Atlantis

“Let me see it.” Selena demanded, strutting towards her crew. They had just rummaged through another shipwreck on their seemingly never ending search for the City of Atlantis, but this time, they had actually found something. Something real, and not just a passage read out of adventure novels in the sunken Library of Alexandria. A map.

“It’s a..maze?” Ismerelda, Serena’s first mate, said, handing the piece of algae covered gold to Serena. She quickly rubbed off the algae and examined it. It did seem to be some type of maze, with several large circles and a triangle in the center. It had strange markings in the corners and an inscription in an outdated merfolk language at the top.

“Can you read it?” Ismerelda asked Serena, peeking over her shoulder. 

“No, this is ancient text. But I think I know someone who can.” Serena said, turning to the rest of her crew. “Set our course to New York, ladies, we have someone to see!” 

The ship floated off the ocean floor with a jolt as one of the crewmates lifted the anchor. You see, Serena and her crew were unlike the normal swashbuckling and savage pirates of the Colonial Era; they were immortal (unless killed), they were all female, and they were mermaids. 

“Ismerelda, I want to see you.” Serena indicated with her head towards the captain’s quarters. Ismerelda swam inside as Serena closed the door behind them. Bioluminescent algae lit up the small study where Serena lived, revealing her slight obsession with Atlantis by the drawings on the walls and the books on the shelves. Mermaids were miles past humanity when it came to ocean research and technology, inventing a substance similar to paper that could be written or printed on that wouldn’t deteriorate in water and finding more natural energy sources than electricity or coal to fuel their ships.

“What did ya need, captain?” Ismerelda asked, still curious about the map.

“I need you to be in charge while I find some Alligata, you know, the seaweed that allows us to walk on land.” Serena said, wrapping the map in a brown sack and slipping it into a chest. She locked it and put the key on a chain around her neck. “And do not let anyone in here or near the map. Even though I trust this crew with my life, we are so close to finding Atlantis and I won’t have anyone sabotaging it.”

“Of course captain.” Ismerelda said, bowing her head. “Am I permitted to ask who you might be visiting on land?” she asked with a smirk. It wasn’t often a mermaid went on land, and it had been a few years since either of them had made a visit. 

“I believe you may know, but spare me the mockery until after I return.” Serena replied.

“Ah, so it is who I suspect. Never fear, there will be plenty of mockery to go around when you’re back. Say hi to his cat for me, I always liked that little rascal.” Ismerelda nudged Serena with her elbow and Serena smiled. The two of them had been best friends ever since their youth, always chasing adventure. There was a small knock on the door. 

“Captain, we’ve caught the West current, we shall be in New York by sunrise tomorrow.” A small mermaid reported when Ismerelda opened the door. The young mermaid, Casey, was a new recruit of Serena’s, they picked her up the last time they were in the Library of Alexandria. 

“Thank you, Casey, for your report.”

“Ladies! This is the closest we’ve been to Atlantis in years, a grand achievement in my eyes, and a cause for a celebration! What do ya say?” Serena shouted, and was followed by several cheers and a round of applause from the underwater Amazonians. They broke out in song and rounds of dancing and drinking. By the time they had arrived in New York, they were so tired and hungover, no one noticed as Serena unlocked her chest, stuffed the gold map into her bag, slipped off the ship, and went to look for Alligata seaweed.

Finding the seaweed was easy enough, as her tail was efficient at pushing her through the sea. It was the act of eating it that was difficult. Serena recalled the last time she had visited the surface, the vulgar taste of the seaweed felt fresh on her tongue. She and Ismerelda were adventurous young mermaids, eager to explore the land and hopeful to find an aide in their search for the City of Atlantis. It certainly helped when they ran into a handsome young man fascinated with the mythological city who offered them shelter for a few days and access to the internet. Although mermaids considered themselves to be far superior in the technological aspect of society, they had yet to discover the internet because of the large lack of electricity underwater. The pair did not know what a cat was either, and Ismerelda had taken quite a liking to the fuzzy creature. Serena much preferred the man.

Arriving at the large stone cave where Alligata seaweed grew, Serena grabbed some and stuffed them into a small bag she brought with. She swam towards the surface of the water and was immediately greeted with the blinding light of the sun. Being underwater creatures, mermaids were adapted to the dark and cold of the water, and their vision excelled in the depths of the ocean. The sun burned their skin and their eyes were unable to focus in the sunlight.

Serena dove slightly below the surface again and spotted a small grotto with a rocky overhang. There, she pulled out a few things she had gathered from her previous visit to the human world, including a brush, some undergarments, a floral maxi skirt, a pair of sandals and a white blouse. After slipping on what she could before her full transformation, Serena pulled out the seaweed. She took a bite and was immediately confronted with the bitter taste and the urge to vomit. She held it back and finished the seaweed with much difficulty. Next, she hauled herself out of the water before drowning and watched as her tail slowly changed into a pair of legs as they dried on the land. It was relatively shady under the rock overhang, giving her body time to adjust to the new human conditions before putting on the rest of her garments and stepping into the sun. 

Adjusting to walking on land was difficult for most mermaids, but Serena quickly mastered the feat. Walking across the beach, she hoped to draw as little attention to herself as possible. Humans had still yet to discover their existence and mermaids wanted to keep it that way. Only a few, trusted people knew their secret. Many families had gathered on the beach, as that morning had had what they considered good weather, and Serena had bumped into quite a few couples shelling along the shore. She kept a keen eye out for a familiar face, but she recognized none.

As she continued her stroll, she eventually came across a bus stop and spotted a man seated on a bench, absorbed with drawing in his journal. Walking over, she sloppily sat next to him. She did not have as much practice sitting as she had with walking.

“Good morning, Elijah.” Serena pleasantly said. Elijah looked up with a jolt, instantly recognizing Serena.

“Serena?” he said, rather perplexed. He quickly shoved his journal and pencil into his backpack. “Is it really you?” 

“Of course it is Elijah! How many people do you know with seafoam green hair?” Serena joked. Elijah pulled her into a quick hug.

“I was wondering when you would show your face again. How’s Ismerelda doing? I’m surprised she’s not with you.” Elijah said, releasing her as he spoke. 

“She’s fine, she’s keeping watch over my crew as we speak. She wanted to say hello to Rusty, though.” Serena said.

“Oh Rusty! It’s about time he gets his breakfast. Would you come with me, back to my apartment?” Elijah said, checking his watch.

“As you wish. I was going to ask to speak with you in private anyway.” Serena replied, glancing around at the thousands of New Yorkers on their way to a busy day of work.

They arrived at Elijah's apartment a few minutes after 10 am. Elijah rushed inside and began preparing Rusty’s breakfast. Rusty, at the sound of commotion and food, came out of hiding and stalked over to Serena.

“Make yourself at home.” Elijah called from the kitchen. “And excuse the mess. I haven’t had visitors in...well, since you were last here I think.”

Serena reached down to stroke Rusty until Elijah returned with a bowl of cat food. 

“So, what did you need to speak with me about?” Elijah asked, placing the bowl in front of Rusty, who quickly gobbled it up.

“This.” Serena said, pulling the gold slab out of her bag.

“Oh, wow. This is magnificent! You really found the map to Atlantis!” Elijah said, grabbing the map and slipping on a pair of spectacles. 

“With much trouble yes. Do you think you can decode the ancient script at the top?” Serena asked eagerly.

“I think so? I recognize this word.” Elijah said, squinting. “Hold on, I believe I just found a book on this.” He rushed over to his library and quickly pulled a few books from their resting place. He began flipping recklessly through pages of books and frantically writing something down on a little pad of paper he kept in his pocket.  

“Aha! It’s not a latitude and longitude,” he muttered. “It’s based on astronomy. If my calculations are correct, the City of Atlantis should fall somewhere...” He ran around and pointed on the map. “Over here.” He finished. “Near Puerto Rico.”

“Puerto Rico? We’ve already searched near there when we were looking for the map, and there’s no underwater City anywhere.” Serena said, confused.

“That’s because you’re looking in the wrong spot. Near Puerto Rico there’s several tectonic plates and an underwater volcano. With the movement of the plates and an eruption from the volcano, the City of Atlantis, which was previously underwater...”

“Is now above the sea!” Serena shouted, cutting him off.

“Precisely.” Elijah said, triumphant.

“Well, how are we supposed to live there? We wanted to make it a home for us and a place to store our treasure, but how are we supposed to do that if we can only be on land for a few days at a time?” Serena said, suddenly realizing the flaw in having an above water Atlantis.

“You could sink it?” Elijah recommended, along with a shrug.

“Right, and how are we supposed to sink a whole island?”

“I guess you’re stuck just exploring it for now. I mean you’ll still have the honor of finding Atlantis.” 

“I suppose. But we’d still only be able to explore it for a few days at a time. Maybe there’s a way to dig some sort of river for easy access.”

“I can help!” Elijah exclaimed, and he ran over to a desk with a few greenish looking concoctions laying upon it. 

“What do you mean? You’re a human? You wouldn’t survive on our underwater ship.”

“Actually, last time you and Ismerelda were here, you mentioned that seaweed that turned you human. Well, I did some research, gathered some, worked some of my magic, and was able to reverse the properties so it could turn me into a merman. And I’m sure with some more tinkering, I could give it a longer lasting effect too.”

“Can you make it taste better?” Serena teased. Their discussion had put hope back in her heart that this plan could work. Even if digging a channel might be a lot of work, she believed finding Atlantis and using it to hide their treasure would be incredibly useful. Despite everyone telling her it didn’t exist, her dream of finding the lost city was finally on the brink of coming true.