*
“Run! The humans are heading to the right!” I screamed commands at any bypassing creatures.
At first, everyone seemed to either ignore me or look puzzled at my statement. But I was leading a fearful crowd within minutes, so it was a huge sign of significance. Adam was not so keen though, probably because he was familiar with being a leader and did not like my ever-going escape plan.
As soon as we were back with the other Glintguins, Adam had taken my credit. I wanted to protest that he was the scaredy-cat in the case, but Adam gave me a don’t-you-dare-say-anything stare. I had no choice but to stay serene and listen.
Their hellos and welcomes took an impressively long time, so were greatly boring. I glanced around the place. There was less and less coral and seaweed as I swam deeper. After I had finally coped with the weird feeling of swimming in deep, glacial sea, the creatures were starting to get mysterious, ugly and unfriendly too. Fish with floppy scales and colossal mouths dripping with saliva glared at me. I shivered bitterly. The Forbidden Sea was scowling at me. Surprisingly, I found myself glowing clearly in turquoise as the Forbidden Sea darkened because of the lack of light. As if the glow was a way of communicating, the other Glintguins were immediately alerted of my disappearance.
The Forbidden Sea welcomed the others easily, and it did not seem to give them any frightening appearance. They just seemed calm, apart from the fact that I had gone missing.
It was the leader of the Glintguins who found me first. “What do you think you are doing, wandering away into the Forbidden Sea like that? You could have been devoured by another creature, or caught by humans!” he bellowed, the first thing he did after checking me for any damages.
I felt abashed, but also grateful for the master’s consideration. I bowed down, feeling sorry and loyal. Suddenly, he slid from the slippery mud floor that he had calmly stood on. When he was upright again, his whole face and body was teeming with dirty sea mud. The leader’s appearance looked so untidy that I could not help but give him a hand. I swiped off the mud like car wiper blades onto my own body, making myself awfully messy.
He shook my hand approvingly. “Time for you to go.” he beamed. I froze on the spot, bewildered by what he had said.
“Go?” I asked, and my voice echoed as my vision blurred.
Just before my tremendous transformation, humans came running behind the Glintguins.
“Get to safety!” I yelled, as my voice drifted off into a spin.
*
THUMP! I found myself dropped from nowhere. It was already night-time. Pounding footsteps were heading towards me. I rubbed my bottom soothingly, getting up to check if the Glintguins were still there. But when I turned, the creature behind me was nothing like a Glintguin.
I reviewed their appearance: sparkling fluffy fur, glow in the dark … No. It was a wizard, a grinning wizard who no longer was full of frustration but grinned from ear to ear. He pulled me up, handed me a piece of parchment and disappeared into thin air.
“Magic?” I thought, confused.
Slowly, I unwound the piece of parchment.
Congratulations, you have learned your lesson. I reassure you, the Glintguins are safe and all you saw were basically illusions. Oh, yes. Remember the leader? That was me. Contact me by whispering the following words: I will never again judge anyone by their appearance.
I smiled at the note, slipping it in my pocket. That was good to know, and it did explain everything. I had learnt an effective lesson.
