circular in shape, and all the sides sloped toward the middle like a gigantic crater. Mer swam around a large boulder, startling a school of multicolored fish. She gasped, smiling as they scattered at the sight of her. It wasn’t uncommon to discover something new in the sea. The ocean had its secrets, and if someone was curious enough, they’d reveal a few.

A sense of giddiness filled her stomach, and she smiled at the few fish who were hovering uncertainly just out of range. There were always friends to be found if one was willing to look.

Mer moved extremely slowly toward the boulder and sat upon its surface. She ran her hand over the light purple algae that softened the rock’s rough exterior. She crisscrossed her legs and waited patiently for her finned friend to come and investigate as she took in the foreign landscape of the lake.

A bed of deep blue seagrass stretched out before her, only broken up by round rocks. A forest of chartreuse seaweed waved in the distance like pagan dancers reaching greedily toward the surface. Small clusters of spiny white flowers grew out of waterlogged trees, long forgotten.

Her eyes closed of their own accord, and Mer inhaled slowly and then exhaled. For the first time in months, she felt the smallest seed of peace. She’d found a refuge. An escape that would see her through the coming years.

If you last that long.

Opening her eyes, she froze as a little red guppy edged closer, his large black eyes seeming almost comically wide.

“It’s okay,” she whispered, holding her pointer finger out. She wiggled her fingers through the water, beckoning the littlefish to come closer. The little guppy approached cautiously, touching her finger before darting back.

“I won’t hurt you,” she crooned and wiggled her fingers in invitation once more.

The brave little fish swam up to her hand and bumped the tip of her finger. Mer held still as he investigated her. She held in a laugh as the guppy soon became comfortable, running his side against her finger as if he had an itch.

“Brave wee thing you are,” she hummed, massaging his translucent fin.

The fish swirled through her fingers once more as if to say goodbye and then returned to his school, which had gone back to nibbling on the blue seagrass. It always amazed her how all creatures craved connection. One just had to be willing to meet on their terms.

She slipped off the side of the large boulder and floated down to the bottom of the lake. Sand and dirt swirled through the water until she reached the seagrass. The fine strands of plant life tickled the bottoms of her feet while more fish came to greet her.

Mer savored the experience.

The light ahead shifted, reminding her of the passing of time, but Mer ignored it. What was the worst that could happen if they discovered her missing?

Reaching the forest of seaweed, she stepped inside.

Mer wove through the stalks, lazily touching the large fronds and bulbs along the winding spindles.

This felt like home.

Her arm throbbed in pain, reminding her of its presence, but Mer ignored it. All she wanted was to savor this moment. The forest thinned out, and she stopped in her tracks.

An ancient-looking structure sat in the dead center of the lake.

Excitement bubbled inside her, and she abandoned walking to swim toward the structure.

It appeared to be an amphitheater in the shape of a birdcage. A large chunk was missing, as if a giant fist had punched through the roof, damaging one of the walls. Narrow winding broken stairs led to the bottom floor. Three stories of columns held up the soaring roof that were so white they looked to be whalebone. Benches lined the upper stories as if awaiting guests.

Mer softly dropped to the top of the stairs at the entrance and took her first step into the amphitheater. A thrill went through her as she ran her hand over a thick column. The smooth marble was slick beneath her palm despite cracks here and there. Little plants grew out of the fissures, which made her smile widen.

Life would find a way.

It was utterly perfect in its imperfection.

“Who built you?” she asked, her question swallowed up by the silence of the lake.

Mer pushed away from the entrance, making her way toward the center of the pavilion. Her brows slashed together as she noticed that the algae on the floor grew in peculiar patterns. She bent low and ran her finger over it, and it wiped away, revealing markings carved into the floor.

Her eyes rounded.

Constellations . . . but why?

Mer spun slowly in a circle, her hair fanning out as she tried to take in the grandeur of the space. It was ancient, to be sure, but not Sirenidae. She didn’t know who had built the structure, but it wasn’t her people. No shell, bone, sparkly stones, precious corals, or gold decorated the amphitheater. Each line was clean, simple, and elegant... very human.