My Weird Secret Life

Chapter 46: Brothers

Rylie swam out of the van and said," Zayana! Are you okay? We saw a faint white light and we knew it was you. You . . . did it?" Rylie noticed my disappointment," Is everything okay?" She asked, before I could answer Vlad swam out," Zayana, okay?" He asked, I nodded." You accomplish storm of sand, so why so sad?" I shrugged," I didn't get the answers I needed. But let's continue on. We need to finish. I'm sure we got off track by a lot by the sandstorm." I got up and swam inside the van," I'll drive, you can rest." Rylie said, I didn't argue and sat in the back seat. I sat there and tried to communicate to Theos for fifteen minutes when I heard a buzz. I looked at my phone and there was a text from Atlantic.

Atlantic: The nurses said they couldn't do anything

I sighed and there was another buzz.

Atlantic: We went to all seven hospitals they all said the same thing
Zayana: Find Old Woman Kelpiana and ask her what can heal him she's always right
Atlantic: Where???

I thought about it but couldn't remember, I swam up to Kai and sat down. Maybe Kai couldn't speak to me but he could think to me. I tried as hard as possible to focus on Kai, where's Old Woman Kelpiana's house? I waited for a reply but nothing came.

Zayana: Idk
Atlantic: Well what we do now?

I was about to type back I don't know again but I heard a voice. Past Old Man's Market, through Central Square and straight for fifteen minutes toward Lionel's Backyard. Thank you. I repeated the instructions to Atlantic. Do you need something, I asked Kai, he shook his head. Are you sure? He shook it again. I sat down and waited and waited and waited. Then finally a text from Atlantic.

Atlantic: OWK said that a royal needs to heal him

A royal? I'm a royal! I also have powers maybe I have a healing power hidden deep inside me. You don't. A wolf said, I glared. At no one, but I knew. And I'm pretty sure he did too.

Atlantic: She said you can do it
Zayana: But I don't have that power, I just asked
Atlantic: Who???
Zayana: Long story but I just know
Atlantic: You said that OWK is always right that means if she says that a royal, aka you, can heal Aaron then a royal, aka you, can heal Aaron
Zayana: But you don't understand I can't heal Aaron as much as I wish I could I just can't
Atlantic: Y???
Zayana: A wolf told me
Atlantic: . . .
Atlantic: Ok well I don't believe this "wolf" and I believe you can there must be some way
I looked at my phone and tried to think then focused on the wolf. You know what I can do, Tell me. No answer. My friend is slowly dying if you know how to help him, help me. After a moment of silence, I can't help you. The deep voice answered. You have to figure this out for yourself. You're lying, and I don't know. I don't have time, my friend doesn't have enough time and you need to help me. At the moon's full glory venture to the place where it all started, in seven days there will be no time left to stop the one you need to take down, know there is more than let's on. One shall surprise you more than you know, and one will let you down when you need them most. There will be a time when you mourn the one you lost along the way. Second chances matter most during this journey, depending on your choice it'll either lift you up or bring you down to a dark place. Why do all my questions have to be answered in riddles? So I have seven days until Aaron can't be saved, the cave that turned me into this thing has the answers and I guess I'll get it there and then go back to Aaron with my new cool healing powers and save the day? That's going to be easy the caves on the hill. That's not how it works. Well then how does it work! Cause I've just been trying to figure it out on the way! I didn't get no instructions! Did I?! But if there is one please, inform me on how to find this manual on being a mermaid and a princess, and trying to save your friend from death! Please! Whatever. Agua swam up beside me still tied up and asked," Is your friend okay?" My eyes cast up into his grey ones quickly and I secretly started to form a water sphere. "How'd you know what was happening to Aaron?" He said casually," I just read your messages." I looked at him with my eyebrows furrowed," That's rude. And very invasive." He shrugged,"Don't care, so what happened to this Aaron?" My hands started shaking violently and my eyes swept down to my tail. "It was my fault. He told me to stay in the van and," my voice wobbled,"I went out. Then a Night Terror touched him." Agua looked down too. "Oh. I'm sorry." I rubbed my nose when I felt the snot starting to drip. It was quiet for a few moments. "I wasn't always this way, you know. I have a brother and we're just a month apart. We used to be the closest, closer than most siblings are, and I'm pretty sure most siblings first choice honestly, wouldn't say that their best friend was their brother." I smiled, then frowned and panicked." You said used. What happened? Oh no, did he die?" I asked shocked, my eyes growing wide. Agua snorted sadly,"No, he's still alive. We just disagreed, got into a big fight. My brother was always my father's favorite because he was older and I was the failure. I was always looked down on by him. Then my dad asked if he wanted us if we wanted to join him in his business. I said yes, I thought I could finally earn my father's respect. But my brother said no. We knew what he did, we knew what happened, our bedtime stories were just about how your dad betrayed my dad and is a selfish man." He searched my eyes with maybe an . . . apologetic look? "We got into a huge fight and I got this from him." Agua swept his hair to the side and pointed towards his ear and a nasty scar showed that I had never noticed. "It's a reminder of the way we used to be. He vowed on that day that as long as I worked with my dad, he would never ever talk to me. I said that's fine with me, because I said I'm never leaving Dad's side." I can't say that I didn't look at Agua in a different way. "We were five," Agua finished. He sniffled and then looked up at me. I probably looked heartbroken. Like my pet had just died. " I am so sorry, I misjudged you before I actually got to learn your side of the story, and I'm sorry for that." " It's fi-" before he could finish I hugged him. He froze. He couldn't hug me back being tied up and all, but I imagined he softened up and he would've hugged me back. I pulled away and he finished his thought,"It's-it's fine. Honestly, I've gotten over it." I shook my head,"No, you haven't. I can see it in your face, and you haven't. And it's okay to miss someone, as long as you've tried your best to try to patch up your relationship with them. And the way I see it, you haven't." His eyes grew glassy and I think his lip may have quivered. "I haven't, but he wouldn't listen even if I tried." "Maybe, but you're still doing the one thing that caused all of this mess." He nodded,"I know, but I need my dad to know-" "You don't need your dad's respect because I don't think you were ever going to fully have it anyway. Even if you took over the earth." Agua clenched his fists and I thought he was going to blow. Maybe I took it too far, I thought. But immediately afterwards he loosened them and sighed. "You're right." I grinned,"I know." He looked up at me." Merpeople should listen to you more often," I was so happy to hear that. "Thank you! I tell everyone, but they're not listening." His gray eyes appear warm for the first time and I smile. I was about to text Atlantic when someone thought something to me. How do you manage to do that? I stopped smiling immediately and looked at Kai,"Do what?" I asked. Agua looked at me kind of iffy,"Huh?" he asked. I shook my head smiling,"Nothing. You should probably check on Kylie though," I said. He nodded looking at me as suspicious as ever. "Do what?" I whispered. Make connections with people like that, how fast you can get people to open up to you. Please don't tell me you haven't noticed this? I looked at my hands, suddenly they looked real interesting. But I thought about what Kai said, he was right. Kylie and Rylie had opened up to me in a matter of minutes of meeting each other, and a whole lot of others had done the same. I honestly didn't even realize but it did make a ton of sense now that I was thinking about it. Do you think it's a power? I thought to Kai. He smiled weakly his eyes closed. Its not a power, Zayana. It's a gift. A gift? I thought. He nodded, The way you interact with people makes them feel safe around you. That's not a power, that's a natural-born gift. You make people feel safe and wanted and protected. You're special in so many ways. I decided Kai was right. It wasn't a power, at least not really a magical power that I had gotten from a magic crystal but the way I interacted with people that they thought I was a safe person to talk to.

Zayana: I know how to save Aaron