• I. The Cold Waters War

    I was chosen to fight for my homeland, a quaint country known as Eilo. It was all silly actually, but there hadn’t been a World War in such a long time and we all needed something to preoccupy our thoughts. Who really wanted to fight over a fish anyway? As it turned out, everyone did.
    The clouds above us went on strike and shunned us all. Without their pluvious gifts water disappeared from the earth. It took awhile for scientists to create an alternative, synthesized water. By the time syntha-water was able to maintain both human and wildlife needs many species had died out. Many more had a serious injury to their population. The Koi fish was one of these. Eventually, there were so few that you could list them on a single sheet of paper. The media gave each one a name and a biography. Everyone had a list in their home. Slowly but surely, the names on the list disappeared, all but one.
    Her name was Cold Waters. She had lived on one of the newly founded Cherokee countries for all of her life. Nations fought to the death just for the chance to hold her in their borders.
    My people, the Eilons, won the war. I was their leader. It took many years, but we were now beginning our voyage homeward with our prize, Cold Waters.


    2. Straying Off Course

    I do not remember exactly when I noticed it, but over time, I began to realize that no matter how hard we tried to stay on track we always strayed off of course. The person who calculated our bearing found each morning we were closer to the East where the Otros Sea was found.
    After several months of traveling we woke to find three of our members gone. There was a trail of their footprints leading away from our camp.
    We all followed them with suspense building in our chest. The trail ended abruptly on the banks of the Liel River. There was no sign of distress and there was no set of footprints on the other side of the river.
    I gasped and fell to my knees. It was as if our three missing members had gone into the Liel River on their own accord.
    We all believed the sea goddess Hyperi must have been the cause of this. She was known for her anger and vengeful nature,
    Before we settled down for the night we sent up a burnt offering to Hyperi, hoping and pleading she would stop the misfortune she was placing on us all.


    3. Eilo

    All while these calamities were plaguing us, life went on as usual in Eilo.
    My cat Ginseng was moping around my empty home with his ears dipped down in depression. She aimlessly chased a small khaki sparrow that was hopping about.
    My boyfriend was leaning against an old ash tree a couple feet from Ginseng. His eyes welled with tears as he thought of me.
    Everyone else, however, was going on with their daily routine while not being bothered one bit by our absence.


    4. Hyperi’s Wrath

    The next morning our camp and a village nearby was devastated by a large tidal wave that flooded everything.
    My group and I walked to the nearest city with the surviving villagers. Once we all safely got there we noticed something. Cold Waters was missing.
    The city let us stay in a shelter. They provided us with food and other supplies then sent us on our way. We all moved slower than normal because we had lost our only reason for this journey, the last Koi fish, Cold Waters. The same fish the world had gone to war for. The same fish that would have given us glory and honor whenever we returned home.
    One night while fishing on the shore of the Tabiet Ocean I had the reel in my hand and the line jumped suddenly. I imagined it would be a large fish with silver scales that rivaled the moon with its glow. However, it was the exact opposite.
    The first things I saw was a strand of color jumping out of the ocean like a slender ribbon in the wind. I looked again carefully. The fish on my line was Cold Waters.
    The fish flew and expanded like smoke diffusing through the air. I looked up and no longer saw a fish. There was a woman with orange-gold hair and a dress that flowed like water. Before me was Hyperi, the goddess of water.
    “How dare you hold me hostage for so long.” She said with fierce anger that bubbled in her porcelain throat.


    5. Mirien

    Hyperi lifted her hands with fury. My world went dark and turned in circles.
    Disoriented we awoke in a vast field of strawberries. The field was dotted with hot air balloons. On the horizon we could see a large house, hoping that whoever lived there was sympathetic and would take us in.
    As we approached we saw an elderly couple sitting in rocking chairs on the porch. They both greeted us with a wave.
    They gave us shelter and told us stories about their life. It turned out that they were the most famous hot air balloon famers in all of Mirien, the country that Hyperi had thrust us to.
    Mirien is opposite the globe of our homeland. Everyone became somber with that knowledge. We were now further away from home than when we had started our journey. All of our travels had been in vain.
    The old man consoled us. He said he would travel with us in one of his many hot air balloons. He smiled and told us he had never left Mirien before.
    “It’s going to be a real adventure!” He said happily. We all sighed because we had tasted enough of ‘adventure’.
    In the following weeks the old man gathered needed supplies for our journey. A few days before we planned to set off, my group became restless.
    “The old man will slow us down.” One said.
    “Every moment is time we could be spending at home.” Another held. I realized what they said was true.
    That night after the sun set we snuck quietly into the darkened fields and took off for home in one of the biggest hot air balloons.


    6. Back Home in Eilo

    It took a good while to reach our destination. But the journey was smooth and without complications.
    The day we landed the balloon and walked into Eilo, not one of us could stop smiling. It seemed like no time had passed at all. Familiar faces ran from their thresholds and greeted us with cheerful words and embraces. We were all in a state of bliss that will never be matched.
    When I got to my home I found Ginseng nursing a handful of newborn kittens. They all purred and were happy to see me, even though they had never met me.
    And not one person ever asked why we didn’t bring back Cold Waters. They were just glad we were finally home.