Along with Brooks, of Arcadia, Florida, these “mermaid sisters”—Cheryl Wood, 80, of Skyforest, California; Ruth Greening, 77, of Inman, South Carolina; Donna Paul, 78, of Newberg, Oregon; and Jo McCoy, 77, of Richmond Hill, Georgia—had worked as performers at Weeki Wachee Springs State Park in Spring Hill, Florida, in the 1960s. For three years, they dressed in shimmering tails and performed water ballets in a natural spring 16 feet underwater, working multiple shows a day for an audience behind glass windows, all while breathing through hoses attached to air compressors. It took skill, creativity and hard work, and the young women relied on each other.

With no curfews or parents around, they had to learn to navigate adulthood together too. Brooks, Paul and Greening shared a small cottage behind the park.

“Ruth would cook, and I would wash the dishes,” Paul recalls. “I actually blew the oven up once. I put a can in it, not knowing it’d explode.”

Those adventures forged lifelong bonds. After their time at the park, the friends showed up for each other’s weddings and graduations. They visited one another from time to time. But they had not swum together in the springs in more than five decades. Then, last summer, they returned for one more swim as guests of Wish of a Lifetime, a charitable affiliate of AARP that grants life-changing wishes to older adults.

“I’m 17 all over again, and I’m just sliding through the water like I own it,” Brooks exulted.

“We don’t have the bodies that we had, but you know what? I don’t care,” added Greening. “I’m having a fabulous time.”

For Brooks, who had recently been treated for soft tissue sarcoma, the experience served as a reminder to stop waiting to do the things that give life joy and meaning—like communing with dear old friends.

“It’s just a feeling that you get deep down in your soul,” she says. “You know that no matter where you are or what time and space you’re in, it’s never gonna be different when you’re with them. It’s just magic.” —Dru Strand