The Punishment

Part 5

"Stop it, please!" Yurena cried, while hitting her back with a whip made of stingray's tail. This is the punishment awarded to mermaids who disobey the rules of their home.

"But I only did the right thing because they are destroying and abusing our home! What will be left for us if they continue killing the ocean?" she answered, defending herself.

She was whipped again. Her skin is bleeding.

"Yurena, it is strictly forbidden for mermaids to go above the surface of the water and to show ourselves to people. That's why we hide here for many years to protect our race to humans! How many mermaids are missing? All of them are brought to the surface of the ocean and skinned alive, cut their tails off, their scales removed and sold at a great price!" the elder mermaid shouted, they are only afraid of things that might happen.

"All truly respect all of you. But I want you to know that I have no regrets for what I have done. It was only right to drown those fishermen because they are all evil!" Yurena 's response to the elder mermaids who inflict punishment.

Yurena is stubborn and always disobeys the orders of the elderly mermaids. That's why she always gets punished in the end.

"Give her ten more lashes! Do not disobey the order of the elders!" The mermaid was even whipped ten times as punishment for her reprimand.

After Yurena 's punishment, she was left inside the cave and just slowly lay on the rocks, powerless. There is no moonlight, no one will heal her wounds. No mermaid or friend will sympathize with her because the truth is that everyone really doesn't like her because her tail is a different color. It was as bright as the silver moon, a rare color that is seldom in their lineage. As the usual colors of their tails are blue, yellow, green and orange.

Yurena was called "bad luck" because she was born under the full moon. It is very seldom that a mermaid is born during a full moon. So, it was believed that Yurena would bring misfortune to her race. And because of this, the word "bad luck" will be stamped on the baby's name, although this is just a belief that no one can prove if it is true or not.

Yurena was raised by her mother. They lived a normal life away from chaos. While she was growing up there were no unfortunate events happening in Coralia so at least, it can be said that the old beliefs are not true. In addition to that, Yurena was shaped to be cheerful and have a positive attitude, things that made her "few" friends really like her, accepting her completely despite the difference in the color of their tails. For her, few friends are enough as long as they are real.

FLASH BACK

"Mother, did father die because I was unlucky? That's what my friends said," young Yurena asked her mother.

Her mother laughed. "Yurena, that's not true. Your father just traveled to a distant place. You know, one day he will come back to us," her mother answered.

"Mother, when I can have my feet, I will look for Father on the distant land," Yurena replied with much curiosity.

Her mother laughed again. "My daughter, don't rush things. When you turn 18, you will have them, too. And I want you to know that it is very dangerous to go to the surface of the land because our lives are very different from theirs. Many people will not understand us and some of them will consider us monsters."

"Why do my friends always say that my tail is bad luck?" she asked continuously, her innocent eyes showed much curiosity.

"Don't mind them, they just want to tease you because you're beautiful and maybe they have a crush on you. You inherited your tail from your father. It's special so you should be happy and proud of it," her mother answered. That moment, Yurena couldn't do anything but embrace her mother. For her, her mother's love is enough for her to be happy and continue to have a positive outlook on life despite judging her.

When alone, Yurena is often found in wrecked ships collecting tools that she only sees there such as spoons, forks, jewelry and others. She collects it and puts it in a cave to be fixed there. She swims carefully in the water because the ocean is also like a forest with many dangerous animals. There are sharks and large octopuses that can eat and harm them. Well, this is the cycle of life in the ocean, survival of the fittest, the strongest will live.

In the ocean, sharks are the main enemy and threat to their survival. That is why some of them carry weapons such as spears made of sharpened coral and conch.

There is nothing special about mermaids. They don't have super powers but some of them have unique abilities that they possess, natural abilities inherent in their characteristics such as swimming speed, being able to talk and understand fish and other marine creatures, and others have the ability to ride the wave and use it as a defense. These are the characteristics that distinguish and elevate mermaids from other sea creatures.

Mermaids shed pearls, depending on their emotions. When they cry, white pearls come out of their eyes. When it's tears of happiness, they release blue or red pearls. It is the most expensive if sold on land by human beings.

It is also said that mermaids have the ability to grant wishes but no one has yet proven this. Few of them go up to earth because it is considered hell; dangerous and full of evil creatures. Usually, the majority of them just stay inside Coralia because it is safer here and the waves give them protection.

Since the beginning, many mermaids have been rising to the ground and none of them have returned. They say the land above is truly enchanting. And this is what gives the mermaids too much curiosity to peek and see what lies up there.