Chapter 1

Chapter 1

This is a story about gang warfare between the mermaids and the shark people.

The light broke through the water like light through a hazy crystal blue world. Dawn was breaking and the world was quiet. Lilla stirred and looked around her, the early morning chill waking up her sleepy mind. She went over to the window and looked at out at the streets of the town, wondering if she was ready for what was to come.  The only thing she knew for sure at that point was that she liked the way the water played across her skin through the window, and she liked the idea of the warm covers on her bed that she had left, even as the possibility of their comforting embrace faded further and further away as her mind woke up.

Soon she began to think of breakfast, and she drifted out into the hall and down the water over the stairs to the first floor, and out the door into the watery world outside. She was okay with a light breakfast, she just needed something to give her energy and help prepare her for the long day ahead. She drifted low over the layered rocks and kelp, wandering around as the wavy blades of kelp softly passed across her skin. No one else was out in the early morning and she was glad to be alone, looking around the town of her birth for what may be the last time.

Out here along the backstreets the watery world of the ocean blended with the streets of the town to create Lilla's favorite environment, comforting and familiar and lovely. She floated along, half-searching for fish while she took in the sights around her. She breathed slowly, the deep calm of half-memory filling her mind, the peaceful well of memories of childhood and years of growing up in this place. The sunlight slowly grew a little brighter as she went along, the early morning water growing a little clearer.

The sunlight glinted off something close ahead and Lilla headed toward it. As she got closer she saw it was a school of small fish. She glided close, paused for a moment, and then dove smoothly into the crowd of fish. Her sharp teeth snapping all around, she tore into the scattering fish, their bodies flashing silver in the light. The fish tasted good. Soon, almost all the fish had either escaped or had been eaten, and scraps of flesh floated around in a cloud of bloody water. Lilla drifted around searching for any remaining fish and nibbled at the scraps, finishing off her meal. A good light breakfast.

 With breakfast finished, she headed back towards home, swimming slowly back into town as dawn slowly moved towards early morning.  She was glad that she'd gotten one last chance to swim around the town, breathing in the morning water of her favorite part of town.  Now as she swam back home an ominous sense of her nearing departure filled her, and she gulped as she turned on to her street.

Lilla entered her house through the front door and rose up the stairs, making sure to be as quiet as possible. She had never felt more lonely as she crossed the threshold into her room, an empty silence seeming to fill the water. Her open window let in the watery morning breeze.  She moved around the room, packing up her things, that she had already packed, getting everything together for a journey far away from home.

She knew she shouldn't leave a note, but she couldn't think of leaving without doing so. She grabbed a piece of kelp-paper and, her hand-fin shaky, she told her parents and her family where she was going, why she was leaving, and that she would try to get in touch with them as soon as possible. As she wrote the last words of the letter, a few tears fell from her face and onto the paper.

I'll be back home soon.

Love,
Lilla 

She knew she might not ever make it back home, and might not ever see her family again, but that's what she knew she had to write. After, she realized putting that on paper gave her the slightest of hopes that it might come true, even if it was just her convincing herself, and that calmed her slightly. She put the note on her bedside table, running her side fin over the wood as she turned to pick up her things. Having gathered her bags, she looked around her room for one last time, again wondering briefly if she was ready for what was to come. But it was morning, and time to leave, and Lilla turned slowly and swam out into the hall, glancing back once into her room.

Moving as quietly as she could, even breathing softly, she went down the stairs, opened the front door, and again looked back one last time as she went through the doorway out into the world, before the front door shut behind her. Standing still for a moment, she looked at her house, with the door closed, taking it all in, before she turned with belongings at fin and took off down the street.

Now that she was out in the world and on the way she felt a little better. Her mind clearer, lost in gentle thought, Lilla headed toward the edge of town. The most important thing was making sure her family or anyone she knew didn't see her leaving, and things were working out so far. As she neared the more open waters past the streets of the town, she began to think that this wasn't so bad after all, and she told herself critically that she should be more able to handle it, at least at this point.

After a few minutes, the buildings became more and more spread out and sparse, and wild nature became more and more prominent, ocean plants waving in the water across the rocky slopes.  Out here Lilla began to see more and more utility buildings and things of the like, and she swam through more and more open space. As she drew further and further away from the watchful eyes of the town, a slight elation skipped into her heart and she became more relaxed, falling into a rhythm. The utility buildings faded away and were replaced by simple nature. Forests of kelp and sea plants rose from the sloping rocks, rippling in the ocean current breeze, the rocky crags forming sheltered caves and winding hollows.  Lilla felt much more safe here hidden from the view of the world, and she breathed a sigh of relief.  This morning swim out was almost peaceful now, and she could almost forget the difficulties ahead. She just had to make sure to get far enough away before her parents realized she was missing and found the note.

In time the rock shelters and banks of plants gave way to open waters, and as she passed into the clear open water now she was truly on her way.  Her bags hanging at her side went along with the feeling of a journey of departure in her heart. Down below her the sea floor passed by, scattered with plants along sloping features. The odd fish flitted in and out and signs of life stirred here and there. The water was clearer out here as it passed over her gills, and the morning light played down from above.

Lilla continued like this for some time, fear touching slightly at her but otherwise in a rhythm. After about half an hour she began to near her destination.  Up ahead she could see evident shapes beginning to emerge. Soon, as she drew closer, she could see the train station in front of her.    

She slowed as she came upon the train station in the gray morning light, stopping momentarily to gather herself and her thoughts.  Some sharks moved around on the square outside the station, the crowd thin at the quiet early morning train station. Lilla approached the station and looked around for where to go, spotting the correct ticket booth and heading for it with bags in hand. At the ticket booth she stopped and waited in the short line.  She reached into her old tattered bag and took out her ticket, clutching it in her hand-fin, holding it close to her. When it was her turn she went up to the booth and handed her ticket to the shark behind the counter, who stamped it before handing it back.  Now Lilla swam around the left side of the booth and onto the platform, the train in front of her.

 The train stretched out in impressive solid color on the tracks beneath it, rising in front of Lilla. She swam gently up to it towards the door to her compartment.  It was ten minutes before departure.  She paused in front of the door to the train, looked around her, took a deep breath, opened the door to the train, and climbed up the stairs inside, the door swinging shut behind her.

Inside, compartments lined either side of the aisle, with sharks here and there inside of them. She swam down the aisle, looking for her compartment, finding it on the left side after a bit and opening the wooden sliding door. It closed behind her as she headed for her seat, set her bags down on the floor, and sank into it. She was alone. Something she very much appreciated. She felt safe here in the quiet compartment, for the first time all morning.

Lilla leaned her head against the glass of the window, looking out at the train platform outside. The seat was comfortable and she was alone. She had made it to the train. After a few minutes, the train quietly jostled, and slowly the train began to move along the tracks, pulling out of the station. Lilla was on her way.