"...the moonlight glinted on a box tossed out of the waves. It was covered in barnacles and wrapped in ribbons of golden kelp.

Ffion climbed the steep path home, carrying the box.

Ffion found her father sitting by the fire. She pressed the box into her father's hands. As they unwrapped the ribbons, she told him of their meeting with their mother, of Morlo's journey beneath the waves and of the joy in his eyes as he returned to the water.

They opened the box. Inside lay a heap of lustrous pearls."

When I began to write the book I was unsure of what the gift from the seal woman would be. There could be so many treasures beneath the sea. I love the way pearls reflect light, so I chose pearls, and then had to decide what they would be in, so sketched a barnacle encrusted box with seaweed and details of mermaids. There could be others treasures from sunken ships and drowned cities. What would you wish for?

 

 

 

 

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