A Fishy Business

Chapter 5: The Whale Ride

We found the whale at the end of the Mariner’s Paradise.  The poor creature was in a cage and had scratches and bruises all over its body.  I could hear it whimpering. 

            “Washy, this is terrible!”  I remarked.

            “I know, but there’s no other mode of transport that’s as efficient and cheap,” replied Washy.

            “No!” I sighed.  “Not the whale ride, but the way the poor thing is treated!”

            “It’s a whale, they’re stupid, dumb creatures.”  Washy’s response seemed contradictory to all I had ever been told about whales.  I thought they were intelligent beings.

            “Can’t we just swim to Turtle’s Hideout, Washy?” I asked.   Noticing my saddened voice, Washy took me aside. 

            “I know it’s sad, girl, but you can’t change it.”  That’s what people always said.  You can’t change things.  I felt so hopeless and pathetic.  I didn’t want to use the whale to get me to Turtle’s Hideout, but I felt I had no other choice. 

            “All aboard!” I heard a rather unattractive merman call.  Quickly, all sorts of sea creatures made their way towards the whale.  I noticed it was harnessed to one side of the cage.  The merman owner opened up the other side.  I saw that he was holding a rather large pole.  With the pole, he pushed at the whale’s mouth, but he didn’t even have to try that hard.  With a little pressing, the whale compliantly opened up.  The crabs, and fish and mermaids climbed inside.  “Priority seats for younglings and the elderly are located at the front teeth!” shouted the merman. 

            “Come on,” said Washy to me.  He led me towards the mouth.  I was incredibly frightened and swam speedily inside.  The tongue of the whale felt kind of slimy against my tail.  Washy and I made our way towards the back of the whale’s mouth. 

            “Washy, can we sit at the front?”  I asked.  I was more unnerved being at the back of the whale.  It was cold and dark, and I suddenly noticed how disgusting the smell around me was. 

            “We’re sitting at the back,” Washy commanded.  I wasn’t enjoying Washy’s company much.  He seemed irritable.  The whale closed its mouth, and I felt it move forward very abruptly.  The jerk pushed me forward onto a merman in front of me, who didn’t seem to mind that much.  “Hold on tight sweetheart,” he said to me.  I took his advice, and found a nearby tooth that I clung onto.    

            “How long does it take to get to Turtle’s Hideout?” I asked Washy. 

            “The same time as it takes for an eel to digest a troublesome glowworm,” he replied.  I pursed my lips in confusion.

            “Don’t you sea-people have a time system?” I asked.           

            "Eh?” replied Washy.

As the journey progressed, I realised that it took longer than I would have thought for an eel to digest a troublesome glowworm.  Washy had left me falling asleep next to the whale’s tooth.  The merman in front had been talking to me for a long time.  He had been asking me about how my life had been in the North Waters.  Luckily, he seemed to have never visited there, and took the answers I provided to his questions as interesting and truthful.  Washy was talking to an octopus, who appeared to be the commander of the whale ship.  I intuitively disliked the look of this octopus.  He was a fierce colour of green, his flesh appeared to be moulding and he had terrible teeth.  Washy and the octopus appeared to be deep in conversation, and as they spoke, they looked over.  They were talking about me!