(Last updated: 08/05/2022)

On the night of the magical mermoon, Captain Horatio Turbot was at the top of the lighthouse, still wide awake. The captain looked at the vast ocean through his trusty binoculars, hoping that today is going to be the day he would finally take a proper, perfect picture of the merpups. For years, he has been gathering evidence of the mystical merpups, as he wanted to show the world the existence of these amazing animals! Despite his failed attempts in the past, he is still very determined to get, at least, some clear evidence of the merpups.

      After hours of scouting the sea, something finally caught his eye. He sees a strange silhouette emerging from the glistening waters of Adventure Bay. “Could it be the merpups?”, Turbot thought. Not wanting to miss his chance, he quickly rushed outside and went into his fishing boat, The Flounder, and sailed away, so he could take a closer look and possibly, take a quick snap of the merpups. Finally, Turbot is able to get a clear sight of what he had just seen. However, instead of what he hoped, he found a bright orange rescue boat.

     Inside, there was a child, lying down unconscious. The child was covered in blue tarp, possibly as an attempt to protect himself from the cold breeze. The boy’s sorry state alarmed Turbot. He immediately carried the child to the Flounder, and brought the rescue boat to the shore of Seal Island. Horatio thought of bringing the child to the hospital for close inspection, but upon realising the child was just sleeping, he decided to let the child sleep in his dorm and hopefully, figure this situation out in the next day.

     As the sun finally rose, Turbot woke up to see how the child was doing. The child was startled to see him, and Horatio was relieved to see that he was fine. As he took a look at the child, Horatio saw him wearing clothes that were worn out, and wearing a necklace similar to the merpup’s collar. “These mysterious merpups must’ve saved his life…”, the captain thought. Before taking him to breakfast, Turbot gave the boy a bath and some spare clothes to change. After that, both of them sailed to Adventure Bay.

_____

    Upon arriving there, both of them went to Mr Porter’s cafe. Turbot orders a plate of tuna sandwiches and a cup of orange juice for the child, and his usual, tuna sandwiches and a cup of coffee with extra milk. Once their order had arrived, he decided to ask the boy some questions.

“What’s your name?” asked Turbot.

“...” 

The boy kept quiet, and looked at Turbot with a confused expression.

“Where are your parents?”

“I… I don’t know…” muttered the boy.

Turbot went silent after asking the boy, while the boy continued to eat his breakfast. Deep inside, he genuinely has no clue what to do in this situation, but he wants to help the boy regardless. As he was eating his sandwiches, the boy asked him a question,

“What’s your name?”

“O-oh, me? You can call me Cap’n Turbot!”, he answered.

The boy gave Turbot a smile upon hearing his answer. For some reason, Horatio felt his heart warm up when he saw the boy feeling happy.

“So… where did you come from?” asked Turbot.

“From the ocean!” replied the boy confidently.

“I mean, which country did you come from?”

Upon hearing the question, the boy looked at him, confused. 

“...What’s a country?” he asked.

Turbot thought the boy might be as old as Ryder, considering his tall and lanky appearance. But after those questions, the boy might be as old as Alex.

“Hey there Cap’n, who’s this boy beside you?”, Mr. Porter chimed in.

“He’s- uhh… He’s someone I saved last night. He was stranded at sea, and he’s in a sorry situation right now...” replied Turbot.

“Are you trying to find his family?”

“Yes, but it bothers me…” replied Turbot with a worried tone. “From his replies, he doesn’t remember anything…”

“You should ask Mayor Goodway about this, she could help you find his family, or a new one for him.”

Turbot then looked at the boy, and then looked back at Mr. Porter.

“I don’t know…” he replied.

Horatio knows he could just ask for Mayor Goodway to help him, but he finds sending a lost, confused boy to an orphanage to be morally questionable. However, he was not prepared to raise a child. The only clothes Horatio had for the child are the clothes he’s currently wearing, and the food he has is only squid jerky, jellyfish jam and other assortments of seafood. But, most of them are reserved for his walrus friend, Wally. He wished he could help the boy in some other way, instead of sending him to an orphanage.

    After eating their breakfast, both of them are on their way to the docks, to go back to Seal Island. Horatio held the boy’s hand as they walked together.

“Cap’n Turbot, where are we going?” asked the boy.

“To Seal Island, son!” replied Turbot.

“What are we going to do?”

“Give Wally his mouth-watering meal for this morning!”

“Who’s Wally?”

“He’s my wonderful walrus friend! You’ll know once you see him…”

“Ooh! After that?”

“Well, after that, I’m going to sail the seas to fish some squids in the Flounder!”

“Fish? Can I join you, Cap’n Turbot?”

“Sure, why not?”

[To be continued...]