It's that time again folks! Remember, if you want to participate on a larger scale, be sure to let me know in the comments if you want me to start a Reddit subreddit for these writing prompts.
In honor of International Cat Day on August 8th, here is this week's writing prompt.
New Prompt (for August 17, 2022):
"You picked up an injured cat and patched it up overnight. The next morning, you woke up to see a family of witches standing beside your bed, and one of them is holding the injured cat in his/her arms. That witch said, 'My cat wants to adopt you, so you're now one of us.' " {credit to @writing.prompt.s on Instagram}
Old Prompt (from August 3, 2022):
"Everyone knows it's too dangerous to swim in the ocean. However, sitting at the end of the docks or peering over the edge of a boat, you've always felt the inexplicable urge to dive into the water. One day, despite the danger, you give into the urges and jump. There's an entire world beneath the surface, and it's not what you were expecting." {credit to @writing.prompt.s on Instagram}
My Story: Exploring the Unknown
I remember standing at the end of the dock watching the sunset. As the water below me lapped against the wood. I peered over my shoulder at the house in the distance. Mother was tending to my brother Simon. She had told me not to spend too long out here, but she didn't know what I had planned. Tonight was the night I was going to break the rules. Tonight I needed to see what was below.
The big red sign beside me cautioned against my plan. "Swimming in the ocean is strictly prohibited. All violators will be persecuted...if they survive."
Tentatively, I dipped a toe into the water. Fearing the worst, I hastily pulled it out. To my surprise, it was still there. I checked toward the house, where mother and Simon were nowhere to be seen. I sat on the end of the dock and lowered both my legs in. The cold water bit into my skin, but it was no different than stepping into a pool on a cold day.
After nothing happened, I risked one glance back at the house. The light was on in Simon's bedroom, but the blind was closed. With a deep breath, I closed my eyes and leaned forward.
As soon as the rush of water filled my ears, I started swimming. I needed to make it out of our channel and into the bay if I had any chance of getting to see what everyone was so afraid of.
The cool water felt soothing on my skin. Despite the salty smell, the small cut I had on my finger didn't burn. I felt free. I wanted to keep going. No, I needed to. Something called to me.
Soon, the slow lapping became harsher tugging. Tiny hands were grabbing onto my clothes and pulling me deeper and deeper. I decided to come up and look around.
When I breached the surface, I saw almost nothing. I had made it out of the channel. There were no houses to be seen. Off in the distance, I caught a glimpse of the lights on a night fishing boat. Terry and Bobby, friends of my mom, were probably on the boat prowling for prawns.
Knowing that the coast was clear, I sucked in the biggest gulp of air and started to swim straight down. The cool water turned colder the deeper I swam. I knew I should, but I couldn't bring myself to open my eyes. That is until I bumped into something.
My eyelids popped open fearing a shark or some gruesome creature I'd heard so much about had cornered me while I wasn't looking. However, I saw that it was a sign illuminated by one small light below it. "Neramari - 200 feet".
I peered to my right and saw a large city in the drop-off below. Several buildings remained well-lit, and I saw people milling about near the entrance to the city. Swimming toward it seemed to be my only way to get answers.
As I drew nearer, I realized that the people weren't people at all. Some had a tail, others had webbed appendages and scaley skin. I watched them interact for a while before carefully swimming forward.
The two standing on the bridge at the edge of the city were a feminine-looking one with pale green webbed appendages and the other a male with bright blue tentacles where his feet should be. Both of them jumped when they saw me.
"You aren't supposed to be here." The man raised the spear he had been holding. "How did you get here? Who is with you?"
I shook my head and held up my hands in defense.
"Timor, look at her arms." The feminine one pushed his spear aside.
Thinking they had started to fall off or disintegrate, I also inspected my arms. On my forearms, I had sprouted stiff orange fins. The same fins could be found on the backs of my calves. While investigating, I noticed my fingers and toes had webbed together as well.
"You have gills. You're one of us." Timor said.
My fingers slowly reached up to feel my neck. Sure enough, small openings were there, twitching in the water. My head was spinning as fast as my heart was beating. Maybe this is why we weren't supposed to go into the water. It was toxic, and I had mutated forever. I would never see my family again.
A green hand came to rest on my shoulder. "Try to relax. There is nothing wrong. Let me take you to Carrack."
I allowed her to move me freely in the water. If this Carrack had answers for me, I needed to hear them. Besides, what was I going to do? I was too far in at this point to turn back.
As she led me down bustling city streets, I noticed all kinds of aquatic creatures. From beautiful women with small gills protruding from their cheeks to men with sleek and powerful tails like sharks. We arrived at a one-story building with ancient architecture.
Inside were concrete floors that my feet seemed to stick to. I followed this woman into a room at the end of the hall. There was a tall man staring out the window. He had a large red tail that curled slightly as he rested on it like feet. Ashy blond hair flowed from the back of his head.
"Carrack, we found this young lady at the bridge. I think she is one of us, sir." The woman bowed slightly.
"Delmare, thank y--" Carrak stopped speaking as he turned to face me. "Josephine?"
I cleared my throat and quietly tested my voice. "No, that's my mother."
"You look just like her." He moved closer to inspect me better. "Same dark chestnut hair and light green eyes. The only siren I met that was able to live above water."
"You know my mother?" I asked.
"Know her? Little lady, I'm your father." A warm smile spread across his cheeks.
"How--how can you be my father?" I asked.
"Delmare, will you leave us be?" Carrack asked.
"Of course, sir." Delmare gave a quick bow before leaving the room.
"Have you wondered why your state is missing a chunk along the coast?" Carrack asked. "Eons ago, back before modern-day machines and tools, our city experienced one of the worst earthquakes known to mankind. The earth snapped below us, and we floated away, slowing taking on water like a sinking ship."
"How did the humans survive?" I asked.
"No one had known that certain humans possessed a gene that when exposed to deep levels of water, they would grow gills and adapt to the environment." Carrack placed his hand on my back and moved me toward the window. "Those people survived and started the city of Neramari."
"So my mom is one of those people?" I asked as I took in the surrounding buildings that looked just like any other city I had ever seen.
"No." Carrack frowned. "To keep our city running, we have scouts that head ashore to check on the latest technology on land then return and spread the information here. When on dry land for a while, many of us will change back to human form, though we have never been a human before. I was a part of that trip almost fourteen years ago now. Your mother captured my heart instantly, but I knew I couldn't stay. I kept an eye on you from the shores. I watched you grow and learn to love the world."
"Are you Simon's dad, too?" I met his deep blue eyes.
"No. After meeting your mother, I never allowed myself to go ashore again. I couldn't risk staying there forever and leaving my people behind." Carrack placed his hand on my shoulder. "Leaving you was the hardest decision I had to make, but I knew you would find your way here. I knew I'd get to meet you one day."
"Do you know why we aren't supposed to go into the ocean?" I asked. "You don't seem dangerous."
"Once the humans began to discover us, they feared us. So many of us don't resemble humans, and they wanted to exterminate us." Carrack had this far-away look on his face as if he were reliving a memory. "There was a war, and the peace treaty that settled it said that we would remain nocturnal to keep people from discovering us while humans would stay out of the ocean and let us be at peace."
I just shook my head. "All these years I've wondered why I loved the water so much. I've never been one to break rules, but this one always seemed too tempting."
"Half your soul belongs to the water." Carrack sighed. "Let me show you around."
"I really should be getting back. Mom will be worried about me." I looked at my webbed feet.
Carrack nodded. "Right. I'll see you out."
We wove our way back through the city to where Delmare and Timor were guarding the bridge.
"Will I get to see you again?" I asked.
"Of course, child. You are welcome here anytime." Carrack enveloped me in a hug. "Stay safe, Magdalene."
"How did you know my name?" I asked.
"I came ashore only once to see you. The name was embroidered on a blanket you were sleeping with. I never forgot the shape of the letters." Carrack smiled. "Now, go. Josephine will hunt me down if you aren't back before sunrise."
"Thank you for answering my questions." I turned and started swimming toward the shore.
By the time my head popped out of the water near our dock, it was still a pitched black as it had been when I left. However, even I couldn't mistake the shape of my mother on the end of the dock.
"I was waiting for this day," she muttered. "I saw the way you looked at the ocean. I knew you would leave one day."
"You aren't mad?" I place my fingers on the dock for support.
"No. I knew your father. He'd find a way to bring you to him." She stared off into the water depths.
"Will I ever be allowed to see him again?" I asked.
Mom looked at me. "You're a good enough swimmer, that I don't see why not. You'll need to be careful. I got this house with this in mind. We have no neighbors for miles, but fishermen do frequent the area. Be careful or you'll get caught."
"Yes, ma'am." I nodded.
"Let's go inside. I'm sure you have hundreds of questions for me." Mom offered me her hand and pulled me from the water. We began our walk back to the house as my gills and fins started to fade.
"Mom?"
"Hmmm?" She responded.
"Thank you for letting me go."
Happy writing,
Ally Mac
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