The Harbor

Delivery Day

     Far off the coast of a land of that of a 16th century painting, lies a bustling kingdom; families taxed to death, traitors to the king beheaded for their treason, and a hopeful young boy (the king's son in fact; the prince,) no more than five years of age. The clouds part, allowing the sunshine to dance upon his nose. He waddles down the dock, the pitter-patter of his excited little feet sending billowing echos into the bay below him. He had always been inclined to the ocean and had been found on multiple occasions laying belly down at the very end with his little finger in the water, swishing it around in a figure eight figuration. His favorite moments were those of the "pretty fishies" that would swim up to him and nibble on his fingers. He felt that they were the only real friends he'd had and for just a moment, he could escape the outside world, and become one with the breeze that brushed over the harbor.
"Ol'right ye hear boy? I have to check this week's tea... Don't get into trouble and be careful on that dock- Boy, listen to me!"
"Don't worry papa, I'm fine!"
He galloped to the end of the end of the dock and plopped down on his belly.
He began to swish his finger around in the figure eight just as he always had. A small pair of fish, (guppies he had presumed, though they were but minnows,) swam up to his hand, one circling it, the other rubbing against the middle knuckles of his fingers, as if it were a purring cat asking for an owner's affection.
"Do you understand me?" He thought to himself as he gently retracted his finger from the water and rolled onto his back, looking up into the bright blue sky. He dropped his arms so that they lengthened the entire width of the walk and began to focus on a cloud. He sat upright and put his knees to his chest wrapping his arms around them.
"Mama told me the world is changing. What does that mean?"
He threw himself back onto the dock and rolled onto his belly once more, looking up to the sky and dipping his fingers back into the harbor. He noticed a peculiar sensation coming from beneath. Bubbles? He raised his eyebrow and batted his lashes. The bubbles halted.
...
A nose?
...
EYES?
He halted, mortified.
A face, that of a child, not much younger than himself, looking directly back into his eyes of green. All he could do was stare. The face got so close, it's button  nose began to graze the very tip of his finger. The face crossed its eyes and raised a brow, looking curiously at what this could be. It fluttered it's eyes and smiled before turning around and drifting gleefully away.
Splash!
A fin?
-that of what seemed like a giant goldfish, (however light sea green in color,) emerged from the water before smacking the surface and disappearing into the fathoms below. Baffled, the Prince continued to stalk the murky lagoon. Who did that face belong to? What was that? It looked like a boy? Maybe. There was no distinguishing. It was a new concept to the him. He continued to stare, dumbfounded, into the water as if it had eyes of it's own. Suddenly, another face. This time belonging to a definite girl, around the same age. This creature looked however, distraught. She locked eyes and squinted for a few moments before spitting water directly into his eyes as if there were a target upon on his nose. He jumped back and held his eyes screaming, the salt burning more and more with every second.
"Papa!"
The king dropped his papers and jogged hastily up the dock until and cradled him, sternly reiterating,
"I said be careful boy! I can't leave you for three seconds!"
     That thing. What was it? Was it a human child? An illusion? Or was it... a fish? Sort of. It was a most bizarre circumstance to fathom. And this circumstance continued to soar through his mind everyday from that moment on. His father walked back to the dock cradling him in efforts to console him.

     By this point, the day had shifted from midday to afternoon, the sun turning the skies varying shades of warm rose. The harbor fell silent with the acception of the gentle waves and splashes beneath the boardwalk. The end of the dock dripped with the salty solvent produced of the earth.
A slow emergence of the questionable figure peaked from the foot of the berth. It's eyebrow raised. Curious, it raised its head above the water to reveal its full profile. It was a boy presumably, with hair that waved and wound into tight curls, falling just above his shoulders. He positioned his elbows onto the deck and propped his head into his hands.
"Wow"
His eyes grew wider, the sun hitting his gaze so perfectly, they reflected onto the dock. His tag along popped her head hand above the water and drug him down
           "Ow-OW Can you not?" He strained.
           "Are you insane?! That human saw us! If your father finds out, we're fried!" She pressed back.
     A glimmer from underneath the dock caught the creature's eye, and he couldn't help but ignore his friend.
     "What?"
He reached his hand out to grab the object but it was just a minnow.
     "See? You're crazy! You just tried to grab a fish cause you thought it was.. i don't even know! Leave the stuff alone, it's none of your business what goes on in the above. Look at me, I'm not worried about it."
He raised an eyebrow at her and smirked.
     "I'm sorry I can't help it. It's just so different."
A shadow fell over the land and sea and getting home became the goal of the afternoon.
     The Prince however, did not stop thinking about the creature. He spoke to his father relentlessly for hours and read fairy tales that depicted things that sounded the same. It became a mystery to him. Puzzling and Puzzling and Puzzling. It never seemed to leave his brain, no matter how many times he had shoved it back. For now, for his adolescence, it would be confined to his imagination.