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...
Things have been exceptionally difficult for Marjan. She was facing an internal struggle each day. On one hand, she was suppose to look for her sister of whom she had zero progress so far and on the other, she was starting to have feelings for a human she barely knew and above all, she saved his life. She was nervously swimming around the reef talking to herself. "Your sister is in grave danger and you're here thinking about some human who doesn't even know you exist. Mother would be highly disappointed in you. Its been several moons now and haven't even figured out where Sanho is. I should resume the search, yes." So she focused on finding her sister and got back to work.
She would ask the migratory shoals if they had seen a mermaid in any other region or not. But its been almost a month since the last attack so it was extremely difficult for her to look for her now. And by now, most of them had forgotten that they have seen a mermaid or not.
The reefs inhabitants were very supportive of Marjan and asked her to stay all long as she liked until she can find her sister. Marjan thanked them for their hospitality but she felt she was overstaying her visit. She needed to work fast if she want to find Sanho.
"Don't worry honey. You'll find her soon. Just don't lose hope", flower pot reassured her. "Stay as long as you like. We're here for you". "Thank you. Thank you for everything. I am so grateful to have you all. You have been nothing but supportive of me", Marjan said.
One day when she was talking to the shoals about Sanho's whereabouts, she felt as though someone was watching her. She looked around and saw nothing but the other fish.. But then that feeling didn't go away. It was as though someone was keeping an eye on her, watching her every move. She thanked the shoal and moved on. "What is going on?", Marjan thought.
Then she noticed a shoal of fish wondering about near her. It was a small group of fish, purple in colour with white stripes on their sides. She had seen them before but couldn't interact with them because they move around a lot. She moved around cautiously keeping the group in her peripheral vision. They were just swimming about, not eating or interacting with the other fish. And they didn't move about like other fish.
Marjan became skeptical of their behavior. When they got out of sight, she went upto flower pot. "Hey, flower pot. Do you anything about that group over there?", she pointed in the direction of the purple fish. "Who them? We only started seeing them about a month ago. They don't talk much. They just come, eat and then leave. Kind of creepy if you ask me", flower pot said. "And do you have any idea where they're from", asked Marjan. "Well they're not from around here, that's for sure", replied flower pot. "Hmm, that is strange", thought Marjan.
Over the next few days, the behavior of that shoal was the same. They would come when the sun was at its peak. They would roam around the reef, not interacting with anyone else and leave when the sun had set. Unlike the other shoals which were cheerful and joyous with the members of the reef, these fish only kept to themselves and looked moody. Marjan was suspicious of their behavior and decided to further investigate. She was sure that they were somehow linked to Sanho's disappearance. She planned to look follow them first thing tomorrow. She shared her concerns with flower pot and Rio who were also convinced that this was the case. They promised to give her their undeniable support.
It was the night of the full moon. The light illuminated the reef and it looked beautiful. It was a special night for the reef too as during the full moon, the corals release their eggs. They will float to the surface, get fertilized and from where they will drift off to the sea and start their new colonies. When the moon was at its brightest, the corals began to release their eggs out.
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Millions of little eggs floated throughout the reef as though someone had let loose miniature balloons. It was an extraordinary sight. "Go my little babies. Start your new journey", flower pot called out as her eggs floated off. Marjan was sitting and watching this incredible sight. She was so happy to see the little ones move on to their new homes.
Then suddenly everything went dark. Marjan looked around and in a distance, she saw a dark cloud erupting in the distance. It was moving towards the reef. In the centre, she saw several mermaid-like creatures of different sizes but when they came close, they were not mermaids at all. They had pale skin, sharp teeth, dirty heaped hair and black tails with spikes. They all were holding different kinds of weapons. "Now we got you princess!".
