I stared at the little blue stick in my hands in disbelief; the Sea Gods were surely playing a practical joke on me. I was pregnant again. I was torn between joy and worry. I loved being a mother and I missed having babies in the house. All of my children were school aged now. My eldest child would be graduating from high school soon and I wasn’t the young, attractive nymph I used to be when I first came to the surface, yet here I was, about to welcome my fifth child into the world.

My first thought was Cycl0n3′s reaction. He’d already taken on so much more than he was required to in order to take care of my children and me. I had four children and he was only the father of one of them, but he acted like all of my children were his children, too. They all called him dad. He was the reason my children had a home and good education and food in their bellies and clothes on their backs. He’d taken all the bad times in stride but would he be able to take this bump in stride as well? Things had been calm for so long in this family and now all of a sudden, that had changed again. We’d both been under the impression that I was too old to have any more children, so we hadn’t planned for any more. This was so unexpected.

I decided the best way to break the news would be to just tell him straight out as soon as possible, so as soon as I disposed of the pregnancy test and left the bathroom, I pulled him aside…

“Wait… you’re… ? Seriously?” he asked me in as much disbelief as I had been in when I found out for certain a few moments ago. I nodded hesitantly.

“I thought I might be for a while now. I’ve had enough children to know, but I wanted to make sure and… the test said yes…” I admitted. I wished my heart would stop hammering so hard. It was making me feel nauseous and I already didn’t need any help with that right now.

For one horrible moment, I had all these nightmare scenarios swim through my head. The memories of Gus and Lane walking out on me, the first time Cycl0n3 left because of my own stupid mistakes. I had all these fears of him leaving again and it hurt so much, I couldn’t breathe. If this was the last straw for him and he left, what would I do? I couldn’t picture my life without him anymore. I loved him. After all these years and everything we’d been through, I still loved him.

I don’t know why I was so worried, because of course, none of those horrible fears became reality. Cycl0n3 stepped forward and hugged me tightly. “Well, I guess we’ll just have to find some more space in this little house for a new baby, won’t we?” he smiled and not for the first time, I wondered how he always managed to make me feel like everything was going to work out just fine even when I was terrified that the worst was going to happen.

Cycl0n3 was very protective of me through the whole pregnancy. Apparently, having children was dangerous when you passed age forty. Nymphs usually have all of their children between fifteen and twenty-five, so I wasn’t aware of this. It scared me, but Cycl0n3 assured me that as long as I went to the doctor regularly, everything would be fine.

“Are you excited to have a new baby brother or sister?” I asked Turquoise one night while she rubbed my belly. She frowned.

“I dunno… I guess…” she mumbled. That wasn’t very reassuring.

“You guess?”

“Well, babies are cute, but I like being the baby. Me and Aqua. Now we’re not going to be the babies anymore,” she admitted. I kneeled down as best as I could with the extra weight in the front and hugged her.

“You’re always going to be my baby, Turquoise. All of you are, but you can’t be a little baby like the one in my belly forever. Your birthday’s so close. Aren’t you excited to start high school and be a teenager?” I asked her and she grinned and nodded. “See? You’ll be able to do big grown-up things that the new baby won’t be able to do for a long time,” I reasoned and that apparently cheered her up immensely. I really hope the girls can adjust to having a younger sibling. I told Wade and Alton the news over the phone. Wade didn’t seem too happy, and Alton was worried. He calls me every day and interrogates me about my doctor’s appointments and vitamin supplements.

I’d been hoping that the boys could come home for their sisters’ birthday, but their exams conflicted with it and they had to stay at school. I’m glad they’re getting a quality education where they’re at, but I feel like they’re both missing so many important events at home; birthdays, ballet recitals, promotions, new babies… they’ve been away for all of it. I hoped they could at least be here for the birth of the new baby. I was due any day now, as my swollen ankles and aching back constantly reminded me.

“Mommy! Mommy Mommy Mommy! Is the cake ready? Can we blow out our candles? Is it chocolate flavoured? I want chocolate! Oooh, when can we open our presents?” the twins both chatted away at me excitedly as I carried one of the cakes to the kitchen counter. Cycl0n3 followed close behind with the other one.

“Girls, stop harassing your mother. It’s hard enough for her to get around without you two running around her feet. Be patient,” he scolded them. I gave him a smile of thanks as I set the cake down. He really was a huge help. It wasn’t easy carrying a baby in my belly and planning a birthday party and reining in two excited little girls all at once.

“Alright, alright… you can blow out your candles,” I told the two of them. If I tried to keep them away from those cakes any longer, the place would dissolve into chaotic madness. The girls didn’t need telling twice. They blew out their candles faster than Cycl0n3 and I could sing happy birthday and I had to hold back my tears. My two little girls weren’t little girls anymore. They had become beautiful young women.

Aqua (wearing blue)

Turquoise (wearing yellow)

I think my emotions were what triggered the contractions because almost as soon as the sniffles started, so did those familiar labour pains. I clutched my stomach and doubled over. I didn’t need to announce that the baby had decided to come now; Cycl0n3 knew what was going on immediately and was ushering me out the door before I had a chance to congratulate the twins.

“Your mom’s in labour. I’m taking her to the hospital. You two stay here and behave. Oh, and happy birthday!” he shouted to them as he dragged me down the front lawn and into a taxi. I waved goodbye to them from the car, feeling awful that their party had been cut short, but it’s not as if I get to choose when my baby is born.

Great Sea Gods, hospitals are terrifying places! I’d forgotten how cold and sterile and white everything was. Although I’d been to Sunset Valley’s hospital before, this was my first time giving birth in a hospital. I didn’t like it one bit. All those strangers standing around me, giving me orders about when to push and when and how to breathe. I almost smacked one of the nurses standing next to me. Cycl0n3 had to hold me back, which only made me smack him, instead. I was having a baby, for crying out loud! Couldn’t everyone give me some space to breathe?!

Eventually, I walked out of the hospital carrying our newborn son, Lake… and Cycl0n3 walked out right behind me carrying our newborn daughter, Brook. All of that state-of-the-art human technology and those doctors had somehow missed the fact that I’d been carrying twins around inside me for the past nine months.

We brought the old cribs out of storage as soon as we got home. I was glad I had decided to keep them now. Right after we got the babies settled in their cribs, Cycl0n3 ran out the door without a word of explanation as to where he was going. I asked the girls if they knew where he had run off to in such a hurry, but they had no idea, either.

“He is in for a world of trouble when he does get home!” I fumed. How dare he run off to Sea Gods know where when his partner was at home with two new babies and a couple of teenagers to look after?! I was beyond furious and both Aqua and Turquoise left to go to friends’ houses in order to avoid being caught in the crossfire when their dad returned.

Cycl0n3 walked in the door a few hours later and I was all set to tear into him… before he produced a gorgeous bouquet of red roses from behind his back with a giant smile on his face. Needless to say, my anger was doused very quickly.

“What’s this for?” I asked curiously, accepting the bouquet and sniffing the flowers. They smelled wonderful.

“Just to say I love you… and to butter you up,” he admitted a little sheepishly, looking off to the side and I could see him fidgeting. Oh Sea Gods, what did he do? My eyebrows raised instantly.

“Butter me up? For what?” I asked suspiciously. That was when Cycl0n3 knelt down on one knee in front of me and held my free hand in both of his.

“It’s so crazy, Azure… I met you when I was practically a kid and you were so beautiful and enchanting and exotic. How could I not have fallen in love with you? Then Alton came along and we were torn apart and I missed out on so many years with you. Somehow, we found each other again and made a family and a home together. I went from having one child whom I didn’t even know to having four… and now six,” he chuckled, glancing fondly over at Brook and Lake in their cribs. “It just… hit me that all this time, it’s like we’ve been husband and wife. I’ve always felt like you were my wife, but I never actually officially asked you, so I thought I’d fix that.”

My heartbeat started racing and I took in a sharp breath. I had been a surface nymph long enough to know what was coming and what being someone’s wife actually meant. This wasn’t like the last time when I had been ignorant to human customs and misunderstood the word ‘girlfriend.’ I knew what being Cycl0n3′s wife meant and I was nodding my head before he even asked the question.

“Azure, I love you and our kids more than anything in the world and I want to stay here with you for the rest of my life. Will you marry me?” he asked and let go of my hands to pull a beautiful diamond ring out of his pocket.

“Well it’s about time! We’re nearly old and grey!” I laughed, accepting the ring. “Yes, of course I’ll marry you. I love you.”

I threw myself into my new job to avoid missing my boys. It worked, at least somewhat. I was too busy working out and trying to get promoted to think about them being so far away too much, but I still missed them. I think Cycl0n3 really missed the boys, too, even though he never said anything. I think he just didn’t want me getting upset, but he threw himself into his work, too, and got a big promotion. I was so proud of him. I went out and bought him a new work desk and office supplies and computer for him. We didn’t have the money to build an office, but I did my best to carve out an office space for him in the living room. He has his diploma proudly displayed above his desk.

Despite his big promotion, I think Cycl0n3 still thought about the boys a lot. He plays chess by himself at the chess table and he always looks so sad… I think he remembers playing chess with Alton when he was little.

I tried to remind myself that even though two of my children were away, I still had two more children still living at home and who needed their parents around. Aqua and Turquoise were growing so fast, I was scared of missing out on all the memories of them as children because I was too busy moping about Alton and Wade being gone. I decided I was going to put the boys to the back of my mind for now, since they were both just fine at school and focus on my two girls. They were both good students and on the honour roll, but they didn’t have anything to occupy themselves outside of school. I enrolled them both in ballet classes, which is a kind of elegant, disciplined dance humans are fond of. Both the girls love music; they had since they were little. The xylophone was their favourite toy. I used to have to settle arguments over it between them.

As I expected they would, Aqua and Turquoise both loved their ballet classes. It was a little sad not seeing them right after school, but at least they weren’t away at boarding school. It was just for a couple hours after their classes finished for the day. They loved to show Cycl0n3 and me the dance routines they were learning and we didn’t hear the end of the subject of the big dance recital they were putting on for all the parents.

“Mom, Dad, you guys HAVE to be there!”

“Yeah, we’ve been practising so hard to show you!”

“You’re going to be there, right? Right?”

“Promise?”

“Triple promise?”

Well. How could we possibly not go to this recital after all of that?

The big night finally arrived and everyone piled in the taxi to go see the big show. I might be biased, but I think my girls were the best out of everyone. They looked so natural and at home on the stage, doing what they loved in front of everyone. I don’t think I stopped smiling once through the entire recital. Don’t tell Cycl0n3 this, but I thought I saw a glimmer of tears in his eyes near the end when all the dancers came out and gave the audience one last bow.

“Mom, can we put our trophies up now? Please?” Aqua begged me as soon as we got in the door afterwards. They hadn’t even changed out of their dance costumes, yet. I laughed and hugged them both.

“Tomorrow. It’s late. You should be in bed. Go change into your pyjamas,” I told them. There was some pouting involved, but the two of them reluctantly trudged up the stairs to go get ready for bed. Sometimes, I’m so glad I left the ocean to make a life on the surface. My offspring have so many more opportunities and things to discover here than they would have in the ocean, like boarding school and ballet.

Once the girls were both in bed, Cycl0n3 put his arms around me and pulled me close to him. “We’ve got a pretty good set up here, don’t we?” he asked me softly. I couldn’t help but smile.

“I think so. Four children, a house, good jobs, each other…” I listed all the things we had to be grateful for. It was a far cry from the nothingness I had come from. In a bizarre way, I felt more at home here with my kids and Cycl0n3 on the surface than I ever did in the ocean where I was born and raised. Cycl0n3 stroked my cheek and kissed me just like he used to kiss me all those years ago before any of my children were born and it made me feel weak… in a wonderful way.

After all these years, the spark’s still there.

“WAAAAAAADE!” I screamed at the top of my lungs when I got out of the shower and saw myself in the mirror. Oooo, he was really going to get it this time!

“What? What’s wrong?! What’s going o—oh…” Cycl0n3 shouted, running into the room and stopping in his tracks when he saw me.

Yellow! My hair was yellow! Bright yellow!

“Aw Mom! It was only a joke! The yellow washed out! Relax,” Wade tried to argue with me when I threw on my robe and ran downstairs to scold him after spending a good fourty minutes trying to scrub my hair back to its natural blue.

“That’s not the point, Wade! I swear, I don’t know what to do with you! No punishment ever seems to teach you a lesson! I’m at my wit’s end!” I really, truly was. The house had become a war zone since Wade started school. No one in the house could use anything without worrying about getting a prank pulled on them. Of course, Wade always insisted he was just having a bit of fun, but there is a point where playfulness turns into disrespect and he’s crossed that point!

“Dad! Come on! Tell her she’s overreacting!” Wade tried to plead to Cycl0n3, who only gave him the same unimpressed look I was giving him and crossed his arms.

“Go upstairs and tell your brother we’re ready to bring out the cake. Then go to your room after dinner and stay there for the rest of the night.” I breathed a sigh of relief. At least one person seemed to be on my side in this house. The girls were too young to take sides and Alton usually tried to just stay out of the way and be unnoticed. He’s so shy. A lot of the time, I feel like it’s a constant battle between Wade and me and I’m fighting it by myself.

“This is so unfair!” Wade whined, stomping up the staircase to go fetch Alton and bring him downstairs. I sighed and slumped my shoulders.

“I don’t know what to do with him. I really don’t,” I muttered. Cycl0n3 put a hand to his forehead.

“He needs to learn some respect and manners, that’s for sure,” he sighed, going quiet for a moment. “You know, there’s something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about, but it can wait until after everyone’s blown out their candles.”

As if on cue, Alton and Wade both came running back down the stairs. “Why don’t I get a birthday party?” Wade demanded jealously.

“Because it’s not your birthday,” Alton answered him, rolling his eyes. Since Cycl0n3’s, Alton’s and my birthdays were all so close together, we decided to just celebrate them all at once.

“Okay, Alton. You first,” I told him, trying to force myself to act happy even though I was still furious with Wade. I could hardly believe my little boy was going to be a teenager! Had I really been living on land with humans for thirteen years? In some ways, I felt like I had learned so much, but in other ways, I felt like this was all still so new to me, but I wouldn’t take any of those thirteen years back. It had all led to this and despite my constant headaches with Wade, I loved my home and my family. I loved Cycl0n3, too, though I’ve never said so to him. I think I’m afraid that it isn’t “proper” by human standards. We’re not married and… we live like we’re together romantically, but we’ve never officially declared it. It’s a very complicated matter and I’m afraid of trying to clarify it because we’re happy right now and I don’t want that to change.

Alton stepped up to his cake while we all sang “Happy Birthday” to him and he blew out his candles with a big grin on his face. Then my little boy was gone and a nearly-grown man stood in his place. It suddenly hit me how much I was going to miss seeing him strut about the house in his prince costume, playing pretend and sneaking out to sleep in the tree house when he thinks I’m not looking.

Alton walked over to me and gave me a hug. He was almost as tall as I was! “Don’t cry, Mom. I’m still Alton. Just bigger,” he assured me, still grinning. I smiled through my tears and nodded. He was right. I was being silly. In the ocean, I probably wouldn’t have been so sentimental, but humans make such strong, lasting memories with their children on the surface that nymphs don’t get to have. I’ve become much more humanised over the years.

Cycl0n3 gave me a little nudge towards my cake and I followed Alton’s example. I was thirty, already?! Where did the time go?! Great Sea Gods, I could feel the wrinkles on my face. Cycl0n3 soon turned middle-aged as well. I thought I had taken getting older badly, but Cycl0n3 seemed to have lost his mind…

The first thing I was aware of when I regained consciousness was white. So much white all around me. It was blinding after the impenetrable darkness that I had grown used to in… the past few minutes? Hours? Days? I had no idea. I had no sense of time when I woke up. Suddenly, the crushing weight of what had happened just before the pain and the blackness overcame me hit me once again and I wished I were still in blissful sleep.

My children were no doubt gone. Alton, Wade, Turquoise and Aqua… they’d all been taken away from me by that monster, Meredith. I tried so hard to protect them and provide for them and I failed. I was a pathetic excuse for a nymph… for a mother.

A dry, agonised sob escaped my throat as I covered my face with my hands. The pain of losing them all was too much. I wanted to die. How could I go on without them?

“Azure? Azure, shhh… it’s alright. Everything’s alright,” a low, quiet voice broke through my heartbreak and it winded me. I’d never forget that voice as long as I lived. I still heard it in my sleep sometimes, but I never thought I’d actually hear it outside my own head again. I was afraid to uncover my face. I was afraid that this was still some kind of dream and that if I took my hands away from my eyes, the voice would be gone again.

I felt warm hands gently pulling my own hands away from my face and my breath caught in my throat. It was him. Cycl0n3 was standing over me. I hadn’t seen him in almost ten years, but here he was at my bedside now, when I had reached my lowest point. He gave me a small smile. He was as handsome as I remembered, but he looked so tired…

“Cycl0n3… I missed you…” I whispered. “What happened? My children? I… I don’t know what happened… my babies are gone, aren’t they?” I choked out and dissolved into shuddering sobs again. Cycl0n3 shook his head and held my hands tightly in his. It was so comforting.

“They’re not gone. They’re with me… at least for now,” he assured me. “I told the cops I was the father of one of them and that I didn’t want my son separated from his siblings. They put all four of them in my care. They’re safe, Azure. All of them. I promise.” All I could do was nod, because I was still crying, but now they were tears of joy. My children were safe and with someone whom I knew was taking good care of them. They hadn’t become just four more nameless faces in a sea of unwanted, parentless children. Cycl0n3 continued to hold my hands, rubbing them between his slightly as he filled me in on the rest. “The police tasered you when you wouldn’t listen to their warnings. They used way too high a voltage for someone your size, plus you’re not human so they had no idea if you’d react badly to it. They almost killed you,” he scowled angrily. “Trust me, I’m making sure the media puts enough pressure on the Sunset Valley Police Department to conduct a thorough investigation into the officers who tasered you. The SVPD’s good name will be torn apart when the town reads about their misconduct.”

“How… how did you… find out what happened?” I asked, my tears starting to ebb away slowly.

“Well I work at the local newspaper. I’m an Automated Spell Checker Checker. All of a sudden, the place went nuts and the editor was sending out every journalist she had on staff out the door. When I asked her what was going on, she told me some crazy blue lady was attacking a social worker up in Summer Hill Court and the police were ready to shoot her down… I swear to God, Azure, my heart stopped. I raced over there in time to see them loading you into an ambulance and taking the kids. It was… horrible…” he admitted to me and I could hear a faint quiver in his voice.

I reached up and hesitantly put a hand on his cheek. I think I was still trying to convince myself that he was actually real and not a hallucination or a dream. Cycl0n3 reached up and covered my hand with his for a moment before squeezing it and I couldn’t help but smile a little. If he was here now, things would have to turn out okay. “What happens now?” I asked softly. I had no idea where to go from here, but I had to hope that whatever would come would be better. This had to be rock bottom.

“Well, first thing’s first… you stay here until you’re better. Probably a couple of weeks. That taser did a number on your nervous system. I’m willing to bet since you’re from the water, the electricity going through you was a lot worse than what it would be for someone like me,” he told me, that angry scowl coming back. “Social Services won’t let you have the kids back after seeing your property and after what you did, but you’re not being arrested, thankfully. The SVPD doesn’t want more bad publicity from arresting a woman they almost killed. I’ll keep the kids with me until you’re out of the hospital, then… I think I’ve got a way they can stay with you.”

“Really? How?” I asked eagerly, sitting up. I wanted my children back with me more than anything in the world!

“You’ll see,” was all he’d tell me with a grin and a wink.

My happiness at being able to afford a crib for both of my children was short-lived, as Wade proved to be just as fussy as Alton was when he was his little brother’s age. On top of that, Alton still needed so much attention even if he already knew how to walk, talk and use the toilet. I never foresaw the difficulties with raising half-human children in a human world. I had never known anything different from the female nymphs in my clan who raised nymph children in the ocean where there’s no such thing as money and bills and girlfriends and wives. I never imagined my children would need anything more than just my arms and milk, like nymph babies do. I’m starting to think my decision to join the human world was impulsive and poorly thought out… but we nymphs are an impulsive race of people. I wouldn’t mind so much if it was just me struggling to live on the surface, but I’m afraid that my children are suffering.

Despite my head telling me that I shouldn’t have more children, my body screamed louder and I ended up having Lane over again. The entire time, I was fighting with myself. My mind kept screaming that another mating would only make things harder on everyone, but my body kept telling me that I’m a nymph and my sole purpose is to bear children… what use would I be to anyone if I didn’t do what I was designed to do? I would be what the humans like to call “faulty.” At first, I was unsure and hesitant to allow Lane to mate with me, but seeing him play with Alton and coo over Wade softened my reservations and when he got both boys tucked into bed and kissed me, I gave in.

“You’re what?!” Lane shouted at me when I told him that I was pregnant about a month later. I felt so guilty about what I did after I mated with Lane and I’d been hoping that the mating hadn’t resulted in another pregnancy but it was a foolish hope; water nymphs are very fertile. We have to be to survive. It’s rare for a mating not to produce a child, and when it does happen, the other nymphs start to whisper about her and wonder if something’s wrong with her. It’s humiliating, actually, so it was strange for me to wish for that, but the circumstances were different now.

“I’m pregnant,” I repeated, expecting a similar reaction to Gus’. I wouldn’t be hurt by it; I didn’t really like Lane all that much and the mating was… adequate, I suppose, but a very unfamiliar part of me wished he would stay. I don’t really know why I wished that. I think I was scared. It was a lot harder to raise children here than it was in the ocean and I thought maybe someone else to help would make it less difficult. Maybe this was why humans had things like girlfriends and wives. They adapted their mating and social habits to better survive in their own world, just as nymphs have done. I’m starting to realise that I may be a nymph, but I must adapt to survive in the world I chose for myself and my children.

“Oh that’s rich… really rich, Azure!” he scoffed. I wasn’t sure why he was talking about monetary wealth but I figured it was a slang term that meant something else so I stayed quiet. “You know, I guess it’s true what the whole town’s saying about you!” he yelled at me. That caught my attention.

“The whole town? Why is the whole town talking about me? What are they saying?” I asked him, confused. I didn’t even know many people here, yet. I was no one special. How was I so well-known, already? Well… I guess I do look very different from everyone else. I must stand out when I walk around town.

“You haven’t heard? Oh that’s right. You’re too busy getting knocked up with every guy you can get your hands on to pay attention to the gossip,” he snapped. “Everyone knows you around here, Azure. The new girl in town who spreads her legs for anything with a penis that walks past her and then tries to pin them with a baby for money! Congratulations, you’re the new golddigging whore in town,” he sneered at me with a look on his face that made me feel like I was a fin-length tall. “Have fun with the next kid because I sure as hell ain’t going to fall for your little trap. See you never, Azure,” he told me with one last dirty look before storming off to his car and driving away.

“… But… didn’t you mate with me, too? Doesn’t that make us both ‘whores’” I murmured to no one in particular even though I was addressing Lane. A golddigger? That was… someone who wanted money from other people, right? Or… used people to get money? That wasn’t me. I never asked any of my mates for anything. Cycl0n3 had offered, but…

Suddenly, I felt very alone and very unwanted by anyone and I tried not to let Alton or Wade see me cry.

Of course, I couldn’t cry and feel sorry for myself for long. My little boys were growing up quickly and so was my next child inside my belly. Alton’s fourth birthday came so fast. I feel like I was giving birth to him yesterday. I got a letter in the mail saying that I had to send him to school. After scrutinizing the letter, I managed to figure out that “school” means some kind of educational program on land and not a group of nymphs or fish as I first thought. I didn’t want to send him to school… I still don’t like the thought of having someone else care for my children, but Alton was so excited when he got the letter and I couldn’t say no to that face.

Almost at the same time as Alton started school, Wade started crawling around all on his own and I knew it was time to start teaching him all the things I taught Alton when he was his brother’s age.

And as I did so, my belly grew ever larger…

Almost as soon as I found out I was pregnant, I received a… vocal message of some kind on this odd little device I was given when I came here. It’s called a cell phone and humans use it to speak with each other even though they are very far away. Kind of like the song nymphs sing underwater to call to any other nymphs nearby, except these cell phones allow you to speak as though you’re standing right next to each other. I like this particular human invention.

It was Cycl0n3 on the cell phone. He apologised for not calling sooner but that he was coming over to see me now. I was still confused by his prolonged interest in me, but I agreed anyway; maybe when he arrived, I’d be able to question him about his behaviour and get some answers. There’s so much about humans and their behaviour I don’t know, yet. It makes me feel very awkward and out-of-place a lot of the time, but I hope I can adjust to this world soon, if not for myself, then for the child I’m carrying inside me. He or she will be born and raised as a land-dweller. I want my child to feel at home here. I want him or her to feel like they belong in this world, unlike me.

Cycl0n3 arrived not long after. He smiled and hugged me and kissed me and asked me how I was, and I felt a strange sensation in my chest; like I had a school of guppies darting about inside my heart and it felt very warm. It was terrifying and wonderful at the same time. Is this how humans are supposed to treat their mates? I found myself smiling back and I told him I was doing well.

“In fact… I’m doing very, very well,” I elaborated. “I found out that I’m pregnant today.” Cycl0n3′s face went very pale and his jaw dropped open as his eyes bulged. This reaction confused me. I had thought that nymphs and humans both used the same facial expressions and sounds to express pleasure, but this wasn’t a pleasant reaction. He should be pleased that he was successful in impregnating me. Now he can leave me to impregnate more females and once I give birth, I can find more males to impregnate me again.

Cycl0n3 took off the cap he was wearing and ran a shaking hand through his hair as he stared down at the ground in disbelief and it made my stomach hurt for some reason. “Geeze, Azure…” he muttered to me, shaking his head. “I didn’t expect for this to happen. I mean… we haven’t been seeing each other very long and it was just that one night…” his voive trailed off awkwardly. I was getting more confused by the second.

“What do you mean you didn’t expect for this to happen? We mated. Isn’t that the point of mating? And what does how long we’ve known each other have to do with mating?” I asked him, hoping I’d finally get some answers. Cycl0n3′s stunned expression turned into a thin smile and he put a hand on my shoulder. Something about that little gesture was so comforting and I couldn’t explain why.

“Look… don’t worry, okay? I’ll be there for the baby. I’ll tell my roommates I’m moving out, rent a nice little starter house for us and the baby, and things’ll work out. I’ll take care of you both, I promise,” he told me. I think my eyebrows must have covered my eyes in my confusion. It sounded like he wanted me to be his only mate, but… why? That didn’t make any sense. That was an embarrassment to both of us! I started to shake my head.

“What? No… I can’t do that, Cycl0n3. It’s embarrassing, having only one mate. I’m already a laughing stock where I come from. I can’t add more humiliation to that. You can go and mate with other females now. I’ll rear the offspring myself, like I’m supposed to do,” I tried to explain but I don’t think Cycl0n3 understood.

“Azure… what did you think I was asking when I asked you to be my girlfriend?! I don’t know what race of people you come from, but here on planet Earth, a girlfriend means more than just a mate! I didn’t want to just sleep with you once and then leave. I actually wanted to stay with you and ONLY you! How could you not understand that?!” he exclaimed incredulously.

Suddenly, it all made sense. Humans were monogomous! Great Sea Gods, I felt like such an idiot! I had misunderstood him when he asked me to be his girlfriend and now I was hurting him. I didn’t want to hurt him. I like Cycl0n3 a lot… perhaps more than is normal for a female to like one of her mates, but a monogomous mating with a human was something I didn’t think I knew how to do. I had already made so many mistakes. I felt utterly useless. I would not be a good girlfriend to Cycl0n3 and he was so kind to me. Far kinder than a male was expected to treat his mates back home. If he wanted a proper girlfriend, he should have one that actually knew how to be a proper girlfriend… not me. “Cycl0n3, I’m sorry, but I don’t think that can happen. Look at the mess I already made… I’ll only make more and you should have a girlfriend who can be a real girlfriend. I barely know what that is. Don’t worry about the child. I’ll take care of it myself. I expected to do that, anyway.”

“Azure, don’t be ridiculous! Will you listen to yourself?! You’ll take care of our baby by yourself?! Look around you! You live in the middle of an empty lot! You don’t have a house or a crib for the baby to sleep in. You work part-time folding clothes at a salon. How are you going to buy baby formula and diapers and clothes and toys and a crib and pay for the doctor when the baby gets sick? You can’t do this alone, Azure. I want to help. Let me help,” Cycl0n3 pleaded with me. I didn’t know why, but my heart hurt and I felt tears pricking the back of my eyes. I didn’t know why this was so painful. It wasn’t supposed to be painful. I didn’t even know what all these things were that he was talking about. In the ocean, all the mother needs to do with a newborn is feed it her milk and hold it in her arms until it is old enough to swim on its own. Were human babies more dependant? But my child would also be half-nymph. Surely it wouldn’t need much more than any other nymph child would?

“I meant what I said, Cycl0n3. I came here because I wanted to make my own life instead of having others dictate my life to me, and it’s clear that I’m not what you were seeking,” I told him and my voice cracked on the last bit. Why was this causing me so much pain?! Is this what the humans called “heartbreak”? It felt like it. It was awful. Why would any human put themselves in a position to be heartbroken like this? Did they enjoy pain?

“So… that’s it? We’re over? Just like that?” he asked, his voice carrying a note of deep sorrow that threatened to overwhelm me. I nodded, blinking quickly. I didn’t want to show weakness when I was supposed to be firm.

“If by ‘over,’ you mean I’m setting you free to be monogomous with someone else and you’re letting me take care of my offspring on my own, then… yes. It’s over,” I told him, not wanting to misunderstand him again. I had made things bad enough as it was and I was very sorry for that. Cycl0n3′s shoulders slumped and he let out a heavy sigh.

“I think you’re doing a really stupid thing here, Azure, but… hey, it’s not like I can stop you from doing what you want,” he told me in a low, monotone voice. He leaned forward to give me a soft kiss on my forehead before shoving his hands in his pockets and walking away. Just as he reached the sidewalk, he turned around again and called back to me. “If you and the baby are ever in trouble and need help… call me. I’ll be there,” he said and then left without waiting for a response.

Once he was gone, I collapsed on my bed and cried until I fell asleep for reasons I don’t think I fully understand.

If you’re new to New Reflections and would like to read a certain challenge or story from the beginning, you can browse through specific posts using the Categories section in the sidebar. The Chapters page also contains complete archives of every post, including challenges, custom content downloads and miscellaneous notes.

If you’re ever confused about who is related to whom in a challenge or story, or if you’d like to see information on a Sim, please visit the Family Info page.

Be sure to follow Reflections on Twitter and Facebook! Follow the lives of Ashleigh’s Sims all over the web!

If you’d like to read the discontinued Reflections blog, it can be found here.

Great Sea Gods, please protect me on this perilous journey.

My name is Azure Waverunner and I’ve left my home in the ocean against my clan’s wishes to join the human world and make a life among the land-dwellers. Now that I’m here, I can’t go back home. I’ve been labeled a Surface Nymph by the clan elders and can never become a Water Nymph again now that I have left the ocean, as is the way of my people. It hurts to be shunned from the only family I’ve ever known, but I have to do this. The human world is so alive and ever-changing and it is a world I long to be a part of.

I… what is the word the humans use… bought a piece of land for myself with some money I had taken from shipwrecks and stored over the years. I think it’s called money, anyway. The humans all seem very fond of it. It apparently allows them to possess items and claim them as theirs. Other humans aren’t allowed to touch the items that have been bought with money by someone else. This is a very strange concept to me. We have no money in the ocean. We take what we wish and give what we have to others if they need it more. No one “owns” anything.

I look around at the homes surrounding my spot of land and find myself awestruck. They are indescribably beautiful. I wanted to buy a home for myself like that, but I was told I didn’t possess enough money. Instead, I bought these items called a bed, a fridge, a toilet, and a shower. Humans apparently like to sleep elevated off the ground and on something soft. They also use fridges to store their food to keep it from spoiling quickly. How does it stay so cold?! Toilets are used for depositing body waste. You press a small knob on the side and the waste magically disappears! Since humans live on dry land, they keep themselves clean by standing under a stream of water. I still can’t figure out where the water comes from. Humans are incredible creatures.

I was told by some of these humans that I can earn more money by getting a job. I think that’s when a human provides another human with some kind of service and is rewarded for it with money. I went to a place called The Sharma Day Spa and they said I could be their Spa Specialist and that I can start out by folding clothes. I don’t really know what any of that means, but I like the calm, soothing atmosphere there. It’s comforting and reminds me of home.

After I set up my new home and got a job, I decided to make myself available to the males in the area. I am a woman now and if I had chosen to stay in the ocean with my people, there would have been a celebration and all the males in the area would have gathered to see me. If they liked me, they would have asked me to mate and if I liked them, I would have. If I was very lucky, many males would ask me to mate and I would mate with all of them. It’s always embarrassing when a water nymph only has one mate. It means she’s undesirable.

I met a few men at the park who seemed nice, but then I spotted a group of young humans over by the library (what an amazing building full of these strange things called books!) and ran over to introduce myself to the two men. Their names were Stiles McGraw and Cycl0n3 Sw0rd. I like Cycl0n3′s name. It reminds me of the ocean. Water cyclones are both terrifying and exciting, just like this entire adventure of mine. I decided I liked him the most out of the men I met that day and he soon asked me to be his girlfriend. I’m not sure what that word means, exactly, but I assumed he was asking me if I wanted to mate. I did, so I agreed.

New Reflections has the same Twitter and Facebook page, so no need to worry about switching over to a new page on those sites.

Check back for the first chapter of my new legacy challenge soon!

(P. S: Does anyone know how to get the launcher to connect to the EADM after updating to Origin? I can’t install any of my stuff packs or expansions until I get that resolved. My game is completely vanilla and completely up-to-date. I’m running Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit OS.)