Ocean Tales: A Cliche in the Niche

There was an underwater town named Opal Ocean Bay where the seaweed swayed with the current and caressed the sides of the bustling landmarks. A quaint landmark, Tavern in the Cavern was situated in the South East region of the Bay. A solace for Opal Ocean Bay’s marine citizens to enjoy a night of serene sounds. It was a safe hub, to keep away from the dangers that lurked within the ocean. Performances varied from the whale quartet, Holy Humpbacks, or from the duo, Sensational Squids, to the harmonic sensations of the punk rock band the Rocky Reefs.

The bioluminescent jellyfish, Joy and Jamie were the number one spectators of Tavern in the Cavern. Joy would slow dance to the same rhythm to the Holy Humpbacks as they sang their woe-some melodies. Joy and Jamie made glittering stars across the ocean floor, like a night sky. Lining themselves as musical notes each time a Holy Humpback had sang their melody.

Tavern in the Cavern was enormous and could fit twenty whales. The cavern was known for selling the purest water without a hint of salt, which shimmered aquamarine. The culinary hotspot was made for creatures who enjoyed watching live music and performances. For Wavey, he liked going to the cavern to get away from all the disastrous bullying he suffered from other citizens. But he couldn't escape from all the bullying.

“There they go at it again,” as Wavey anxiously watched Joy and Jamie wiggle to their heart’s desire to Rocky Reefs’ latest song, “My Hallowed Insides Turned Hollow When I Met an Eye Ball.” Wavey did not understand how Jamie and Joy both had the confidence to dance like no one was watching. Wavey plodded in the area which served scrumptious drinks.

The Rocky Reefs were made up of Lobsy, Turt, Praw and Crabby. Lobsy, a lobster, dug his claws to the microphone and roared the lyrics to the aforementioned song, 

The soul sleeps in stories,

All the while in the morning,

Eyes released my soul,

I was once hallow.

The soul sings in secrets,

Keep it safe from serpents,

Eyes entrapped my soul,

It has turned hollow.~”  

They liked to make dramatic songs with angst ridden lyrics. Crabby, a crab was shredding his guitar and doing the crab stance, relishing in the heaviness of the song. Joy pulsated bulbs of light as Crabby jumped in crab stance. Praw, a prawn, was at the right wing of the stage, looking down at his bass, his tail thumping to the beat of the song. While Turt, a turtle, held tightly with his flippers onto the drumsticks, banged away at the drums making the band synchronise in time. 

Wavey heard two turtle twins, Delilah and Maria talking about the song riffing away. 

“This song speaks to me at the deepest recesses of my shell. The flow is so good. Can’t believe their inspirations are from humans.” Delilah chirped.

Maria added, “They’re on the next level. Can you believe their song titles are so long? I can’t remember them all!” Wavey remembered all the song titles as he listened to them everyday and sang them when he was swimming alone. But he didn't say anything because he didn’t want to sound like a nerd. Deep inside the current of Wavey’s mind, he wanted to have friends so he had to let them know that he was a fan, somehow.

Maria and Delilah both looked at Wavey and didn’t say anything to him either. After knowing Wavey was listening they looked away where Maria spoke in a softer voice which was still audible.

There was a shriek from Jamie as he said, “Yoowee.” When the song finished. 

Wavey heard the blur of Crabby’s voice as the crab screamed, “Ya’ll ready for a story?” Lobsy interjected, “It’s story time kids,” he said jokingly as he began the story.

“Let me tell you about the stingray and the seahorse,” The crowd cheered.

Crabby added, “A story about trust, baggage and crossing the ocean,” The crowd cheered even louder.

“The stingray is chilling out, and you know? He sees a seahorse carrying his eggs, wanting to get to the other side of the ocean.”

Crabby went up to his microphone and added,”As you know, the man seahorse carries the eggs.” The crowd cheered and laughed.

Lobsy continued, “‘So the stingray goes to the seahorse, ‘Hey, why do you hold the eggs?’ 

The seahorse says, ‘I don’t know man, I guess I’m a family man. I just hold onto problems, like you holding back from buzzing me.’ 

The stingray goes, ‘You look semi-trustworthy, I won’t hurt you.’ As the stingray swims closer to the seahorse.

‘Then, I’ve made a good friend,’ the seahorse nods.“

The crowd roared louder and Jamie let out another, “Yowee.”

“The seahorse has more to say, he then goes, ‘Tell you what’ll make you my friend. Take me across the ocean will ya? ”

Then the stingray goes, ‘It’s that story we all know. You know, the scorpion and the frog?’

“The seahorse jumps on the stingray’s back and the two cross the ocean.” Lobsy roars.

Crabby interjected again to say, “So now the stingray is holding back more than just his sting, that’s trust for you.”

Lobsy, always in the spotlight, wanted to end with an inspirational note, “It’s kind of what we aspire to be, seahorses carrying their emotional baggage, and stingrays holding back their grudges and releasing it in music. That’s how you cross an ocean.” The crowd cheered as Lobsy finished the story. 

Crabby shouted over the wave of marine sounds, “The next song’s off our most recent album, “Is this the Ocean we’re Seeing, or is it the Sea?” Sink into it, if you haven’t already.” As Turt started thrashing the drums and a whirlpool began in motion in the mosh pit. “Get that whirlpool going!” Crabby screeched heavily into the microphone. The crowd followed the current and started swimming in a circular motion. 

Some finned creatures started angry-fin pointing as Lobsy spitted lines, 

“The grit in your eyes is all that I can bear,

The gleam of your claw is a risk to my life, 

I swear,

I gotta punch like a bear,

My life is in my care.” 

As the squeaky vocals of Lobsy raptured, KO’d by the Mantis Shrimp.

Wavey reflected on what the Rocky Reefs had to say about instincts, trust and friendship. “I wish I had friends that held back their judgements. I’m always getting the, ‘Hey Wavey you’ll eat us all. Or get away from him, what a phoney shark,’ He even thought about if it was that easy to strike up random conversations with sea-folk to make friends?

Wavey looked over to Maria and Delilah, and then looked back at Old Woldo, a seal and the cavern’s owner. Old Woldo gave Wavey a wink. How did he know what Wavey was thinking? Maria and Delilah were chattering. Wavey overheard, “I’ve heard that he hogs the mosh pit…” Maria said. Delilah was nodded her head in agreement and said cautiously not wanting Wavey to hear,

“I’m more scared of being alive than showing off my dance moves…” Delilah thought out loud.

“But Wavey hasn’t eaten Turt yet.” Maria mentioned to Delilah. They kept chattering away as Woldo brought Wavey’s attention back to the aquamarine drinks. 

“What will it be this time, Wavey?” Old Woldo asked gruffly.

“Ah yeah, Old Woldo. I saw you wink, was it because I don’t have any friends?”

“You need friends, Wavey. I’m not one to judge, but sitting here while Rocky Reefs are performing? You need to get out there more!”

“Yeah, I love the Rocky Reefs. But whenever I get in that pit, it’s like the ocean parts.”

“You get in there Wavey, but don’t you go starting any stage dives. That sort of fanatics aren’t welcomed in my cavern.” Old Woldo reminded Wavey.

Stage dives were the most dangerous in Wavey’s eyes. Wavey was always worried that no one would catch him and he would beach out into the mosh pit.

“Yeah, I’ve heard you banned that squid. What was his name again?” Wavey questioned.

“Forgot his name, but he was one of ‘em strawberry squids. Never letting that little runt in here again.” As Woldo picked at his whiskers. Old Woldo had only banned stage diving to keep his patrons safe. Old Woldo continued, “That little guy, with big baggage you know?  Anyway, enough about the small talk, what will it be this time Wavey?”

“hmmm… let me think… I’ll take, I’ll take the Sea in the Shell, as many as my spots, Old Woldo.” Wavey had white spots, that were too many to count. For Wavey was a Whale Shark, the largest shark in town. Wavey loved listening to punk rock music. But he was insecure about himself. Not knowing whether he truly fit in with the crowd. He was straight edge, not really starting any whirlpools, or ocean parts. Wavey added, “Yeah, those whirlpools can be brutal. I can’t imagine keeping up to everyone’s swimming pace to go round and round each other! Those ocean parts too. How do they know when to do them?” Wavey thought out loud to Old Woldo. 

Old Woldo gasped, “You don’t get up to any of those things Wavey, that’s what I like about you.”

“Like you always say, ‘To have fun, is to sink into the music,’” Wavey repeated back to Old Woldo.

“That’s the attitude. The drink’s perfect for a shrimptarian like you, Wavey.” Old Woldo grunted with glee, “Are you going to get up and sing tonight?” Sea in a Shell was a beverage that could make its consumer sing as lyrical as a mermaid. 

“More like, am I going to hit the mosh pit?” Wavey murmured to Old Woldo, wishing he had the confidence to sing to the magnitude of his size.“ You’ll be hearing me sing one of their upbeat tracks of Rocky Reefs’ “Ocean Steps.” Wavey was self conscious because whenever he sang, the creatures swam away from him and left a big gap on the dance floor.  

“Then you can hear my voice, Old Waldo.”

“Never wanted to hear your voice, only wanted to see you have a great time,” Replied Old Waldo as he got out a shell and cut a stem of coral to place in Wavey’s drink as he poured the purest water in the shell. “There you go, as I said before, there’s a drop of plankton, just the way you like it.” Old Woldo passed the glass to Wavey and as his flipper reached Wavey’s fin, he whispered to Wavey, “The downside of keeping you satisfied is because of your diet! I’m running out of places to find plankton.” Old Woldo said as he was cleaning the empty glass.

As Old Woldo finished talking to Wavey, he muttered under his breath, “Can’t get enough plankton in the Aquarium Coves anymore. All because of plankton picking. Like those whales say. They’ve heard ‘em humans go strawberry picking. Now there’s plankton picking in Topaz Grove. How am I supposed to run this place?”

Just as Old Woldo said this, Maria said to Delilah, “Did you hear that?” Anxious about the fact that Old Woldo was struggling to run the cavern.

“Hear what? All I heard was me jamming out to Rocky Reefs.” Delilah said quietly as she turned to Maria and looked sideways to croon her neck close to her shell.

“Delilah, Old Woldo is having struggles running the cavern!” Maria let out in a panic.

“He shouldn’t have banned stage diving then.” Delilah said blankly. “The consequences of it are quite dire.”  

“And now there’s a shortage of plankton. The cavern will be shut if no more sea-folk are coming. Then we’ll never see any live gigs again!”

“Then Rocky Reefs will never perform at Opal Ocean Bay.” Delilah said in a panic. Delilah was always anxious about predators. She always thought about the doom of life, as if it were her destiny that she would be eaten by a shark. Which was why she always spent her days listening to the sounds of the Rocky Reefs in her shell. Reflecting on the brutal nature of life. If sea-folk asked about her connection with the Rocky Reefs, she would answer that their music channelled her struggles into a healthy outlet. She had the lyrics carved into her shell, across the top and along the rim.

“Or even the other artists like Holy Humpbacks, and Sensational Squids. We need to bring in more sea folk here. We’ll have to go plankton picking to make new friends. That’s where everyone goes these days.” Maria was the more outgoing of the two. Maria liked all types of music, from classical sounds of Holy Humpbacks to punk rockers, the Rocky Reefs to the pop-inspired duo, Sensational Squids. She was more concerned about being able to see live gigs, and dancing on the sea floor to Sensational Squids. Maria wanted to bring in new sea-folk to the cavern so that Old Woldo could continue running the live gigs each night.

“That’s a swimming idea Maria! But you know me, I can’t veer too far away. My shell is my happy place.”  

“It’s in Topaz Grove. I don’t know how to get there.” Maria said, as she looked quite distraught. 

Delilah had thoughts of, ‘The deep blue ocean will swallow me whole. It's inevitable that a shark will come and eat us all,’ circled around her head. Delilah managed to finally say to Maria, “I’m afraid to go, I tell you and… I’ve never heard of the place.” Delilah wiggled her neck to try and get closer to her shell.

As Wavey heard this he knew exactly where Topaz Grove was, he went there every summer with his family. “Do you need a navigator?” Wavey called out to the turtle twins.

There was a slight hesitation in Maria’s voice. She looked a Delilah, and then Wavey, “We do want to go, but not with you. You’ll eat us!” She screeched as she washed the gleam off her sea shells that were adorning her own outer shell. Maria was thinking of Delilah, as Delilah was scared of sharks.

Wavey started doubting himself, he thought, ‘do I really look that scary?’ Along the thought, he blurted out loud, “Do you think I’m one of those sharks? I’m a shrimptarian, I don't eat turtles. Only plankton and shrimp.” The two looked at him dumbfounded, Wavey continued, “Which is why I asked you to join because plankton’s my favourite food.”

Maria said harshly, “Why do you take up so much of the sea floor? You should save some room for me.” Wavey didn’t know what to say, until he thought ‘I know the Rocky Reefs’ tracks.’ Wavey had a thought that Maria was quite confronting with the way she spoke to him. But it was in a way that didn’t seem to destroy his confidence. The fact that she said to ‘save room for her’ meant that she thought he was fun enough to dance with. To show his knowledge on music he had a little trick up his fin. Hoping that Maria would see a more playful side to him.  

Wavey said in a hurry, “I bet you that I can list all the tracks off the Rocky Reefs’ latest album.”

Maria said, “If you get more than the both of us combined, you can join,” making it harder for Wavey to join them. Delilah shifted her eyes side to side as Maria was talking.

Maria began thinking really deeply and tried to name the song that the Rocky Reefs were already playing on stage at that very moment, “The song they’re playing now is My Fin is Blue.. and…”

“Maria, It’s, “My Fin is Dark Blue But All I’m Feeling is Indigo.” Delilah chirped in as she started to name the next song, “Cheers for me, but I’m not Cheered.” She looked at Maria for reassurance to see if she got it right but Maria just shrugged.

Wavey grinned as he grabbed his Sea in the Shell and gulped it down in one go. With an exasperation, Wavey’s voice transformed into an ethereal mermaid’s voice as he chimed the names off the album, “We have; ‘Three Cheers for Me, but I’m not Cheered’; ‘The Abyss, The Dive, The Surf’; ‘I’m a Barnacle and Nobody wants to be my Friend’; ‘The Ocean will be your Wedding Dress’; ‘My Fin is Dark Blue, But All I Feel is Indigo’; ‘Ocean Steps’; ‘My Hallowed Insides turned Hollow When I Met an Eyeball’; ‘Where the Crocodile Eats and Algae Dream’; ‘KO’d by the Mantis Shrimp’ and the final one, ‘They Say that Time Heals Wounds, but All We Need is Seawater. ~’”

Maria and Delilah looked at each other in awe. The whole cavern went silent and even the Rocky Reefs stopped their instruments. Old Woldo gave Wavey another wink, when Lobsy shouted from the stage, “Our number one superfan at the back. You should be right up the front…” and the Rocky Reefs began their last song, “Ocean Steps”. 

Wavey knew this song’s lyrics front to back, he plodded to the mosh pit, “I’m hitting the pit.” As he made his way, Maria said quietly, “Okay, you can come with us. We will go after the show.” Maria thought that Wavey really captured the essence on how to start friends, with playful ease. She thought he would be perfect for making new friends.

Wavey was so happy with himself, he couldn’t believe it. So striking up random conversations with others does work, he said to himself. As he let the rush of guitars take over him like a wave. Wavey started angry-fin pointing as he sang along with the band. 

Maria didn’t want to miss out on the fun as well and joined into the mosh pit too, “I’m not missing out on this one,” They both sang the lyrics to Ocean Steps,

“Ocean steps, ocean steps I take,

Fearing to search for what is next,

Ocean steps, ocean steps, I take,

Wondering if I would ever go to waste?

Or climb up to the apex?

We just need ocean steps to guide us to what is next,

Ocean steps, ocean steps we take, 

Guiding us to what is next,

Wondering if we’re left to waste,

We climb up to the apex,

To discover the treasure between our ocean steps,

Finally finding our special place. ~”

***

Once the song finished, Wavey was out of breath and panting. Maria flowed with the crowd and couldn’t help herself to contort her body into another dance move. The crowd clapped and cheered until Lobsy, Crabby, Praw and Turt all bowed and left the stage. Maria and Wavey swam over to Delilah as Maria said to her sister, “Join us when you’re ready, next time.”

Delilah began with, “Yeah, when I find dance moves different from yours!” As she stuck her tongue after she told Maria off. Delilah did not hold back in teasing her sister. With Maria’s confidence and her lack of security in her own shell, Delilah used teasing as a comfort to shield her from her lack of self-confidence.

“Let’s head over for some plankton picking,” Wavey said casually, while hiding his excitement. Wavey prided himself to be cool-headed when diving into new adventures. As he was as calm as the tides that washed up on the shore when he encountered something new. But he was hiding his true nervousness beneath his calm exterior.

The three of them said bye to Woldo and left the cavern covered in droplets of sweat, surrounded by water. Wavey knew the way to Topaz Grove, where it was imprinted in his mind. It was the first time he was going with friends. 

He got a bit nervous with the directions, “We… we head north.” Maria tried to make some discussion with Wavey but he was so focused on safely navigating, constantly looking left and right to make sure that they wouldn’t crash with oncoming traffic.

“Wow Wavey, I didn’t know you could bust out those moves just then.” Maria enthusiastically filled the silence as she paddled behind Wavey.

“I wish I could do what you did Wavey,” Delilah said encouragingly, “You looked really engrossed in the song.”

“Ah yes, Now we keep going straight.” Wavey said as he wiggled his body like a fish. Wavey realised that he did not have to prove his expert navigation skills. He kept swimming without looking behind him to see if Maria and Delilah were following behind.

Maria noticed that Wavey was nervous and thought that she could get him to lighten up, like how she saw him get involved in singing all the Rocky Reefs tracks, “Wavey, let’s stop for a bit. Let’s do a water-breaker question. It seems you’re all set in getting to Topaz Grove without any conversations in between.” 

As she said this, Wavey’s facial expression turned from worried to relaxed, softening into a smile. He felt comforted by the victory of naming all the songs, “I only wanted to be trustworthy, and not let you both down by having no mishaps.” Wavey said to Maria and Delilah. Wavey had a premonition that a strange encounter would occur, like how when the seahorse thought that the stingray was going to buzz him.  As the story came to his head, he asked, “What do you think of what Lobsy and Crabby said about the seahorse and the stingray story?”

Maria answered first, “It’s about trust. Just what our mission is about. It is for us to put our trust in our new friends that we meet so we can keep Tavern in the Cavern afloat.” Maria had thought about the story as how it related to her mission.

Then Delilah added to the conversation, “We better keep swimming, otherwise we’re easy to catch.” As she patted Maria’s fin for comfort to get the group moving more quickly. The three continued swimming, “I think Lobsy was trying to relate it to is it the sea or ocean?” she paused to formulate her response. As Wavey jumped in and said, 

“Oooh, oooh, it’s about what angle you look at from. The ocean and sea look the same. But if you look deeper, they have their own systems. So if a sea-folk looks like a predator, we have got to look at them from another angle. They may become hunted in the eyes of another sea-folk.” Wavey gently said as he looked left and right, seeing the seaweed caressing the rocks of Opal Ocean Bay’s citizen’s homes.

“I find that hard to relate to… Most of us here won’t survive to live to our one-hundredth birthday. We’re all hunted here.” Delilah said anxiously as she peered at the ocean’s surface, and did a sideways glance at the seaweed to ensure the three were out of harm’s way.

Wavey connected this to his own struggles of being picked on, “Look at me, I look scary, and have been picked on for being a ‘phoney shark.’ If you just look at me from the back, you might think I’m a shark, but if you look at me from the front, I look like a whale.” 

Maria agreed and said, “That’s what we need to do to make friends, look at them from a different perspective.”

“In fact you can go on to say that if you look deeper at me, I may be a shark, but I have the whale diet. I’m a shrimptarian. Which is why we have to look past all the things we know about sharks.”

A red strawberry shaped ball lurked behind a seaweed clump. Delilah couldn’t really make out what it was because it was hiding so cleverly.

“Ahh, did you see that?” Delilah gasped out, “I couldn’t see much of it, but it was,” she paused to see if she could get a better look, “red.” She said hesitantly.  

Wavey’s nerves grew, but maintained a calm facade, “I’m putting my trust in you Delilah, there’s potential that it could be dangerous.”

Wavey started to go up close to the seaweed clump. “As the biggest one here, it’s my responsibility to keep you both safe,” While speaking, Wavey saw a strawberry ball and exclaimed, “It’s a strawberry!” He instantly sucked it into his mouth. As soon as it touched his mouth, he didn’t taste the sweet and juiciness of a strawberry. He could feel the prickles of a seed-like texture rubbing against the insides of his mouth, but it wasn’t a strawberry. It was calamari flavoured. Once Wavey discovered that it was calamari, he immediately spat out the ball. 

The ball came floating out, revealing it had eight tentacles and two arms. One of the tentacles were floppy and did not hover in the water with his other ones, “I’m not for eating, big guy.” he said very firmly, “You say you're a shrimptarian!”

Wavey was so distraught that he nearly became a pescartarian like Old Woldo that he apologised as dearly as he could, “Oh Mr. Strawberry-looking-calamari, it’s to my misjudgement that I had thought you were a strawberry. It’s somewhat ironic, because we’re going plankton picking and the whales heard them humans go strawberry picking. So I thought it was timely that we saw a strawberry.” Wavey never wanted to stray from his diet. He was a devout whale shark and honoured that part of himself. He saw himself as the gentle giant of the ocean. He never wanted to veer off from what he truly was, as he couldn’t escape the fact of what he looked like, a creature caught between two worlds.

Maria hid behind Wavey, and Delilah hid behind Maria. The strawberry ball yapped away, “A strawberry? Name’s Squink, not Strawberry-Looking-Calamari. Whoever heard them whales talk about humans? If I was to go strawberry picking, I believe I could easily pick more than one-hundred with my two tentacles and seven arms. I’m the guy to call if you need to go...” He trailed off.

Delilah noticed that Squink had a floppy tentacle. Whenever he moved his seven tentacles and two arms, one tentacle drooped down, held down by the pressure of the water. 

As she thought about this she whispered to Maria, “Look at his tentacle, it droops.” Delilah had recalled a story she heard from Joy about a strawberry squid having the night of his life and ending up with a drooping tentacle. She chased the memory of Joy telling her the story. But it didn’t come to her straight away. 

Maria glanced at Squink’s tentacle, ”Looks like he is holding some baggage.” She said softly to Delilah and then said to Squink, “Picking strawberries you say. What about plankton picking? I bet with those tentacles and arms, you can get us a whole plastic bottle’s worth.”

“Strawberry picking, plankton picking. I am still waiting to hear the big guy's response to being a shrimptarian. Has your diet changed, feel like catching any squids?” As Squink was washing away saliva from his gills, he crooned, “Would you need some chips to go with your calamari? Or wait, maybe some cream to go with strawberries? Last time I heard, we can’t find them down here.”

As Wavey was washing away the aftertaste of calamari, he said, “Never thought about changing my tastes. You should be glad,” Wavey then let Squink talk.

“Alright, alright, your mouth did smell strongly of shrimp.” Squink brought out his tentacle, “Here give me your fin so I can shake it.” Wavey brought out his fin and Squink gave him a shake with one of his tentacles. Wavey felt the bumpiness of the extremity on his fin as they shook each other’s limbs. “I’ve made a good friend today haven’t I?” Squink said to Wavey’s ear.

All this about making new friends made Wavey think back to the seahorse and stingray story, “Ah, have you ever heard of the seahorse and stingray story?”

“I’ve heard all of those stories. Even the Mermaid in the Eternal Night. I’ve heard them through that band, you know? I saw them a while back. The one with the crab…” Squink couldn't get the next band member in as Delilah was so fast she snapped in to say,

“Lobster, prawn and turtle? It’s the Rocky Reefs.” Delilah was sure that this strawberry squid was the reason why stage dives were banned at the cavern. As the group approached closer to the glowing plankton, it reminded Delilah of Joy's bioluminescence. She recalled Joy glowing dimly when telling her, "Old Woldo's banned stage diving," to Jamie and herself, "all because of Squink." Delilah had only heard about Squink in the many tales at the cavern, but had never seen or met him, "He went on stage and jumped when no sea-folk were watching him and got injured." 

Delilah remembered Jamie's drowning face and Joy's dim bulb glowing, not familiarly seen from the two spectators that were always full of energy. She didn’t want to blame Squink, so she said, “Do you still go to watch them at Old Woldo’s cavern?”

“I’ve got a lot of problems with that place. Tell you what, I’ll come with you to go plankton picking, and if we have a great time, I’ll go back with you sea-folk to that cavern. Thing is, you have to sneak me in.”

Delilah, not wanting to break her good behaviour bond with Old Woldo said, “You’re going to risk us getting banned as well! I’m not ready for that.”

Wavey was feeling hungry from the aftertaste of calamari in his mouth, he couldn't wait for a midnight snack and thought to keep the group travelling, “We’ve got to go straight, then we'll be there!” Wavey was thinking, how could he possibly be Squink’s friend when Old Woldo surely said he was a little “runt”. Wavey treasured Old Woldo’s friendship. He thought about the times when Old Woldo always made the effort to talk to Wavey, even when there were rumours floating around about him being a penguin killer at the age of two. Surely no one believed them. But there were sea-folk that did.

***

As they entered Topaz Grove, they were surrounded by many plankton lights. It reminded Delilah of the sea floor, being enkindled by Joy and Jamie’s glowing lights. Except, this time it was magnified by thousands of them. The view was something special to behold, a view reserved for humans, “I guess this beats strawberry picking,” boomed Squink, ruining the silence that was created by the breath-taking view.

Wavey’s friendly and low voice mumbled, “I’ve never eaten a strawberry before, which is why I sucked you up,” he said as his mouth pointed upwards into a smile, “But this is what you call a meal!” As he held his fins up, trying to grasp at the plankton.

The luminous balls floated away as Wavey attempted to suck them with his mouth. Further attempts made Wavey’s mouth get filled with saltwater. 

Undeterred, Squink found a plastic water bottle that was wedged between two rocks, and used his seven tentacles to capture plankton into the bottle with failure. Following along, Maria used a plastic bag to rally up the plankton, but it was no use, the luminous balls floated away. Delilah swam ominously behind her sister, mesmerised by the sight of twinkling lights. 

Maria spoke in a tone where her voice squeaked higher to show her irritation, “Oh no, the plankton aren’t making friends with us, but we’ve found Squink,” as the plastic bag ruffled in the water. 

The group of friends all nodded, while Squink grimaced, “Friends? Since when? I’d say, let’s try and do what we came here to do.” 

As the group all attempted to grab the plankton, Delilah swam away from the group. The Ocean Will be Your Wedding Dress entered her mind. She didn’t want to start humming it, because she was too self-conscious to start singing it. It was sort of a sombre song that dwelled on the small celebrations in life. The glimmering lights of the plankton reminded her of when she first heard the song. 

It was a time when she felt all her struggles really drowned her. Delilah was shackled by her shell, paralysed from the mysteries of the ocean and the giants of the sea. She listened to the Water Waves Radio to bask in her terror. This thought struck Delilah that she had come this far with the group to go plankton picking. 

Delilah reflected out loud, “You know, I felt like not joining tonight’s outing. But I had The Ocean Will be Your Wedding Dress to give me the courage to traverse the seas with you all. I’ve always been inside my shell. Too scared to venture out. I thought that not coming out would make everyone better off without me.”

Squink nodded and embraced Delilah’s remark, “Yeah, I’ve been there… Still am. The cavern kids shunned me. Sea-folk gave me an extra tentacle. Was it to show their disgust? Maybe just their sympathies? I’m still unsure,” he said while stretching his two arms above his head.

Wavey butted in and said, “I’ve also felt out of place, not knowing where I fit in. Sea-folk always gave me names. Especially the menacing creatures. ‘You’re not a shark, you’re a mutation’ they’d say. It always made me ponder about my place in the ocean.”

The group all thought for a while, as they tried to catch the glowing plankton in their plastic compartments. 

Delilah wanted to comfort Squink and Wavey by sharing the song she was thinking of, “This song reminds me we should celebrate life’s catastrophes and achievements.” The reverent silence had made Delilah feel safe to share what she was thinking.

Wavey and the gang began to hear a soft murmur from Delilah. Her voice started barely a tone, but grew louder and louder like a mermaid’s voice. As Delilah looked in awe at the glimpse of the beauty in the world,  the plankton gathered around her,

“Each cycle of day and night,

The mirage returns,

Painting the duality of light and dark,

Cradled by the bay,

A jewel glimmers,

In the shadow of a dress,

Evoking a reminder that beauty awaits in darkness.”

The plankton began clinging to her shell, as if enjoying her company. Delilah felt the soft glow comfort her as if they were a blanket providing warmth to her shell. Wavey, Maria and then Squink looked at each other and grooved to the song. 

“Can we join Delilah?” Squink’s glowing bulb began lighting up with the plankton.

As Delilah nodded in their direction, the friends joined Delilah’s testament to shattering her invisible shell. The plankton aimlessly clung to their bodies, making an armour of brightness. 

“The low glow breaks through the ocean,

The light seeks to adorn your wedding dress,

Wanting to be woven within it,

Like the stars rippling with the sea,

Never knowing which ocean it belongs,

It stays and settles,

Until one finds themself mesmerized by its beauty,

Making a marriage of the deepest and the zenith,

Where the canvas of the illusion, reveals itself to reality~”

The sea-folk all watched the plankton cling to their bodies and laughed together, Maria said, “That was beautiful, Delilah.” As she finished complementing her sister, the group paused to revere in the plankton clinging to their bodies.

The plankton attached to their bodies made Squink gurgle, “Hehehehe, it tickles,” as he had a mouthful of plankton dribbling out of his mouth. 

Wavey’s mouth was agape as he exhaled, “I’m happy to be here with everyone,” as it was Wavey’s first time when he felt like he was actually part of a group.

Delilah mused on having easy-going friends, she thoughtfully reminded the group of why she had decided to come on the journey, “My only homes were the cavern and my shell. But now, it must also include us.”.

Maria connected deeper to the song as she twirled around the plankton lights, “I can see why you sang the song now! The loneliness and the need for seeking better experiences. Let’s celebrate together!” Maria continued, “We belong as a band.” Maria was still twirling in the ocean, when she gasped while a plankton swirled above her head and lit up, “I have an idea, let’s perform at the cavern! We could bring new sea-folk to the underground music scene.”

The four made a huddle and began improvising to create their own song until they found their groove.

Wavey started with a baseline with his voice, and Squink came in on vocals with high energy. Maria and Delilah added wisps of delicate voices to the mix, all their voices merged together to create an a capella of ocean sounds. Their voices blended in harmony like how the cycles of the ocean waves wash up on the shore and come back out to sea again.

The group were coming up with lyrics for an original song. “All this singing makes me miss those shows at the cavern.” Squink said somberly, “The amount of times I have missed Rocky Reefs perform are too many to count on my tentacles. The last time at the cavern was when the Rocky Reefs were performing Waves and Shells. I could not understand why the crowd was so quiet, so I jumped from the stage into the pit. The sea-folk parted as I jumped, and no one was there to catch me.” 

“Ah Squink, that song’s a ballad,” Wavey said with soft understanding, “The crowd likes to sink in the slower songs,” as his lips moved into a frown, “It’s sad you had got injured.”

“Yeah, I couldn't stop myself though. The last thing I remembered was being glued to the sea floor and a drooping tentacle. After that, Woldo banned stage diving. Said, ‘delinquents don’t know how to use their minds.’” 

Squink continued to reveal the depths of his thoughts with the group, “I’m grateful for this group. How would other sea-folk forgive me if the cavern gets shut down?”

“I like your chaotic energy. We need that for the group to keep ours and the audience’s energy levels high.” Maria chirped in to try and smooth out Squink’s insecure feelings, “That said, looking out at the crowd to see if sea-folk will catch you, is also important.”

Wavey could sense that Squink was disheartened that the camaraderie at shows were lost. Wavey said, “We have each other now, Squink. Next time you stage dive, we’ve got your back. That’s what it takes to keep the tavern afloat.” Wavey said with confidence in his large stature to catch Squink the next time he stage dived.

Squink’s bulb lit up as he replied, “You better be right at the front when we perform this song,” as he wiggled his two arms and working tentacles.

Wavey imagined Old Woldo grinning at him, “So you found friends, Wavey? I’m glad.” He silently hoped Old Woldo would allow Squink to enter the cavern when he found out that he had made friends, “Let’s name ourselves Deserted Seafood, we’re all unwanted.” Wavey held up his fin and gave it a wave as he was excited by the name. Wavey liked the name of the band because it reminded him that seafood was definitely not a sweet dessert, like strawberries and cream. But a collection of assorted fancy food with their own quirks.

***

Three moon-tides passed and Deserted Seafood arrived late to the cavern. They could feel the buzz of the music enter their veins as Operatic Orcas performed. 

They did not tell Old Woldo who their fourth member was. Which was why Wavey had hesitantly concealed Squink in his mouth for them all to enter the cavern, “Stinks like plankton and shrimp in here!” As Squink reluctantly hopped in Wavey’s mouth, “It’s like when we first met!” Squink then said to himself, “Never knew you couldn’t get enough of my umami flavour,” as he held his tentacles on either side of his head, to cover his olfactory organs.

Wavey couldn’t respond back with a witty remark as his mouth was full of calamari flavour that made him queasy. The combination of nervousness and eating seafood was unbearable for Wavey. 

The moon-tide before this one, Wavey had talked to Old Woldo and had convinced him to try for one night, 

“We’re in the ocean, Old Woldo, and stage diving. What’s a cavern without diving?” He questioned.

Old Woldo muttered and said, “I know this show is important to you Wavey. One night only!” He said very firmly. Wavey could sense a bit of unease from Old Woldo, but at least he felt less nervous for conducting stage dives.

The Operatic Orcas were a local band that combined operatic music with rock, called rock-opera. The crowd was rearing away and had swished their tails to each beat of the music.

The Operatic Orcas were made up of Owen and Orlando. Owen played bass and vocals, while Orlando played drums. Joy and Jamie spun around in a circle and jumped towards the cavern’s surface, with excitement brimming from their bells.

Wavey’s beads of sweat dropped into the cavernous pools. Worried to meet the strike of Old Woldo’s glare. 

The queasiness had gotten to Wavey where he thought, “I can’t hold Squink in my mouth any longer.” He nudged Maria, “Just a while longer,” she muttered out. While Delilah anxiously looked from side to side around the cavern. She saw the lights of the stage and heard the faint conversations of the crowds.

“Deserted Seafood, who are they? Never heard of them, let’s check them out.” Delilah heard from an octopus and a seal that she had never seen before. 

Wavey could feel the bumpy bristles from Squink’s tentacles touch the sides of his mouth. The feel of the bristles made Wavey gag. In the distance, he saw Old Woldo serving customers. Wavey quickly looked away, for fear that Old Woldo would want to talk to him. But he had Delilah and Maria next to him.

As the noise of rock-opera filled the crowd’s ears, the vibrations of the music pulsated against their skins. Wavey winced and moaned while flapping his flippers at his mouth.

He couldn’t hold Squink in his mouth any further. Squink was struggling too, “It’s about time that I come out!” He pestered Wavey to open up his mouth. 

Wavey’s mouth gagged automatically, and then with a forceful spit, Squink came flying out of Wavey’s mouth. The red strawberry ball, covered in saliva, landed on the stage with the Operatic Orcas.

Squink started singing with the Operatic Orcas, “We have another member of our band! A harmless strawberry! It could be our dessert.” Orlando teased.

The crowd began to murmur and squinted at Squink, who was holding the microphone and spitting the lyrics back at the crowd, 

“A strawberry in the sea, 

As what you sea-folk call me,

Ready to be redeemed.”

The crowd boo’ed once they saw the strawberry squid’s face. Squink’s bulb began to intermittently light up as if sending a morse code signal, and his tentacle limped lifelessly in the water. Wavey, Maria and Delilah came swimming over to the stage in a rush. 

Squink looked utterly terrified of the crowd’s reaction, from being imprisoned by his thoughts for many years and not used to the spectator’s gaze, after hiding behind a rock since the incident at the cavern. But then Owen said, we’re finishing up anyway. Take over the stage!”

As Old Woldo saw the commotion from the back of the cavern, he ran up to the stage, dodging the sea-folk as they swam in and out from the crowd, “Wavey, that strawberry was in your mouth? He is banned from the cavern.”

Wavey thought about this, with the aftertaste of calamari still lingering in his mouth. The disgusted taste of calamari mirrored the feeling of disgust of going against Old Woldo’s strict rules.“Yes, you’re the one that runs the cavern, but the patrons keep it afloat, trust me with this one Old Woldo, hey?” Wavey’s voice wobbled with the pressure of their friendship weighted on the last word. 

“Keep talking, Wavey. I want to hear it all.” Old Woldo grumbled as he stroked his whiskers.

“Squink’s been hurt from stage diving, too. So we know it’s all dangerous. I think if we all encourage our sea-folk friends to be there for one another, then it is safe. Especially if we get the bigger animals to show support. Like a Holy Humpback or Operatic Orca!”   

During Wavey’s defence of Squink’s quirks, Squink opened the set with, “Let’s get this whirlpool going,” He screamed into the microphone as he poured his heart and soul with the lines they had rehearsed,

”Releasing baggage in the scene

I’ve found my niche,

It’s a clique that I’d never want to leave,

Surfacing from a plankton pick,

A life changing trip,

Let me reflect if I'm a cliché in the niche.”

As Squink screamed the lyrics to the top of his lungs, he jumped off the stage. The red-strawberry ball went diving into the pit. Old Woldo listened carefully to what Squink had sung. Was it true? Did Wavey find some friends? Old Woldo was too stunned to move. Amongst the chaos, he saw Wavey swimming right up to the stage.

Wavey went to the front of the pit with his flippers above his head, setting himself up in a position to catch Squink, “I’ve got you, Squink,” Wavey managed to say aloud. With a thud, Squink landed on Wavey’s back.

Above the noise, Old Woldo could hear Wavey in a voice he's never heard him use before, “Sea-folk friends, lend your flippers out to catch one another. We need a Holy Humpback or Operatic Wale for the next dive, which will be me.”

The crowd gasped in horror, “Wavey you’re super huge.” Wavey heard an octopus say. 

Old Woldo narrowed in on Wavey, becoming a balister between Wavey and the stage, “I’ve let you have stage diving, do we really need to welcome back Squink?”

“He’s part of Deserted Seafood. A friend that has had the same struggles as me. Please Old Woldo, Squink only wanted to share the camaraderie that comes when we all share the same love of music!”

Maria and Delilah made their way to the stage to sing their part of the song, 

“Bonds we crave,

Creating an enchanting space,

Held by the ocean’s embrace.”

Old Woldo listened closely to what the sisters were singing. He thought, “This place is meant for coming together,” as he smoothed out his whiskers. He said, “Yes, yes. It does seem right that we are singing about the old cavern being The Opal’s gems.” 

Old Woldo’s face softened as he saw what was conspiring in front of him. Touched by the fact that sea-folk were looking out for each other, he stopped himself from any other thoughts of anger and said to himself, “That Wavey, sure tricked me into thinking that he could conceal Squink in here. And he did fool me well.”

The singing had disarmed Old Woldo, where he took the opportunity to swim to the stage with Squink on his back. He then began to sing,

“Treasures hidden between rocky reefs, 

I found a pearl, 

Ready to be shown to the world,

It taught me friendships to keep,

I engraved their names onto it,

Sealed away until I’m decrepit.~”

As Old Woldo heard the words being sung, his thoughts continued, “But once I saw him up on stage with Squink and the two turtles, it made it clear that he deserved the happiness he felt up on that stage. From seeing the kid meander in the back asking for Sea in the Shell every time, to performing with his friends. He needed this boost.”

The sound of squelching was heard from the clapping of flippers and tentacles as Wavey closed the song.

Old Woldo was reminded of the time when Wavey said to him, “Old Woldo, you’re the only friend I’ve got. It’s because you don’t care about the gossip in town.” Old Woldo had always been a shoulder to lean on for Wavey. He had been through the hardships Wavey had faced from being picked on, being called names, and being excluded from other sea-folk. Old Woldo  thought that it must have been the same for Squink after he had banned him from the cavern.

Old Woldo stroked his whiskers as he shared a big smile on his face, “I shouldn’t be the ballister in between you and Squink,” he said to Wavey’s face, "I was only concerned about the safety of my patrons. I hereby announce stage diving to strengthen the trust between sea-folk. It’s how we cross oceans. On one condition, Wavey, you will be appointed to manage stage dives. As safety is needed. Mr. Squink is permitted in the cavern too”

Wavey let out a big sigh of relief into the microphone. Wavey was touched by Old Woldo’s change in direction, “I hope you can forgive me for smuggling in Squink. I know stage diving is dangerous, which is why I will organize stage diving catchers to catch all the sea-folk who choose to stage dive.” Wavey said with a hint of responsibility and optimism. 

“I’ll help you find those security services, Wavey. Who’d want to do that sort of work?” Squink eagerly said. 

“Those who care about safety and being part of the music scene. They’ll always ensure no sea-folk gets left behind,” Wavey said into the microphone.

The whole crowd cheered as there was one thing left for Wavey to do, that was to stage dive. As Wavey swam to the precipice of the stage, Wavey looked at Squink, Maria, Delilah and others in the crowd, “You all should better catch me! We need the Holy Humpbacks to catch me.” He exhaled and looked left and right. 

In an instant, a Holy Humpback appeared and said, “I’ve got you, Wavey.”

As Wavey had spread his flippers horizontally, he finally let the waves of the crowd catch him, with a big, “Humph.” His weight was still manageable with a Holy Humpback whale. Maria, Delilah, Squink and Wavey all laughed together as Wavey’s body was carried by the crowd towards Old Woldo.  

Old Woldo gave Wavey a wink and asked, “So what are you naming the song?”

Squink piped in, “A Cliche in the Niche,” as he held up all seven tentacles, and two arms to support a Holy Humpback only slightly. .

Delilah then said, “It’s inspired by one of the Rocky Reefs’ tracks when we went plankton picking.” Her neck was fully stretched out. 

While Maria just gave a twirl and said, “With the new changes, I’m sure that sea-folk would want to stop by and want a cavern-diving experience.”

“Suits the song well, and suits you sea-folk well.” Old Wolodo nodded and then walked back to the drinks area of the cavern, ready to serve more customers.

The hypnotic waves washed away the chaos from the evening as Deserted Seafood stayed behind to ensure that all the patrons were free from injury after stage diving. 

The Water Waves Radio blared another song from the Rocky Reefs, They Say that Time Heals Wounds, But All We Need is Sea Water.

The whole cavern started singing the song until the moon became the sun and the light was wrapped in the sea’s embrace.

“The longevity of time is a bandaid,

The cycles of the sea are a grand aid,

Healing the sediment of brokenness inside,

The seawater stands by your side.”

Old Woldo had a glimmer in his eye and thought, “That Wavey will be making waves.”