‘ Ato his grandpa .
‘ Always again and again with you ,’ laughed Kakek , with his gummy smile . Arif lay his head on one of the mattresses that lined the walls of the room they shared with Ibu and Ayah , who were downstairs closing up the shop .
Outside , waves crashed against the seawall ; the barricade built to tame the rising Sea and prevent Arif ’ s village kampong from becoming a watery underworld . The whooshing sound had kept Arif company and lulled him to sleep ever since he was born , just like Kakek ’ s story .
Kakek took a breath and began telling the legend of Ratu Laut Selatan , the Sea Queen , once again .
‘ The Sea Queen governs the waves and the tides from her dwelling deep in the heart of the ocean ….’
Arif closed his eyes .
‘… if she is unhappy with humankind , she can harness the storms and unleash the flood waters . If she is happy with us , she can conjure fish and other bounty from the seabed , up to the surface .’
Arif thought of his dinner . Grilled fish wrapped in a banana leaf – a gift from the Sea Queen .
‘ On the night of the full Moon , she is said to appear at the surface as a beautiful half-woman-half-fish , shimmering in her seaweed-like sashes of deep aqua‐green silk .’
‘ Have you ever seen her , Kakek ?’ said Arif .
‘ Only those that have dared to wear her sacred colour of aqua-green have seen her … and they never return to tell the tale .’
‘ In their place we fishermen send an offering out to Sea . Our floating gifts appease the Sea Queen , so that Sea and city , water and Land , can once again live harmoniously . Side by side …’
Slowly , Arif gave in to the pull of sleep and floated away .
* * *
Only one or two customers had been by the shop to buy a pack of gum , or a few prawn crackers from the big red tins at the front . Arif preferred waiting in the alleyway between the shop and the seawall , where he could hear the Sea .
He liked to measure his height up against the seawall . The watermark from last year ’ s floods was now at his chest . At the time , the water had only reached up to his waist . That meant the wall was sinking as the floods grew higher , both of them now outpacing how much Arif grew each year .
Arif heard rumbling and sloshing coming down the alleyway . Finally , someone to talk to ! The water vendor pushed his heavy wheelbarrow of jerry cans to deliver around the village . Despite being on the edge of the Sea , it was nearly impossible to get clean water without him .
The vendor could tell Arif was bored . ‘ Don ’ t worry , you won ’ t have to look after the shop for much longer . Monsoons are coming .’
Arif nodded . Every year , they packed up the shop and took it upstairs , ready to weather the monsoons that halfswallowed their village .
Although Arif knew it was bad for business , he secretly liked it when the rains gathered in their lowland area . He liked that the Sea was no longer behind the wall and that he , too , became half-human-half-fish , moving waist-deep through floodwater and transporting goods above his head to keep them dry .
‘ The trouble is , this year , you might have to shut the shop for good ,’ said the vendor , as he unloaded the shop ’ s water supply .
Arif blinked in confusion .
‘ Haven ’ t you heard ? The authorities want us all out .’ He heaved as he lifted up the cans . ‘ The floods will be worse than ever . They want to move us permanently . From the lowlands – to somewhere up there !’
He pointed and Arif looked up at the skyscrapers , to the part of the city that stretched up tall and met the sky . It was right next door , and yet it felt like a world away .
‘ Even though it ’ s all that building upwards that ’ s pushing down and causing our lowlands to sink .’ The vendor sighed .
Arif ’ s heart sank to what seemed like the bottom of the Sea . Did Ibu and Ayah know about this ? Did Kakek ?
Kakek would never allow it . He was a fisherman . Seawater ran through his veins .
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