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On the morning of February 21st, Windy had not anticipated that she would be sent on a merrily infuriating game of hide-and-seek. Least of all with a 'living' doll; and so, chapter two of Naiya?s story unravelled?

The day had begun as normally as I could have expected - I awoke at 6am sharp to the shrill cry of my old-school alarm clock, groggily pulled myself out of my bed's warm embrace, headed for the bathroom for my morning's shower? All went according to plan, as they had been doing for the past few weeks. I'd almost forgotten about the strange doll who took pride of place atop my vintage mantelpiece, attracting the eye of visitors. (Not just because of how realistic she looked, but because it was certainly a strange thing to have such an old mantelpiece in such a modern apartment.)

Upon entering the living room, I nearly had the shock of my life. Naiya was leaning casually against my favourite candle-holder, and staring in bewilderment at the photo of me with Rosemary, my phoenix child. She seemed so enthralled by this picture that my entrance was barely noticed, aside from when I stepped closer. Surely it wasn't my Naiya? My Naiya was just a doll, an inanimate object ? this thing was moving quite freely, not unlike the way humans do. I was awestruck by this point, until she decided to break the silence.

"Tall Finless?" she whispered, pointing from the photograph to me. I was simply lost for words; there's no other way to describe my feelings at that specific point in time. I literally felt like shouting that well-used internet abbreviation, "WTF?". It summed up all of my emotions in three simple letters. (Not to mention cut out the frowned-upon aspect of that particular phrase.)

"Tall Finless?" the doll repeated, now gazing into my eyes hopefully. Now, the scales on her cheeks glimmered more so, and seemed to be moving of their own accord. Though I was uncertain of whether she'd recognise the name I'd bestowed upon her or not, I chose to call her by it and see what happened.

"Naiya?" I questioned, moving ever closer. The doll nodded softly, before running to the edge of the mantelpiece and taking a flying leap, targeting her miniscule form at my shoulder. Her jump fell a little short, but those long arms of hers enabled her to establish a sturdy grip on my shirt. Yep, it was definitely my Naiya.

After the shock of seeing Naiya living subsided, Windy thought the day's events had exhausted themselves - however, it seemed as though they had barely just begun. As she left to take her morning walk, the femme chose to leave her doll at home - she had promptly fallen asleep, after that testing leap of faith. (And it was, quite literally, a leap of faith.)

It seemed as though the two souls inhabiting Naiya had begun to conflict. The previously dormant human-soul wished to communicate with Windy, to learn all there was to know about the great outdoors; however, the fish-soul had no greater desire than to be reunited with the Sea Mother. Something which, given her less-than-aquatic form, could potentially kill her...

I received the shock of my life, this morning.. It had never occurred to me that my sister, Windy, might have a child that she neglected to mention.. I entered her house with the key she had bestowed upon me with the intention of ridding her residence of anything she may have left in her will to various family members, and instead was greeted by a small girl, standing by the window overlooking the beach. A single tear ran down her cheek as she turned to look at me; this tear quickly evaporating in favour of a curious look, boring into my eyes. I couldn't see any resemblance between her and my sister, but decided against questioning it for now.

"Hello there, little girl.." I began, slowly stepping forward and crouching so I was on the same level as her. The girl frowned, taking the shell from around her neck and nervously sucking on it. I persisted, extending my hand in the hope of shaking hers. She softly shook her head, pressing her back against the wall. "I'm not here to hurt you..." I said, staying where I was. My intention was to find out who she was and why she was here, and I was definitely not going to achieve that by scaring her. After a few minutes of silence, she began to speak.

"Naiya," she whispered. "I am Naiya."
A type of serenity hung around her as she stood so uncertainly before me. I considered explaining Windy's death, but thought that would be foolish with Naiya at such a young age. A lost look lingered in her eyes; it was then that I decided I would take over care of her. I would raise her as my own, and as Windy would have liked me to - there was no way I would be able to turn away, with her so young, innocent and defenseless.

"How long have you been here?" I asked her. She shrugged lightly, moving forward and wrapping her arms around my waist. As she did so, I noticed something odd protruding from her back - as I continued to examine it, I recognised it - nay, them - to be fins.
This was no ordinary child..

“Mummy… Can I tell you something…?”

The tentative intrusion of a young girl’s words stole Epi’s attention away from the television and towards the eyes of her adopted daughter, a strange fish-like girl named Naiya. However, her face looked gaunt in the dim light of the flickering screen, and her eyes looked tearful and generally quite sad. Epi immediately feared the worst and moved from the sofa to kneel in front of her daughter, gently placing her hands on the girl’s shoulders.

“What’s wrong, Naiya?” she asked gently. Naiya refrained from replying for a moment – instead, she fiddled with the end of her nightdress, avoiding the watchful eyes of her mother.
“Mummy, I… I had a bad dream, and…” Naiya fell silent. She hung her head in a way which made her look ashamed, and caused Epi to softly wrap her arms around the child’s slender frame. “… The sea, it… It ate me, Mummy… And it told me nasty things…”

Her lips quivered, the fins on her back shivering in a similar fashion. Epi pulled away from her daughter to gaze into her eyes, a look of worry painted on every available part of her face.
“Oh, honey…” she breathed softly. “It was only a dream, don’t worry – and Mummy’s here for you, anyway. Do you want to stay down here with me for a little bit? You look shaken, and I don’t want you being alone if you’re scared.”

Naiya nodded speechlessly, before shuffling towards the sofa and hoisting herself into it. Together, the two sat for quite some time; mother and adopted daughter, braving the night as a unit. Epi felt a sinking feeling bury itself in the pit of her stomach, a physical embodiment of the worries she bore since the day Naiya had began to speak for the first time. The issues between the fish-soul and the Sea Mother had, quite obviously, yet to be resolved.