FAMOUS SHIPWRECK
Chapter One
Ariel swam with Flounder behind
her. And behind the two of them, Sebastian came along, muttering to himself,
asking why he had allowed himself to be dragged into such a thing. They were
just swimming across the big canyon with the mountain ranges, where the water
was warmer than most other parts of the ocean. They said hello to everyone as
Ariel stopped to warm her fins in the warm seawater.
"Ah…how nice, isn’t it,
Flounder?" she commented.
"Ariel!" Sebastian had
caught up with them.
"Sebastian! I had no idea
you wanted to come, too."
"Well, I simply came to see
that you didn’t get into anymore trouble."
"And why would I get in
trouble?"
Sebastian rolled his eyes.
"You just exaggerate
things," she said calmly.
"Well, you could have just
said you wanted to come and listen to the gossip in the temperate. I am getting
a little warm, by the way."
"Then you get cramps if you
don’t," said Ariel.
That girl, Sebastian thought. When will she ever
act her age?
"Probably never," said
Flounder, reading Sebastian’s thoughts by his expression.
"What?"
"I said she probably never
will act her age, Sebastian."
"What are you talking about,
Flounder?"
"Uh…wasn’t that what you
were thinking?"
"I have absolutely no idea
what you’re talking about."
"Stop arguing, you
two," said Ariel, stretching herself. "Now, come on."
One might imagine that in front
of them, they saw nothing except dark water for a few inches before it became
opaque, dark water with only a white, sandy bottom, but no. Every now and then,
on these wide, muddy plains, there gleamed rocks, like jewels. Sometimes they
came across forests and forests of tangled weeds. Flowers grew in so many
different colors, which moved with the water that surrounded them. Also, there
were several coral reef communities, full of different kinds of fish and other
creatures. On one of these muddy plains, Ariel noticed something that didn’t
belong to the sea. She picked it up.
"What do you suppose this
is?" she asked Flounder and Sebastian.
"I’m not sure, Ariel,"
said Flounder.
It was perfectly round, and it
sparkled against the dark, opaque water.
"Wow."
Around its edges were what seemed
like several small pictures. Ariel wasn’t too sure of what.
"Let me see that," said
Sebastian. "Why, what could this be?" he asked.
"I’m not sure."
"Oh, look, there seems to be
more!" exclaimed Flounder.
Ariel swam toward them. She
picked up different things. Forks, dishes, a small painting, violins, jewels.
Of course, Ariel had no idea what they were, but they seemed very beautiful.
They seemed to be getting more common as she swam on.
"I don’t like this,
Ariel," said Sebastian.
"It seems like it’s leading
to something," said Ariel, not hearing him.
She swam on, faster.
"Ariel!" Sebastian
called.
"Not now, Sebastian!"
she said when she heard him.
She followed the trail. Then, it
seemed that the shining objects stopped, to be replaced by other things,
covered in mud. These were too heavy to move. Ariel gasped as she saw that in
front of her there was suddenly no more space, but instead what looked like a
cliff, except that it was covered with holes.
"Where do you suppose these
came from?" asked Flounder.
"A ship!" Ariel
exclaimed. "I’ve never seen one so big!"
"We’d better get out of
here," said Sebastian nervously.
Ariel swam up to the deck, and
even though she didn’t understand what it said, written on the side, barely
legible, was the name RMS Titanic.