• “I can really do it!” She yelled at me with her back to the wall.
    “You really can’t do it.” My little brother said taunting her.
    “Be quiet.” I snapped at Dillon. ”Lillian, sweetie, I am not arguing whether or not you can turn into foam. I just want you to come back home.”
    “I don’t want to.” Lillian shook her head, whipping her hair around her face. “Mama is always mean to me and Daddy is never home.”
    I was confused. “Daddy is always home. He is home every day at the same time.” I reached my arms out to her as I took a step forward.
    She pressed herself closer to the wall. “Not true! He is not my real Daddy!”
    Lillian’s dad died in a ship wreck when she was just a few weeks old. Our father, Dillon and I, got divorced from our mother when Dillon was a newborn and when I was seven. Now, Lillian is six, Dillon is nine, and I am seventeen. I never meet Lillian’s father personally, but I heard her was a great person. I asked Lillian to come into my arms. She ran straight into my chest and stated balling. When I asked her who told her about her father, I never got an answer. Dillon looked at the setting sun and back to me. We left the ally and walked home.
    Mom was just walking into the hallway as I walked into the house. Lillian ran into Mom’s arms as soon as she saw her. I never failed to see the similarities between them when they were together. The both had silver hair, blue-brown eyes, and the same skin color. Dillon and I both had dark hair and dark eyes, like our father. The only way people could tell if Lillian was my sister was the way she clung to me out in public, like I was her only hold on reality. Mom whispered something in her ear and walked back into the kitchen.
    “Sissy, when will Daddy be home?” Lillian asked, like she had just forgotten her whole episode.
    I looked around the dimly lit house for the clock. It was this way because Mom didn’t like bright lights, though the way she decorated said differently. Every room was bright and colorful with blues and greens of multiple shades. The whole house reminded me of the ocean, even with Dillon’s brown sports room. His room was like the ocean floor with its deep brown and tan walls. Lillian’s room reminded me of the sun light zone of the ocean with its light blue and grey walls. My room was like the twilight zone. It had purple walls with all shades of purple, lightest lavender on the ceiling to the dark purple on the floor. Mom had shells everywhere; on the walls; on books shelves; and table tops. Dad hated all the shells around the house, but never said a word about his feelings to Mom.
    Before I found the clock, Dad opened the door. He put his coat on the coat rack and snuck into the kitchen. I heard what might have been a laugh or scream, but I couldn’t tell the difference. Whatever that noise was, it made my skin crawl and Lillian shudder. Dillon stood frozen in fear; staring at the kitchen door. Dad left the kitchen looking like he just lost a fight. Mom ran after him, apologizing desperately. She looked like she had screamed her head off. Dad ignored her for a second and the told her to stop. She stopped and kissed his head before she left to finish dinner. Dad shrugged and helped set the table.
    Dad was muttering something under his breath when Mom set the food on the table. He cheered up when she danced by. Mom had made soup for dinner. She dished it out and we ate nicely, until I asked the question of the night. “Why did Lillian think she could turn into foam?”
    Mom gagged on her food and turned bright red. She glared at Lillian before she spoke. “She just read a story. That’s all.” I felt like she was talking down to me, but didn’t press it any farther. Lillian smiled at me and made her hands move like a fish swimming though water.
    After that, dinner was dead quiet. I left without excusing myself and ran to my room. I looked around my room and show my book on lore was open to the section on mermaids. My anger got the best of me for a moment, I calmed down realizing it was just a book I hardly read. Reaching for the book I was currently reading, I sat down on my bed. It was a book on the Great War; about the warfare and weaponry. I was turning a page when Lillian burst into my room.
    “I am very sorry for reading you book without permission.” She said after she got my undivided attention. I smiled and put my book away.
    “Are you really sorry?” Lillian nodded and took a step forward. “Do you really mean it?”
    “Yes sissy.” She said obediently.
    “Are you ready for you punishment?” That scared Lillian. I dove and tickled her until she cried.
    “Stop! I have to pee!” She cried. “Can I show you a magic trick?” She didn’t wait for my answer before she dove under my bed and started counting. Her counting got quieter the higher she got until I couldn’t hear her any more. I waited a second before searching for her. The longer I searched, the more frantic my search got; until I gave up on my room completely. She ran down the hall into her room. When I caught her, I asked her how she did that.
    “I turned into foam.” She said with full confidence.
    I didn’t want to fight with her, so I let it go. “Okay, but don’t ever do that again. Got it?”
    Lillian was just climbing into bed when Mom walked into her room. Lillian smiled and I left for my room. I heard Mom sing her to sleep with a song I had never heard before. It sounded sad, but calming. Upon returning to my room, I looked at the page Lillian was reading in the lore book. It mentioned turning into foam, mermaid song, and how they could live out of water. This reinforced what Lillian thought about herself. She thought she was a mermaid, but no one knew how she got that idea. I tried to ask Mom several times, but she never answered me. After about an hour of thinking and reading, I fell asleep with the book on my chest.
    I woke up with my book missing and my siblings shaking me, crying. They had a note that had been read a few times. It read:
    “We were found out. Dad and I had to leave and we don’t know when we can come back. I hid the car keys and a little bit of money in the cabinet drawer. I wish I could tell you more, but I promised not to. If you really need to know something ask Lillian. I taught her everything I know.
    ~Mom”
    “Well, isn’t that nice.” I looked at the whole mess around me. “Guys pack up. We are leaving.” Lillian stared at me. “I am sorry baby. We have to leave or Mommy might not be able to come back.” She turned around and left for her room. Dillon ran down the hall and slammed his door. Now I had two upset children to deal with.
    I got dressed in day clothes and went to Lillian’s room first. She had finished packing, but was still crying. She was holding her favorite stuffed animal, a stuffed calico cat. I picked her up and held her for a moment.
    “Why did Mommy leave me alone?” She cried. “I never told anyone. Abby help me.”
    “I’m here baby. I don’t know why she left.” I held her closer. “All I know is that we need to leave.”
    “Mom said all that?” She looked up at me though her hair.
    “Yes. She said all that.”
    “Abby?” I looked down at her. “Where are we going to live now?”
    “I need to make a call, but either my Dad’s or Grandmas’ house. Is that okay with you?”
    She didn’t have time to answer because there was a loud noise that came from Dillon’s room. I put her down and ran to his room. Dillon was sitting in the middle of his room with an open, empty suitcase next to him. His face and eyes were red from crying. I tried to get his attention, but he wasn’t listening to me. He put a single pair of pants in the suitcase and I packed the rest.
    “Dillon, can you pick out of couple of books? We are going to Dad’s house and you know he doesn’t have any of the books you like.” That made Dillon smile. He didn’t say a word, but he pick out three books and put them on top of his clothes. I zipped up the suitcase and gave him a hug. All that was left was for me to pack. That took me a few minutes, but gave a second to breathe.
    Lillian and Dillon were waiting in the living room with their suitcases next to them. They looked scared, but better than they were earlier. Lillian was singing quietly and Dillon was listening silently. Her song sounded more like instructions than lyrics to calm. I meet them downstairs and told them my plan. We were going to my father’s house and staying for a while. I called Dad and he said it was okay to stay at his house.
    I had just grabbed the keys and money when Lillian’s sing got louder. She had a beautiful singing voice. “North is safe, but west is bad.” She chimed.
    North and West were the name of our two cars. North was a small red van with a quiet engine. West was a larger van that was the newer of the two vehicles. It also was an old police van with bullet proof glass. I took Lillian’s song seriously and too the red van. Dillon threw our suitcases in the back and helped Lillian into her seat. I slide into the driver’s seat and drove to my dad’s house, not knowing whether we would come back to that house again.