Chapter 2

One hour of the morning.

I couldn't tell exactly what had woken me up from my deep sleep. When I woke up, I sat on the edge of the bed and thought about the homework that was coming up in a few weeks, when suddenly I was surprised by something very strange. It was the figure of a man. It was a face I recognized. I started rubbing my face thinking I was in the nose of a nightmare. Taken by fear, I cried out:

- Aline, where have you come from and what are you looking for in my house at this late hour of the night? And how did you manage to get into my room even though the doors were locked?

My girlfriend looked at me and smiled wryly. Aline was laughing in her loud voice. I wondered inwardly if her laughter would disturb the sleep of my parents who were sleeping soundly in their respective rooms.

- Octavia, follow me! she finally said.

A great fear tickled my heart.

- To go where?" I asked her.

- Get up and follow me, or can't you hear me?

Confused and disturbed, I asked her where she wanted to take me?

- First obey, she replied.

- But when you open the gate, my parents will hear the squeaking.

- You don't have to worry, I'll handle it; it's the queen calling you.

- The queen, what queen? What queen are you talking about?" I asked, surprised.

- My dear, you waste my time; get up we will leave before the fury obsesses me.

To avoid the guinea pigs, quietly, I rose from my bed and approached my visitor. Once in front of her neck, I thought she was standing on her feet at first, but I was immediately surprised to notice her standing on the tail of a big whale.

- What's that?" I exclaimed, out of breath.

- Are you scared? Don't be afraid. Let's go; I won't hurt you.

Five seconds earlier, we landed in a big country, a country of big fish. The fish were not ordinary ones. Part of their composition, from the head to the kidney was the human body. From the kidney to the feet was only fish tail.

In this new country where Aline had led me, houses were built here and there. The ground was visible. Trees were planted there. My heart was jumping. My breathing felt like it was going to stop. I wanted to run away, but to go where? Inwardly, I wondered if I would be able to return to my parents' home, or rather, to my usual world, that of human beings. Honestly, I was afraid and I knew that there was nothing left for me but death.

Aline dragged me in front of a tall lady who was sitting in a big royal chair. She had a crown against her head. Her hair was as long as a boa. The hair was so long that it swept across the floor. At her service, women and men were pounding sorghum and millet in mortars. Some of the women were making steaming sauce over large fireplaces.

There were children playing. They had the same body composition as the adults in the new world where I had come with my girlfriend. I was so frightened by the appearance of this new country that I wasted my time observing everything around me.

- My queen, I'm back!" my friend whispered as she got down on her knees.

- Welcome back, my daughter!" replied the presumed Queen.

- Thank you, my queen!

- And what took you so long?

- My queen, at the beginning, she had refused to follow me.

- Did she? And why did she refuse?

- She was afraid.

- Afraid? I see! Welcome, young lady!" said the presumed queen.

- Thank you, ma'am!" I answered her in turn, all fearful.

I was terribly afraid. I had no courage. Everything frightened me. Especially when I saw their tail swinging from left to right. I knew my life was over. I didn't know what to do anymore. Standing in front of their so-called queen, I shivered.

- Young lady, what do they call you in human land?

- They call me Octavia," I answered in one breath.

- They call you Octavia. Okay, welcome Octavia.

- Thank you, ma'am.

She scanned me from head to toe before continuing to talk to me.

- Now that you have come here, do you want to be part of our community?

What kind of stupid question was that again? Anyway, I didn't know what to say to that question. I shook my head because I could never agree.

- If you refuse to be part of it, then I will kill you on the spot, she stressed.

Another big fear filled my heart. And in front of this threat, I could not keep quiet.

- Please, don't hurt me, I beg you.

- If you don't want to be hurt, then you had better accept to be part of our people.

To save my head and my life, I agreed.

- Lucky for you," she said. So you are ready to make the alliance I will invite you to?

- Yes, ma'am!

- They don't call me ma'am. They call me either Oga or Queen. It's up to you to choose the name that suits you. Now that you agree, take off your clothes and kneel down there.