Chapter 2

Nothing much happened after that. Mrs. Luvalo eventually left, and we sat quietly in class, teacherless, until the final bell rang. Then we all went home.

I didn’t see Emma after school. We weren’t in the same class— she was doing Acounting while I was in Physics. So I walked home alone.

When I got there, the house was empty. Mama wasn’t back yet. She’d left on Friday to attend her sister’s funeral , and she was supposed to return today—Monday.

I didn’t even bother changing clothes. I wasn’t feeling okay. I just threw myself onto the bed and let my thoughts carry me into sleep.

I don’t know how long I’d been out when Emma woke me up.

“It’s late,” she said. I looked at the time—it was 8PM.

I got up and followed her. That’s when I heard my mother's voice.

"Yoh, you really slept, girl. Since I got home, I haven’t seen you at all," she said.

Me: “I was tired.”

Mom: “Well, we’ve already eaten. Your food is in the microwave.”

Me: “I’m not really hungry, Mom .”

Mom : “I brought back some goodies too!” she said, trying to lift the mood.

Me: “I’ll eat them in the morning.”

I could tell she was worried. Of course she was. I mean, who comes home to treats and good food and just says no?

This wasn’t like me.

I stood up and left them there, heading straight to my bedroom.

Let me lock the door, I thought, and check if what happened this morning could happen again…

First, I fetched a bowl of water.

Mom : “What are you doing with that water?”

Me: “I’m going to wash up, Mom.”

Emma (bitterly): “Yeah right. You should’ve bathed this morning. What you did to me hurt.”

Mom : “What did she do?”

I didn’t answer. I left them in the hallway, took the basin, and went back to my room. I shut the door tightly.

I poured the water into a small tub.

Should I get in?

No. Let me just try touching it first...

I dipped my hands in—nothing. So I slowly leaned in and let the water wash over more of me.

And then—just as I was starting to relax—my knees gave out and I collapsed to the floor.

When I looked down…

Oh God. There it was. The tail.

There was a fish. No. I was the fish.

Half-human, half-fish.

The same thing from this morning had happened again.

I didn’t know who I could tell. This was bigger than me. Way bigger.

I sat on the floor in silence, stunned.

Yes, it was true.

I was one of them—a Mntufish. A sea-being. A mermaid.

From the waist up, I was still human. But from the waist down—scales, fins, everything.

I could feel the pain in my spine from the change, and it lingered like a warning.

Eventually, the water dried and the transformation reversed itself. I waited, breathing deeply, until the tail was gone.

So… this was it.

Whenever I touch water—I become something else.

Which means from now on… I’ll have to avoid water.

Completely.

Yoh, Lord help me. This is going to be hard.

I climbed back into bed, heart still racing, and let the exhaustion pull me back into sleep.

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