Above the Waves

Chapter 1: The Summer Island

The food supply officially ran out today, yet the pod still refuses to migrate until the next full moon rises in three days. All the fish have begun to swim north and there's not even a single strand of kelp left to eat, believe me, I've been past the borders to check. This meant we'd have to swim for miles and miles from the Summer Island to the Winter Island.

Luckily, I'd gotten my fair share of sea-cakes this morning, after the food gatherers brought back the last of the kelp. However, this same problem happened before our migration last year and the year before, I guess it's just a case of the new leaders being uneducated about the environment we live in.

But we weren't just starving, the water was becoming colder every day and would soon freeze over and trap us all underneath. The coral beds were all shriveled up and covered in thin layers of icicles, so everyone had to sleep on the rocky, sandy floor. All the sharks would rush through our pod like we weren't even there, everyone was in a rush to get to the warmer water.

The leader's always blame the humans for our food supply running short, though we were miles from the human's island. We all stayed deep below the surface and out of sight from them, hiding from anything they might bring. Everyone's frightened of the humans, I don't see why, they're just like us.

Mother tells me the human's land is called 'Australia' because she often sees the word on sunken ships in the area. The human's probably have another name for their land. They probably have a name for our island as well, but we call it The Summer Island. Of course, we have a winter island too, but it is many miles north, where the ocean's are warmer.

The pod all nests in the caves and corals around our island, we watch the moon rise before we snuggle into bed and we watch the moon set before we start the day. We spend our time gliding with the tuna and talking to the starfishes. Many of us do not have jobs because it's safer to stay by the island and protect one another.

I disagree with this law, I think we should all learn to protect ourselves so we can swim freely outside of the pod's strict boarders, so we can walk on land like the humans. I spend a lot of my time on foot, I enjoy walking around the Summer Island.

I think I'm the only one in the pod who actually goes on the island, it's always deserted. Sometimes I see a few people on the beach, but no one ever goes further than the first row of palm trees. I've been across the island so many times that I know the place like the back of my hand.

It's time for a change.

As the sun sets on another boring day and the moon began to peak over the horizon, I make my way to the island. Gliding though the cool, deep waters, I can roll onto my back and see the sky turn a beautiful shade of yellow and pink. It did this every night before the moon rose, I never really understood why.

The dying, pale corals come closer as the water gets shallower and the summer island gets closer. Usually this part of the reef would be filled with tiny, colorful fish that swam swiftly and quietly through their coral homes, but they'd all moved on.

The seafloor meets the ocean surface and I drag myself onto the island. Slowly, I manage to stand on my feet and begin to walk east. In First Moon school we learn to use the sun and stars to find directions, something I know human's don't do anymore.

My people live south of The Summer Island so The South Beach is where most of the smaller kids play. The beach is only short and past the beach, the island is covered in trees, rocks and grass. Not that anyone besides me would know that though.

"June?" a small, high-pitched voice calls from behind me.

I'm a short distance into the island's undergrowth when I turn to face William, my mother's new boyfriend's son. My family tree was becoming confusing and I disliked most of the new recruits but William was so small and sweet, how could anyone ever hate him?

"Are you going ad-adventuring again?" he asks, waddling towards me.
"I am! Would you care to join me on a wild bear hunt?"

William was only 5 or 6 years old and his expression became fearful when I mentioned bears. There were no bears on the island and as far as I knew, none of the wildlife were very threatening, unless you cross a stripy snake, they pack a punch.

William shakes his head and returns to the group of small boys playing in the sand. I couldn't have him coming with me, not where I was going. I continue walking east as the moon grows higher in the sky and the bright pink flowers become hard to see. The sky keeps getting darker but I keep walking through the forest, until I get to the wall.

The wall of mossy rock that went straight across the island and deep into the ocean was one of the pod's strict boundary lines. They probably had someone guarding it in the water, to make sure no one got lost in the tide, but from up here I could easily climb over the wall and make my way to the forbidden beach on the northern side of the island.

I'd climbed this wall many times and splashed around in the shallow waters on the other side, I knew the climb was never easy. I grab hold of one mossy rock and swing my leg up to another. Legs are such a hassle, I don't understand how most people can use them all day.

When I finally reach the top of the wall, I can distantly see the human's land; Australia. It was beautiful, so many trees and plants and there'd be people there, lots of people. I loved the humans, they're so carefree and wild, they do whatever they want. I always wished I could have as much freedom as them.

The rest of the pod always tell me how terrible the humans are, how they destroy anything they can find. My mother says there are special humans that control all the others, the ones who take when there is nothing left to take. She believes the humans fight for everything and do nothing for themselves.

She's wrong, I know she is.

Humans were the subject of most my daydreams, I found them fascinating, how they cared so little for what was important, like they didn't care about responsibility. Everyone had a job and a place in the human world, unlike under the sea where your whole life just depends on finding food and shelter.

I throw my leg over the stone wall and begin to walk down the other side, it wasn't very steep over here. The East Beach was beautiful at night, it glowed in the moonlight and showed a sparkly reflection of the human's bright city, Melbourne, I believed they called it. I'll never understand why it's so badly forbidden.

I sit down in the soft sand of the North Beach and curl my legs into a comfortable ball, watching the city lights dance on the water. The human world was stunning, it was so close to our world, yet it was so very far away. So different. It was a shame to see how the underwater world and the human world had grown apart through the years.

I'd only been to the human's island once, on an excursion during First Moon school. I was only 3 or 4 years old but I remember feeling so curious while everyone else was completely terrified, begging to go back into the safe water. The memory always brought a smile to my face, how I'd love to relive it. And what was stopping me?

I stand up quickly and rush towards the water, diving deep below the waves. I'd never swam on this side of the island, it was exciting and terrifying all at once. The dream I've had since I was a hatchling, the curiosity I've felt since my first visit, the urge I've had for the last few weeks.

The pod tells me the same thing every time I bring up anything to do with humans or Australia or people born with legs, but I don't need to worry about them anymore. It's the first rule in the book, the first most important rule that you should never ever break.

Never shall a mermaid visit the land of the humans.

I didn't have to care about their silly rules anymore. The water was getting warmer, the sky was getting brighter, my excitement was getting larger and my tail was flapping harder than it ever had before. It was time to play the game by my rules.