They roll me into the hospital on a stretcher, half-naked and shivering. The blanket and heating pads help return my core temperature to normal but can't fully soothe the chill clinging to my skin. Mum and Granny arrive in a trail of dust, their eyes puffy and red as they enter my room.

"My baby!" Mum wraps me in a bear hug, the scent of lavender lingering in her blonde curls. "I was so worried!"
"I'm sorry. I honestly didn't think I'd end up like this," I say, raising my arm with the needle in it.
"Your friends said you jumped into the lake! Why would you do such a thing?"
"They're not my friends, Mum. They're Maya's. But they're right. I jumped into the lake to retrieve my phone."
"God, you're going to give me a heart attack one of these days."
"Indeed," says Granny. "You've no idea how relieved we are to see you alive."
"I know. I know. I promise I'll never do anything this stupid again."

Yet as I give my word my thoughts turn to him. Was he real? Or did my oxygen-deprived brain conjure some kind of pleasant illusion? My heart tells me it was true but doubt still crawl around inside me like maggots.
The doctors decide to keep me overnight for observation. But after a thorough examination the following morning they determine I'm well enough to go home. At their request, Mum comes and collects me from the hospital. Her voice remains a static noise in the background, occasionally snapping me out of my obsessive thoughts. All I can think about is him. Whether my mind was playing tricks on me or if I truly came in contact with an extra-terrestrial being. He must be one. An interstellar traveller who've settled here on earth. Or perhaps he was trapped here through a freak accident and are hiding in the lake to conceal himself from humanity. How else could he have gone unnoticed for so long? But if that's the case, why did he save me? Hold on. Now I'm being ridiculous. There's no way that kiss happened. It must've been my imagination. It must've... Sparks rush through my abdomen. I have to go back. I have to know if he was real.

The next evening I return to the lake. The water's still as a mirror. There are no boats. No kayaks. Not a canoe in sight as I step onto the dock. Mosquitos swirl the air en masse, creating a feast for the birds. The smell of earth and salt calms my nerves as I keep watch for an hour. But the lake remains undisturbed. The tranquillity never changes. On the fourth night I conclude I'm being delusional and resolve to abandon this foolishness once and for all. But as I'm about to leave, I get an idea. I pull out the phone I've borrowed from Mum and put on Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. I turn up the volume to a hundred and wait. What am I doing? There's no way some classic music will - On the far side of the depth a speck of light arises, travelling towards me like a great glowing sun. Shivers dances on my skin as he appears out of the water. A vision made real amidst the dwindling twilight. We stare at each other, head swirling as he grabs the dock and pulls himself up. I step back, blinded by the sheer radiance of his stature. His skin glistens like gemstones and his golden hair fall in soft waves around his pointed ears. The gills on his neck contracts and expands, as if he's struggling to breathe on land. Then they close completely turning into six thinly lined scars. His broad webbed feet retract as well, as do the web on his long, graceful fingers. But his eyes stay on me. Bright as the stars in the universe, they hold nothing but what I can only describe as fathomless kindness.

"Umm... Hi? Do you remember me? I was the girl you rescued last week. I wasn't sure you were real, or if my mind had gone off the deep end. But you're here! I can't believe it!"
He tilts his head.
"Who are you? What's your name?"
A ghost of a smile flickers on his lips.
"Do you understand what I'm saying? My name's Aurora," I point at myself.
"Aurora." He tastes the words in a clear melodic voice. As if each letter is a dish he wants to savour.
Following my example he puts his hand on his chest. "Galensherinn."
"Galen - sha - no, she - sheir - inn."
He accepts my poor attempt with grace, then holds out his arm, gesturing to the lake.
"You want me to come with you? I'm sorry," I hold up my hands. "But I can't follow."

His lips part as if he's about to say something, but he merely dives back into the water. For a while it seems like he's gone for good. But to my delight, he resurfaces and climbs onto the dock. He unfolds his palm, revealing an ocean blue root he plants in my hand.

"What's this? Some kind of root?"
He brings his fingers to his mouth.
"You want me to eat it?"

The core emits a faint bioluminescent glow that reminds me of Northern Lights. The natural wonder which inspired my name. I put the root to my nostrils but detect no discernible scent. He nods, encouraging me to eat. Well, here goes nothing. I open my mouth and bury my teeth in the skin. A bitter sweetness gathers on my tongue as I chew. What is this? Some kind of herb? Don't tell me it's going to give me hallucinations or the - Pain rips into my gullet as I swallow the last of the stem. I grip my throat, trying to speak, but nothing except a ghastly gurgling comes out of my mouth. Sweat breaks out on my forehead and my heartrate shoots into the stratosphere. Something's moving. On the side of my throat. It's growing! Splitting apart! No! The root's transforming me! I drop to my knees. A dull ache rushes through my veins as thin webbing knit my fingers and toes. And my eyes and ears burn like the fires of hell as they're forged anew. At last, the pain recedes and a whole new reality comes to light. The world shimmers in galaxies of colours I've no names for, with narrow threads weaved into the atmosphere itself. Noises far and wide travels on a thinly threaded line, but the symphony of nature interweave into the string of notes.

"What did you do to me?" I ask, even though I already know the answer.

I've been changed. Turned into whatever he is. Should I run? Call for help? No, that'd be stupid. Any stranger I'd come across would stumble away in fear or do harm to me. The exploitative ones would use their smartphones to film me and upload the video on social media. And then it'd be over for real.

"It seems I've two options," I murmur, more to myself than to him. "Either I flee and risk succumbing to human greed and folly. Or I go with you into the lake."

As there's not much of a choice, I pass him without a backward glance. At the edge of the dock I stop and peer into the water. I poke one of the gills and it twitches at my touch. My eyes are the brightest shade of blue, like the bluebells growing in our garden. And my ears are as sharp as the tip of a knife. My stomach churn at the sight, yet the moment I enter the water, my mind calms and a surge of energy flows through my body. To my human eyes the lake had been a dark and sterile void. But now I can see it as it truly is; a cradle, teeming with life. Galen swims beside me. His movements swift yet elegant. What is he? He's not a mermaid - merman - since he has two legs and not a tail for navigating the water. And he's not entirely exposed either with that silky net tied around his pelvis. Heat spreads over my cheeks, and I turn to the huge rock formation appearing at the bottom of the lake. Galen lays his palm against the rock which up close sort of resembles a broken spear.

"Ath raen erith'san vathla!"

The wall groans as it parts, revealing a hidden realm behind its gate. Glowing orbs illuminate the path leading to a great chamber adorned in all manner of beads and finely shaped sculptures. Different species swim about in their plenty. Carp. Catfish. Jellyfish. Pike. Shrimps. Trouts. And bioluminescent flora dots every part of the reef providing a never-ending source of food and medicinal ingredients. It carries on until we reach the inner section of the chamber carved out of crystal and stone. Though perhaps chamber isn't quite the right word. It's more of a sanctum of smaller rooms connected to a nursery filled with vegetables, herbs and ornamental flowers.

"This is incredible," I say. For it's the truth. Plain and simple. "This is where you live?"
Galen smiles. He seems happy, proud even, to show me his home.
"Do you live here alone?"

Why do I keep asking him questions when it's obvious he doesn't understand what I'm saying? Maybe I'm too curious not to ask. To think a creature like him could exist in our world... Galen moves about the sanctum in a breeze. Orbs float in the ceiling of each room streaming pure azure lights on the oval furniture. In one room, a hammock woven in fabrics too delicate to have been grown by natural means hang like a canvas. And the sculptures! From afar they appeared dextrous and life-like. But that turned out to have been a gross understatement. Every line, every crease, every vein has been made in such detail it puts masters like Donatello and Michelangelo to shame. How long has he been working on these? Men and women bowing in frugal robes. Fishes leaping into the air. Dolphins and swans circling each other in an intimate dance. Years he must've spent. Decades of shaping the stone to his exact standard. I touch the base of one of the sculptures, and my eye draws to the hour-hand on my watch. 4:26 a.m. Shit. I must get home before the sun comes up. But how am I supposed to return in this shape? Getting back without being seen will be near impossible. Yet I must try.

"I'm sorry," I turn to Galen. "But I must go."

I point upward, making my intentions clear. Galen's brow knit together but follows me till we reach the barrier between lake and sky. He opens and closes his mouth. He appears to want to speak, to tell me words of great importance. But with this second barrier separating us, we part ways without a proper goodbye.