THE BIG SECRET

It was a sunny Thursday Afternoon and the small village of Emakalakala was at peace as its residents went about their daily activities dutifully - traders were at their shops tending to the few customers patronizing them, farmers were just returning home to rest, the younger children were back from school and their laughter filled the air as they played outside the various compounds with their peers while the teenagers were doing whatever teens did best.However, Colin and Rhoda would not be classified into any of these categories. Rather than hang with their peers, the duo were more interested in devouring the fruits on the Apple tree near the river banks. Both in their early teens, the two best friends had made it a habit to meet up at the apple tree after school everyday ever since its fruiting season began. As always, Colin was up in the tree plucking the fruits, throwing some down for Rhoda and eating or saving some in his pocket while Rhoda was happily eating anyone she picked. Colin paused for a moment and his eyes fixated on the vast water body stretching all the way to the next village. 

" Colin, what are you doing up there? Keep them coming!" Rhoda shouted 

" I'm coming." He shouted back but in that moment, something flashed into his eyes. He focused in the direction and noticed something glittering just few feet to the water. Curiously, he climbed down the tree. 

" What happened?" Rhoda asked 

" There is something out there" Colin said as he raced in the direction, Rhoda followed. Just a short distance from the riverbank, he saw a shiny object - a big colourful diamond. 

"What is that?" Rhoda asked

"I don't know." He replied, he had never seen anything like it before. His eyes fell on a rock meters away, he moved towards it and hit the diamond against it, when it did not shatter or crack, he stopped to inspect it some more. Rhoda, on the other hand, got distracted by the howling of the wind causing a sudden rise in the tide of the river, she thought she saw someone in the water so she moved further into it to be certain. There was a great wave at that instant and she lost get balance.

"Colin!" She yelled as she struggled futilely to get back on her feet. Colin glanced in her direction in time to see the wave rise much higher and carried her away. 

"Rhoda! Rhoda!" He shouted in a panic as he raced into the water but there was no sign of her anymore. His first thought was to run back for help, that would have been the most logical thing to do but he caught sight of her hands flung up in the air distance away. 

"Rhoda." He called as he threw the diamond into his pocket and on instinct dived into the water to rescue her. Thoughts ran through his little mind, one of which was how he would explain what had happened to Rhoda's parents if he didn't find her? To his parents? Where would he start from? He had swam halfway when the current of the water became too strong for him to continue. 

"Rhoda." He called although he felt himself starting to drown, the water stung his eyes and he gulped down some as he went under. His life flashed before his eyes literally - his widowed mother, his siblings, Rhoda, the few people he knew in the thirteen years he had lived in this world. Something strange happened though as soon as he stopped fighting to survive, all of a sudden he started breathing underwater. It was so surprising that he swam back to the surface then went under again, he could breathe so freely, like he was in his natural habitat. As thrilling as that was though, all he wanted was to find Rhoda. He glanced around eagerly but saw nothing relevant. Suddenly, he felt a touch, he turned and saw two figures, a boy and girl... No, they were humans with fish appendages. Colin let out a stiffled scream when his brain interpreted what they were and he frantically began swimming back to safety. The boy came after him with the speed of light and pulled him back into the water. Colin fought to be free but he was no match for him - that was the moment he concluded that he would die.

"Calm down!" The girl yelled and Colin gaped at her in shock - she could speak, english at that. 

"We are not here to hurt you... not right now anyways." The boy said. He was older the girl who looked like she was the same as Colin. 

"I'm Tonia, this is my brother Jack. I just need my gem back, that's all." She said, she was dressed in a weird green cloth that looked like a sport's bra while the boy was bare chested. 

"Your gem." Colin heard himself say; it felt surreal to hear himself speak underwater.

"Yes the gem, now hand it back." Jack said. Colin reached into his pocket and pulled out the gem, it glittered the more underwater. A thought crossed his mind at that moment. 

"I will give it to you on one condition..."

"Do you really think we can't just kill you and take it?" Jack asked, amused. Colin shuddered - Jack had a valid point but he needed to find Rhoda. 

"Jack, let's hear him out. What do you want?" Tonia asked

"I need to find my friend. She drowned." He answered sullenly 

"Oh that girl, yeah we saw her drown." Jack said nonchalantly 

"You saw her drown? Why didn't you help her? She is my best friend!" Colin yelled in a fury

"I couldn't care less human." Jack replied , unfazed. 

"What Jack means to say is that we are not allowed to meddle in human affairs or interact with them at all. We are currently violating a law with a death penalty but I just badly need my gem back, please." Tonia explained with pleading eyes. Colin felt his last hope of finding Rhoda fade. 

"This is all my fault." He mumbled with teary eyes and Tonia felt very bad for him. 

"Excuse us for a minute." She said, took Jack's hand and they swam further away from him and they began talking in whispers. Colin waited patiently, it wasn't like he had much options anyways. Finally they returned. 

"We will help you find your human friend's corpse." Jack said with a frown

"Pay no attention to him, he can be a jerk most times." 

"She had been in the river for over fifteen minutes, you honestly think she is still alive?" Jack asked and Colin paused - despite being a jerk, Jack was making a whole lot of sense but Colin didn't want to think about that possibility yet. 

"We will find your friend and you return my gem, deal?"

"Deal."

"She could be anywhere right now but lucky for you, we know someone that can help us find her. Let's go." She said as he took his hand and pulled him further down the waters. Colin was a bit terrified, he had heard terrible stories about Merfolks but his desire to find Rhoda overshadowed his fears. The water got colder the deeper they went, he felt chills and all he could see was darkness. If Tonia hadn't been holding onto his hand, he would have panicked. 

"What is so special about the gem anyways?" He asked out of curiosity and to keep his mind from telling him what an idiot he was for putting his life in the hands of a mermaid. 

"With humans, it helps them adapt underwater, it is the reason you can breathe right now. But with us, it helps us blend into the human world. Changes our form for a short while." Tonia explained 

"How long is a short while?" Colin asked

"Our gems lose their powers within an hour on land, we'd have to return to water for it to gain strength again." She answered 

"I thought you weren't allowed to interact with humans."

"We only do that when we want to capture them, you know, for food." Jack said. Colin stopped in his tracks as fear enveloped him. 

"Don't listen to him, we don't eat humans I promise." Tonia assured him and they resumed swimming, even though Colin couldn't see his face, he was certain Jack had a smirk. 

"What do merpeople eat?" Colin asked

"You are not seriously going to reveal all our secrets to a human, are you?" Jack asked with so much disdain in his tone 

"You don't like me, why?" Colin asked; he was bothered by the thought. 

"What is there to like about humans? You are all pathetic. You blame us for every misfortune in your lives - delay in marriages, childlessness - you are all self-centered. You pollute the waters as if you are the only creatures on earth. There is absolutely nothing to like about the human race." Jack snapped. Colin would have argued all that but something in Jack's tone dissuaded him; it felt like he was talking from experience. They swam on in silence. After a while, Colin sighted bright waters ahead, possibly a reflection of the sun and when they got closer, he stopped in awe at the sight that beheld him - in the river was a world of Merfolks more lively and beautiful than his village. Turned out Merfolks lived in giant corals, some plain, others beautifully coloured with the aquatic plants serving as exterior decorations. Most astonishing was the fact that they had shops or so it looked, mermen and women were going about to and fro, he saw some of the kids playing hide and seek, it was really a beautiful sight. 

"Welcome to Willow's town." Tonia said 

"We need to keep you hidden, we will go round the back." Jack said. Colin swam in between them until they got to one of the beautifully designed corals. 

"Wait here." Jack said then disappeared inside through the grasses woven together to resemble a curtain. Seconds later, his head popped out. 

"All clear." He whispered and Tonia led Colin into the coral. He was awe stricken by the interior - for one, it was larger than expected, secondly, he was marvelled by how creative they were with plants. An old mermaid sat on a broken plastic chair, a table before her and on the table was a mirror with sides embroidered with leaves. She looked up with a smile that changed to shock as soon as her eyes fell on Colin.

"Human!" She gasped

"Calm down Mama Willow, he is harmless. This is Colin. Colin, mama Willow is the great great..."

"He gets it Tonia. Mama Willow is related to the founder of our town, now, we need to find a girl, his friend, she drowned." Jack cut in, impatiently. 

"Her name is Rhoda." Colin added with a sullen look. Mama Willow looked at him for a second then sympathetic look crossed her face. 

"Rhoda huh? I'll help you find her, come sit here." She said. Colin moved forward and sat on a chair beside her, his eyes fell on a gem similar to Tonia's on the table. 

"Is that your gem? You travel to the human world too?" He asked

"I see your friends have gotten you up to date with our tradition." she said with a smile 

"Not exactly." 

"Well, the human world is fascinating and I love to explore but nothing beats the freedom you get from being under the sea,' she said with a sparkle in her eye, ' now, let's find your friend?"

"Yes." He answered

"Just think about her...think about the moment she drowned." Mama Willow instructed as she took his hands. He closer his eyes and focused on the last memory he had of Rhoda just before the wave carried her away - as painful as it was. He sensed something flash through his eyes seconds later so he opened them and was amazed to see that Mama Willow's mirror was illuminating a faint blue light and images were flashing in it, images of him and Rhoda yet mama willow seemed to be doing nothing out of the ordinary at all. He saw Rhoda gasping for air, struggling to get back to the surface of the water, she fought until her lungs finally gave up, her eyes closed and her body hit the bottom of the river. Seeing that made Colin go literally pale with fear as one question came to his mind - was Rhoda dead? 

"I know that place!" Tonia's voice broke into his thoughts. 

"You better hurry up then." Mama Willow said. The three of them set out immediately, swimming faster than before. After what seemed like an eternity, they stopped. Colin glanced around anxiously but all he could was darkness so it was a surprise when Jack shouted :

"There she is." and they pulled him in the direction. The first thing he saw was Rhoda's red shirt at the bottom of the river, Jack lifted her up gently - she was as pale as a ghost. Tears gathered in Colin's eyes. 

"Is she... Is she dead?" He stuttered, trying hard not to burst into tears. Jack and Tonia glanced at eachother. 

"We will see if Aurora can help. She is a healer." Tonia said. Immediately they set out for the village again, trying as much as possible not to be seen.

Unlike the others, Aurora lived quite isolated from the town and rather than a Coral, she lived in what looked like a whale. Tonia tapped on the fish's head thrice and it's mouth opened, they swam inside but Colin was cautious the whole time. Aurora sat on the fish's tongue all dressed in white - her hair, cloth and tail were white. 

"Is that a human?" She asked with a puzzled look as Jack laid Rhoda's lifeless body before her. 

"Please you have to help her Aurora. She is our friend. " Tonia pleaded. Aurora paused for a second then got up and swam further into fish's stomach, she returned with some herbs and began grinding them together while humming a melodious tune. When she done grinding, she smeared the end product on Rhoda's body gently, after which she gave her a light kiss on the forehead.

"Will she be OK?" Colin asked

"She will live, just take her home." Aurora replied. 

"Thank you." Colin said then ran into Aurora's arms, probably due to excitement. She was startled at first but she relaxed and smiled. Jack picked up Rhoda and they all began swimming away from the village with Jack still holding on to an unconscious Rhoda. It took longer than before and Colin engaged Tonia in a conversation that made her laugh most of the way. Eventually the siblings came to a halt. 

"You are very close to the riverbank. You should be able to get home easily from here." Jack said 

"Thank you both for everything. Will I see you again?" Colin asked

"I don't know. Merfolks are like voyagers. We are never at a place for too long, we are just passing through your village. We will be gone before you know it." Tonia explained. Colin was really sad to see her go. It was surprising how they nice they actually were, not like the terrible stories he had heard oftentimes.

"This is the part where I wipe your memory." Jack said 

"Please don't, I promise not to say a word." Colin pleaded and Tonia laughed. 

"He's kidding. We don't have such powers but seriously though, do keep this a secret, please." She pleaded 

"Your secret is safe with me, I promise." Colin replied. He reached into his pocket for the gem and coincidentally pulled out an apple too. He gave both to Tonia who took it with a charming smile. 

"This is getting pathetic. Here you go. Off we go." Jack said as he gently pushed an unconscious Rhoda towards him and Colin wrapped his hand around her waist. Tonia gave him a kiss on the lips and he felt butterflies all over his stomach. Almost immediately, he felt the water in his eyes so instinctively he reached for the surface, he inhaled sharply. Jack had been right, he was a stone throw from the riverbank. He pulled Rhoda with him as he made for it and once there, he fell on the Sandy ground. 

"Good bye Colin." He heard Tonia's voice. He sat up and looked towards the water but she was gone, they probably all were. 

"Colin." A familiar voice called. He turned and saw Rhoda sitting up, she rubbed her eyes like she had just woken up from a deep slumber. Excitedly, he threw his arms around her which kind of surprised her.

"I'm happy you are awake." He said

"Did I fall asleep? Here? Why are we wet? What happened? Have we finished picking the apples?" She asked all at the same time.

"We picked enough apples for one day."

"I had this weird dream where I was drowning and a mermaid... "

"Shh,' he said as he placed a finger on her lip, ' you are tired, let's just go home."

"What really happened? Why can't I remember anything?" She asked with a worried expression 

"I'm sorry I can't tell you now. It's a big secret." He replied then winked at her with a boyish grin.