I loved watching Eva’s eyes light up as she finally relaxed and allowed herself to look around. She took a few more deep breaths and then finally settled into the rhythm of breathing underwater.

She kept her eyes on mine the entire time, and I breathed with her, encouraging her to just relax and let the water flow through her lungs. When her shoulders finally relaxed and her breathing became more normal, she smiled.

Unfortunately, the potion didn’t allow us to speak underwater the way most tritons and mermaids can, but I was grateful for any chance to be here where I belonged.

I would have to find my friend Anna later at the festival to thank her again. She always acted like it was no big deal, but I knew what it took for her to create this and sneak them to me. As an earth witch, she was pushing beyond her normal talents to deal with a special water potion. It had taken her years to perfect it.

She took a real risk with Selena, too, who would no doubt be furious if she found out about this. But Anna never seemed to mind. She was a good friend.

When Eva was more comfortable, I let go of one of her hands and motioned deeper, toward the cave. She nodded and followed me down, but she still held tightly to my hand, as if she wasn’t quite sure of the depth.

But once we got closer, even her grip on my hand started to relax.

I pointed out the different species of colorful fish here, and Eva watched in wonder as they swam all around us. Because of Willow Harbor’s special magic, it drew all kinds of paranormal beings here, but the water also held its own kind of magic. The fish here were more colorful and more diverse. There were species here you wouldn’t find anywhere else in the world.

Many of them came out of hiding once they sensed we were close. They seemed to be just as curious about us as we were about them.

Slowly, we made our way toward the underwater cave I loved so much. I couldn’t wait to show her what waited for us inside, and I hoped she wouldn’t be too scared to go deeper.

After about half an hour swimming near the cave, I finally pointed to the entrance and raised an eyebrow.

Eva glanced at me and nodded, but she bit her lower lip. I could tell she was scared, so I took her hand again, hoping she knew everything would be okay.

Carefully and slowly, I led her through the cave’s opening. As we swam inside, it grew deeper and darker very quickly. Eva clutched my hand tighter, and I urged her forward. I just needed her to follow me through the first few feet before she would understand why this place was so incredible.

A little ways in, it got so dark it was difficult to see anything beyond our own hands in front of us. Eva trembled and moved her body closer in the darkness. I slid my arm around her back, holding her as close as I could as we swam.

But the darkness lasted only a few meters before the lights ahead caught her attention. She looked at me, her eyes questioning, but all I could do was smile and keep moving forward.

I kicked a little harder, anxious for her to see what lay ahead.

The cave went a little deeper and grew narrower as we swam, but then it suddenly opened up again, and we were finally there. My private little sanctuary away from the world.

I swam inside, leaving Eva hovering near the entrance to the room, her eyes wide with wonder.

I could tell she wanted to say something, but there were no words to describe the magic of this place. You had to see it to believe it.

Deep below the surface, through the special cave, this room was fully protected and fully private from the rest of the world. The room was large and circular, carved out somehow by the waves over the course of centuries, and the shells and animals that lived here had all evolved to give off their own light so that the entire room glowed with bright, neon colors. Pink, green, blue, purple, yellow. Every color you could imagine glowed around us.

The room was large enough for us both to swim freely here, and I took advantage of it, swimming the length of the secret room. Eva watched, smiling as she clutched her hands near her heart.

I looped around and motioned for her to join me. Slowly, she ventured out into the center of the room and looked around, her eyes sparkling. The look on her face filled me with a joy so bright, it flowed straight to my heart.

It had been a very long time since I’d allowed myself to feel this happy. How was it possible someone I had just met could affect me so deeply?

Eva swam around the room, studying the different sea animals and their brightly colored shells. I swam beside her, introducing her to new things as we looked around. There were starfish and crabs, sea anemone and clown fish, even stingrays, all of them glowing with their own range of neon colors.

I still wasn’t exactly sure how this cave had come to be, but I knew in Willow Harbor and the surrounding waters, nothing was impossible. Somehow the magic of this place had seeped into the water and become a part of all the life here.

I wanted to stay for hours, but I knew Anna’s potions would only last so long. And it was never long enough.

After more than an hour swimming around and exploring the room, I motioned to the exit and Eva frowned. I pointed to my wrist, indicating we were running out of time, and she nodded, understanding.

Together, we swam back through the dark cave and out into the open ocean once again.

By the time we reached the surface, I could already feel the effects of the potion starting to wear off.

Usually, this part left me feeling deeply depressed and longing for home, but with Eva here by my side, it felt tolerable. Like I wasn’t quite as alone as I felt most of the time.

I helped her remove her swim fins and get back into the waiting boat. She coughed a few times, getting used to breathing normal air again, but when she was able to speak, she took my hand.

“Thank you,” she said. “I never would have even imagined something like that existed if it hadn’t been for you.”

Her eyes glistened, and I couldn’t tell if it was from the water or if she was crying.

“Thank you for coming with me,” I said. “I know something like that takes a lot of trust, but I just really wanted you to see it.”

“Are there lots of places like that?” she asked.

“Not many,” I said. “But there are other things you probably wouldn’t believe, even if I told you all about it.”

She smiled, dropping my hand as I prepared to pull up the anchor and head back home.

“How is it you know so much about the ocean?” she asked. “You seem so at home here. Have you lived by the water all your life?”

I cleared my throat and avoided her gaze. When we were inside the cave, I was feeling daring and brave and closer to her than anyone in a very long time, but back out here in the open, I felt foolish and exposed.

I really didn’t know that much about her. Was I really ready to trust her with my darkest secrets?

“I guess you could say I’ve lived by the water for as long as I can remember,” I said.

I left it at that, and Eva seemed to sense I didn’t want to talk about it, because she huddled back under her blanket and didn’t press me for more of an answer.

We rode in silence all the way back to the docks, and I wondered if there would be more for us, or if this one day was all we were going to get.

As I steered the boat toward shore and secured it tightly to the wooden dock, I realized just how deeply I hoped there would be more. I didn’t want to let her go.