*
I watched helplessly with sympathy as the Glintguins paddled around the igloo mournfully. The leader and a few other muscular penguins were distraughtly whispering to one another. Trying to catch some attention, I crept to the Glintguin leader and joined in the serious conversation. He noticed my curiosity, and growled softly, “Humans have tried to hunt and catch us for examination for centuries. We are lucky to have escaped, as most of our ancestors back then were killed or taken away, never to be seen again. Our goal on the work ground is to build–”
I interrupted him in a dropping voice, as I thought it might have been rude. “To build safety shelters!” I exclaimed in a joyful voice that others did not approve of in a major situation.
I calmed down my tone, then suddenly the toothy grinner emerged out of nowhere. He connected hands with everyone in the circle. I managed to find out a few secrets from the conversation. The toothy grinner, Adam, might be magical because of his dot! And there was something called the Forbidden Sea … Interesting, but frightening. But our plan was to hide into the sea and wait to launch a surprise attack.
The plan was risky, but I couldn’t wait to try out my swimming skills! At least there was something to be thrilled about while the wizard was away. In a few minutes, we packed up and got all our icy weapons to dive in the sea. I no longer had a teasy feeling in my heart: I was not going to miss an exciting adventure!
*
SPLISH, SPLOSH, SPLASH! The adventure to the underwater world was surprisingly better than I thought: way more quaint creatures to watch, cool and refreshing water, new plant discoveries. Jello-Sharks. Talking creatures. Air-cons. This was the best day of my life. Not for the others though. They frowned from water current to water current, only stopping to barely smile at passing friends.
I no longer had the intention to snicker at those with abnormal appearances. With great courage, I did a spin in the cool, ocean water and swam towards Adam. He didn’t notice nor want to, as he avoided my eyes.
As if nothing had happened, Adam performed a few delicate, graceful tricks, as agile as a monkey, right in front of me. With no notion of what he was aiming for, I just watched in amazement, following his spinning-in-circles movement with my eyes.
Dizzily rolling my eyes, a round, curvy, point from something bumped into me. “Ahh!” I shrieked, realising that I had just been swallowed by some sort of predator with sharp, shiny teeth full of little, bacterial worms, an enormous, pink, dirty tongue with slimy, disgusting saliva covered over— being the idiot I was to get distracted in the middle of the hazardous sea. It was a . . . shark that I was trapped in.
I think I heard a groan of irritation, probably because Adam had just realised that I had been devoured by a shark. I was right. He jumped onto the shark’s back, pointing a spear in his body, wait … but he didn’t! Adam didn’t even try to rescue me!
Standing still, I couldn’t sense any movement on the shark. Furious, I stomped, cried and ninged like a little baby in the terrible shark’s mouth. The shark screamed at the incursion, and complained in a dark, threatening voice, “You’ll pay for this!”
His frightened servants, young and handsome seahorses, rushed to their master to treat the excruciating wound that had been caused by the struggling I did.
He deserved it, I thought.
*
I started kicking at the shark’s body even more, as his saliva had moved me into his stomach, which I did not like. His stomach was full of nasty food that had rotted, which the shark had eaten, with disgusting green vomit-like substance covering it. I could not stand it.
The move I was waiting for so long had finally arrived. A kick from the outside of a shark would look like a bump or lump from the inside. And that was what I saw. Someone was attacking the shark’s back … maybe a Glintguin from the tribe? Adam? The leader coming to the rescue of a petty, useless Glintguin? Whoever it was, I did not know, but the most important part was to get me out.
I tried to climb up from the shark’s enormous, deep back into the front of his mouth, but if you looked inside any person’s or animal’s body, you would know how difficult it is to move through the tubes that connect with your throat. It seemed like the shark swallowed a mouth-full of water, as water came flushing down into my face, like the water-pipes that connect to toilets. My cheeks turned tomato red as I unknowingly took my chance, trying to flow out of its stomach.
The jumping of whoever it was started getting louder, clearer, and harder, and as the person bounced joyfully more, the shark could not take it. With great illness, he coughed out another mouthful of water, which I had been surfing wildly on.
SPLAT! I fell out in the soft, feathery sand on the ocean floor, right onto my face. Adam on the sick shark smirked, chuckling as he hopped off it and came hurrying to help me up. Dizzy and nauseous, I got up, trying to reach the hand of my partner. But his hand did not feel normal. It shook continuously when I tried to grab it. As I looked up, I realised Adam was not even looking at me. He was far too focused on something else. I was eager to see what was so interesting. Adam’s reassuring smile was wiped off his face as it turned paler and paler. I saw what was so creepy.
The humans had returned, and they were coming for us.
