39. Mermaids | Beyond the Firmament: Tales From the Cosmos

Beyond The Firmament

Tales From The Cosmos

39. Mermaids

- Written by Gift C Enyadike Jr

You humans, to your credit, planted yourselves on your moon and are still taking steps to take Mars. There's nothing there for you, so maybe... don't, or do. I do not judge, but I will laugh and ask the Father's forgiveness. 

But there's somewhere else in this solar system of yours that you are very obsessed with. A moon belonging to the planet you call Jupiter, the fifth and largest, named after a so-called "King" of so-called "gods"... Hmm...

You call this moon Europa. We who know call it Fluux (Flow), for at one point it was almost entirely water, held in place by the sheer magnetic power of its core. Stopuus found this moon fascinating and made it her own. The life she created was entirely aquatic, of course. 

The sapient beings she created are known as the Gil. They were humanoid in shape from the waist up and piscine from the waist down. This description is as close as we could get to perceiving her appearance. She decided to follow the Da Vaada's example and start with two, so that they too would be fruitful and multiply.

They were a playful pair, and she played with them. She spoiled them, imposing no restrictions on them at all and granting their every request, one of which was to be given the ability to fly. She taught them many things. Things I have taught you. Things I never can. 

Then came the Paadlan in their true form, and the Gil felt a great fear, which they had never known before. They used the gift of flight given to them to escape their world. The woman flew into Jupiter and was destroyed by the planet's infamous storms. The man flew further out into space and was lost in the vacuum. 

They left behind their offspring, and she would not lose them too, so she hardened, not just in demeanour but in essence. She transformed into the very icy crust that would come to define this moon, sealing it from the Paadlan and all others, and keeping her children safely locked inside.

I know not of the Gil's current status, only that Stopuus' ice will not hold forever. Da Vaada will not allow it. 

I don't need to tell you how he feels about those who run and hide.