A huge empire... far beneath the waves ... somewhere in the midst of mountains, canyons, plains and valleys

A powerful tribe of aquatic creatures... their heads and upper bodies resembling those of humans,
their tails and lower bodies similar to the tail of a fish
HER team won the annual sports contest
The emperor asked her what she wanted
She wished to visit the surface of the ocean
Only the males in the tribe did that once in a while and that too, as part of their security duty
However, the emperor would never dishonour his commitment
He kept his word and her team was permitted to go
They left in a capsule similar to a small submarine, carrying provisions
It had always been their dream to visit the ocean surface and now it was coming true
They reached a shallow spot and the capsule was securely anchored
The females - mermaids - as we call them - were allowed to go out and enjoy the waves
The males would stay back
The mermaids began to play with the waves
It was fun...
And then.... a high and mighty wave swept HER away ...
She was stranded on the shore... all alone...
She looked around and didn't find any of her friends...
But she found a strange creature whose upper body was similar to that of the males of her own tribe though he had no tail...
He saw her and came closer...
Communicating with him wasn't easy but they used signs...
His house was nearby
Thankfully she could breathe on the surface, but walking was clearly beyond her purview
He carried her to his house...
She got accustomed to the conditions
Everyday he would carry her to the shore
They would take his small boat and look for her capsule
Slowly, he taught her his language and she taught him her language...
He was a loner and once a week he would visit the nearby town to buy whatever he needed, and he rarely had any visitors...
And a few weeks later, she located her capsule...
The guards - the males of her tribe saw her invariably at the same time...
They carried her back to the capsule and... he was their guest of honour...
They were warm, hospitable hosts
He enjoyed the meal, it was sumptuous
There were numerous dishes whose contents were all supplied by the ocean
Then they showed him around...
The strange engine room, the provisions store and finally ...their treasure
Ohh.. Goodness...!!! gold and silver,
Opal, sapphire, emerald, aquamarines, ruby, amazonstone, amethyst, pearls, rose quarts...
you name it and it was there... actually heaps of them...
Their glint and glitter blinded his vision and his conscience...
The commander of the capsule gave him a bagful of stones as a token of appreciation...
That would have been enough to make him a multimillionaire
But he had other ideas...
He told them that he wanted to give them a treat and they gladly accepted
He visited the nearby town that evening and bought what he needed
Next day, he prepared lavish meals in his own house and carried the containers to the capsule... along with his own separate tiffin
The food was delicious, the magnanimous creatures loved it and praised it ... and then... all of them fell unconscious ...even the mermaid...
He rose and checked everybody... he had to be sure that the drug had done its job...
It was a powerful anaesthetic, the quantity added was large, and there was no way any of them could have survived...
He went over to the treasure room, took out half a dozen gunny bags from his haversack and began to fill them with gems, crystals, gold and silver
He filled the bags and closed their mouths
They were heavy and with great difficulty he managed to carry them to the main hatch
...
He tried to open the hatch but his attempts failed
He kicked, knocked and banged hard...
A veteran sailor, he knew a lot about hatches and doors
He tried every possible trick... but the hatch remained closed...
He began to suffocate...
And then he heard a voice...
It was my fault...I'm the culprit... I never thought a visit to the surface would have such disastrous consequences...

The mermaid had regained consciousness, but she barely spoke a few words and stopped breathing...
No one was going to rescue him from the capsule...
He had killed over a dozen innocent souls...
And now it was his turn to die
He would die... with those bags full of precious stones, gold and silver in his lap...

Image credit - Rightful owner

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