Aqua

Aqua


Hans sat with his head down on his desk, thinking about his mangy house which was verging upon the unlivable, with the colors peeling off the walls, a dank smell in the atmosphere, and its corrugated floors. His wife, Lucy, had been distant with him recently for reasons he could not figure out. Hans contemplated his lousy fate and tried to appease his gloom, but he could not stop the train of despondent thoughts. His situation left him embroiled in an intricate feeling of helplessness. He wondered what on earth had caused Lucy to fall away from him. In order to work on their relationship, Hans decided to take Lucy on a trip.

The angel blue sky peeped between the tiny, pearly clouds on a beach in Seychelles. The site was truly a feast for the eyes. The aquamarine waves crashed and broke upon the shore in white, soapy foam; the sound was calming. Hans was an accountant in a private sector and had been saving up for this dream honeymoon of theirs for many years. Lucy ran upon the beach, agile as a lamb, and Hans paced his steps to catch the love of his life. They had gone on their honeymoon after a fortnight of their marriage. His wife sailed across the sandy beach, flaunting her butter-milk skin and an outrageous baby pink bikini, like a graceful swan in a pond. Hans sped faster now and grabbed her tight, smoldering her with ardent passion on her bare skin. Lucy returned the kisses and dived into the cobalt sea with Hans close behind her. He untied the knots of her underwear and the flames of frenzy devoured the couple to consummate their first love right there on the beach.

He could never have guessed that she would be so crabby after that day. There were not many words shared between the couple, but Hans felt that they were simply going through the motions. He was starting to get worried.

Everything was so different. He could barely concentrate on his work: the whole world staggered at his feet, bleak and sappy. Staring blankly at the papers piled on his desk, thoughts of the immense love he felt for his wife filled his head. He was aghast at her shutting him out. With a sore heart, he peered into the room where Lucy was sleeping. He watched the mellow moonbeams caress the fair, beautiful face as they filtered in from the window. He let out a gasping sigh. Hans was feeling sleepy as well and dropped his body by her side, muscles aching, and agony piercing his heart.

Morning painted the sky with vibrant hues of yellow ocher and tangerine. The bright sun rays percolated through the window, kissing him good morning. With bleary eyes, Hans looked at the amber light suffusing his room with a brilliant aura. He turned and a sudden uneasiness gripped his heart. Lucy was not by his side. He scoured all of the rooms in his house, but in vain. She was nowhere.

Where on earth could she have gone?

With an abysmal sorrow shredding his heart, he waddled into the woods nearby his house. He saw the trees with their boughs and the evergreen shrubs bearing aromatic flowers with luscious berries. The still repose of the wilderness seemed to appease him a bit and he became engrossed in his thoughts. He sat against the trunk of a tree and lost himself in a reverie.

The cool zephyr now fondled him. He was awed by the picturesque beauty of Mother Nature. Hans startled as a branch snapped above him. He looked upward, but saw nothing and assumed that it was all in his head. Again, the sound reverberated off the branches, louder this time. He gazed behind him to find an exquisitely beautiful woman sitting on one of the branches with her legs dangling. She shook the branches heavily, and one of the fruits landed on the floor with a heavy thud. Hans was out of his mind now; he could not shake the feeling that she reminded him of someone."Who are you, lady, if I may ask?"

" I am Rhiza", she answered, her melodious voice catching him even more off- guard than her presence had.
"Yes, but... where from, and..." Hans stuttered, lost in the sea of her fire-red hair and sparkling, aquamarine eyes.

Looking Hans over with a look of confidence, she smirked. "Silly man. So many questions. Very well, if you must have answers, I am the Lady of Aqua. My lover, Alexandre, has deserted me. He has killed my jejune love and fled with that dandy Shea."

" I think I can empathize with you and your suffering", he said despondently. With that, he explained the doleful tale of Lucy and her betrayal to the Lady. Rhiza listened to his story attentively. When he finished, she smiled with an expression that was unreadable, and her face became aglow. Hans was confounded at this and stared at her blankly.
"Listen to me, man. I can bring your Lucy back, but you must do something for me."

"Yes, but how? Is that possible?"

Rhiza pointed at Hans and spoke in a voice that demanded his respect, "Shush! Man, look at that placid lake over yonder. Beneath it lies my world, Aqua. There are locusas, electric eels, jellyfish, and sharks, that might tear you up. With indomitable courage, you must not flinch."

Hans, now utterly bewildered, gawked at her. Uneasiness swept through his entire body, nearly causing him to convulse.

" Don't be afraid, young man. Come with me."

Rhiza held out her delicate hand towards Hans in a friendly gesture and smiled. The look on her face captivated him, but he still could not move forward. Rhiza leapt from her branch and took his hand, leading him towards her They halted at the brim of the serene lake, their fingers interlaced.

"Come, Lets dive."Rhiza said.

The couple swam beneath the surface of the gurgling, cerulean waters that shone like a lapis lazuli in the glittering rays of the sun. The briny currents lashed at his body, and he couldn't understand why it was so easy for him to breathe under the water. They swam deeper and reached a dark, musty cave of a behemoth size. Hans had not noticed the change in the woman beside him, but she now took on the form of a mermaid, with her bare, upper body revealing tight, rotund breasts and the lower body of a scaly fish. Hans ogled at the mermaid, prettier than any in a fairy-tale or fable. He could not tear his eyes away from the sea green scales that shimmered a variety of colors as Rhiza moved her tail. She winked at him. With blithering nervousness, Hans gulped an iota of water and spat it out.

Swimming circles around Hans, she said in a playful voice, "Welcome to my Aqua!"
She ushered him into the dark cavern.

With his hand in hers, his feet touched something slippery. Electric currents coursed through his body, jolting him from the euphoria he was in. He could not see what it was in the abysmal darkness, but as soft light penetrated through the underwater empire, he caught glimpses of a snake-like fish with a slender body and poorly developed fins.

It resembled a fish like an eel, and he knew that this was the source of the electricity. Rhiza touched his body with her satiny fingers :that acted like a magic balm, dissolving his pain.

The couple traipsed further, and Hans got his legs tangled in the tentacle of a gigantic octopus. He was helplessly trapped by the beast, unable to free his pinioned legs.

Rhiza whispered, "It is a locusa. Fear not. Let me break your fetters." She unleashed his chains with the utmost dexterity.

The two ambled off, and Hans watched her slinky movement. It was difficult for him to match her speed. Suddenly, his head dashed into a long-bodied ,cartilaginous fish with a prominent, dorsal fin. He knew at once that this was a shark. Its ravenous eyes locked on him, voracious for a meal. He lunged and slouched, helpless in this battle. Rhiza fired flaming arrows that seemed to fabricate from her very hands, impaling the shark. Its dark blood bedaubed the water, filling the atmosphere with a rank odor. Rhiza chanted a canticle, and the water cleared. Hans was able to see clearly for the first time since entering the cave. The pale blue water revealed mystical shrubs surrounding them. Splendid flowers now spread their perfume, and the water was redolent with a celestial aroma. Hans looked agape at the fruits that seemed so juicy and sweet. Hunger and thirst was burning inside him, and he was desperate to quench it. He watched as a jellyfish swam playfully in the indigo waters.

He glanced at Rhiza, looking intently at him now. Her beady, almond-shaped eyes seemed to entrance him into a raving desire.

" Are you feeling thirsty?" she asked.She filled some water into a small pail for him. Hans drank gallons of the liquid, which tasted like the elixir of his life. She offered him scrumptious crabs, shrimps, and asparagus, which seemed like ambrosia to him.

" Thanks, Lady", Hans said.

" No need to thank me, Hans." She paused." I-- I have a confession. I am your own Lucy. I could not tell you this terrible truth because I am ashamed of the lies that I told you, and that truth which I have withheld from you as well. I must also tell you the truth about yourself." " Please, forgive me for what I have done." Rhiza pleaded.

Hans took a moment to gather his thoughts. "Love, please tell me the truth."

"The truth is that we have both descended from a mermaid-human bloodline. You are wearing the amulet which is the twin match to mine. See?" Rhiza grabbed the amulet at the front of her dress and held it out for Hans to see.
"The piece that is on the end: it fits a keyhole which is on your amulet."

Hans reached for the amulet around his neck and held it up to inspect it closer. "There is a hole! Lets put them together and see what happens."

Rhiza backed away, "You must be told more before we decide. You see, we were born during the time of the Great War between the full-blooded Mermaids and the Mermaid-Humans. Bloodshed was felt heavily on both sides... It was a time of devastation and great loss. We were born within a month from each other from different families and brought such happiness among our people. Shortly after our birth, the soulmate prophecy came to pass."

"The Wise Ones insisted that we were soulmates. As the ruler of Aqua, this news devastated my father. He is driven only by power and greed. The only solution he saw to save his position was to kill you. Your parents discovered his plans and came up with their own. It was arranged that you would live the life of a human while I stayed in my Mermaid city. And this worked for a while. But I found out about our prophecy and our past, and I insisted on finding you. I have dreamed of you every night for as long as I can remember. I cannot believe I found you so quickly..."

"Lucy... Rhiza?" Hans shook his head in confusion." What do I call you?"
"Rhiza. " She replied.
"This is -- I dont know what to say."

"Maybe this will help. I have a scrying mirror. If you desire to know the truth, you will see all you seek within the mirror. Do you want to take a look?"

Hans walked away from Rhiza for a moment in deep consultation, but returned, looking at her intently. "Yes, show me the truth."

Rhiza reached inside her green, flowing gown and handed the scrying mirror to Hans." Just take the mirror and look into it like this", Rhiza demonstrated and then continued. "Think of the things which you want to know, but also, feel the emotions which are attached to those thoughts. Then you will see the truth of what you seek."

Hans wanted to know the truth about what Rhiza was talking about. He thought about how unfair it was that he was in the dark about all of this. "The plans have been put into place. We have found a human family who has volunteered to take our Hans and raise him as their own. This is such a tragedy. It has been at least a thousand years since the soulmate longing has been actively in effect. Mumford is too greedy for his own good. It is beyond reasoning why he would throw his daughter's future away and ruin another's in his stead. Such a waste. This is the peace we have been wanting for so long, and still we are fighting to stay afloat... "

An interruption broke the vision in the scrying mirror. Hans looked up to see a mer-man with wild eyes towering over them. He did not look happy."What is the meaning of this, daughter?" The man spat at Rhiza.
" Father, it is already done. You cannot do anything about it anymore."
"I am your father, and I say what happens to you!"

Rhiza stood her ground and looked defiantly at her father. "You are wrong!"
She stepped towards Hans and tossed him the amulet." Forget what I said earlier. Put them together. We have no other choice!"

Hans took his own off his neck and fit the two together. Moments passed. Nothing happened.

Mumford threw back his head in laughter," Fools! The Wise Ones were wrong about you --"

Suddenly everything began to shake. Hans rushed towards Rhiza and scooped her up, hoping to take her somewhere safe.
"What is happening?"He pondered.

" The Human Mermaids are the keepers of the emotion, Love. When the soul longing is fulfilled, a great cleansing will commence on the planet in water and on land. Every living being will feel the change. It will even be felt in the unseen world where spirits dwell. This will be the time where everyone will be given a choice, Evil or Love. The land and the sea have been ruled by Evil for far too long. It is time for Love to have a chance to flourish and we will finally find peace. This is just the beginning, Hans. We have lots of work ahead of us."
2600 words.

Written for the Great Hall of Contest
Prompt: One versus many
Koyel: Main author Wrote the first draft Also edited
TJ Marie: Wrote the last draft Also edited.
Final editing by Mariko and Koyel