Home. But this was her home, the ghost-girl just said she lived here.

But she also said that as long as the Merrow was stuck here, so were they.

But why would the Merrow be stuck?

She waded back to the shore and retrieved the Book of Secrets from her schoolbag, holding it carefully by the edges so her wet sleeves wouldn’t smudge any of the ink. She flicked through it, searching for any mention of the Merrow, but she already knew it was useless. If Granny knew of the creature’s existence, she had never gotten around to telling Cat about it. She slid the copybook carefully back into her bag, sat on the cold, damp ground and began to shiver. There had to be a way to solve this – and quickly!

‘How long has the Merrow been here in this lake?’ Cat asked aloud.

The ghost-girl looked taken aback, ‘I … I don’t know,’ she said, hesitantly. ‘She’s always been here I think.’

‘But you said she was trapped here. That means this isn’t really her home. So where does she belong?’

The girl blinked down at her but said nothing. Her brow was furrowed in thought.

‘I know,’ said a voice so quiet Cat could barely make it out over the sighing of the wind. An almost-shapeless mass of pale silver light stepped forward from the crowd of ghost-children. Cat squinted and realised she was looking at a small, thin boy. It seemed to Cat as though he struggled to hold onto his shape.

‘My uncle told me the story once,’ he continued in a near-whisper. ‘Many years ago, a fisherman went out to sea and caught the Merrow in his net. He believed that folk would pay good money to see a real-life water sprite, so he stole her away and trapped her inland, far away from the sea.’

‘That’s horrible!’ Cat cried.

The little ghost-boy nodded and for just a moment, his entire form disappeared into the night. Before Cat could panic, he appeared again, dimmer than before. ‘One day, he left for the market, but he forgot to lock the door behind him. The Merrow saw her chance to escape. She ran out the door and sprinted toward the first body of water she could find, thinking it would lead her back home. Instead, she found this lake and has been stuck here ever since. The fisherman wasn’t happy to find the Merrow gone, but as time went on, he forgot all about her. She never forgot about him though. A few years later he married a local woman and as punishment for his wicked crimes, the Merrow stole his firstborn son. She’s been stealing children ever since.’

‘Where’s the fisherman’s son now?’ asked Cat.

‘He could be any one of them,’ said the ghost-girl gesturing to the crowd of silvery spirits that gathered around them. ‘As you can see, some of us are better at holding onto our shapes than others.’

Cat took a moment to let the ghost-boy’s story sink in. She couldn’t help but feel sorry for the Merrow. She had done terrible things, but she had been stolen from her home and kept as a prisoner. She was a victim too. Cat wondered if there was a way she could make things right again for everyone.