LOYALTY

The laughter echoed through the caves' open chambers. A few little kids love goofing around in the open chambers, looking for some excitement on their dark island. The cave chambers are lit with torches, and the kids wear headlamps around their small heads. The sea voyagers only have a few little ones. Year over year, their population decreases drastically. if not killed during childbirth, in a sea or forest accident, or as a result of old age.

Yesterday night, Frith, the sea voyagers mermen, elected as the head of the villagers, made some disturbing announcements. Their population is now less than 100 people, including the elderly. Sixty of them are adults, including young women and men. Twelve of them are children, and most do not survive long past their teen years, which is kind of worrying for their tribe in general. The elder is less than twenty, and the oldest merpeople among them were Nanny Roe. Her age hit a thousand this year.

The average age of the elders is between a thousand and two or three thousand years old. During ancient times, their age could reach up to ten thousand years. However, the world's climates are changing dramatically, and seawater is no longer as clean as it once was. Pollution is now everywhere. In effect, almost every seaweed and other natural sea fruit that become the main food of merpeople become more poisonous and dangerous.

Their health is affected, and their longevity is cut short. Their home at the bottom of the triangle ocean also cannot be accessed anymore. The monster lives there now. As the merpeople who once lived at the bottom of the ocean floor, their longevity is connected with the clean air and water across the bottom floor triangle ocean. Fresh seaweed and sea fruits increase their immune systems and strengthen their bodies also help with their aging a lot.

Now, everything is gone. There is no home at the bottom of the ocean floor anymore. Due to their acculturation to mainlanders' lifestyles, sea voyagers are also unable to stay in the ocean for as long as typical merpeople can. The difference between sea voyagers and merpeople, who live at the bottom of the ocean floor of the Triangle Sea, is their tails.

When the sea voyagers were selected from among a hundred thousand merpeople and swore their loyalty to the King and Queen, they took a secret vow to always protect their sacred place and the lives of the merpeople. The sea voyagers have to sacrifice their tails. Their tails only emerge when they need to guard the gate. drinking a special potion from Nanny Roe that only lasts for two days. Other than that, they'd only walk with their two feet, like humans.

There wasn't much on the islands. The dark forest, dark village, and dark ocean—everything is black and dark. The only light they got from the mangrove swamp was when the fireflies lit their lights. and from the torches and lanterns in their bunkhouse and shed.

She paddled the boat and pushed it off into the open, dark sea, away from the island. The small luggage and a backpack were placed in the middle of her boat. She decided to sail out from the island to the mainland. All she had to do now was convince the sea guard to let her pass and cross the Monochrome Borderline.

The boat picked up speed; the wind is with her now. Every sea voyager knows how to manage a simple, small boat like hers. They were born in the sea and will die in the sea.

"Hey! Esme? What are you doing all alone in the ocean? Does Nanny Roe know you are here?" Milo asked. He happened to be crossing the monochrome border today. He will go to the mainland to trade stuff for River. Milo has been helping River trade a lot of stuff for their minimarket. He is the island handyman.

"Of course, Nona knows Milo!" Esme lied through her lips. She must cross now, or Nanny Roe will know she has run off from the village. She hopes Milo will never make it hard for her. Especially when the sea guard sees her for the first time at the Monochrome Borderline.

"You go trading today?" Milo nods. "What has my sister asked you for this time?" Esme just wanted to make sure Milo wasn't suspicious of her. So she asked such irrelevant questions about the River store just to make Milo let his guard down around her.

"River just wants some usual stuff. The shop seems to be doing great. The stuff she sold was very well-liked by the villagers. So, what brought you to the mainland, alone... for the first time, right?" Esme smiles and nods slowly.

"Don't worry, mainland people are nice. They'll treat you well if you are good to them, of course. but most of them lack loyalty! they loved to betray one another, which is kind of strange. humans are the most intelligent creatures but their sense of humanity and loyalty are quite low than any other creatures in the entire universe" Milo's whispered slowly with a smile on his beautiful face.

Milo's boat head first toward the borderline. The sea guards holler at him. asking a few normal questions to him, as he is the most frequent merperson who made it across the border twice a month for trading and fishing. A few boats also cross the borderline today. That includes Esme. The other villagers' boats cross the borderline to fish some big fish in the blue ocean. After catching the big one, they'll go to the mainland, and sell them for money and some stuff.

"Good day, miss! First time crossing the borderline?" Esme just nods. The sea guards know her Nona. So she'll act just accordingly. If they ask more, she'll just say, that her Nona wants her to pick some special herbs from the mainland suppliers.

"Nanny Roe, want you to go to this place!" one of the sea guards handed her a small fold of paper, that had an address. She squinted her eyes and looked at the sea guards with lots of questions inside her mind.

So Nona knew I'll be gone for today? Did River tell her or… Esme clears her throat twice to hide her nervousness. "Did she say anything then this?" Esme holds the small folded paper up about the sea guard's eyes.

The sea guard shakes his head. "She just said you'll know once you open them" he reply with good courtesy, saying goodbye and luck for Esme on the mainland. Hoping Esme will stay loyal to the sea voyagers and keep her identity secret and safe, once she reaches the mainland. Esme looks back over her shoulder for the last time. The dark and foggy sites are her past now. Her boat is now in the blue open ocean. where the sun is shine bright and everything looks beautifully colored and vibrant with seagulls flying up above.

"Hey, Esme! Common, I'll show you the way to the mainland" Milo waves his hand. He paddles his boat just up ahead of Esme. The sun hit her white skin for the first time. The fresh ocean breezes bring back lots of her memories of when she was just a child. This is what she wants and dreamed of since she is still little. A place where the sun sets and shines.