Mermaids of Kokololio (#JustWriteit 2016)

Chapter 3: The Adventure Begins.

There was one other person in my Grandmother's life that she treasured and would share all her secrets with, it had to be great aunt Beth.

Grandmother's closest friend other than Grandfather was great aunt Beth. Great aunt Beth and Grandmother were really close growing up and shared everything, they trusted each other with their lives. So great aunt Beth had to know what the map, the bottle, and grandmother's book meant. 

'Or maybe whatever Grandmother meant in the book was so secretive she didn't even entrust it to Aunt Beth..' I think.

I grab my cellphone to text Aunt Beth.

"Hey Aunt Beth! I found something, interesting in Grandmother's Attic and i thought maybe you might know what it is, i mean i know what it is, it's a book. But i don't know what the writing means. Can i come over?"

I click send. There.

"Mom! I'm going to Aunt Beth's to hang out, is that okay?!" I yell from my bedroom.

"Yeah Honey, just be back for dinner!" She replies.

I put my phone in my skirt pocket and head downstairs.

"Ok. Bye mom."

"Bye sweetie, have fun! Oh can you pick up some groceries on the way back too? Here's the list."

She hands me a white paper listed with food.

"Yeah mom."
I run out the door and pick up my bicycle. Great aunt Beth's place was in the middle of Honolulu in Mililani, we lived near the north channel in Pearl city, so it was a long way to go.

I Strap on my pink helmet with a black stripe running down the middle and hop on my blue flower print bicycle.

'Let's ride!' I think smiling.

I thrust off down the driveway and begin peddling madly, I loved the speed of riding my bike as I drove through the beautiful sights of Honolulu.    

36 minutes later ~

I ride up the driveway to Great aunt Beth's house and park my bike near the door.

I get off and hang my helmet on one of the bike's handles then walk up to the doorbell.

I press my hand on the pretty gold button and wait as a ringing goes off in the house.

The door nob turns and a woman with silky white hair and wrinkles from age on her hands and face opens the door.

"Great aunt Beth!" I say cheerily.

"Oh Hannah my precious little grand niece, come in come in!" She says smiling.

I walk in with her and sit on her comfy little blue couch and set my bag down on the white coffee table in front.

"Now what brings you here?" She asks still smiling.

"Did you get my text?" I ask.

"Oh no dear, you know i don't use that silly thing unless for photos. What did you, 'text' to me?"She asks.

"Well I unlocked this chest i found in Grandmother's attic with a key she gave me before she, passed. And i found these." I say, opening my bag and showing her the Map, the book, and the bottle.

Her smile disappears and she quickly scans the room, as if someone else was here. She runs around the room and closes all her white curtains against the window.

"Have you shown that to anyone else?" She asks quickly and nervously.

"No, no not at all. I first read the book and thought everything over, Grandmother never shared this with anyone, not even with mom! I asked her some innocent questions if she knew anything about mermaids and Grandma, but she seemed stumped about it. Do you know what the book means?" I ask quickly, now feeling nervous myself.

She sighs with relief. "Good, good. Yes i know about all this stuff, and your Grandma. But you can't share this with anyone else, you hear me?!" She says giving me a stern look.

I nod.

"Good. Now, your grandmother didn't have anything to do with mermaids, she was one. And so was I. We were both raised in the ocean, and taught to never go to land. But your grandmother had a wild curiosity and would watch us humans fish and collect shells. She even got me doing it. Soon she met your Grandfather, and knew she wanted to go to land. We both had heard stories of an elder at the deep end who had helped mermaids with whatever they asked for, and she traveled there to get a wishing potion. The crazy old fish gave her what she asked for, but warned her it would me permanent. She swam off and told me all about it, even how we could be humans forever. We both agreed we'd do it together and that's how it came to be. That bottle right there is the wishing potion." She says pointing to the bottle.

"Woooah..." I say amazed.

"'Woah' indeed." She says.

"Whats the map for then?" 

"That leads to mermaid cove, which is pretty secret and only a few humans venture there. On the island it's called Kokololio cove. The rest of the map is of the ocean. Right there-" She points to a section with coral and fish swimming which was next to the cove. "Is where mermaids would often go to get sea sponges and sea weed for food. We play there too." She says smiling, as if remembering a good memory.

"Thats so cool. But, why would grandmother have all this stuff still?" I ask.

"For a very special kind of an emergency. Me and your grandmother swore we'd only return if things got worse-"

"Worse?! Worse how?" I ask.

"-Worse in the ocean. Not long after we left we got word from our cousin that a war had started between our home and the north-western pod. A warrior from their pod had come and killed one of the king's daughters, and now it's a full out war. Those sea barnacles have always been  causing trouble with us, doing stupid things and irritating us. But now they went really far."

"Is the war still going on?" I ask.

"I believe so. Now our pod has destroyed their food supply and they're out for revenge. I'm not sure how long this war will last. We kept all this stuff for if the war got worse and we had to go back to the ocean to help our family and friends. It's not safe anymore." She says sadly.

"Maybe there's something i can do to help." I say.

"Hannah, there is nothing you can do to help, it's a mer war. And it certainly isn't of your business." She says.

'She's right. I'm human not Mermaid,  But something doesn't feel right about this war. Why would the north-western pod just come and kill the king's daughter.'

"Was there any reason for the north-western pod to kill the King's daughter?" I ask.

"Actually, no. Your grandmother actually said the same thing, she sensed there was some foul play going on and asked our cousin then to do some research. She never came back." She says rubbing her chin in thought.

"Well that's just it! I'll go find her and ask if she found anything out, if there is any foul play both pods have to know. Then the war will stop!" I say smiling.

"Hannah your human not mermaid. You can't just go down to the ocean and find your third cousin just like that-" she stops, thinking.

I smile at her.

"Fine. Take the potion and drink just one drop, and you have to wish hard with the right words, or else it won't work, or worse." She says.

"How worse?"

"let's just say if your tummy growls and a beef steak appears in your mind..." She says.

I frown and shiver.