119 - Envy of Paradise

  I was a resident of a small trading community. Living near so many mermaids made life easy. The island was full of all kinds of merfolk. The whales hunted enormous creatures, but they didn’t always bother to eat everything they caught. Giant bones piled up as an infinite resource for weapons and armor, traded for food. Life was easy for me and my companion.

  "Rhyen, I'm going to get some materials. Be right back."

  He was so distracted he didn’t even hear me. I clicked my tongue. Never did I think a mermaid would take interest in him before me. That airheaded fool—without me, he wouldn’t even be known in this place. If he weren’t talented, I would have discarded him long ago. Some martial orca groups love to keep males just to serve them. I chuckled at the thought. That idiot would fetch some rare items.

  I approached a carcass discarded by the whales, looking for the best bones. It was tough with so many other merfolk around, but I had some advantages. After all, I was part whale. I might not have been as massive as a true one, but I was bigger than common merfolk, which always gave me an edge in getting what I wanted. But never did I think that, on that day, the carcasses from which I had stolen so many bones would strike back.

  The cracking started slowly. Those enormous marine beast corpses seemed to groan when a bone was touched. It startled me, as well as the other merfolk. I bolted, swimming as fast as I could. The whales that had been resting near the surface stopped, all turning toward the carcasses. They wouldn’t be intimidated by their own prey. If they rose, they would kill those creatures again.

  Chaos erupted. The whales went to battle. No one seemed concerned about the problem. Everyone knew the whales had never lost a fight. But I didn’t stay. I knew whales were strong, but being half-blood, I also knew their weakness: numbers.

  I swam as far away as I could, leaving everything behind. Who cared about losing all that? Not me, not one bit. If I had to fight for something, it wasn’t worth keeping.

  I traveled far from that mess. I could sustain myself easily, without worries, but it didn’t last long. The fish gradually began to migrate and disappear. I would have followed them, but a scarred orca appeared before me. She told me there was a place where the fish never ran out. So, I went there. Less effort than migrating.

  Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

  I found myself before a massive barrier, as large as mountains reaching the surface. That spectacular place was full of fish. It was easy living, with such abundance. The weak struggled to catch prey, but not me. It was a good place.

  But then, the gates of that paradise were opened to everyone. What a waste of food, allowing the weak who couldn't even hunt inside. That community was as advanced as dolphins, yet they didn’t understand that the weak were only useful as servants. At least the leader was strong.

  But he had a fatal weakness. He opened those beautiful gates for everyone because of his offspring. He lived only for them. Pathetic, wasn’t it? Too pathetic. Those spoiled brats even acted like they were in charge instead of their father. I gathered some followers who were just as dissatisfied as I was with those babies ruling over us. And we attacked them—with words. I thought that, with such a rational leader, nothing would happen. After all, a child’s whining shouldn’t be enough to warrant serious consequences. But I was wrong.

  My followers and I were banished from that place. Even the sperm whale threatened to devour us. Those lunatics claimed the child did it all. Who would believe that? That a mere child had the power to do this? Utter nonsense. So ridiculous it made me crave revenge.

  With my group, we returned to the trading island. After all, the whales should have dealt with the problem by now. But when we arrived, we saw something we never imagined. The whales were stranded on the surface, trapped by enormous skeletal beasts that held them in place. They couldn’t move to return to the sea. Their backs were so dry that seagulls feasted on the wounds caused by the sun.

  Many merfolk who had lived there were also trapped, hanging upside down, their tails caught in the creatures' jaws. Many hadn’t survived, already reduced to mere meals for the gulls.

  The sight sent those with me into a frenzy, making them flee as fast as they could. But I didn’t. I had an idea. An idea that might even get me accepted back into paradise. I swam back to the location of that paradise from which I had been expelled.

  The sperm whale at the entrance blocked me, refusing to let me in. So, I began to act remorseful, playing the part of a desperate fool seeking redemption. I spun my tale, faking sincerity, telling them everything I had seen. And so, I was let past the gates once more. I was taken to the king of that place. He asked me what I had witnessed. But then I was met with the leader’s gaze—one filled with pure hatred. I didn’t understand what I had done wrong. And why was he pointing his trident at me?

  "You led them to our location, you idiot!"

  That was when the trident pierced through me. I gasped, the pain unlike anything I had ever known. But worse than the pain was the realization—

  For the first time, there was no one left to deceive. No one left to manipulate. No one left to use to save myself.

  I begged for mercy, pleaded for forgiveness. But it was all in vain. In that moment, I wasn’t a predator. I wasn’t even a scavenger. I was just a tiny fish caught in the jaws of something far, far greater.