13/08/2025
Story Title "The Initiation of Vivian" (PART 1)
Vivian had always felt a strange pull toward water. As a child, she would wander off to the stream near her grandmother’s house, sitting for hours, mesmerized by the ripples and the soft hum of flowing water. Her grandmother often warned her, “Child, the water has eyes. It watches those it desires.”
One rainy evening, while returning from the market, Vivian took a shortcut through the marshland. The path was eerily quiet, and the rain, though light, seemed to fall in a rhythm — like a silent drumbeat calling her name. Suddenly, she slipped and fell into a deep, still pool she had never noticed before.
Instead of sinking into mud, she found herself descending into a clear, glowing tunnel beneath the water. Her fear dissolved as a warm current wrapped around her, drawing her deeper. Soon, she emerged into a vast underwater city, illuminated by golden corals and shimmering towers carved from seashells. Strange but beautiful beings with human faces and fish-like tails moved gracefully, their eyes glowing like pearls.
A tall woman with skin as pale as moonlight approached. Her hair floated around her like strands of silk, and her voice echoed in Vivian’s mind rather than her ears.
"Welcome, Daughter of the Current. You have been chosen."
Vivian tried to speak but found herself unable to form words. The woman held out a small shell shaped like a crescent moon. When Vivian touched it, a surge of visions flooded her — stormy seas, treasures hidden in the ocean floor, and herself wearing a crown of coral.
That night, the marine queen led her to a grand hall where a pool of silver water glowed at the center. Chanting voices surrounded her as the queen dipped her into the pool. A burning sensation spread through her veins, but with it came a strange euphoria. When she rose from the water, her eyes reflected a faint turquoise glow.
"From this day," the queen’s voice resounded, "you are bound to the kingdom of the deep. You will walk the land, but the ocean will be your home. Our power will flow through you, and you will answer when we call."
Vivian awoke the next morning on the marshland path, soaked but unharmed. Yet, she knew something within her had changed. Wherever she walked, puddles seemed to ripple at her approach. And sometimes, in the dead of night, she could hear the ocean calling her name.