The fishermen searched all around but couldn't find Allah Wasaya. There were no signs of struggle, no bite marks which suggested that he was attacked by a shark. They concluded that he was drunk and had slipped off the boat. But that still couldn't figure out where his body was.
They pulled Allah Wasaya's boat along to the shore. His friend informed his family who were devastated about the loss. The village got over his loss over the few days but over the next few days, similar incidences of disappearances occured. Fishermen going out at sea only to disappear but no evidence of struggle. This got everyone worried.
The villagers sat down to discuss the current situation. Some stated that they ate some shellfish off the coast that give them hallucinations, some said that the waves threw them off, one man said that India had sent his navy to kidnap the fishermen but none of those theories explained the situation. While they were discussing, the beggar was shouting inexpressibly outside, "Its the devils from the sea! Its the devils from the sea!"
"Oh no, he's back", sighed Abdul Karim, Allah Wasaya's neighbor and went on to send him away but the beggar kept shouting "Its the devils from the sea, You'll see they are coming back. They're gonna kill us all!" Eventually he went away but that got Abdul Karim thinking about the folklore his grandparents used to tell him about mythological creatures of the sea. He shook his head and chuckled "No, that can't be true" and went back to the meeting.
"I am telling you, its the Indian Army, trying to attack Pakistan", Imam Buksh chanted to the group and they nodded in agreement. "Be reasonable Iman Buksh, do you really think they would kidnap our fishermen and leave everything else behind. That is absurd" Abdul Karim replied. The meeting come to an end shortly and everyone went home that night.
The next day, news reporters came and took in account the current story. So far 7 fishermen have disappeared in the past few months. Imam Buksh was still ranting about foreign invasion and what not. Some looked confused but a few took his angle and began their reports. They interviewed Abdul Karim and the others as well. Soon the news appeared in all channels but nobody really had any idea what was going on.
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Jal main Kahin (Somewhere in the Sea)
Fiksi IlmiahVillagers by the sea are astounded when fishermen start disappearing without a trace A team of scientists working on the coral reefs not sure what they are about to discover A kingdom of merfolk is threatened by the commotion on the surface This sto...
