EPISODE 4 | KAYALI BAY MARITIME VILLAGE
A young teenager stood proudly at the bow of the boat, his spear poised in a sturdy stance. Stalking the rippling seawater below him, observing something. His name is La Ode, the youngest strong whaler or lamafa.
In the middle of the ocean, five boats, with seven-nine crews, surround a pod of whales. They are conducting their annual whaling festival, an ancestral tradition. Don't worry, international governments have banned whaling, but they approve of these whalers. Because this whaling is just an ancestral traditions of the Lamalera tribe, it is not commercial, nor is it a mass hunt. Only catching one or two, only once a year anyway.
La Ode observes the rippling sea water, watching the whales. You can't just hunt a pod of whales; you can't hunt pregnant whales, or young ones. La Ode is able to tell the difference, by observing the whales' gestures and movements, it is not easy, but La Ode has been trained in it. It is said that if they hunt the wrong whale, disaster will befall the crew's village.
This was La Ode's first time whaling, but he had been looking forward to participating in this festival for a long time.
The boat crews exclaimed, some encouraging the lamafa on the bridge of their respective boats.
"Cheer up, Boy, this is the moment you've been waiting for. Look at the other crews! They all believe in us." A senior lamafa, on the bridge of another boat, three meters in front of La Ode, called out, trying to build La Ode's courage.
La Ode nodded firmly back, not nervous at all. His gaze was full of confidence. "Yes! Of course, Uncle Kardi!" La Ode exclaimed in response.
The whale's target was set. The sea water was thrashing.
Kardi smiled brightly, "Hey, Boy, I really believe in you. You will jump first to stab the whale. After that, I'll follow, giving the second stab," Kardi called out.
"What‽" La Ode looked up to hear that, gasping, "But the original plan wasn't like that, Uncle. It's my first time." La Ode exclaimed, his expression still stern.
Kardi grinned, "Huh, are you scared?" he asked sarcastically.
"Of course I'm not, Uncle!" La Ode asserted rather loudly.
"That's my student." Kardi grinned enthusiastically.
La Ode returned to stalking the target whale.
"Take it easy, Boy. You're with me. Your late father would be proud of this."
La Ode did not reply, focusing on the target whale.
"Alright, I'll give the signal. On the count of three, you will jump. One ...." Kardi raised one finger, giving the count.
La Ode glanced at Kardi's finger, refocused.
"Two ...." Kardi raised two fingers.
La Ode stared at the target whale, grasping the spear tighter. The whale's back surfaced, spraying water from its head hole.
"Three!" Three fingers were raised.
Hup! La Ode jumped up, raising his spear, ready to stab the whale (slow motion). The sun beat down on his shirtless, shiny body. The eye of the spear continued to plunge. Stab! Successfully stabbed the target whale—Splash! La Ode dived.
Kardi jumped in next, Splash! Diving in, he plunged his spear.
A moment later, the seawater became a sea of blood. Whale blood splattered, then spread around the boats. The target whale screeched, one or two others tried to swim away, or dive deeper. Whimpering.
The crew hooted and hollered, immediately pulling on the line that was attached to the whale, pulling the whale away.
Splash! Splash!—Stab, stab, the next two lamafa dived, stabbing the second target whale.
La Ode and Kardi were floating in the sea water. "That was good, Boy." Kardi praised La Ode.
La Ode smiled back, "Aha-ha," chuckle.
Soon they both swam over to their respective boats, climbing aboard. A crew member helped them aboard. "Thank you," La Ode said, and immediately joined in pulling the line with the rest of the crew, pulling in the whale.
"Hiaaa!" La Ode exclaimed, continuing to pull tight. The crew hooted and hollered.
Fifteen minutes of painstakingly pulling the whale. How could I not? The whale is the largest animal on earth, and it kept thrashing around, trying to dive deeper. The crew pulled harder on the line, shouting. Although the whale is very heavy, these whalers are used to it, they are all responsible. If foreigners hunt whales with cannons and harpoons, then pull them with ships, these whalers instead use the traditional method, manually by hand, only capitalizing on spear, also pulling it with human labor, not machines. Like hunting fish with a spear in the river, the difference is that the fish hunted is very large, aka whales. The whales that are hunted are not able to fight them. A whale can feed a village for a week or two.
"Hiaaa!" La Ode called out, not discouraged.
The hunted whale was starting to run out of steam, it was starting to get interested. The crew became more energized, their cries growing louder. Six meters apart, the whale continued to pull. The crew hooted and hollered, excited to see the whale getting closer. Three meters. The crew pulled even harder. The cries are also getting louder, the whale is getting attracted. Two meters, keep pulling. One meter left ....
Just as the whale was beside the boat La Ode was traveling in, suddenly, SPLAAAAAAASSHH!!! The whale's very wide tail flapped the hull of the boat, flipping the boat over with ease. La Ode and the crew with him gasped, "WAAAAAA!!!" They shouted in unison. "Ukh!" La Ode growled. SPLAAASH! They all plunged into the sea.
Don't worry, the crew was used to it. Some of them were laughing. Some of the crew on the other safe boats also laughed, but quickly worked together to help the fallen crew, helping to right the capsized boat. Five people from the safe boat jumped in, helping to turn the boat upside down.
Blub-blub-blub .... La Ode in the water, holding his breath, he splashed a little deep, before being knocked a little far away from the boat—not a problem. La Ode saw the hulls of the boats above him. Immediately swam upwards, to the surface. Keep swimming upwards.
Slap! The whale's broad tail accidentally fanned La Ode's stomach, pushing him a little further away. Damn.
The boat capsize was justified. The crew splashed earlier back into their boat. Then it was back to pulling the whale, before it got away.
Kardi counted the crews on the boats that had capsized earlier, making sure everyone was okay. Realizing there was a crew missing. Looking at their faces. La Ode!
"Hey, where's La Ode?" Kardi called out to the boat crew.
The crew then gasped in confusion. They glanced at each other. Isn't La Ode with us? Looking around among them.
La Ode continued to swim upwards, towards the surface. The seawater on the surface rippled, the froth slightly blocking La Ode's view as she neared the surface. Suddenly, La Ode's head popped up from the surface of the water. But ....
RUMBLE! The lightning in the sky struck in the distance, the overcast clouds rumbled. There were no whaling boats on the surface of the sea. There was no one around La Ode. What? Where had the others gone? Nor the hunted whales. Where had they all disappeared to? La Ode was dazed in the middle of the sea. His head poked up on the surface of the water, floating there, looking around searching.
La Ode panicked a little. "Uh, hello! Where did you all go? Uncle Kardi!" La Ode shouted. Where did the others go? I clearly saw them from under the water. This was very strange. La Ode's face began to worry, but he tried to remain strong. Still confused about the situation. But this situation is very strange. It's really confusing. Very odd. There was no way he was dreaming. The truth is dreaming while hunting, even in a waking state. La Ode also realized this was not a dream.
La Ode looked around again, floating on the surface of the sea. Then he saw something. He widened his eyes in horror.
SPLAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSHHH!!! The head of a giant sea monster came out from the surface of the sea, "ROAAAAR!!!" It roared loudly.
The sea monster was about 300 meters large, human-like in stature, with 2 arms and legs, but fins, a wide snout, if the snout opened it would be split into 3—lower jaws split into 2, there were thousands of large plates on its back, perhaps similar to Godzilla or kaiju, a long tail with fins at the end, its skin was hard like a crab or crustacean, small animals for it to crawl through its hard skin, such as large mussels or "bugs"—who knows, maybe a type of crab.
La Ode was thirty meters away from the sea monster. But it felt very close, because the monster was so big. It was truly horrifying. Imagine being in the middle of the sea alone, with a giant sea monster inside. Just seeing a picture like that on the internet is horrifying. Let alone this, La Ode experienced it firsthand. And it's real. People with thalassophobia would have gone into a coma if they experienced this.
Zing, a framed text would appear in La Ode's vision, displaying the name of the sea monster.
WILKATAKSINI
"AAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" La Ode screamed very loudly, completely terrified—so scared that he ignored the writing that suddenly appeared in his vision.
BOOOOOSH! The 30-meter-high waves, from when the sea monster had come out, swept towards La Ode so hard.
La Ode turned pale, wide-eyed in horror at the sight of the huge wave. He quickly tried to swim away. Whether he survived or not, he was clearly panicking. La Ode continued to swim away with all his might, panting. But the big waves continued to chase him from behind. La Ode didn't dare to look back.
The big waves continued to move, very fast, only ten meters away from La Ode. The big wave began to dive, ready to hit La Ode. "Hah-hah-hah...," La Ode panted, continuing to swim with all her might. A big wave was ready to hit La Ode. La Ode surrendered, she was slammed.
Blitz! Just as the big wave was three meters away from La Ode, as he was slamming, there was a flash of light behind him, between La Ode and the big wave. La Ode looked back to see the flash. The flash then widened, opening a 20-meter-wide portal, from which emerged a giant woman, with the body of half a fish. Wait, a giant mermaid?
La Ode gaped (slow motion). The giant mermaid was so beautiful, was she a sea goddess? She had white hair and skin, ears like fins, luminous blue eyes, wearing bright clothes with sea beads. She didn't realize there was La Ode in front of her, she was about to crash into La Ode.
CRASH! La Ode and the giant mermaid collided—Blitz! The portal closed again, taking them both away.
***
It was dark, La Ode's vision opened, starting to see clearly, blinking, perfectly visible. Early morning orange sky. The breeze was rustling. The chirping of gulls and pelicans could be heard all around, Who knows if they were gulls and pelicans or not, but it seemed like the right description.
"Uuh...," La Ode moaned.
Then he sat up. He was stranded on a piece of coral, about 10 meters square. "Where is this?" La Ode looked around. There was a coastal village to the southeast, 40 meters away. It looked a little foggy, with the lights of the buildings still on. Boats and ships were moored on the shoreline.
The sea rippled beneath the coral reef La Ode was on.
La Ode squinted, taking a closer look at the village in front of him. The village looked very foreign, even strange, there were some houses in glass like in an aquarium.
"Uh, what is that village?" Zing, just as La Ode asked, framed text appeared in his vision, displaying the name of the village.
Kayali Bay Maritime Village
"Uh," La Ode gasped as he saw the writing appear, "what is this writing‽" Confusion. But reading the writing, he nodded.
"Where exactly is this? Moreover, what exactly happened?" La Ode exhaled heavily, looking down.
La Ode then saw something, while looking down, gasping. He saw the giant mermaid from the previous portal, curled up in the water, below him.
"Uh, isn't she ...." La Ode took a closer look at the giant mermaid below him. The giant mermaid sounded like it was whimpering, like it was in pain.
Gluk, La Ode swallowed. He wanted to help the giant mermaid. But half of his heart held back. What if the giant mermaid was evil? Was she dangerous? Perhaps she was a monster. The large body of the giant mermaid also made La Ode a little scared.
La Ode hesitated, silent. Then he thought for a while, ten seconds of thought. Well, on second thought, it seemed that the giant mermaid was not evil. Moreover, she was whimpering. If she was indeed evil, she wouldn't be able to attack in her current state either. Plus, she has a beautiful face. How could such a beautiful creature be a monster?
La Ode ventured, hup, he jumped, splash, splashed, swam towards the whimpering giant mermaid. La Ode was in front of her huge face. What a big head.
Blub-blub-blub..., holding her breath underwater. What should I do to wake her up? La Ode thought confusedly.
Fish were swimming around.
La Ode approached the head of the giant mermaid, right in front of his nose. Hope she doesn't attack me, La Ode muttered. Tuds, La Ode pressed the nose of the giant mermaid, wiggling it. The giant mermaid winced, feeling uncomfortable. "Uuh...," she whimpered. Slowly opening her eyes, she moaned slightly.
La Ode backed away slightly, both hands raised in guard.
The giant mermaid woke up, looking at La Ode with a limp look. "Uuh ...," she whimpered, "the ... pirates. Tell ... Sage Ampuh. Village... Kayali Bay," the giant mermaid said softly. She closed her eyes again.
La Ode frowned in confusion.
The giant mermaid then showed something from her hand, a "ring"—for her. To La Ode, it was a disc, about the size of a motorcycle disc, gold in color with bright blue engravings, made of stone. La Ode swam towards the disc.
As La Ode approached, splash, the body of the giant mermaid burst, blub-blub-blub ..., into a mass of bubbles, accompanied by a magical orange effect. A beautiful, normal-sized woman, with half a body that was no longer a fish tail, came into view after the shattering effect disappeared. She was curled up. The giant mermaid turned into a normal human.
"What‽ Is she a human? Perhaps this is her true form." La Ode was surprised.
"Uuh...," the woman, previously a giant mermaid, whimpered.
If the situation was better, there were many things La Ode wanted to ask her. However, seeing the woman whimpering, La Ode had to save her immediately. La Ode thought about what the giant mermaid or the woman had said before, What did she say before, huh? Oh yes, pirates, say Sage Ampuh, and... Kayali Bay Village. La Ode pondered for a moment, then remembered something. That's right, Kayali Bay Village. That was the name of the coastal village. La Ode immediately lifted the woman's body, shouldered her and carried her. Swimming to the surface.
Splash, La Ode's head poked above the surface of the water. "Haaah," he took a breath with a gasp as soon as he popped up. Then he looked around and saw the coastal village. He swam straight towards the coastal village.
On the other side, near the shore, a young teenage boy was practicing spearfishing. The young teenager practiced spearfishing by standing on the water. Yes, make no mistake, he was actually standing on the water, floating there.
"Hup, hup. Hia-hia-hia...," the young teenager exclaimed-while swinging his spear, moving around nimbly, jumping, and..., Splash! Slamming his spear down, into the surface of the water, the seawater splashed.
"HEEEEYY, HEEEEELLPP! THERE'S AN UNCONSCIOUS WOMAN WHO NEEDS HELP!" There was a cry for help (it was La Ode's cry).
The young teenager was stunned, stopping his training, when he heard the shout. "Uh whose voice is that? Is someone asking for help?" he asked.
The young teenager then looked around, searching for the direction of the source of the sound. His gaze focused on, and found, the sea. He saw a young teenager (La Ode), carrying a woman.
"HEEEYY, HEEEEELLP!!!" the man (La Ode) shouted again.
The young teenager immediately ran to that person (La Ode), by running on the sea water. Hup, he then jumped, then used his spear to surf on the water, standing on his spear. Woooos..., surfing quickly towards that person (La Ode).
"HEEEYY, HANG ON!" The young teenager shouted to the man (La Ode).
La Ode continued to swim with the woman. Then he heard a scream (the young teen's scream). He was stunned. La Ode looked in the direction of the source of the shouting, seeing someone, a young teenager, looking easier than him.
Thank God, someone is coming, La Ode muttered, smiling happily. His face was bright.
That person, or the young teen, continued to surf closer.
Wait, what's that guy surfing with? Is that some kind of newfangled surfboard? La Ode muttered in confusion, watching the young teen surf closer to him. He seemed to be surfing with a strange object to La Ode.
The young teenager arrived in front of La Ode. La Ode clearly saw the "surfboard" he was riding. A little stunned in surprise, isn't it just a spear? If the situation was better, there were many things La Ode wanted to ask. Starting from him suddenly being in this place, the giant sea monster, the writing that could appear in vision, the giant mermaid, which turned into a woman on his shoulders, and this young teenager, who was surfing with a spear.
Hup, the young teenager got off his spear, standing on the water. There was more that La Ode wanted to ask. How could this teenager stand on the water without splashing? The young teenager then looked at the woman La Ode was carrying. He was wide-eyed.
"Oh my God, Grandma!" he squealed.
La Ode frowned in confusion, Wait, what? This woman, the previous giant mermaid, is his grandmother‽ A woman as beautiful and young as this‽ Well, it seems like there will be no end to the questions. La Ode should immediately help the woman on his shoulder, or the teenager's grandmother. If the situation was better, perhaps the questions piling up in his head would be answered one by one.
"Come on, take my grandmother up!" The young teen called out, urging La Ode to join him on his spear.
With no time to think, La Ode quickly mounted the young teen's spear, clinging to his back, while carrying the woman.
Woooooooosss ...., the young teen re-ran his spear. Surfing with the speed of a speadboat. The sea air hit La Ode and the teenage boy's bodies, both of their hair flying. Continuing to surf towards the coastal village, Kayali Bay Village, that was the name of the village earlier.
(Continue surfing.) "Hey, uh... Friend, what's your name by the way?" La Ode asked nervously, trying to break the arm. Get acquainted.
"My name is Zaky, but people usually call me Jeki." The young teenager replied, telling his name. Zaky or Jeki, that was his name.
"What's your name?" Jeki asked back.
"My name is La Ode," La Ode replied.
"Oh." Jeki nodded his head.
"Where did you find my grandmother?"
"Under the water near a rock. She was curled up there whimpering. Actually, we met when your grandmother accidentally bumped into me earlier. When I was about to be hit by a huge wave, 30 meters high, from the body of a sea monster. When I was about to be hit by the wave, your grandmother suddenly appeared, halfway between me and the wave, with a portal. Your grandmother crashed into me, and instantly, I lost consciousness. Waking up, I was on a piece of rock, and found your grandmother curled up nearby just like in the beginning."
"Wait, a portal?" Jeki was surprised, asking for confirmation.
"Yes." La Ode said. He thought Jeki would take it for granted, thinking it was something natural or normal. Considering he was even surfing with a spear. "Didn't you know about it? Didn't your grandmother say anything to you before?"
"No, she didn't. My grandmother hasn't even been home since three days without any news. My family was actually worried at home. Thankfully, I found her today. Of course, thanks to you too, for finding her. Sorry, I forgot to thank you before."
"It's okay." La Ode replied sadly.
"Oh yeah, uh... do you mind if I call you Brother La Ode? You seem to be older than me."
"Of course. Go ahead." La Ode did not object.
"By the way, where is Brother La Ode from?"
"That's what I really wanted to ask you. I actually wanted to ask you that. Where exactly am I. Or rather in what world? Seeing as there are giant sea monsters in this world." La Ode replied awkwardly, asking back. Even your grandmother, who was previously a giant mermaid, and still looks young, as well as yourself, who is now surfing with a spear, and can stand on water, La Ode added.
"Huh, what does Bang La Ode mean?" Jeki was confused by La Ode's answer.
"It's like this ...." La Ode recounted the actual incident at the beginning, when he was whale hunting, and suddenly appeared near a sea monster.
Jeki nodded in understanding.
"That's why, I asked where I was?" La Ode asked again.
"Maybe Brother La Ode is from another dimension or world." Jeki replied.
"Another world?" La Ode was confused.
"Yes, I mean the world Brother La Ode came from. The world, or rather the universe, that Brother La Ode is now in, is called Archiverse."
"Archiverse?" La Ode tilted his head slightly, frowning.
Jeki nodded, looking back at La Ode, "Does Brother La Ode know the name of that world? If not, then it means that Brother La Ode is really from another world, or not from this world."
"I see, yes. But why aren't you surprised that I'm from another world? You're even thinking things like that. How did you know?" La Ode wondered.
"Things like other worlds in this world are common. It's even common knowledge. Because in this world there are also quite a few people from other worlds, like Brother La Ode. And that kind of thing has long been proven. Some kingdoms also sometimes perform rituals to summon people from the other world. Then make them as tools or soldiers, with the lure of the title of hero. Such rituals are actually a taboo." Jeki explained.
"Is there any way to return to my home world. Do you also know how I came to this world?"
Jeki shrugged, "I don't know that for sure. There are many factors and ways for someone from another world to come here. The most common cause, and well known to many, is reincarnation, or being reborn from the dead. And summoning through previous taboo rituals. However, as for how someone from the other world returns to their home world, that is something that rarely happens, if ever. Even if there was, it was probably very difficult. I almost don't know myself, but I heard there was one, probably through a ritual as well. Most people from other worlds prefer to stay and live in this world. I also don't know why Brother La Ode came to this world. Maybe it's because Brother La Ode actually died, drowned while whaling, or was eaten by a shark, and then reincarnated here."
"Hey, random!" La Ode exclaimed in disapproval. It was good to say he was dead.
"He-he, sorry." Jeki grinned mischievously.
La Ode nodded his head. "Then what about the writing that can appear in the vision. Do you know? In my eyes or vision before, there suddenly appeared the name of this coastal village in front of me, 'Kayali Bay Maritime Village'. Even in my vision right now there are some sort of letters indicating the cardinal points."
"Oh, aha-ha-ha. It seems to be true that Brother La Ode is not from this world. The writing that appears in the vision is a normal external thing. Even I can do it. People believe it is one of the proofs of the universe's nature or system. The writing that appears in visions shows evidence of the system of the universe, or nature, which is made orderly by the Creator, whom people call God. The system takes the form of logic."
I see. It's getting more and more obvious that I'm in another world. It seems like this world has some kind of system, which distinguishes it from my world, La Ode muttered, It seems like everything is clear enough, to explain all the strangeness I'm experiencing, none other than because I'm in another world now. Lokantara, that's the name of this world. Exhaling.
It's quiet.
I wonder how Uncle Kardi and the others are doing? La Ode looked up, staring at the sky.
***
At dusk, the sun began to sink into the sea. On the shore, the crew of the whaling festival huddled there. They had caught two whales. Unlike usual, if every time they return from a hunt they rejoice, this time they look gloomy, even sorrowful. Especially Kardi, the leader of the hunt.
Kardi exhaled heavily, his clothes shabby, standing before a middle-aged woman.
"You promised me you'd take care of him! You promised!" Shouted the woman, with bleached hair, La Ode's aunt. She was sobbing, her face puffy with tears. When she found out La Ode had disappeared from the whaling festival.
Upon learning of La Ode's disappearance, whaling continued. Kardi sent 12 people with him to look for La Ode. They swam almost to the bottom of the sea looking for him. When the whale was caught, the whole crew joined in the search. Searching for hours until dusk. Unfortunately, La Ode was not found. With heavy hearts, the crew sailed home.
"You know he (La Ode) is a very good boy. His mother died when she gave birth to him. And his father, disappeared when he was 7 years old. He was orphaned since childhood. His father disappeared while fishing. And now his son too‽ I swear to take care of him. I've taken care of him since he was a baby and he's like my own son. He's been missing and now he's missing himself‽ You're really very stupid, stupid, stupid ...." Aunt La Ode was beating Kardi's chest, she was very sad and upset.
Kardi could only remain silent, looking down in regret. Letting Aunt La Ode beat his chest.
"Ukh, so stupid, hiks-hiks, stupid, hiks, stupid!" Aunt La Ode continued to wail, snorting, choking. Her tears continued to fall.
Two people approached La Ode's aunt, trying to calm her down and pull her away from Kardi.
Kardi was also shedding actual tears. "Ekh, hiks-hiks ...," he gasped, cupping his hands over his eyes. A man as short and brave as him was also crying.
Everyone around was grieving. The sun continued to sink into the sea.
***
Five minutes of surfing later, we're heading towards Kayali Bay Village on the coast. We arrive at a large stilt house, perhaps a mansion. The mansion was built on the water, on the side of a large rock, near the shoreline, like Tanah Lot in Bali. It was made of concrete and looked quite luxurious. Jeki's family residence.
Jeki and La Ode got off the spear, splash, La Ode splashed, while Jeki stepped on the water. They both then climbed the steps to the mansion veranda, the steps connecting the water surface with the veranda. Knock-knock, Jeki knocked on the door.
"Somebody please open the door quickly! I'm coming to bring Grandma." Jeki shouted out.
Creak, the door opened. A thirteen-year-old girl looked up and opened the door. La Ode was a little surprised to see the girl, who had the tail of a orca. But La Ode did not ask, remembering that this was another world.
Jeki immediately entered, "Come on in, Brother La Ode!"
La Ode followed him in, carrying the woman, or Jeki's grandmother.
"What happened?" The girl exclaimed, surprised by the situation.
"There's no time to explain, Little Sister, hurry up, get Father-Mother and the servants!" Jeki exclaimed, ordering the girl.
The girl hurried to call the servants, "Servants, please come quickly! Big Brother came to bring Grandma. Please call Father and Mother too!" she called out.
Within seconds, five servants, 3 with fish tails and 2 with shells and jellyfish heads, came rushing over to Jeki and La Ode, helping them.
Ten minutes passed. La Ode was sitting on the living room sofa. Wrapping his body in a thick, furry blanket, a waiter had previously given him the blanket, while eating warm whipped noodles. Together with Jeki and his two younger sisters, Marjan and Mutiara.
Marjan was the girl who opened the door earlier. The youngest sister. She had a cute face, shoulder-length black hair with a white pattern, tailed and finned at the nape of her neck and arms.
As for Mutiara, her face is almost similar to Marjan's, except that she is 14 years old, and her hair is as long as her back. But there was one thing that really distinguished her from Marjan, namely her body, her body was half a orca. And she was floating on the surface of the water, in the trench on the floor of the living room.
There was a kind of moat that could be opened around the living room, as well as in every room of the mansion, like the hatch of a ship. This mansion also had several rooms underwater that were submerged. Pearls cannot live on land. That's why this mansion was specially built for her too.
La Ode was acquainted with Mutiara and Marjan beforehand. Jeki told them everything, including the story of La Ode's arrival.