Villagers 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...
In the weeks that followed, the team continued their work as per schedule. The reports from the substation were coming back with positive results. Until the day came for the next dive. As usual, the team packed up the equipment, headed for the substation, dropped their stuff off and went to the beach. The weather was a perfect sunny day and a little windy. They got to the island in about two hours. The instructor told them that water currents might vary this time of the month so stay near the reef floor and return back as soon as the work is done. They put their gear on and dropped into the sea.
The reef looked beautiful as ever as they descended down. This dive's assignment was just to observe the growth of the reef and to take pictures. There was less trash as compared to the last dive. The corals were thriving well. There was a few new shoals of fish in the reef as well. They began to document it and take pictures.
Invisible to all others, Marjan was watching the divers take pictures of the reef. She had her eyes on Zaid who was taking pictures of the new shoals. She swam up to him and look at him with googly eyes. Her heart was beating fast and her mind was racing while he did his work. "What is he doing with that contraption?", Marjan thought. "Should I say hello? Should I go up to him? Would he understand me? What's his name?
"Wow these fish look beautiful." Zaid said to himself. "This must be the shoal Nadia was talking about. I should take as many pictures as I can." The shoal swam up north and Zaid followed them. He was so focused on his work that he didn't notice that we had wandered off to the edge and into the open sea. The shoal swam away and Zaid looked around. He had came a bit too far from the reef.
The team was waving at him to come back and judging by the gestures of the professor and not-so appropriate gestures from Shehzad, they were not happy. He decided to swim back when suddenly a strong current hit him and he was swept away. Zaid looked around and all he could see was the water currents swirling around him as he was taken further away. Some fish, debris from the floor and plastic waste were all engulfed in the current along with Zaid. He struggled to hold on to his tank and the camera.
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Marjan stood frozen at the sight. She was panicking on how to help him. "What should I do? What should I do?" Then she had an idea. The current was massive and it was sweeping up anything that was in its range. Marjan touched her necklace and then swam towards Zaid. The current began to dissipate around her and she managed to pull him out. The current dissolved as soon as it was formed. The fish swam away and the debris fell back to the floor.
Marjan dragged Zaid on the sea floor. She was panting heavily as she looked at Zaid who was beginning to get up. She looked and froze as her hand was on his shoulder. She blushed and pulled back her hand and swam away as Zaid got up and looked around. He had no idea what had just happened. All he knew was stuck in a current and by a miracle, someone pulled him, literally pulled him by his shoulder out of the current.
He swam back to the reef where the team was waiting for him. Shehzad smacked him on the back of this head and said some things that, judging by the amount of bubbles he was emitting, were not pleasant. The professor crossed arms and shook his head. Zaid signalled them sorry and promised to not wander off again. They all swam back to the surface and went back.
Marjan's mind was racing and she was blushing furiously. "What just happened? Did he see me? Oh, I touched him! What did I do? Why did I do that? What's wrong with me? But he's okay now." Marjan said to herself. "He's fine now. I.. I saved his life." Marjan squealed in excitement. "I saved his life! I saved his life!" She swam up and about the reef in circles in happiness. "Yes, you saved his life honey", flower pot said from behind her. Marjan stopped and looked away blushing. "A human, eh?", flower pot said in a meaningful way. "You sure about that?" "What, what do you mean?", Marjan said flustered and swam away. "Heh, she's a good girl!" Flower pot laughed. "But I hope she knows what she's getting into."
