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The sea yelled.
This wasn’t unusual, the sea yelled every time one of her children on top of the seas fell in but the yell wasn’t full of sadness or rage, it would be a yell of welcoming like when a merchant returned home to their family that was incredibly happy that thought they’d never return.
But this time was different, the sea wasn’t yelling with the warm, welcoming tone she usually had, no. This time she was yelling from rage.
A sea spirit, young in the eyes of the sea yet old in the eyes of humans watched as the waves above moved. He loved seeing the way they swayed, carrying the weight of merchant and pirate ships alike. The sea’s lukewarm water wrapped itself around it like a blanket. The sea had always been like a blanket to her children, keeping them warm in cold places, cool in warm places, being both at the same time when the temperature was right. He loved it.
He had came in to this world a long time ago, 600 years ago in fact. He was a lot younger than other sea spirits, it was the reason it rarely talked to them. In the eyes of the sea he was young. In the eyes of the humans that lived above the seas, he was old. Sea spirits aged differently than humans did it noticed. Humans took forever to even get to a year old, he had became 600 at the time a human would have became 6.
The spirit had red hair that was spiked all around, instead of the usual attire the other sea spirits wore, he wore a tattered shirt and shorts. It also had on his head, goggles with a crack in the left lens. He had found them on the ocean floor, it assumed a sailor had dropped them on their voyage. “Jaggy” the ocean had named it.
It soon noticed the ocean yelling. Not in the good way either, in a bad way. Like someone had just drained all the water from the seas. It shook him to his core, it had never felt the sea this angry, especially in what had been named the South Blue.
He raised from his spot on the ocean floor and set out to find out what was causing the ocean to yell in rage. It took a while but it soon found the cause of the problem. A fruit, it had grey circles with jagged edges coming from the sides of it, what looked like a yellow string wrapped around it and came from the top being jagged on one end and curling on the other.
Bad
Evil
Disgusting
The sea said, he reached out to grab it but the ocean suddenly pushed him away.
Bad, do not touch
The ocean said. It hadn’t ever been good at listening, to the other sea spirits or to even the ocean.
He reached back to the fruit, trying to resist the oceans force attempting to push him back. It’s hands finally got a hold of it yet the ocean pushed it right back out, almost cutting its hands in the process.
The ocean kept trying to keep it away from him but he kept going for it eventually his hands got back on it.
“I wonder what it tastes like” It thought. Quickly before the ocean could knock it out of its hands he ate it. After it entered his mouth it was filled with immediate regret, it tasted so bad. Bitter, it thought the word was.
He swallowed and the ocean’s attempts to remove it ceased, the waves went still and the sun stopped shining through.
“I can’t breathe” the spirit realized and immediately started to panic. The oceans waves and currents returned but this time, they were rough waves, no longer were they the water that splashed playfully against rocks, no. They were waves that would wipe out towns.
He felt his vision started to fade and his throat started to fill with water. “What was happening” the spirit thought panicked, “Why is the ocean attacking me?”
The ocean spoke.
You betrayed me.
That was the last thing it heard before it blacked out.
”C’mon kid wake up!”
The spirits eyes opened, its vision blurry but it could still make out three figures around him. One of them had their hands on his chest, pushing on it in a repeated motion.
It tried to make words but its mouth wouldn’t do it. “Thank god he’s alive.” One of them said.
They sat him up and he realized what they were, humans. Its eyes widened in realization. It was above the sea and it had betrayed the sea.
”Kid why were you even out this far?” One of the humans asked but it didn’t answer, it’s mind reeling from the sea saying it betrayed her.
”Oi kid answer me” One of them said trying to get the spirit(was he still a spirit now?)to answer them.
“I…” It started, “I betrayed her.” It’s mouth automatically said, like it was a phrase he had said a million times.
”Who’d you betray that’d leave you in the open sea?”
He stayed silent before answering, “The sea.”
The trio stared at him before chuckling a bit, “Yeah okay, what’s your name kid and what island is your home so we can take y’a there.”
Its mouth opened to speak, “I’m -“ Jaggy. his name wouldn’t come out of his mouth, he tried again, “My name is -“ the name still wouldn’t come out. He looked down at the floor of the ship, it couldn’t say its name, it couldn’t say its name. He truly had betrayed the sea. “I don’t have a name.” It answered and it was true. He had betrayed the sea and lost his name in the process.
“Where’re you from then?”
The sea. The words didn’t come out of his mouth either. Now it knew trying again was useless and pointed to an island in the distance that he could barely see, “That one.”
The men nodded, “We’ll give you a ride there and drop you off.” He nodded and muttered a thank you. They started off onto the direction of the island it had pointed at. He stared off the side of the boat and looked at its reflection in the water.
What was a sea spirit without the sea? A spirit no more is what it was.
You betrayed me
”I betrayed you.” The no longer sea spirit said.