To Free the Seas by Meera Srini {Inklings Book Contest 2021 Finalist}

Today we are featuring Inklings Book Contest 2021 finalist, Meera Srini! Meera finished 6th grade this past school year. The story she wrote is called “To Free the Seas.” Enjoy! 

TO FREE THE SEAS
by Meera Srini

Stories. They bring us so much knowledge! I myself have learned much from all the stories I have heard over my years. Now, I shall tell YOU a story, with hope that you will gain knowledge from it.

Ah, but first, I should introduce myself. I am Segulio, a seagull who flies over this part of the sea. I know Nora, Max, and Adela, whom you will find out about later.

There were all sorts of creatures who lived in the sea, like dolphins, turtles, fish, manta rays, among others. All these creatures were ruled in the kingdom by the merpeople. They were ruled by, right now, Queen Amara, as the king, alas, had perished a few years back when on a diplomatic trip. Queen Amara had a daughter and a son. She used to have another son, but he too had perished when traveling with the king. Her daughter, Adela, was thirteen years old and was bold, bright, and brave. She had inherited her late father’s wavy blond hair and blue eyes. What exactly is this mysterious land, you may ask? Why, this kingdom is called Isla Marina, which in the merperson language, means Marine Isle.

The center of Isla Marina held a large coral reef, which was the bustling main city. The inhabitants of Isla Marina called it The Reef. It had restaurants, shops, and fun. You could see how much all the creatures were loyal to each other! The Reef was the “peace place” of the kingdom. All groups of animals were required to bring a pact that stated, “whether you are predator or prey, large or small, green or gray, you will be welcome to The Reef.” The animals were more than happy to uphold this. All the creatures were friendly, and though there were some neighborhood rivalries, the animals were mostly happy with their kingdom. 

Notice how I said “mostly.” Funny how such a small word can make us so uneasy. Even in the happiest lands, there can be sadness. This holds true for Isla Marina. About five years before our story took place, the seas of the world were happy and full of life. There were other realms under the sea, Isla Aquata, and Isla Coralie to name a few. There used to be bustling trade, and the creatures of the sea were forever going from realm to realm. Then, tragedy struck. Once, the king of Isla Marina, King Oliver, and his eldest son left to go to another realm, and there was chaos. No one knew exactly what happened, but we know that the humans were involved. Oliver’s queen, Amara, instantly had to rule. She closed the borders in Isla Marina and enforced a decree that stated that the creatures of Isla Marina were not allowed to leave the kingdom or go to shore. Sadness fell over the kingdom, and people made no effort to leave.

However, there was one mermaid who was indifferent to her mother’s rule. This was the princess of the kingdom, Adela. At the time, she was only eight years old, but she remembers her father. She, like all mermaids, looked like a human from waist up, she had a shiny, bright blue tail that shines with different colors in the sun. There was also a dolphin pod, well, multiple ones, but I will be talking about one. This pod had several dolphins, but there are two that I would like to introduce you to. 

These dolphins were extremely loyal to each other, and just like any other being, they had different personalities and preferences. There was no way that anyone could say that Nora and Max were not different. Nora was serious, strict, a worrywart, and had never broken a rule in her life. Max, on the other hand, had probably broken every rule in the sea (except for the border crossing one), and was cheery, bright, and daring. Alas, these siblings were so different–yet there were similarities they had to each other. Both cared deeply for one another, and always trusted each other.

On a normal day, Nora, our young bottlenose dolphin, swims one day with worry. Her brother, Max, and her best friend, the mermaid Adela have decided to go see the border again. As an older sister, Nora had always lived with worry for her brother and the rest of her pod. She also knew Adela to be reckless and sometimes listen to her gut instead of her mind, but Adela was clever, oh yes, but she could be…rather flighty. Nora sped across the kingdom, her heart racing as she wondered where Max and Adela were. She saw a manta ray out of the corner of her eye. She swam over.

“Streak. Streak!” Nora called to the ray. He turned. You could see even from far away that he was wise…and old, although I do not think he would be too happy if he heard me telling you that.

“Ah, Nora,” The ray said softly. Nora made to speak, but Streak spoke before her, “I know why you are here. The same reason you are ALWAYS here. You’re wondering which borderline Max and Adela went to.”

“Yes, Streak! Have you seen them?”

“I believe they were headed to the north side. They were under the impression that since it is so cold there, there would be fewer guards.”

“Okay, thanks!” Nora swam towards the North Gate while shaking her head in disbelief. Of course, they thought that there would be fewer guards! Nora was able to find them, and she could anticipate that they would go over the gates and try to get past the guards, and there were still MANY guards!

Max looked just like his elder sister, just a bit smaller. They both were gray with dark eyes. Adela flipped her tail angrily.

“Nora! We told you not to come!” Adela yelled once Nora had dragged them away from the gate.

“It’s my responsibility to make sure you both follow the rules of Isla Marina,” Nora said bossily, “and that does not include going to the border!”

“You know, you’re right! Next, we should go to the shore,” Max said with a grin on his face. Adela and Max both started laughing.

“That’s not what I– oh, never mind,” Nora grumbled. The three of them swam through the glistening turquoise waters when a loud rumbling came from the surface.

“What’s that?” Max asked.

“Let’s go find out!” Adela said excitedly. Before Nora could say “hold your seahorses,” Max and Adela were zooming upward. Nora had no choice but to follow them. The three of them swam to Seabringers Rock, which was a large rock by the surface that merpeople went to sometimes. 

There was a massive sailboat, bigger than most sailboats, soaring across the shore. Nora, Max, and Adela had seen boats before, although they had always been forbidden from going too close. Nora knew that Max and Adela would want to go and see the ship up close. My friends, nothing could have prepared me for what happened next! See here…

Nora agreed to let Max and Adela, just this once, come and see the boat. From nearby, they could see two men aboard the ship with some nets piled on the floor of the boat next to them. Then, a large wave crashed over the rock, there was a large slapping noise, and Nora felt Max bump into her, she saw a flash of Adela’s blue tail, and something rough grabbed her in the fins.

Now, nobody would know what actually happened, but it seems that the men on the boat had spotted the dolphins and had thrown their net to try and catch Nora and Max. Adela had managed to get away in time, but there had been a manta ray, several fish, and a sea turtle who had been caught too. The net was raised up and the creatures were dropped into a few tanks underwater that had barriers connected to the boat.

Nora was panicked. She swam to the side of the tank, where she could see Adela swimming alongside the boat. Max, Nora could see for the first time, seemed scared. 

Adela shouted to them, “I’ll get help!”

Nora could only hope that she would find help in time. Meanwhile, Nora and Max saw that their tank was being emptied into another one, which was indoors, on LAND. Now, this may not seem too interesting to you, my friend, but for a sea creature, being on land was both terrifying and exciting. Anyway, the building that they were in seemed to have several tanks, with a different animal in each one. There were also artificial blueish-purple lights in each tank, that Nora expected were to mimic the light of the sea.

All the creatures were dumped with a splash of water into a different tank, except for Nora and Max. Nora watched desperately for a way to get out, but all she could see were the outlines of some of the other creatures, Max, and a lot of murky water. She could also hear the men grunting to one another.

“Ay, we gotta put the dolphins in the main pool!” One of them told the other. The other guy just muttered something, not looking very happy, and the two kept pushing the tank forward.

Nora soon found out what “the main pool” was. It was a large pool of water with lots of seagrass, hoops, and other gewgaws inside it to make it look prettier. Nora had to admit that the pool looked genuinely nice, but then, my friend, she saw more humans.

However, these humans looked nicer than the two men, but they did not look like they were going to, say, throw a net on the animals. After the encounter with the two men, Nora was wary of these other humans. The humans here were both women, Nora could see, and they wore baggy light-blue and white one-piece jumpsuits. Also, on the top part of the women’s outfits, there was a red icon that said “SEA,” with the “A” looking like a sea star. 

“Ay, ya got some good ones here. They look like younger folks,” one of the women said, the one that seemed taller and older, bending down so she could see the tank, “drop them in the pool, would ya?”

Nora and Max were tipped to the side and with a large splash, dropped into the pool. At this time, I had a good view, since I had perched on the curved glass ceiling of the aquarium, and it was quite an interesting scene. I did see both of them staying warily on the edge of the pool that they were dropped off in. 

The two men left, leaving the two women with the dolphins. The older woman looked like the younger one, so they deduced that they were probably mother and daughter. The younger one, upon closer inspection, was a child, seeming no older than ten or eleven years old. However, both the mother and daughter were dressed the same and had brown hair and brown eyes.

Now, skipping forward into the night a little bit, we have Nora swimming along the side of the pool, trying to think of a plan to escape. Max, being the overexcited brother that he was, was diving over the hoops, barely noticing their predicament.

Later in the night, they heard footsteps coming from the poolside. Fearing the worst, both Max and Nora dove under the water, peeking out slightly to see who it was. It was Emma, the daughter of the woman that had overseen the pool earlier. She was still in her SEA suit and looked wide awake.

“I’ll help you,” the girl said softly, “I don’t think what this aquarium is doing is right. I will help you get out and go back to your home. You must miss it.”

“Yes, we do!” Nora thought, “please help us.”

Emma stood up again, “I’ll come back tomorrow.”

Meanwhile…

In the ocean, Nora and Max’s kidnapping had roused panic throughout the reef. Their mother and pod were more worried than anyone. Meanwhile, Adela had summoned her wits and had been working on a plan to save them. She could use a special type of shiny, dark, blue-green seashell that could transform her tail into legs for an hour. Then, she would go to the museum as a normal tourist and smuggle Nora and Max out somehow. There was just one problem with this master plan. Queen Amara would not in any circumstance, let Adela go to the land. So, she planned to sneak out the next night…herself.

Back in the aquarium…

The night passed without any action. Nora drifted off for a little bit, and even Max, tired from the day’s events, slept for an hour or two. The next day, the two of them woke to loud voices. It took them a moment to get used to the light, but they saw crowds of people staring at them. Nora could not suppress a squeak. There were children and adults of all ages peering over the side of the pool, oohing and aahing over something behind Nora. She turned around and rolled her eyes. Max was diving through the hoops and doing all sorts of weird tricks. Of course, he would want to show off.

Emma, the younger girl who they had seen the previous few days, was there too, throwing fish every so often to Max, who joyfully caught it in his mouth.

“Don’t tell me you’re actually enjoying this,” Nora muttered in an undertone to Max.

“This stuff is tasty, sis,” he panted back, “and besides, it’s fun!”

Nora groaned and went to go eat some breakfast of her own. The day passed with Nora feeling that the land above the sea was bizarre compared to the ocean. All she longed for was to go home and have everything be normal again. The aquarium closed at 6:00 pm in the evening. 

All the tourists went home a little bit before that, and the sanitation staff stayed a little while longer to clean. Two weeks passed like this until Max discovered the secret exit.

It was when Max was swimming in circles underwater, that he saw a hole, larger than him. It seemed to have been covered by some artificial seagrass, so he hadn’t seen it before. Now, it was just like Max to go and swim through the hole without thinking. He swam into the hole, taking care to not flap his fins too much, so he didn’t get injured. Did a surprise wait him at the other end…

Streak was there! The elder stingray, whom they did not know had been captured, was floating there. “Why, hello, Max. I didn’t know you were here too.”

“Streak! Are you okay? Do you know a way to get out?” Max asked him excitedly.

Streak shook his head gravely, “I do not know how to get out…but I think I know someone who does!”

“What do you mean?”

“Follow me.”

Max followed Streak to the end of his tank, and through the clear glass, he saw…his home. The sea was lapping against the shore, sparkling in the moonlight.

“You don’t reckon we can get out there, can you?” Max asked the older ray.

“I have tried, and failed, but I have seen a friend of yours outside.”

“Who?”

“Princess Adela,” Streak told him, “she should be coming here now.”

Sure enough, the princess was swimming until she was close to the shore, and when she emerged out of the water, she had legs! She walked into the aquarium and climbed up to the top of the tank that Streak, and Max were in, and when she jumped in, her new legs turned back into a tail.

“Adela!” Max exclaimed and dove toward her. 

“Max! I’m so glad you’re ok. Everyone in the reef is so worried about you guys,” Adela said in relief, hugging Max.

“How do you have LEGS?” He asked her.

“I found a special magical seashell that can turn my tail into legs for up to an hour,” she replied, and ignoring Max’s stuttering, she asked, “well, anyway, where’s your sister? I’m going to help you escape.”

“She’s in the big pool. Here, we can go through the tunnel,” Max told her, and the two of them swam through to see Nora.

When they arrived, they saw that Nora was sleeping. Quietly, Max nudged her until she woke up. Her eyes widened when she saw Adela.

“Adela, how are you here? What’s going on?” Nora asked groggily.

“Long story short, I found a magical seashell that can make me have legs, and Streak is here too, and I am going to help you escape!” Adela told her. Nora was excited about that. She then asked Adela how to do it.

“I saw that the pool has a direct route to the sea. I don’t know why, but maybe just so the animals here have a fresh supply of saltwater. Anyway, it’ll open straight from this pool,” Adela told Nora and Max. Suddenly, Streak shot out of the tunnel to the other side of the pool. It looked like he had squeezed his fins to go forward. 

“Streak! Are you all right?” All signs of tiredness disappeared from Nora’s face as she hurried to his side.

“I’m fine! Just thinking that we can formulate a plan together,” Streak told them. The others agreed.

Adela explained the direct route back home, “but there’s only one problem. I don’t know how to open it! There’s sure to be some sort of lever, but I don’t know where it is.”

“I do,” the three of them turned quickly to see Emma walking out of the shadows, “I know where the switch is. Also, are you a mermaid? And how did the stingray get out of his tank?”

“I’m a manta ray,” Streak mumbled, but Emma couldn’t understand him, of course.

Nora turned to Adela, since Emma could not understand her, either “I think we have to tell her. If she knows where the switch is, then we can get out, but she has to trust us first.”

Adela took a deep breath, “I think you’re right.”

“Listen, Emma, did they say your name was? I am a mermaid, and we live in a sea kingdom called Isla Marina. Your goons that come here kidnapped my friends, and I wouldn’t stand by, since they’re my friends, AND I’m the princess of Isla Marina.”

Emma’s eyes got wider with each word, and she spoke again, “You have me all wrong. My mom and I work for the SEA, as you know. The SEA is a good organization, dedicated to saving the animals in the sea. It stands for the Sea Earth Association. We are undercover here and trying to save you.”

“So why did you go along with our kidnapping, if you’re so dedicated?” Adela asked her.

“I didn’t want to hurt the aquarium. As bad as they may be, they’ve always been kind to me, and without the animals, they would lose everything,” Emma took a deep breath, “but now, I’m going to help you get out.”

“Thank you. You may not realize it, but you are helping our kingdom more than you know,” Adela told her, “maybe one day you can come and see our kingdom.”

Emma nodded, and ran back into the building, and she came out, holding a remote. She pointed to the west side, “the door is over there. I’ll miss you guys. Good luck!”

She pushed the button. The wall began to go down.

“They’re e-escaping!!! Don’t let em’ get away!” The two men who had kidnapped them were running forward, upon hearing the commotion.

Nora, Max, Adela, and Streak dove with fear toward the opening, hoping with all of their heart that they could return home.

“I’m sorry,” Emma whispered. The door opened all the way, and Nora, Max, and Streak quickly swam through. 

Their last glances of the aquarium were of the two men standing stunned next to the pool. It was an amazing thing to watch if I do say so myself.

“You did the right thing, Emma. You have a good heart,” Adela told her.

Later, as my friends tell me…

Queen Amara was none too happy to hear that Adela had saved the dolphins, but she was proud, for once. Adela became the queen of Isla Marina later, and she ruled with prosperity.

Nora became the leader of the pod after her mother died, and she ruled greatly.

Max became the hero of the reef and established a Game Day every week.

Emma became a hero to sea creatures and dedicated her life to protecting the seas.

I hope this story taught you something about courage, kindness, wisdom, and love for the sea, like it taught me. However, Nora, Max, Adela, and Emma’s stories are far from over, and I would love to tell you what happened to them, but…

It’s time for lunch, so until next time, my friends! Segulio out!