Turtle Reef

Turtle Reef

Chapter 1: Exploring

There is a turtle named Wade. He lives in the ocean
with his family. He has so many brothers and sisters
that their dinner table takes up an entire section of
the ocean floor. Wade loves his family, and they play
together every day in the ocean: They ride waves,
learn how to spit water out of their noses, and learn
to swim.

One day Wade asks his mother, "Can I go exploring?"
She says, "Sure, Wade, but make sure you take your
younger sister Cynthia."
Wade agrees, and swims away to find Cynthia.
When he finds her a few minutes later, she is crying.
"Cynthia, why are you crying?" asks Wade.



Chapter Two


"I can't find my favorite pebble," Cynthia answers,
cheeks wet with salt water tears even under the ocean.
"Well, let's go on an adventure to find it," suggests
Wade.
"That sounds like it could be fun," says Cynthia.
"It WILL be! Come on!" exclaims Wade.
Wade and Cynthia flap their flippers and head off into
the ocean, swimming around each other in the water.
After they swim a little while, they see a hermit
crab. This hermit crab is named Molly and is their
undersea neighbor.
"Hi, Molly!" they shriek.
"Whoa, whoa, kids, watch your voices. My ears aren't
what they used to be," says Molly.
"Sorry, Molly," says Wade, "But we're just excited to
be going on an adventure today. Say, have you seen
Cynthia's favorite pebble?"
"I don't know," says Molly. "Could you describe it?"
"Cynthia?" asks Wade. "Do you remember what your
pebble looks like?"
At this reference to her lost pebble Cynthia starts
crying again, but she manages to sniffle, "It's small,
and speckled, and it's my favorite pebble!"



Chapter Three


Wade says, "I know you're upset about your pebble,
Cynthia, but instead of crying about it, let's go look
for it."
They both wave goodbye to Molly and continue on their
journey.

The next friend they run into is a giant sting ray
named Ray.
He's also a friendly neighbor, and his skin is brown
like the bottom of the ocean.
"Hi, Ray!" calls out Wade.
He doesn't answer, or even seem to hear them, so Wade
swims over and sits on him.
"Oh, Wade and Cynthia! I didn't see you! I was
asleep!"
In our last episode...
Wade and Cynthia run into Ray the sting ray and wake
him up.
What will happen today is anyone's guess. Read on to
find out.



Chapter Four


"Ray!" Wade screams, running over to his v-shaped body
on the ocean floor and giving him a big hug. Ray had
known Wade and Cynthia and their parents from before
they were even born. Both Wade and Cynthia considered
him practically an unofficial uncle.
"Wade and Cynthia, what are you doing this morning
that's so important you should interrupt my morning
nap?" asks Ray.
"We're looking for adventure, and Cynthia's pebble."
Wade says.
"Well, don't head down to the reef today. I heard
there's going to be all kinds of adventure, but it may
be too dangerous for you two." says Ray.
"Ray!" sighs Cynthia. "You know we wouldn't go down
to the reef without mommy or daddy!"
"I know that, Cynthia, but I worry about you two.
You're big enough to get into some real trouble now."
"Don't be such a stick in the mud, Ray! Trust us.
We're turtles. Always cautious, always trustworthy,
always sticking to our word." says Wade.
"Now for the real issue at hand. Have you seen
Cynthia's pebble?"

to be continued...
Will Ray find Cynthia's pebble? Will Cynthia find a
princess mermaid? Will gold coins fall from the
surface of the ocean? You will have to wait to find out!



Chapter Five


When we left our heroes last, Wade was asking Ray if
he had seen Cynthia's pebble...

"Well. what does it look like?" asks Ray.
"It's small and grey and beautiful," sighs Cynthia,
not crying this time.
"I haven't seen anything small and grey and beautiful
today," said Ray, "but I also just woke up. Let's
look around here."

Just as Ray said that they all heard a beautiful sound
drifting over from the direction of the reef.

It was the song of the mermaids.

"Remember, kids, don't go over there!" repeated Ray,
to their consternation.

"Ray..." they groaned.

"I'll look around here, guys, and if I see anything
small and grey and beautiful-"
"And speckled!" piped in Cynthia, suddenly energized.
"If I see anything small, grey, beautiful and speckled
I'll let you know," finished Ray.

"Thanks, Ray!" they cried, already thinking about that
haunting melody in the distance...



Chapter Six


"Come on, Cynthia! Let's go!" says Wade, and off they
swim, waving their hind paws at Ray as they go.

They swim in a few lazy circles, but they both seem to
like the song in the distance.

"What is that beautiful music?" asks Cynthia.

It seems to be distracting her from missing her
pebble, it is so pretty.

It sounds like wind chimes made out of delicate glass
sculptures.

"It sounds like mermaids," says Cynthia, when Wade
doesn't reply to her question.

"Well...what is it, Wade?" she asks with a bit more
force behind her voice.

"I don't know, Cyn, but I love it," Wade sighs,
seemingly off in his own world.

"I have an idea!" shrieks Wade suddenly, startling
Cynthia.

"What?" asks Cynthia.

TO BE CONTINUED>>>>>
will they follow their ears?
will the mermaids be green or blue, or maybe even
orange?
they say the song of the mermaids is intoxicating...
stayed tuned for tomorrow's TURTLE REEF, starring Wade
and Cynthia!



Chapter Seven


Last time in Turtle Reef...

"I have an idea!" shrieks Wade suddenly, startling
Cynthia.

"What?" asks Cynthia.

Today in Turtle Reef...

"Let's follow our ears!" shrieks Wade, excited and
flushing blue in his green face.

"You're scaring me, Wade," says Cynthia. "We're not
supposed to go to the reef, remember?"

"But if we close our eyes and swim toward the music,
we won't know which way we're going."

Cynthia could not argue with that. It made sense to
her.

Both Wade and Cynthia close their eyes and start
flapping their paw, swimming gracefully although not
exactly in a straight line. They put their paws
together, holding paws so that they don't lose one
another.

"Wade, this fun!" whispers Cynthia, ears straining for
which direction the song is coming.

"Turn a bit left," whispers Wade, and they swim on for
another five minutes.

The song grows louder. It sounds like conch shell
trumpets and beautiful ethereal voices. Beautiful
like scratched dolphin wings and snails slithering
across the insides of their ears.

"It's so beautiful..." says Wade as they approach the
sound.

TO BE CONTINUED>>>>>>

What will happen?
will the mermaids be green or blue, or maybe even
orange?
they say the song of the mermaids is intoxicating...
stayed tuned for tomorrow's TURTLE REEF, starring Wade
and Cynthia!



Chapter Eight


Yesterday in our story, Cynthia and Wade were headed
closed-eyed for the song.


"Why, hello, there you silly green mittens!" said a
voice right in front of them.

Both Cynthia and Wade's eyes popped open in alarm.

It was the most beautiful mermaid Cynthia had ever
seen. She was made of light and air, mixed together
with a spoon made of silver feathers. Her hair flowed
like silken tofu, and her legs were not legs at all,
but a long tail that tapered to a golden fork at the
end.

"Wh-who are you?" asked Wade, his voice shaky with
wonder and delight.

Find out tomorrow who this mermaid is!



Chapter Nine


"Wh-what are you," asks Cynthia, her voice shaky with
wonder, fear, and awe.

"I'm a manatee mermaid," the mermaid says, her voice
liquid planet. "I come from the reef and you can hear
my seven sister singing there."

Wade and Cynthia looked around. They were no longer
in their neighborhood. None of the rocks and plants
looked familiar. It was new and frightening. The
green plants seemed bigger, the kelp more menacing.
Even the stones looked like they were up to no good.

"Where are we?" asks Wade.

"We are in the suburbs of the reef, the poor suburbs.
Around here some of the fish have no food to eat, and
their is hardly enough sunlight penetrating the water
for the plants to eat." The mermaid seems saddened by
this.

"What's your name?" asks Wade, acting like a reporter.

"Susanne," she replies, almost singing the name, high
note low note.

"Susanne?" asks Cynthia. "I like it. It's a very
soothing name."

"Yes," says Susanne, "and you should meet my seven
sister of silver tongue. All our names start with
S's."



Chapter Ten


"What's your name?" asks Wade, acting like a reporter.

"Susanne," she replies, almost singing the name, high
note low note.

"Susanne?" asks Cynthia. "I like it. It's a very
soothing name."

"Yes," says Susanne, "and you should meet my seven
sister of silver tongue. All our names start with
S's."

"What are they?" asks Cynthia, intrigued.

"Susanne, Sylvia, Sue-Ellen, Sylvania, Slick, Stepron,
and Starf!"

Cynthia giggles. She isn't even thinking about her
pebble.

"Can you take us to hear them sing?" said Wade.

"Sh!" Susanne suddenly whispered. "The evil ones
approach. Quickly follow me, ask no questions, and
stay close!"

Cynthia is filled with dread. Wade looks at her, his
eyes pleated with concern and his forehead a
premonition of wrinkles to come.

"What are the evil ones?" Wade aks himself silently.

They follow Susanne's swiftly swimming tail back into
some tall blue seaweed. They have to hurry and swing
their flippers quickly to keep up. She's really
flying through the water, her hair silver and gold and
red and green in the sun.


Who are the evil ones!? Why is Susanne in such a
rush? Will Cynthia ever find her pebble?



Chapter Eleven


"What are the evil ones?" Wade aks himself silently.

They follow Susanne's swiftly swimming tail back into
some tall blue seaweed. They have to hurry and swing
their flippers quickly to keep up. She's really
flying through the water, her hair silver and gold and
red and green in the sun.


"Susanne, I'm getting tired," Cynthia whined, flippers
tired.

"Quiet, child! Please!" Susanne hissed.

Ten minutes later they see a cave, glowing green with
phosphorescent algae. The entrace is small and
Susanne struggles to get the large of her tail inside.
Wade and Cynthia fit easily.

The cave is a glowing sculpture of stalactites and
stalagmites (pieces of rock hanging from the ceiling
and pointing up from the floor), just like in
above-ground caves. Each spike is glowing green and
pulsing. Cynthia has never seen such a thing, and
gasps.

She's frightened, but Susanne seems to relax.

"Feel the healing energy of the green sun," she says,
and pours them all cups of tea.

"Where are we, and what are we hiding from?" asks
Wade.

"This is my secret hiding place, the place where I
think, and no one has ever been here before but me,"
says Susanne, winking. "You should be honored."

Cynthia is still afraid, though, because the tea
tastes wretched and she misses her mom and dad. Slow
tears feel hot on her cheeks as she tries not to sob.
Wade comes over and puts his flipper around her
shoulder to comfort her.

"We're not in any danger here, Cyn," he says.



Chapter Twelve


Cynthia is still afraid, though, because the tea
tastes wretched and she misses her mom and dad. Slow
tears feel hot on her cheeks as she tries not to sob.
Wade comes over and puts his flipper around her
shoulder to comfort her.

"We're not in any danger here, Cyn," he says.

"It's going to be all right," Susanne sings. "There
is no danger here in the cave. We are hidden, safe
and protected."

Susanne launches into a little song, a lullaby.

"We are singing here, in the ocean,
We are safe here in the cave,
We are sitting here having tea
and it will be okay..."

Cynthia and Wade drift off to sleep on their kelpy
cushions.

They doze for what feels like three hours, but when
they wake up they are assured they can rest by
Susanne.

"We're safe here from the evil ones," she whispers.

Wade begins to worry in his sleep, dreaming fitfully
about large shadow fish who appear only at night and
can travel swiftly through the water without swimming.
They are all whispering to one another, like ghosts
or sheets flapping in the wind. Wade, in the dream,
strains to hear what they say to one another.



Chapter Thirteen


Who are the evil ones?

What is the real story behind Susanne and her Seven
Sisters, and is it a cheap take off of the little
mermaid movie, with the six sister all with names
starting with a's?


Wade begins to worry in his sleep, dreaming fitfully
about large shadow fish who appear only at night and
can travel swiftly through the water without swimming.
They are all whispering to one another, like ghosts
or sheets flapping in the wind. Wade, in the dream,
strains to hear what they say to one another.

"mush mush lipstack starch green yert meir," they seem
to be whispering. Wade leans closer, and see the
insides of their mouths glowing gold and green and
red.

Then he is jolted awake by the smell of the wretched
tea.

He is unfamiliar with where he is at first, groggy.

"Who are the evil ones?" he asks Susanne, who is
making a paste of some sort of seaweed for them to
eat.

"They are the dwellers of the deep," she replies,
matter-of-fact. "They swim faster than anyone else in
the reef. They are also the meanest creatures in the
ocean. They will destroy the reef if we don't protect
it. That's where my sisters and I come in."

"How?" asks Wade.

At this point Cynthia wakes up and begins to cry.
They've been away from home all afternoon.

"We sing with love, and repel all harm. Our stance in
nonviolence, but I'll explain more later. Right now
let's eat and see if we can get you two back home,"
says Susanne.

The paste is tasteless and green-orange in color, and
very thick and goopy like glue.


Questionnaire:

What do you like about the story?

What do you hate about the story?

What do you want to see more of?
Princesses?
Goblins?
Sharks?
Blowfish?
Stingrays?
Octopus?
Crayfish?
Beautiful maidens?
Ugly maidens?
etc!

Any ideas of where you want Wade and Cynthia to
explore?

Thanks!



Chapter Thirteen


Wade and Cynthia were tired and cranky by the time
they got home to their little rock home.

"That wasn't exactly the kind of adventure I had in
mind when we set out this afternoon," said Wade.

"I was trying to find my pebble and I found so much
more," said Cynthia.

Susanne left them a cryptic note when she left, tail
flashing gold, green red and silver in the sun setting
over their ocean world.

Wade read the note aloud:

"You have been chosen to help in the righteous battle
against the evil ones. If you choose to help, meet us
in the reef in two days at the setting sun, next to
the only orange kelp plant."

They were too tired to talk about it that night, and
though their mother had a strange concerned look in
her eyes, she didn't ask any questions before tucking
them in with their brothers and sisters under their
seaweed blankets and kelp beds. They were all green
and you could only see their little eyes poking out
before they dozed off.

Cynthia had a dream:

Cynthia is riding a large white seahorse and sees a
giant seacastle in the distance. It is so white even
the sun has trouble hitting it.

There are four towers and the entrance door is down at
the bottom. It's the largest building she's ever
seen: it's at least three or four times taller than
her dad and 25 times as wide. She has to look away
because it is so bright.

But she looks back again because out of the castle
flows a pink octopus with red suckers all over her
sixteen arms. She waves all sixteen arms wildly and
shrieks, "Cynthia Anne! It's been so long! I've been
waiting for you! It's so good to see you!"



Chapter Fourteen


In the distance they hear a rumble, a slow approach.
The sound of drums and low low beats. The family
wakes and rushes to the neighbors' houses to find out
what the commotion is. No one knows. What could that
low rumbling bumbling sound be?

There is a distinct beat, like a drum cadence. Bum
buh dah dah dum (quarter note eighth note eighth note
quarter note), bum buh dah dah dum, growing slowly
louder, closer.

Wade and Cynthia steal a glance at one another. In
each eye is a twinkle, thinking about the note Susanne
left them.

"Mommy, what's going on?" asks Cyril, the youngest in
the family.

"I don't know sweetie, but it's going to be okay,"
assured Mom.



Chapter Fifteen


"Mommy, what is going on?" asks Cynthia.

"I don't know, baby."

Wade begins to think the evil ones might be involved
somehow. He imagines they are red red crabs and all
have names beginning with z's. That's why they invade
your dreams.

"Attention all residents of Turtle Reef Suburb
Community!" shouts a loudspeaker held by the
fireturtle Marcus.

"Please remain calm as clams. This is a fire drill.
In the case of a real firewater emergency, this alarm
would alert you. As for right now, though, this is
just a test. We are still at code blue, meaning calm
as clams. Thank you for your cooperation. We
apologize for not giving much prior notice, but that
is how we have to test the alarms."

"Phew!"



"Please remain calm as clams. This is a fire drill.
In the case of a real firewater emergency, this alarm
would alert you. As for right now, though, this is
just a test. We are still at code blue, meaning calm
as clams. Thank you for your cooperation. We
apologize for not giving much prior notice, but that
is how we have to test the alarms."

Their neighbors Ray the sting ray and Velma the mussel
were there as well.

Ray said, "Well, what was that all about? Phew, I'm
glad it wasn't a real alarm. I just hate to think
about our beloved reef going up in firewater. When I
was a boy in our neighborhood across the ocean the
neighbors had a firewater accident, and no on
survived. I shudder to think about it."

Velma said, "You're right. I heard about this large
infestation of firewater down the street a few years
ago, and it was just dreadful. All these houses were
burned and so were the occupants."

In the morning the turtles were headed to sea school.
Wade and Cynthia walked a bit slower than the others
so they could discuss the note Susanne had left with
them.

"So, what do you think?" asked Wade.

"Well, as soon as I get my favorite pebble back I'll
be able to think better," said Cynthia.

Cynthia and Wade are on their way to school. They had
their breakfast of brine soup with oyster crackers,
and then got their backpacks and headed out the door.
Everyone was abuzz with talk of the false alarm the
night before.

"I think it was an attack on the government of Turtle
Reef," they overheard a clam telling an oyster.

Their school was full of clay to play with, with toys
of all kinds, and abacuses made of shells.


"Wade, I really need to find my pebble!" shouted
Cynthia half-way through the door to their school.
The other students looked over in alarm. They had
never seen Cynthia so upset.

"Sh!" shushed Wade. "We'll look for it at lunch
time."

School passed uneventfully. They had to complete some
sea math problems with their shell abacuses. It
seemed endless. Cynthia and Wade were in the same
class, and they could already do the simple addition
and subtraction in their heads. Would recess never
come?

Finally, after what seemed like oceans of years to
Wade and Cynthia, it was lunch time.

TO BE CONTINUED...

I want to know what’s going to happen next in turtle reef. Maybe the next thing that will happen will be a giant concernt with Susanne and her sisters. It will create energy that will be put in a special mush that wade and Cynthia will eat that will give them power that they will need to fight the evil ones. The mush will be the mermaids’ power all combined. The mermaids cannot directly fight the evil ones because they are allergic to the evil ones. The turtles are selected for their adventurous personalities, wits, and ability to not complain even under the worst of circumstances. It makes sense that Wade and Cynthia would be selected, because they both are young and ambitious. They will create fear in the hearts of the evil ones. Everyone at school will wonder where they have gone, and their parents will worry, but it will all come down to fighting the intolerance of the evil ones with love and an youngster’s naivete. The only other thing that needs to be wrapped up is what exactly are the evil ones. They may be snails of some sort or maybe barnacles would be good, because then it would make sense that they would infiltrate people’s homes and minds very slowly but surely send them into insanity. the barnacles are the evil thoughts of lies and especially intolerance. But how it all ends remains to be seen yet. The sunsets and rises underwater will be seen by the seven sisters, who will all help Wade and Cynthia in very special ways. The seven sisters help them realize that music can be a healing balm. Advice Suzanne gives them before they leave on their adventure reminds us all that perhaps later in the story they’ll need it to solve a puzzle. Maybe one of the mishaps will be to try to keep the barnacles from attacking to their shells and taking over a foothold in their brain. It would make sense that the barnacles would only be able to get onto the bodies first before invading their thoughts and brains.