Page 50 - GINGER

Blue and white, blue and white.

And some purple inside.

Everyone stood un-moving, awestruck, frozen to the ground. The fluid moved and
danced in front of them at the shape of that door, but never entered inside the walls.

This was amusing beyond belief. She touched it to assure it wasn’t a dream, and it soaked
her with all its might. Wet, blue, vast sea in front of them; withheld at the gate and luring
them to enter and immerse.

They walked slowly, one after another, hand in hand. Ginger held Wobbly and Pristley
held Haanz. This time it took Pristley by awe too.

Ginger was the first one to enter and what happened next was something none of them
had anticipated.

They entered and the wetness drenched them inside out, as they floated with paddling
legs and swimming like fishes; they couldn’t breathe but they could.

“How’s that possible!”, Haanz’s muffled voice and wide eyes asked Ginger.

“I’ve never seen something like this here”, Pristley continued.

“Ginger, you made this?” Wobbly finally added.

“I…I don’t know. I made some rivers, I don’t know.” She answered as clueless as the
others.

They floated ahead and beyond, along the fishes and corals and above the creeks,
swimming and trying to see what lay ahead. It was all too beautiful to not be distracted.
All too beautiful to be just that, as they swam, unaware. There were fishes but there
were mermaids too.

The mermaids who had sensed and seen them now. Their shoulders hung black capes as
they swam with dark bodies and purple tails. The mermaids who saw them as prey and
meat, and eyed them sitting behind the rocks, as they went along. They talked to each
other in hushed voices and giggled like happy witches. There were five of them; five odd
faces.

Rage with distorted cheeks and bloodshot eyes, and Envy who followed her tail to tail.

Woe walked slowly behind with frizzy unkempt hair, and carried an aura of unknown
sadness along. Deceit had a fat face with one fish eye, and Fear with an unnerving smile
wore the crown of horns.

“Darlings, I see you here for the first time.” Deceit initiated with the prettiest smile, as all
the pretty dark mermaids encircled them, bringing them to a halt.