48-The Lost Glow

Nexha stretched and returned to the nest, remembering that he had to clean the turtle shell so it wouldn’t start smelling later. He waved goodbye to Lilay, who was eagerly eating the fish Nexha had fried earlier. The scent of cooked fish still lingered in the air, mixed with the salty aroma of the seaweed.

As he scrubbed the shell, an unsettling feeling settled over him. Something felt off. He glanced around, frowning, until he noticed a small circular mark in the sand… His heart skipped a beat.

— The pearl!

He turned around quickly, searching through the seaweed he used as bedding. He lifted every corner, sifted through the leftover crab powder he had set aside, and even checked inside his fishing net. But nothing.

The pearl was gone.

At first, he doubted himself. Maybe he had dropped it somewhere without realizing it? Maybe he had forgotten it during the hunt? But as the seconds passed, unease grew stronger. This wasn’t just a simple loss. Something was wrong.

His chest rose and fell with his quickened breath. His tail flicked sharply through the water before he even realized it. Without thinking, he darted out of the nest, swimming too fast.

First, he went to the spot where he had hunted earlier. The disturbed sand showed signs of his earlier struggle with the fish, but there was no sign of that familiar glow.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

He moved forward, scanning every corner with sharp eyes.

He searched through the moray seaweed, slipping between the swaying plants. Nothing.

He swam toward the path leading to the nearby rocks, where the currents often carried lost objects. He rummaged through small natural hideouts, peered between shells and corals. Nothing.

Frustration grew inside him like a storm about to break. His tail cut through the water aggressively, his gills expanded as he tried to steady his breathing. What annoyed him wasn’t just losing the pearl. It was the fact that he didn’t even know why he was so upset about it.

— This makes no sense! — he growled, clenching his fists and punching a nearby rock, startling a small school of fish that had been passing by. — That thing only gives me headaches!

He swam back to the nest, now moving almost recklessly. Frustration pulsed inside him. The dream… and now the missing pearl… everything was swirling in his mind chaotically. It was too much of a coincidence, and Nexha hated not understanding things.

He took a deep breath, running his hands over his face. He needed to think.

— Alright… think, Nexha. Where could it be?

But deep down, a much worse question crept into his mind.

— Or… did someone take it?

The thought made his stomach twist with anger. Could the current have carried it away? Maybe. But if someone had touched the pearl… if someone had gotten involved in this…

He didn’t know why, but that idea made him even angrier.

He gritted his teeth, trying to control the irrational rage boiling inside him.

— I hope whoever took that pearl gets a headache as big as mine! — he muttered, kicking a loose piece of coral.

But deep down, he knew the truth. His headache wasn’t just from the loss. It was from what this loss stirred inside him. He didn’t like it… and he had no idea why he was so angry about it.

The sound of laughter echoed through an old castle at the bottom of the sea. The gold of its walls had long lost its shine, now covered in barnacles and seaweed. The fish that lived there seemed indifferent to the laughter.