The Tide of the Mermaid Tears

Ember Taffee had always lived with her mother and sister in the little cottage by the sea. Her father had once lived there too, but the deep had claimed his life long ago. Still, her existence was a happy one, and Ember found joy, imagination, and respite in the sea and the trinkets it would leave for her on the sand. Each morning Ember would wander the shore searching for treasures left by the tides. Though she cherished each pretty shell she found, her favorite gifts from Neptune were the rare mermaid tears-bits of tinted glass worn smooth and lovely by ocean. To Ember, in all the world there were no jewels lovelier than mermaid tears. Yet one morning, Ember was to discover that Neptune would present her with a gift more rare than any other-something she would value far more than the shells and sea glass she collected. One morning Ember Taffee would find a living, breathing man washed up on the sand-a man who would own claim to her heart as full as Neptune himself owned claim to the seas.