Today was the big day. The Chinese elephant led me to the watering hole. The water felt cold and delicious against my skin. I washed my face and attempted to make myself look a little presentable. Dipping my hand into the water, I let my mind wander…the sun glaring from the sky like a god passing judgment on the last day of my life on the earth; my father asking me to behave myself and not put grandpa to any trouble; the dodos on the train…I wondered if things would have turned out differently if I had not talked to them at all...the water rushing into grandpa’s compound, the sea’s queer smell… the dust of civilisations, the metallic tinge of lost treasures, the sins of centuries…the sea knew it all. And it had come to claim us. Its wages. I felt the water breathe beneath my hand. It was alive. It knew I was here. A claw gripped my hand. I did not open my eyes. I could not bear to see what it was.
It pulled me into the water. At a distance, I could hear the Chinese elephant whistling cheerfully. Either he had not seen what was happening or he had assumed this was an unexpected dramatic performance and was whistling his approval. Something was tapping my shoulder…something was asking me to open my eyes…struggling against my instinct, I opened and looked. It was grandpa!! And beside him there fl oated hundreds of merpeople. Their orange-green eyes bore into me, unblinking. Laddoo was in the arms of a merwoman who held him gently. He was chewing her hair, but she was taking it rather sportively, I thought.
Grandpa was trying to tell me something. I saw a rubber mask in his hand. Of course, I’d have to wear one to be able to understand what he was saying. I took it from him and clamped it over my head. I could breathe better.
“How are you?” he bellowed. A big wave crashed over my head. “Sorry!” he said, and sent another wave right into my eye! But I was too happy to complain.
“How did you come here?” I asked.
“The merpeople had enough of my company, I guess,” he winked. “I told them all about my exploits with the environment. And they were probably bored out of their heads!
