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He would never live towering high up above the Sea instead of beside it .
And neither , Arif decided , would he . He would rather be half-floating in his own home than standing on dry ground in mid-air . Just as quickly as his heart had sunk , an idea buoyed him up again .
* * *
That evening , at dusk , Arif climbed the seawall .
The tide had come in and the Sea surface wasn ’ t far from the top of the wall . Arif set afloat a banana-leaf boat filled with rice , flowers and incense sticks , sprinkled with some prawn crackers from the shop : a gift to the Sea Queen .
Then he climbed back down , crawled onto Kakek ’ s lap ready for his story , and waited for the Sea Queen to respond to his offering .
* * *
Days passed , and then weeks , as storm season drew closer . Officials in hard hats were hanging about , and the rumours about moving to higher ground in the tower blocks were quickly becoming a reality .
Arif was desperate . Why wasn ’ t the Sea Queen answering his plea ? Why was she silent ? There was only one way to find out : he had to see her for himself .
This time , Arif waited past sunset , until the orb of the full Moon hung in the sky . Then he clambered up the seawall and plunged into the opaque waters wearing the forbidden colour : a deep aqua‐green t‐shirt .
Arif felt elated bobbing on the surface between Sea and sky , with only the moonlight illuminating his way . But soon , storm clouds eclipsed the Moon and the water grew choppier . He tried to stay within reach of the seawall , but the force
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of the tide pulled him out further and further away from the point where Land meets Sea .
* * *
Arif felt weightless as he sank down , down , down , through tangles of seaweed and coral . On the seabed , the water was clear and even the moonlight seemed to filter through . How did he get here ? How was he breathing ?
Through the rippling fingers of seaweed , she shimmered in the distance . A beautiful half-woman , half-fish in a flowing aqua-green sarong . She held his banana-leaf boat offering in her cupped palms .
Arif felt a thrill surge through him . He had arrived at the Sea Queen ’ s dwelling . But was he welcome ? Kakek ’ s words rippled in his mind : those that anger her by wearing aqua-green never return to tell the tale .
Arif attempted to move closer to the curtain of seaweed between them .
‘ You risk crossing yet another boundary ?’ the Sea Queen ’ s voice boomed all around him although her mouth did not move . ‘ You should know your limits .’
Arif shrunk back . He nodded , wordlessly . He understood that he shouldn ’ t be there . The Sea might not spare him .
‘ Your Land , your cities , creep further and further into my domain . And now you cross the seawall too ?’
Somehow Arif wasn ’ t frightened ; he was mesmerised by the Sea Queen , both powerful and vulnerable at the same time .
‘ You understand me ,’ her voice whirled around him , strong but gentle , as if she could read his mind .
Arif opened his mouth but was unable to
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speak underwater . He nodded again . He did understand . He understood that by swallowing up his coastal village and sinking the city , the Sea Queen was only reclaiming the space that humankind had built up and used to try and govern the Sea .
In that moment , he also understood that it was bigger than him , bigger than his home , this long tussle between Land and Sea . Land had overstepped and , for now , it was time for it to retreat and give in to Sea .
‘ This won ’ t appease me ,’ she said as the banana-leaf boat offering floated back to him through the seaweed curtain . ‘ But you have lived in harmony with Sea . Here is a gift for when you dwell closer to sky .’
Arif reached for the banana-leaf boat as it floated towards him . Inside was a conch shell . He grabbed and held it tightly .
* * *
‘ Again ,’ Arif murmured sleepily . Kakek began the legend of the Sea Queen .
Up high on the twenty-seventh floor of his new home , he could no longer hear the waves crashing against the seawall outside . But , if Arif pressed his conch shell up to his ear , like a telephone , he could hear the whoosh of the waves once again .
‘… so that Sea and city , water and Land , can once again live harmoniously side by side …’ lulled Kakek ’ s voice .
In the meantime , outside , sheets of monsoon rain cascaded down onto the rooftops of the tower blocks , as if Sky was pushing back down on Land that was building itself upwards .
The end
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Illustration : Sophie Bryant-Funnell |
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