When I awoke in the morning, I was not sure if I had dreamt everything up. There was no sign of the dragon-like Mage I'd seen at night. Neither did I see any sign of it as the days sped past. The humans were mostly restricted to the caves. Once in a while, Mayuri would drop by for a visit, her blue face reflecting the calm of the ocean.
Most people did not dare to venture into the Aboveground. It was hard to forget the Nile crocodile's malicious gaze as they had narrowly escaped being punished. They spent the days talking amongst themselves quietly, swimming in the waters near the caves, and occasionally, speaking to the rare visitors that we had- Lemon and Omen who sometimes brought along the Chinese elephant.
The merpeople frequented the caves, but they did not attempt to make friends with us. I wondered if they were guarding useither protecting us from the other creatures or preventing us from venturing out too far. They were quiet and unobtrusive, but their iridescent eyes changed colours rapidly if one of us made a move to swim up towards the ground. They would stare silently or place a gentle arm- cold, firm, and fishlike to touch- on the person's shoulder. The gesture was somewhere between a warning delivered and concern. Nobody dared to find out what would happen if we defied the merpeople and went up anyway.
Grandpa and Shantanu seemed to be avoiding each other's company after the conf rontat ion they had had on the first day. Nimmie and Harsha, however, loved Anunirva and explored with abandon. There was no school to attend, no tuition classes, no milk to be drunk in the morning- what more could a child ask for? By now, Nimmie was wearing several coral necklaces that the people had indulgently strung for her. She felt the beads proudly as she swam in the waters, a little water princess scouring her kingdom.
One day, as I was sitting quietly at the mouth of the cave, Harsha came to me and said, "Shiva, I want to ask you something…don't tell Nimmie about it though."
I nodded in reply. He sat next to me without saying anything for sometime. We watched the weeds snake in the water…up and down, up and down. Then he turned and said, "My father…he goes to the Aboveground at night."
I was surprised. Shantanu had been maintaining a low profile. I'd nearly concluded that Mage was a part of my imagination. But Harsha's words brought back my old doubts. I did not want to say anything though. Harsha was still a child and besides, I had no proof that Shantanu was up to something.
