The Abyssal Kingdom: part 1

Chapter Fourteen

Although she was holding her breath as she normally would something strange happened. She didn't feel the need to gasp for air. Even the further they went down 2 meters, 3 meters, Salantina felt no need to resurface.

All at once, everything slowed down. The water made her feel like she was flying and the sky was the limit. There was nowhere out of reach. Her new world came alive in a way she had never seen before. She could see vibrant colors all over purples, greens, and oranges, not the darkness she used to see from the surface. The water felt warm and the more they went down, the calmer it became like the storm had passed. 

She didn't feel the water pressure like she used to feel. Not even needing to equalize her ears. Instead, bubbles of water escape around her rapidly, like her body was naturally decompressing all the air into the water. While her skin absorbed oxygen rather than breathing it through a tank as they slowly descended. Her mouth filled with the taste of salt, but it wasn't heavy like it would have been before. It satisfied her in a strange way.

She could see a greater distance away than she could even on land, and yet everything looked different. It was like there was a thin blue film over her eyes and it blurred her surroundings. Fish floated sporadically throughout the water like tiny little stars in the night sky, hovering effortlessly. Life was in all shapes, sizes, and colors swimming around. Nothing was any bigger than her arm that she could see - or with teeth. Down low there was more gliding through the rocks like they were playing a game of chase.

Beneath her feet was a tiny school that looked like a teacher teaching a class with serval others surrounding one. This made her smile as she watched their identical orange color swim away following the leader. Some fish were in groups of different kinds or all the same, and some were alone. Life was everywhere though, even on the seabed picking at the bottom in between the stones were different-shaped fish looking for food. 

Her anger for Fynn had faded the more they descended. Fynn looked different underwater like he was further away than arm's length. It was weird how the water made everything seem 3D.

'The first time your eyes see the underwater is an experience you'll never forget. I'm glad I got to be the one to experience it with you.' Fynn watched her with a smile.

She was able to hear him in the same way she could on land. Shocked, she looked at him wide-eyed before taking a second to try and speak. 

She hand gestured to her face. Thinking that if she even opened her mouth she would breathe in water and they were way too far down now for her to choke. 

'You can breathe like normal. Please try and relax. I know this is all new.' He put his hand to his chest and inhaled deeply. 'The bite on your hand has given you these gifts to live under the water and on the land,' he explained. 

How are we speaking?' She asked quickly before closing her mouth again. Nothing happened though. No rush of water came into her mouth like she thought or a choking sensation. 

'Can I show you something?'

'I can't imagine it being any more beautiful than this,' she replied as she watched a baby blue fish the size of her thumb swim playfully around her leg with its mother the size of her hand watching until it followed her back into the school. 

Unconsciously, Salantina took a breath as normal and despite being in the water, it didn't feel like it. She just felt like she took in a breath of air the same way she did above water except it was water. 

Still, hand in hand, they swam forward to a huge coral surrounded by sea life. The fish swam peacefully around moving between the coral not noticing their presence. Within moments she couldn't help but swim with them. They moved around her body carelessly, and she never felt so at peace. She let go of Fynn's hand and started to rise through the water. He pulled her back down.