Suddenly the images flashed - one after another. A beautiful girl appearing from nowhere under the ocean, not out of breath, swimming like a fish, a strange aquamarine Spandex covering her all the way to her nouveau riche flipper gear. A kiss of life, of love. Mysteriously showing up at school. Noticing the two-finned mermaid at Starbucks. Commenting on the Ferris wheel, "I've never been higher than the rocks."

A mermaid? But it had to be a joke. Yet somehow it all made sense, unreal as it seemed.

"Chainsaw!" I yelled. "Come quick!"

"No, don't, Spencer," she begged, grabbing my foot.

"But this is unreal - You are unreal! Man, I think I'm going crazy!"

I wanted to show Lilly to the world and hide her at the same time. I needed proof that what I was seeing wasn't a dream, and yet I didn't want anyone to harpoon her and stick her in a freak show. My mind was racing. I was disappointed, yet intrigued. Skeptical, yet excited. My brain was in overdrive.

"I can't be seen!" Lilly pleaded.

I saw the horror on her face. "Stay here! Please!" I begged, squatting down to grab her hand.

She could bolt off, and then I'd really lose her forever.

I turned around. "It's nothing!" I shouted to my friends, trying to ward them off. "I overreacted."

I turned around and Lilly was gone. A moment later she appeared yards away from me.

"Damn, she's fast," Chainsaw said, shocked. "Was that a trick?"

"You won't believe me if I told you - trust me!" I said. "She's a - "

"A party girl," Chainsaw said, nudging me. "She must want you to go deep sea diving."

Lilly must have seen us talking, for suddenly she appeared in front of us, at the edge of the rocks. The supersonic fireworks lit up the sky, the world and her

"What was that?" Chainsaw shouted, pointing to her tail.

"She's been attacked by a fish!" said Robin.

"No . . ."

"It's a costume!" Chainsaw said, hitting me in the arm.

"No . . ." I confessed.

"A real fish tail? How did she attach it?" he asked incredulously. "And why?"

"It's real!" I said.

"This is twisted! Dude, did you spike my soda?"

We stood at the water's edge. The waves crashed in rhythm to the explosions in the darkened sky.

"Then what is it?" Robin asked.

Suddenly Lilly appeared before us, treading water. "I'm a mermaid!" she declared, with pride, with reluctance, with relief.

Robin and Chain stood in disbelief.

"This is lame! You're spoiling the fireworks "'cause you want to prank me back for something?" Chainsaw argued.

"You said it yourself when I told you how she saved my life. Remember? You said, 'She swims in the ocean better than you, saves your life, and disappears.' Well, she's not a swimming instructor or a lifeguard. You have your answer now - she's a mermaid!

"Let them stay," she called, resting her arms and head on the edge of a rock.

"I thought you can't be seen!" I said, concerned, kneeling in front of her.

"I'm a mermaid - not a ghost." She winked.

"If she's a mermaid, I'm an alien!" Robin chided.

Lilly pulled herself onto a rock next to us. Her tail wasn't slimy like I would have imagined a mermaid's would be, like a snake or fish, but rather sleek, sexy even, almost glowing. We knelt, entranced, touching her fin, like we were touching the horn on a unicorn.

But Lilly pulled at her side. "I've got to go," she said and quickly dove into the water like a dolphin. In an instant she was back.

"We have to tell someone!" Robin demanded.

"Or make a video! We could make millions!" Chainsaw said, excited.

"We don't tell a soul," I said sternly. "No one must know - swear on your life!"

Lilly stared up at us, her eyes pleading for secrecy.

"No one tells a soul!" I said through gritted teeth.

Chain looked at me with reservation, then at Lilly. "Spencer, you sure do get into predicaments. Okay . . . I swear."

We all gazed at Robin.

We crouched by Lilly. It was as if Chainsaw, Robin, and I were entranced, mesmerized by her mermaid spell as she lapped her tail gently against the water.

"Have you always been like that?" Chainsaw asked incredulously.

"Have you always been like that?" she asked.

We all laughed.

"I've always wanted to be a mermaid," Robin said dreamily. "Ever since I was a little girl."

"I want to be a scuba diver!" Chain said with a wink.

I knew I only had minutes left with her. "I need to talk to Lilly alone. Make sure no one comes around," I said. "The fireworks are almost over. People won't be distracted anymore."

Lilly was magical on earth, but as a mermaid, she was even more magical, even more seductive. Everyone was staring up at some stupid colored lights, when a miracle was floating right before my eyes.

"I was afraid you wouldn't believe me," she said, sliding up on the rock when we were alone.

"Yeah - " I began, holding her wet body in my arms, her lovely tail draped around my jeans.

"I wanted to be with you forever," she confessed.

"But - " she said, fingering the locket.

"Lilly!" Waverly's voice called from the distance.

"I don't want you to leave," I said, grasping her wet hand.

"I don't either, but - "

"I'll never see you again?" I asked, my heart breaking.

She nodded.

"We could meet at specific times," I pleaded. "I could surf out to your home."

Lilly stared up at me with watery eyes and shook her head. "It could jeopardize our existence. And yours . . ."

A cop leaning on the boardwalk fence suddenly shined his flashlight down on the rocks. "Hey, you on the rocks! Away from the water!"

Suddenly I was blinded by the light and deafened by the sound of splashing water. Lilly was gone!

I hadn't cried the day my mom left the house. But I should have. I just buried my head underneath a pillow until seventh grade when a freckled Chainsaw picked me, the kid with the sunken head, first to be on his kickball team.

Here I was with the sunken head again, and there he was again, my faithful friend, standing guard

"Out of all the girls in the world, I fall in love with a mermaid!" I laughed, but it didn't stop the tears from tumbling down my face as I stared out into the empty waves.

I never got to say good-bye to my mother. And now I'd lost the chance to say good-bye to Lilly.

"I didn't get to say good-bye!" I said, taking off my shoes.

"Are you crazy? You'll drown," Chainsaw said.

"Then I'll drown!"

"Spencer - " I heard Chainsaw yell over the music and fireworks as I dove into the cold night water.

Drowning? How could Lilly drown? She's a mermaid!

But I didn't see Lilly anywhere. Suddenly Waverly disappeared, too. The sea was totally dark, brightened for an instant, when a firework was shot into the air and exploded. I waited, not knowing which way to swim. My heart stopped beating, time stood still. Why weren't they firing off the supercolossal fireworks that lit the sky like a universal spotlight?

"Lilly," I called. "Lilly!"

I treaded endlessly, waiting forever for Lilly, for

And then I saw Lilly's pale hand, only yards away from mine, reach up for the moon, and then slowly sink beneath the surface.

I quickly swam in her direction and reached for anything I could grab.

"Lilly! Lilly! Where are you?" I called, breathless, scared, tormented.

I was lost myself. The waves crashed against me, bobbing me up and down like a discarded pop bottle.

"Lilly!" I called, getting a mouthful of saltwater.

"Here," Waverly finally shouted, behind me. They were floating back toward the pier. I felt as if I were swimming in thick pea soup, trying desperately to get closer as the waves pushed against me. Gasping for air myself, I finally reached Waverly, who was holding Lilly's limp head.

"I thought she was a mermaid."

"She is!" Waverly shouted.

"But she's drowning!"

Lilly's sparkling blue eyes were shut, her glowing skin sallow, her spirit withering away.

"She's drowning of a broken heart! Only you can save her," Waverly cried.

"CPR? Help me take her back to shore."

"No! With the kiss of love!" she said hurriedly. - the kiss of love."

"Who's Madame Pearl?"

"It's in the kiss - that's what she said! Please! Help her!" she pleaded.

"That's easy," I said, smiling, but almost out of breath. Waverly handed me Lilly's listless body. I leaned in to kiss her, but Waverly put her hand between us. "Wait. There's something you must know."

I impatiently glanced up at Waverly for the answer.

"If you kiss her now, you'll be a merman," Waverly conceded.

"You're joking!"

Waverly shook her head. "It's your decision," she said, with sad eyes.

I looked back to the rocks where a crowd was gathering on the highest point. Chainsaw and Robin had called over a policeman and were pointing at us while several onlookers stood around them. One man was taking off his shoes. Two orange-clad lifeguards were running along the pier. I didn't have another minute.

The booming fireworks' finale crashed overhead, drowning out the music. Reds, purples, greens, oranges, coppers, crimson shot across the sky like passionate electricity.

Lilly opened her eyes for a brief moment.

"Spencer," she whispered breathlessly and closed

The greatest gift I'd ever been given, I held in my arms. She had saved me, and now it was time for me to save her.

I took a deep breath, and I kissed her lips. Lips once full of life, once full of love. Her eyes opened.

I didn't have to say good-bye, after all. In fact, I was just beginning to say hello.

That night, I saved a mermaid.

And, that night - I saved myself.