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Ninety Fathoms to Anywhere

adventure◐ Teen
5 contributors · 3 paragraphs deep

Before either of them could speak, a boat thumped against the boathouse door. A man in a patched gray coat climbed in, smiling too wide. "That bell is the last working one on the coast," he said. "Name your price. I'll pay in fresh water and fuel." Iyla and Sefu looked at each other for the first time in years.

Sefu nodded slowly. "Water and fuel for the bell. Deal." But Iyla saw the man's hands shaking and the hunger in his eyes. "Wait," she said. "Why do you really want it?" He admitted the truth: his whole village was sinking, and the bell was their only way to reach the supplies below.

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Instead of selling, they offered to dive together and split whatever they found. The man wept with relief. Down in the vault they discovered the seeds, enough for both their peoples. Two strangers and a long-silent brother and sister rose to the surface as something new: a crew, and a chance for everyone.

BD
Bram de Vries
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