She felt bad for Urma, but the guards had said she was a criminal. True, the mermaid had called the king an insane dictator. Somehow, though, she did not strike Joan as someone who had just escaped from severe oppression. They had satellite television, for crying out loud!
Thus sufficiently justified in her desertion, Joan surveyed her surroundings to plan her next step. Apart from the "chimney," she could see nothing but open sea. Schools of silvery fish drifted by far below. Overhead, the sun glimmered and pulsed, its light dissipating into grayness.
With a sinking feeling, Joan realized she was lost. If she left her single landmark, would she make it back to land? Of course, she could always wait for her time as a mermaid to end, but who could say how long that would be?
Then, an idea struck her. If she looked above the water, maybe she would be able to spot land from there. If she saw nothing, she could just come back down again.
Her mind made up, she flicked her tail and rose upward towards the surface.
