Chapter 1

Thunder shook the very foundations of the little house by the beach, and Cecilia Michelle Lewis huddled deeper under the covers, wishing she were asleep.

Outside, waves crashed against the rocky shore, so loud that Cecilia could hear it from her bedroom. She shivered. This made her think of her mama’s tales of typhoons in the Philippines—how the waters could rise so quickly. She might be in Connecticut, but typhoons were still possible, right?

Lightning shot through her vision, making the world white for a split second before returning it to darkness. Her kitten, resting against her feet, mewed in alarm.

“Shh. It’s okay, Adobo. It’s just thunder,” she whispered, more to reassure herself than the kitten. “The thunder can’t hurt us.”

She shivered as another crash of thunder followed the flash of lightning.

“Singkamas?”

Cecilia sat up. “Mama? What are you doing here?”

She could make out her mama’s silhouette in the dark as she approached Cecilia’s bed. “Big storm tonight, isn’t it?” her mama asked as she sat down beside Cecilia. “I was worried about you, Singkamas. You would always get so scared of the thunder when you were little.”

“Well, I’m not scared now,” Cecilia lied. “At least…not much.”

“I see.” Cecilia knew that her mama was smiling. “Well, I just thought you might want a little company.”

Cecilia sighed. “I’m twelve, mama. I think I’m getting a little too old for this kind of thing.”

“You’re never too old for finfolk, Singkamas.”

Cecilia hesitated. “Okay,” she said finally. “But just for tonight.”

She snuggled down under the covers again, and pulled Adobo close to her.

Her mama nestled beside them. “Once upon a time, humans and finfolk lived in harmony,” she whispered.

Almost immediately, Cecilia felt herself calming down. The warmth of the blankets enfolded her, and her mama’s voice seemed more powerful than the thunder outside. She had heard this story so many times that she had it memorized. But she never got bored of it. The words were still as magical as they had ever been.

“What are finfolk?” she asked, grinning. She knew exactly what the answer was going to be, but it didn’t matter. What mattered was the story.

Her mama laughed and answered patiently, like she always did. “Finfolk, of course, are the man-fish creatures that rule the sea. Everyone knows that. They’re tricksters and shapeshifters. They can take human form and walk on the land, like ordinary people. And sometimes they bless brave humans by taking them to visit under the sea. You see, the finfolk’s city is incredibly beautiful, and just one glimpse of it could make a human happy for the rest of their life.”

The city seemed to shine before Cecilia’s eyes, all lit with jewels and flicking fish tails. If she reached out, she could almost touch it, almost taste the salt on her tongue and hear the muted sounds of an underwater world. She could almost believe that it was real.

Her mama tucked the blanket tighter around Cecilia, her voice turning suddenly serious. “But although finfolk and humans were friends at first, their peace could not last forever. For the humans were greedy, and wanted to take all the jewels and pearls that made the finfolk’s city so beautiful. That made the finfolk angry, and soon, the two peoples were at war.

“The finfolk were forced to hide themselves from the humans, so that they could be safe. And the humans eventually forgot about the finfolk—all except for a very few, special people.” Her mama tapped Cecilia’s nose with a smile. “And sometimes, the finfolk show themselves to those people. Maybe you’ll be one of the lucky ones, little singkamas.”

That was what her parents always called her. Singkamas—their little white turnip.

“The finfolk live on, you know,” she finished. “And they still reward the brave of heart.”

“Thanks, mama,” Cecilia whispered.

“Anytime, Singkamas. Any time at all.”

Her mama kissed her gently on the forehead, then slipped out of the room.

When Cecilia woke up, the rain had stopped, and the world out her window looked fresh and bright.

It was one of those lazy summer days that she liked so much. She may have been homeschooled, but she still enjoyed summer break as much as anyone else. A few months when she didn’t have to worry about biology. Yuck.

She changed and ran a brush through her tangled mess of black hair, then walked downstairs slowly, Adobo following her like a little black shadow. Then she smelled a familiar aroma, and smiled. “Papa!” she called, taking the last few steps two at a time. “Did you make pancakes?”

Her papa laughed as she sat down at the dining table. “Just for you, Singkamas.”

“What’s the special occasion?” Cecilia asked, narrowing her eyes. Her papa nearly always made a Filipino breakfast—rice, fish, or pandesal. Pancakes, her favourite American breakfast, always meant something was going on.

Her mama came into the house, holding the mail. “What are you talking about? No special occasion. We just wanted to show you how much we appreciate you, dear.”

Cecilia raised an eyebrow. “So it’s a bad special occasion, then. Otherwise you’d tell me straight out.”

“You’re too smart for your own good, Singkamas,” her papa sighed, setting a plate of pancakes in front of her. “I wish you would put this much energy into your biology studies. You’d have discovered the next species of bioluminescent dinoflagellates by now. And speaking of bioluminescent dinoflagellates…did you know there’s a school named after them?”

“Yes, papa, I know. You and mama tell me about Biolumi-something Dinoflappywing High all the time. It’s where you went to school, it has a great biology program, and the principal is weird. What does that have to do with anything?”

Her mama and papa exchanged sheepish glances. “Well…” her mama began.

But Cecilia had already realized what was going on. “No. I don’t believe it. You’re…you’re not sending me to boarding school, are you? No. I won’t go. I refuse.”

“Just hear us out, Singkamas,” said her papa. “First of all, he’s a headmaster, not a principal. And second of all, it’s Bioluminescent Dinoflagellate High.”

“I don’t care,” Cecilia said firmly. “Homeschooling is working fine! Why do I need to go off to some other school?”

“You’re going to be twelve this year, Cecilia,” her mama said. “You can’t keep blowing up driftwood fences and causing incidents involving sharks. Eventually, you’re going to have to learn real stuff. More than your papa and I can teach you. BiDi High has some great teachers, and wonderful kids. And they allow pets, so you can even take Adobo with you! You’re going to have so much fun there. I promise.”

“You can’t promise that,” Cecilia sulked. “And besides, you’re acting like this BiDi High is some prestigious school. I know you and papa went there, but I also know that it doesn’t have great credentials. There are blackouts, half the teachers aren’t qualified, and…there have been a lot of weird things going on there recently.”

“Ah, so I see you’ve done your research.” Her papa raised an eyebrow. “I suppose you know where it is, then.”

“Yeah, it’s on the island of Haar.”

Her parents waited patiently for her to realize what she had just said.

Cecilia repeated the words to herself softly. “It’s on the island of Haar. Of course! I—” She stuttered. “I—you’re tricking me! You’re trying to make me want to go there!”

“That would be an upside, I admit,” her papa said, chuckling. “But we really do want you to be happy, Singkamas. We both know you’d love it there. The swimming curriculum is top-notch, and the library is great too. And I know you’ve always been interested in Haar.”

There was no doubt about that. “What if I don’t like it?” Cecilia asked slowly, still suspicious of the deal. “You two are a little biased, after all.”

“Just try it out for a year,” her mama said. “We’ll enroll you for this year, and you can see how you like it. If you’re not interested…we’ll figure something else out. We really do want you to be happy, Singkamas. But we would like you to give it a shot.”

Cecilia hesitated. She couldn’t help feeling a little bit betrayed by her parents: they had ganged up on her, then bribed her with pancakes and the promise of mysteries. They really knew what she liked.

But on the other hand…she had always begged them to take her to Haar. The island was the center of so much mystery, so much controversy. She had read all the stories, all the legends, all the newspaper clippings and all the crazy conspiracy theories online. Could she really pass up the chance to get a first-hand view?

She took another thoughtful bite of pancake. “Fine,” she said finally. “But only for a year. That’s all the time I need to uncover Haar’s secrets. And then we’ll be back to homeschooling.”

Her parents gave each other knowing glances. “Whatever you say, Singkamas,” her papa said sweetly. “If you’re not happy with BiDi High at the end of the school year, we won’t force you to keep going there. But until then…you should get packing. We leave in a week.”