Chapter SIX

After leaving Joey's house, Rana and Rohna had made straight for the water, switched on their mermaid characteristics and immediately began the search for their missing sisters. It was difficult to decide exactly where to begin the search, but Rana finally settled for starting from the crime scene itself, just in case any of the girls had come back or were lingering around the area, but when the girls arrived and caught sight of their home, they couldn't help but shed tears. Every one of them had spent their entire lives in that enclave. It had become more than just a home for them, rather it had become the center of the world, the base they all wandered back to at some point, no matter what happened. This time, they had wandered back to see it in a very different state from what they had always known it to be, and the most painful part of it was that the queen of the domain was dead. "There's no one here, Rohna. Let's go," Rana croaked, unable to look at the ruins without a pang in her heart. But Rohna, unlike her, was reluctant to give up the place so soon. She kept swimming amongst and around the ruins, ruefully identifying various places and articles that were associated with fond memories. "When I was a baby, Mother used to sit here and sing to me while I lay on her lap," Rohna reminisced, pointing at the ledge-like formation just outside the enclave which was now broken. "I know, Rohna. But let's go. We need to find the others." This was good enough reason to leave, but as she swam after her sister, she couldn't stop herself from looking back at the ruins every now and then. They swam for hours, checking all the popular haunts and likely places they felt the girl mermaids would be, but not a soul did they find. They tried the fishing grounds, the nooks and caves around Podeo island, yet there was no one in sight. They constantly called out the names of their sisters as they searched, but the best response they received total silence. "What do we do, Rana?", Rohna asked, obviously tired and exhausted. "We keep searching," Rana replied firmly. She would never consider ever giving up. Her sisters were somewhere and they had to be found. No matter what and no matter how long it took, they had to be found. By early evening, the exhaustion was beginning to seriously tell on Rohna and she was forced to cry out to her elder sister. "Rana, I'm hungry," she whined. "Oh I'd forgotten how long we've been at this. Do you want to go back to Joey's place or would you rather eat here?" "I'm not the land woman; you are." "Fine," the older mermaid shrugged and proceeded to find a spot where they could rest and sup in peace. They soon found one near a large coral and the hungry Rohna quickly went on a hunt for shrimps and anything edible while Rana took the opportunity to get a little rest which quickly developed into a doze and then a nap. "Rana! Rana!" The calls seemed to be from her dream and Rana tried to ignore them, but the call was being constantly repeated until she felt herself being violently shaken by someone. Instantly, she jumped back to reality and woke up from her slumber. "Come, Rana. Come immediately!" It was Rohna and there was no chance to ask her what the problem was since she was already swimming away at great speed. Rana had no choice but to follow. When Rohna came to a halt at an open area, Rana was surprised. "Rohna, what sort of prank is this? What's here?", the older mermaid was saying testily when Rohna asked her to calm down and look. Rana looked around her. What she saw on the seabed was a little bottle with a message in it. And it undoubtedly belonged to their youngest sister, Braana. The marking was unique and could be recognized at first glance. The little mermaid had only began to copy Lina in the art of collecting items, especially bottles with messages, but the scarcity and difficulty of finding such things coupled with her restless and creatively imaginative nature made her begin to produce these items by herself, but in a way that stood out and was very different from her sister's collection of real ones. Rana quickly dove for it and retrieved the bottle for closer inspection. She tried to read the message in it, but it was just childish gibberish that would most likely not help them in their search at all. "It's hers, right?", Rohna asked anxiously. "Of course it is, which means they've either been here or are..." "Still in the area!" Without another word and with no more thought for dinner or rest, both mermaids resumed their search in full force. No stone was left unturned, every nook was poked into and every vegetation was inspected, just in case it covered a secret entrance. It was beginning to get dark and Rana had become quite tired and was about to call off the search when Rohna startled her with a piercing scream! Instantly, she swam to where the younger mermaid was, thinking she was in danger, but the sight that she met took her breath away and brought tears to her eyes. Right inside a shallow, dark cave were all of her lost sisters, clearly anxious and frightened, but safe! ***** "Go away!", Lina shouted from inside the room - the only words she had ever said since Joey began his siege outside. He had tried everything he knew and could do to try to get her to come out. After Lisha had said those words about them having feelings for each other, Lina had covered her face in shame for several minutes before fleeing upstairs and locking herself in with the baby. The more Joey swore that he didn't believe a word of what Lisha had said, the more she believed the exact opposite. She just couldn't bring herself to look at him ever again without dying of embarrassment! Being even in the same room with him or hearing his voice made her heart race so fast that she could barely breathe except when someone else was in the room to distract her thoughts and remove his attention from her. She had never fallen in love with anyone before now and in her limited experience, shadowed by the norms of her culture, she believed that it was the man who did all the loving and worked to convince the girl to love him back. She was mortified and embarrassed to find that her case was different and that she might have fallen for Joey probably at the same time he had fallen for her, maybe even earlier! She wished she could only turn back the hands of time and make him the only love-stricken one and then her heart would no longer race and skip several beats whenever she heard his voice. "I'll stay here until you come out," Joey threatened, "even it takes forever." "Then I won't ever come out," Lina fired back as defiantly as she could. Joey sighed and sat down in front of the locked door. The fact that she was running from him was something he couldn't explain or understand, but he hated it nonetheless because it made him hate himself too. He could not bear to think that someone he loved and adored so much could not endure his presence. It was maddening. It made him want to tear his hair off! Suddenly, there was a loud knock at the front door downstairs. Joey jumped to his feet immediately. "There's someone at the door. Let me go see who it is," he said half to himself and half to her before rushing to the stairs. Lina didn't say a word. She half wished that whoever had come to see him would just take him and drive away with him! When Joey reached the door, the only person he could think of who would most likely be calling at this time was Lisha. But when he opened the door, he was surprised to find a flood suddenly rush past him into the living room! The noise was massive and their presence filled every inch of the place as they jumped and screeched like babies. "Sorry," he heard someone say and he turned to see Rana smiling at him, "they're just celebrating their liberation. They can be like that sometimes." Joey nodded in understanding, but he couldn't help but keep one eye on his new PlayStation to make sure that it was safe and in one piece. "Where's Lina... and Lisha?", Rana asked. "Uh... Lisha isn't back yet. Lina is upset... upstairs, I mean." Rana, fortunately, didn't see it as anything other than an innocent tongue slip. She simply nodded and drew closer to him. "Please I need you to keep playing host for a while more. I have to return to find a suitable home for the girls since our last one was completely destroyed beyond recognition." "Sure. You guys are my family. You're always welcome here," Joey said. Rana noticed how dull and usually not lively he was. "Thank you so much, Joey. But is everything okay? You look... down," she said, giving a searching look into his eyes. "Oh no. I'm fine. It's just... the whole situation today has got me a little... somehow." "I appreciate your concern for us, Joey. You've been more than a brother." Joey simply nodded as she gave him a quick hug, not bothering to explain to her that the situation he meant was a different one from the one she was thinking. "Now, let me go see my little prince!", she giggled and flew off to find her baby.