The Sea Monster
The Topos brothers, notorious ratty thugs with long whiskers and worm-like tails, sneaked their ship out of the city’s harbor and headed for the Eefje Sea under the cloak of night. They grimaced as they hoisted the heavy barrels of waste, struggling to toss them overboard. The barrels spilled their contents, staining the clear blue water with iridescent streaks.
“Hey! Stop polluting our water with your garbage,” the nearby fishes shouted in outrage. “This is our home!”
“Us ain’t goin’ nowheres,” they squeaked and snarled in their oily dialect.
“You fishes are reclusive, so us can get away with whatever we want,” the one-eyed brother derided. “Now get lost, slimy scums, or we’ll make yous into chum.”
“Heh-heh! Scums and chum,” the nine-toed brother chuckled at the wordplay.
“What is your problem?” one of the fishes cried out. “We don’t trespass on your dry land and ruin your homes—”
“Shut up!” the one-eyed brother snapped. He stomped to the deck to snatch an empty bottle clattering around the ship and flung it at the fishes with a curse.
The Topos brothers cackled as they saw the fishes scatter in terror.
“Why don’t yous snitch on us to the angel of seas?” the nine-toed brother sneered. “But it won’t do yous any good because she’s grounded. Heh-heh!”
As the brothers continued hurling the barrels into the water, the sea grew restless. Waves crashed against the hull, making them stagger and clutch the railings. A cold mist rolled in, shrouding their ship in a ghostly veil. Gradually, the frost crept over the deck and the sails, encasing the boat in a layer of ice.
“W-w-what’s goin’ on?” the nine-toed brother trembled in the eerie silence, the air condensing with his breath. “How do-o we ge-et out of th-is, brother?”
Suddenly, the dim light from the moon was eclipsed by a massive shadow, plunging the boat into darkness. The brothers spun around and gasped in horror as they faced the deep blue eyes of a colossal fish, each bigger than their boat.
“I will not tolerate your disrespect for the fishes of the sea,” it thundered in a deep, booming voice.
The brothers struggled, unable to escape as their fingers had fused to the icy metal railing. They shrieked in horror as the monstrous fish dragged their boat down to the dark abyss.
As the disappearances at sea became more frequent, whispers of a colossal beast lurking below the waves stirred fear and anger across the mainland, and they wanted the beast slayed.
“We humbly request your permission to embark on a mission to hunt the sea monster of the Eefje Sea,” Ouros, the governor of the small settlement, bowed his head respectfully to Sophiena, the angel of mammals.
“A sea monster?” Sophiena echoed incredulously. “Could it be my elder sister Dorina’s handiwork? But she has always been a pushover and never retaliated before.”
“The angel of fishes?” Ouros exclaimed. “Will she really be so reckless?”
“Who else can it be? It has to be her,” Sophiena asserted. “Dorina is being irrational, and we must stop her. Her reclusive nature —always hiding under the waves, never leaving the water— does not give her claim over the sea. The watery expanse is for all animals to exploit. So, go ahead with the attack.”
Sophiena wasted no time in alerting her younger sister, Aviana, the angel of birds, about the marine menace. Aviana was livid. She agreed Dorina was being irrational and dispatched one of her birds to aid Sophiena’s mammals.
The following dawn, the hunting pack embarked on a flotilla of vessels. Their leader was the cunning Rev, a vulpine highlander from the nearby frosty peaks. He gazed at the horizon with his piercing blue eyes, guiding the ship to the heart of the sea.
Accompanying them was a mighty raptor, Morus. He was to be their eyes in the sky and wasn’t afraid to plunge into the water to strike.
Rev set anchor in the middle of the sea. He ordered his skulk to bait and ensnare unsuspecting fishes in nets. Using them as a decoy, they waited for the sea monster and kept their harpoons and spearguns ready to strike.
Rev felt a shiver run through his spine as the icy wind swept over the sea. “It’s here,” he howled, gripping his weapon. “Brace yourselves, lads!”
The visibility dropped dramatically as the heavy fog enveloped the area. Morus squinted his eyes, scanning the waters from above. Suddenly, a massive shape loomed into view. “I spot an iceberg,” he croaked, baffled by its appearance. “I am landing on it to have a look around.”
Morus scoured the glassy peaks but saw no traces of a monster. Then he felt a jolt. Suddenly and out of nowhere, the iceberg toppled and sank into the water. He screeched in horror and panic, unable to do anything as it dragged him into the depths of the sea.
As the others recoiled in terror, Rev remained calm and defiant, not letting the menacing tricks deter him. The iceberg soon resurfaced, smashing and toppling the boats holding the ensnared fishes to liberate them from captivity.
“Is that all you got, fishy?” Rev mocked with a smirk. “Why don’t you show yourself and play?” Steering his boat closer to the iceberg, he scanned the clear blue water for any trace of the sea monster. “Come on, don’t be shy!”
“I am already here!” the booming voice of the sea monster emerged right next to him.
Looking up, Rev found himself staring into cold, merciless eyes. The iceberg was not a frozen block of water but the monster they were tracking. It had been before him this whole time.
It was a colossal fish, at least a hundred feet long. Its scales were covered with icy spikes that formed a coat of armor, and it could wield its cryo-abilities to freeze the seawater and reinforce it at will.
Rev feebly launched the harpoon at its face, which ricocheted off its icy scales as if it were needle against steel. The hunting pack essentially had no chance against it.
Enraged by the attack, the sea monster unleashed a blast of frosty breath that encased them in a solid block of ice. It opened its jaws, exposing its fangs like jagged icicles, and crunched on the frozen prey, gulping them down.
Rev regained consciousness in darkness, soaked and shivering in a pool of freezing water. The rays of the afternoon sun barely filtered through the flesh and bones of the sea monster, revealing the insides of the beast’s belly. Before he could fully grasp his situation, a violent surge spat him out of the creature’s mouth and into the sea with a splash.
Rev blinked away the sun’s glare. When his eyes adjusted to the brightness, he saw the dark turquoise eyes of Dorina, the angel of fishes, glaring at him with cold intensity. She wore a mermaid gown with a train of glistening scales. Its flutter sleeves and neckline adorned with glittering sea salt crystals added a touch of whimsy to her elegant attire.
Dorina was distracted, fidgeting with her long, flowing hair that kept falling into her eyes. Turning irritable, she tied it into a fishtail braid but seemed more uncomfortable in them.
Given her recluse nature, Rev did not know what to expect of her.
“I could be lounging on a bed of swaying coral reefs, sipping a refreshing sea foam and seaweed smoothie. Instead, I’m here dealing with troublemakers like you,” Dorina complained. “I should allow my darling pet, Frazil, to swallow you like the rest of your skulk for trying to hunt him!”
“I-I’m sorry, Angel Dorina,” Rev pleaded, frantically flailing his arms and legs in the water. “Please let me return to land!”
“Ugh, land!” Dorina groaned. “My experience on land was horrible. It was dry and dusty, and I had to walk everywhere because I couldn’t swim. It was exhausting. I don’t know how you animals do it all the time. And then there are all the laws of the land, like gravity. It’s too much!”
“I-I agree,” Rev stuttered, trying to placate her. “I love the waters too. I swim in it all the time—”
“Why do you like the waters? Is it so you can harass my innocent fishes?” Dorina accused. “I warn all you land-dwellers: if you do not leave us alone, you will sleep with the fishes! I have spared your life so you can return to shore and let my terror be known to all!”
“Yes-yes, I will,” Rev immediately agreed.
With a final scornful glance at Rev, Dorina left his side and called for her pet. “Frazil! Come on, boy. Let’s go home.” She smiled as the sea monster emerged from the water with a splash. “You’re such a good boy, slushy.”
It was a strange sight as the refined and dainty Dorina affectionately petted and stroked the snout of the terrifyingly deadly creature, a hundred times her size. She climbed onto its dorsal fin, and together they glided away and plunged into the depths of the sea.
Rev returned to shore late that evening after a tiring swim through the Eefje Sea. He immediately scurried to Angel Sophiena’s den in the valleys to relate the entire incident.
Sophiena was furious and wanted nothing less than to see Dorina punished and her sea monster exiled into the abyss. So she called for Chasitia, the angel of the skies, and dragged her into the sea against her will to confront her sister at her home among the corals.
“Why did you haul me here when you know I despise liquid?” Chasitia restlessly demanded from inside her bubble of air. “Blurt it out!”
“Punish my sister for her sins!” Sophiena pointed her chubby finger at Dorina. “She created a giant sea monster to attack my mammals!”
Dorina, who was engaged in a blissful swim, finally caught sight of Sophiena and Chasitia in the distance. Despite her aversion to their presence, she approached them. “Why are you two here?”
Chasitia’s face darkened with a stormy expression upon meeting Dorina’s glower. “Your sister wants me to ‘punish’ you. She cannot swallow the fact that someone as recluse as you has unleashed a monster,” she coldly informed.
“Punished!” Dorina exclaimed, crossing her hands. “That is mean of my feral little sister.”
“Yes, you are a menace who must be stopped!” Sophiena accused to her face. “The monster you have set loose at sea can camouflage itself like an iceberg, and he is a danger to all animals.”
“Frazil is not a monster. He is my pet,” Dorina clarified.
“Pfft,” Sophiena wheezed, rolling her eyes. “Cordelia helped you create your monster, didn’t she? She is imprisoned in an iceberg and now is using you to build the fear of ice.”
“Do not blame my best friend! She gave me her elixir of ice to create Frazil only to look out and guard my fishes and her sea,” Dorina justified.
“Lies!” Sophiena squealed.
“Enough!” Chasitia intervened. “My clouds have witnessed your mammals provoking the sea monster to attack. So, Dorina did not commit a sin. If I had to punish anyone, it would be you, Sophiena.”
“What did I do?” Sophiena shrugged her shoulders, feigning innocence.
“Regardless, it is wrong of you to exploit my enmity with Dorina to get what you want,” Chasitia scolded as her bubble ascended to the surface.
“Oi! Come back here!” Sophiena yelled, waving her hands. “You have to do something. Nothing can quench her thirst for warm blood!”
“Why don’t you gallop back to land?” Dorina sneered, shooing her away.“Like your mammals, it is only so long you can stay underwater.”
Sophiena snarled with contempt. “You’re such a freak, always hiding in the sea. I am ashamed to call you my sister!”
Suddenly, a rainbow refracted into the turbulent water, illuminating the sea with its light. “Now now,” Mother Naturella’s heavenly voice rang out, “that is not a nice thing to say, Sophiena. Dorina and the fishes prefer to keep to themselves. You must respect their choice and leave them alone. ”
“Why are you taking her side?” Sophiena sat down in the middle of the seabed, throwing a tantrum.
“I am not taking sides, Sophiena,” Mother Naturella patted her shoulder. “Do not look down on someone because they are reclusive. Everyone has a unique personality. For Dorina, her creativity blossoms in the isolation of the sea, surrounded by her fishes.”
“I disagree. She is weird!” Sophiena stubbornly held her view, not influenced by her words.
Mother Naturella shook her head in disapproval. “Don’t many of your mammals live and hunt alone too? Yet they are at the top of the food chain.”
Sophiena’s brow furrowed at Mother Naturella’s comparison. Adding to her chagrin was Dorina’s insouciant attitude. She had turned her back on them, swimming away to seek solitude.
In the distant darkness, Sophiena descried Frazil creeping around. He locked eyes with her and grinned wickedly, flashing his icy fangs.
“Beware of the silent ones, for they harbor the most lethal wrath when pushed too far,” Mother Naturella imparted her wise insight. “Once you shatter their patience, they unleash their hidden monster.”
THE END
