Part 1
She closed her eyes as the warm stream of tears fell down her cheeks. Tiara turned to see the ocean one last time before ascending the narrow stairs. There?s no looking back. As Tiara came to a small village she peered around the corner of a building, looking for watchful eyes that might see her scampering across the almost deserted moonlit dirt road. She ran, ran as fast as her legs could carry her and as far as the growing stitch in her side would let her go. When she was out of sight of the village and near the edge of the woods, Tiara stopped and took a look around.
?How wonderful everything is. The trees, the grass, the sky?? she whispered as loud as she dared, for she hadn?t seen the surface world in nearly one hundred years and she had no memory of the life she had before she lived deep in the ocean. As the light began to grow, Tiara, for the first time since leaving home, lifted from her neck the only possession she was able to take from her watery home: a necklace. To Tiara it kind of looked like a locket with a faded letter on it. She saw the faded letter was a ?D?. She suspected this letter represented her last name, which she didn?t know, and was determined to find out why her mother had told her never to take the necklace off. When Tiara inspected the locket, she realized tat she wouldn?t be able to pry it open. The thought of her mother made her reminisce of when she was happily living in the ocean and then the one day when she was told to leave her ocean home forever. Tears were rimming her eyes, and then all of a sudden something jumped, or rather rolled, out in front of her. The strange creature was fuzzy!
?You is who?? it cutely asked.
?My name is Tiara, and who, or what are you?? she asked confused for she had never seen an animal talk before.
?I is Goamee and I is a squirrel.?
The sun was starting to shed it?s light off onto the earth and Tiara heard the village starting to wake up and she realized that she had no food or drink with her. She was compelled to go back to the village to get some provisions, but her mother had told her not to be seen in the village. So she resorted to foraging in the nearby bushes for berries and things.
Tiara looked up from the strawberry plant from which she had been eating and the little squirrel, Goamee, was gone. Soon the faintest sound of rushing water came to her ears. ?A river!? she thought. Just as the river came into view when she got out of the copse of trees she saw something fluffy running towards her.
****
In the village of Kagera the day?s commotion was almost at an end and the red-orange sun was just above the top of the trees. A dark figure crept around the corner following the barely traceable tracks that Tiara made only the night before. The dark ranger made his way along the trail until it stopped at the corner of Kagera?s General Store. His mind was reeling.
?How did that little mer-human go so far without being seen? Nobody in the village saw her, none of the animals on the ground or in the sky even saw her!? The dark ranger, Dermion, said just barely audible. Dermion was mysterious and trained in the way of rangers, but just with a change of heart.
****
Tiara, lying on the ground a little ways away from the river she had stopped by earlier, could not find sleep, but her new found friend Goamee had. He was curled up next to her leg softly, snoring as Tiara rolled through her memories until sleep finally took her.
The next morning, when she woke up, there was a pile of berries a few feet away. She figured Goamee had placed them there, so she sat up and ate them. The succulent flavor exploded in her mouth. She hadn?t had such treats, since before she could remember. After she ate she found her squirrelly friend and started off?away from the ocean. At about midday she saw smoke rising. It wasn?t big enough to be of any threat, in fact it looked positively inviting and when she got close enough she saw it was a lone cottage. Tiara saw a man outside, an old man, gardening with his dog ?helping? him. The dog was digging up all the holes the old man was filling. Tiara giggled and the man looked up.
?Halloo and who may you be?? he asked.
Willing to talk to someone she cautiously stated her name.
?And what are you doing so far into the forest??
Tiara didn?t know what to say to this, but she was spared an answer by the old man stating ?I remember you and?? he hesitated, for what reason Tiara didn?t know. ??Your father. I helped him out a couple of times and he helped me?? he stopped and looked away.
?How do you know who I am? I?ve never met you?at least I don?t think I have??
The old man pointed at her locket ?that is how I know who you are. Don?t ever loose it and don?t ever take it off.? The old man finally noticing Goamee, who was hiding behind Tiara?s legs, watched him for a minute then said to Tiara, ?It?s a loyal little squirrel, that one. Now it?s getting late, would you like a room to stay in for the night? No you wouldn?t need to pay. I could tell you more of the surface, if you?d like.?
So for the rest of the day Tiara sat by a little fire and talked to the old man. She found out his name was Megdee after he had apologized for not telling her his name sooner. Long after he went to bed she was up reading some of the books from his library. When she got tired she headed for bed where Goamee was curled on the bed, the warm smell of a fast fading fire filled her head and made her instantly fall asleep.
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