“Look Sol!” Deidry plopped a strand of seaweed on her head, “I’m a sea witch!”

  Sol glanced over from the net he was pulling up. “Witches aren’t real, and if they were, they wouldn’t have slimy seaweed for hair.”

  “Why not?” Deidry tossed the strand into the water.

  “The fish would eat it, and then they would be bald.” Sol said as he dumped the net filled with fish onto the dock. “Let’s go, it’s nearly dinner time.” He grabbed his bag and the net and went to drop off the fish.

  “Thanks Sol, see you tomorrow.” The head fisherman said as Sol tossed the fish into the bin. From there, they would be gutted and shipped off to who knows where to be sold. Sol followed Deidry off the docks into the town.

  “If mermaids were real, would they be ugly like eels or pretty like dolphins?” Deidry always rambled on and on, never expecting an answer. It seemed like she always had something to talk about, especially if it related to mermaids or magic. “Maybe they would have pointy teeth like sharks or-“ She stopped in her tracks and stared down a dark alleyway.

  “Deidry let’s go, our food will be cold.” Sol tugged on her arm, but she pulled it back.

  “There was a blue light in the alley! Like a lantern but it was just a bright flash. Did you see it?” Deidry started to walk down the alley.

  “We don’t have time for this! It’s probably just the sky reflecting off something.” Sol hurried after her.

  Suddenly, two angry looking people emerged from behind the pile of junk at the end of the alley.

  “Deidry, I don’t think we should be here…”

  The two lunged at them. Sol grabbed Deidry and started running. They ran, turning corners and cutting between buildings wherever they could, until they got stuck in a dead end. The two people from the alley caught up in seconds. Sol grabbed his fish-gutting knife from his bag. “Leave us alone! We don’t have anything to give you!” He shoved Deidry behind him.

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  “What did you see?” One of the angry people snarled.

  “We saw… we saw a blue light.” Deidry said. “Did you make the light?”

  The second person lunged at Deidry. Sol tried to block them, but they shoved him onto the ground. The other person stomped their boot on top of him so he couldn’t get up, his knife skittering out of reach.

  “You can’t tell anyone, you hear me little girl?” The person growled, shoving Deidry against the wall. Deidry whimpered, tears running down her face. “You hear me?” They shook Deidry violently.

  “Let me go you ugly rat!” Deidry cried and tried to spit in the person’s face. “Let me go!” She kicked them pathetically, her tiny feet barely hitting them.

  The person snapped. They made a violent hand movement like they were chopping through something. Deidry shrieked, an awful sound like a siren. She collapsed to the ground limply. Sol screamed and tried to get up, but the person with the boot kicked him back down.

  “What about this one?” The person with their shoe on top of Sol asked.

  The other person glanced over their shoulder. “No time, let’s just get out of here.”

  The two ran and disappeared around the corner. Sol crawled over to Deidry. A red puddle had started to form around her lifeless body. He frantically grabbed her wrist, trying to find a sign of life. Her hand was still warm, but it was completely limp. Her eyes were open, staring at the sky. She wan’t moving, wasn’t breathing.

  She was dead.

  “No…” Sol sobbed. She couldn’t be dead. She couldn’t be.

  A policeman came from around the corner and saw Sol crying by Deidry’s body. His fish gutting knife still nearby, in the puddle of blood. “Hey boy, what are you doing?” He called as he walked towards Sol.

  Sol looked up. “She’s- they- they killed her.” He sputtered between sobs.

  “Who’s they?” The policeman asked.

  Before Sol could answer, a woman came from a door in the wall of the alley. The sweet smell of pastries wafted out of the door. Sol knew this woman, she owned the bakery that he and Deidry would sometimes get treats from on special occasions. Surely she saw what had happened, could explain what had happened.

  “I saw it all!” The woman cried, “He got upset and took out a knife, and just killed the little girl right on the spot!” the woman said. She wiped her teary, blue eyes on her sleeve.

  Sol looked at her in shock. His heart felt like it had stopped. How could she accuse of him of doing this?

  “You’re coming with me kid.” The policeman grabbed Sol by the arms.

  “No! I can’t just leave her like this! I didn’t do anything!” He shrieked and struggled against the policeman’s grip, but the policeman was stronger than he was. The image of Deidry, lying there in a puddle, eyes wide, burned into his brain though his eyes blurred with tears. As he was dragged away, he remembered.

  That woman’s eyes used to be green.