Niana's Journey

Chapter Six

***

      

     After pinning up the posters, Molla and I went to her bed coral. As we walked in, my attention immediately turned to her seaweed bed which was cluttered and covered with items I had never seen before.

      As I looked at them, I remembered what Niana had told me once. "If you ever see something that you have never seen before, do not touch it. It could be a human item and human items are dangerous!"

     "Oh, oops. Sorry." Molla nervously apologized. "Normally my personal belongings aren't just laying around. Heh Heh." Molla put an emphasis on the words "personal belongings" and laughed nervously as if she were a shy little girl.

     "No no." I stopped her as she started to pick things up. "It's okay. What are these items?" Then I whispered softly, "A-are they human things?"

     Molla's eyes widened. "Oh, my. Y-yes. I must admit I am a collector of their things." Then she looked nervous, almost scared. "Y-you won't tell will you? Oh. I-I  should have never brought you here. I was so careless and left my things out."

     "No. I won't tell. Why would you be in trouble?" I asked. She is a collector. Is collecting a crime?

     Molla looked shocked at my question. "Because they're human things!" She whispered so softly that I could barely hear her correctly or at all. "If anyone is caught with human things, they'd be arrested and sentenced to the abyss!"

      "Oh my god!" I exclaimed. "That's terrible. No... no, I promise that I'll never breathe a word of your collection."

      "Really? Thank you so much! You know? Most of this stuff isn't at all dangerous like they say. Only the sharp things are and even then, they aren't dangerous if you know how to handle them." Molla gushed excitedly. I was guessing that she hasn't be able to show or tell anyone about her things before and now that she was able to share what she knows to someone, she was really excited.

     By now we were sitting on the floor by her seaweed bed and she started showing me her things.  She told me everything she knew and even about how a mermaid had drank a transformation potion to turn human when dry; mermaid when wet. (The transformation was very popular, but also illegal in some reefs. Some humans even knew about it, secretly.) The mermaid lived on land and became an inventor. She invented waterproof technology and makeup. The humans just carried on the idea and expanded it.

      Molla's story made me think about my waterproof camera back home. Niana gave it toe when I turned fourteen. She said it was the only safe human item and the only human item in our family. Had a mermaid made our camera waterproof?

***

     "Lovely stories!" I broke out into clapping after Molla had told me four or five more stories about her human things and what she knew. "Now, it's getting late." I looked out the window and the waters were dark. It must be late. "I've gotta go find somewhere to stay now."

     "Oh! Please, don't go. You can stay with me!" Molla cried. "I've been lonely for so long and now I've finally got a friend!"

     "Are you sure?" I asked and Molla pleaded for me to stay again. "Okay then."

     "So, tomorrow we should start getting calls about the fliers. We put a fliers under each coral door, on every clam pole, and we even got it in the Starfish Press newspaper." Molla explained excitedly.

     "Yes." I agreed, giggling. Molla was so full of energy that I thought we'd never  be able to get to sleep.

     Suddenly Molla's eyes got huge, she gasped, and started to swim around really fast but happy at the same time. "I gotta show you something!" She half screamed and gripped my arms at my sides. "You can't tell anyone, though. Not anyone! Got it?"

     "Ummm... what? Yeah, I'll tell no one. What is it?" I asked all in a rush. Molla was squeezing me way too tight.