I enjoyed my new job of being Arendelle's coastguard. It felt so good to be useful and getting paid. I wasn't earning much, but it was still earned money nonetheless and I felt better earning it than stealing it like when I had to when I lived in Spain. I made enough to pay Anna and her family for the food and shelter they had very kindly been providing for me. Any money I didn't spend I saved for stuff like buying a future house and paying future tax, but I still enjoyed sleeping in Anna's barn. It was always nice and warm, the hammock was very comfortable for sleeping, Sven was still great company and Rika's magical vegetable breakfast was always delicious.
Another good thing about this was I wasn't doing it alone. I had my good friend Olaf with me as my coastguard assistant. Unlike me, he wasn't getting paid, but, like me, he was having fun doing it and it made him feel very useful.
Today I spotted a big boat heading towards the harbour and I saw four children falling into the water. There were a lot of panic cries coming from the children in water and the adults on the boat. I quickly got into my boat and rowed to them. It wasn't long before I reached the children who were drowning and put them in my boat. Then I looked up at the ship and learned that everyone saw what I did. I looked at the man who I thought was the captain of the ship and I thought he was because he was the only one who was wearing a hat and a long navy coat. "Are you the captain?" I called.
"Yes!" replied the man with the hat and coat.
"Are you docking to Arendelle harbour?" I asked him.
"Yes!" the captain replied.
"Right. I'll take these children to it then. I'll meet you there." I rowed myself and the four children back to the harbour and Olaf helped them out of my boat while we waited for the big boat to dock.
When it docked and everyone departed, the parents of the children who fell in the water told them off for not playing safely on the boat and they thanked me for saving them.
As soon as everyone left the harbour, I heard another cry for help. It was very distant, but it sounded very urgent. As it was my duty of Arendelle's coastguard, I got back into my boat and rowed to follow that cry for help.
"You'll be all right on your own for a bit, won't you, Olaf?" I asked him while I rowed away.
"Sure I will, Miguel," my snowman friend replied, as he waved to me as I rowed to the cry of help. "Good luck."
"Thank you."
After rowing for what I thought was an hour, I was very tired, but I kept on rowing to follow that cry for help to find it. It took me to a rocky area that was surrounded by rocky walls and I found that where the person crying for help was. I could see that the person was standing on a giant rock in the middle of the water, but I couldn't tell yet if it was a man or a woman. As I rowed closer, I finally saw who it was: my friend Honeymaren.
As I got closer to her, I saw that wood was on the giant rock as well as her. They looked to me by the branches of the raft that Olaf and I helped her make last week. I rowed to the giant rock as quick as I could, but I couldn't hold the boat steady because the water was rough and choppy.
"I can't hold the boat steady, Honeymaren!" I called. "You'll have to jump!"
"Okay!" Honeymaren did jump and she managed to land in the boat before she missed. I didn't need to help her get into the boat properly as the clever lady did that all on her own. I could focus on rowing away from the giant rock as quickly as I could.
"Are you all right?" I asked her.
"Yeah, I am, Miguel," she said. "And thank you for rescuing me."
"No problem," I said. "But I have to ask: how long have you been there?"
"Only since last night," she replied. "And in answer to your next question, I was meeting up with my friends."
"And how did you end up on that small rocky island?" I asked.
Then she explained she had been seeing her friends more often since Olaf and I helped to build her raft. She had been rowing it to check on them, but last night there was a huge wind and it made her crash onto the rock that I found her on. She hadn't stopped screaming for help since last night. It wasn't long until I saw giant tentacles – the same ones I saw last week.
"The monster that has these giant tentacles, is it one of your friends, Honeymaren?" I asked.
"Yeah, she is," she replied. "And her name is Risha. Now, don't be scared. She's very friendly and just wants to play. So come with me and I'll introduce you to her." Then she stood up and took her clothes off, leaving nothing on except clothing that looked like a white bikini. "Come on, Miguel," she repeated, holding her hand out.
I was nervous about it at first, but then I thought it would be another adventure. So I took off my red shirt and shoes and took Honeymaren's hand and then we dived into the water.
As I swam further down the lake with Honeymaren, I couldn't see anything unusual – just rocks and fish and seaweed and a giant squid. A giant squid! So those giant tentacles belonged to her.
I started to swim away out of, but Honeymaren stopped me by grabbing my hand. She gestured that we swim closer to Risha so we did. Then she gestured me to stroke her, so I did. It felt so soft and squishy. Then Honeymaren gestured me to look into Risha's eyes and I did. I looked into the giant squid's eyes and I saw how friendly she was. Then I felt I needed to breathe so I waved bye to Honeymaren's friend and swam up to the surface and breathed. Honeymaren joined me as well.
"So what did you think, Miguel?" she asked.
"Yeah, Risha is very soft and squishy and friendly," I told her.
"And she likes you," she told me.
"Have you got more friends underwater like Risha here?"
"Yes. And they're very near. Would you like to see them?"
"Sure." Then I grabbed her hand and we dived back into the water.
I was amazed when Honeymaren introduced me to her strange but lovely friends. I saw a giant reptile creature that looked part crocodile and part dragon, who was friendly but rough to play with. Then I met a giant creature that looked like a hippo who was shy but very nice. Then I met a group of playing creatures that looked fish but with a tiger face and stripes. And, finally, I met a giant creature that looked like a giant shark but looked an older version (by that, I meant a shark from the ancient times.)
After having so much fun meeting Honeymaren's friends, she and I reached the surface again.
"Wow, your friends are so cool, Honeymaren," I told her. "You sure know how to be friendly to your friends while other people would just hunt them down out of fear or hate."
"Even my own tribe would hunt them down if they knew about it. You're the only one I could share my secrets with." Then Honeymaren wrapped her arms around me.
I chuckled bashfully. "Well, what can I say? I'm deeply honoured."
"Good. I'm glad." Then she kissed me on the lips. Then I kissed her back.
"Wow, you're a very good kisser," Honeymaren said, as she climbed back into the boat.
I followed her. "Thanks. So are you."
Then I grabbed the oars and I started to row back to the Enchanted Forest.
"So are you enjoying living in Arendelle, Miguel?" Honeymaren asked me.
"Oh, definitely," I replied. Then I told her since I last saw her I got a job at being Arendelle's official coastguard with Olaf as my assistant.
"Well, congratulations," Honeymaren said.
Soon we reached the Enchanted Forest and docked it. I helped Honeymaren and her gear out of the boat.
"Thanks for your help, Miguel," Honeymaren said.
"No problem," I said. "I really enjoyed spending time with you and learning about your friends."
"Well, perhaps we could do it again some other time," Honeymaren said. "Go swimming together and make new friends."
"Yeah, I'd like that," I said. "Do you need a hand building a new raft to check on your friends?"
"No, thank you, Miguel," she said. "I still remember how to do it from a very great teacher."
I was flatted. Then she put her hands on my cheeks and kissed me on the lips again. I kissed her back before she broke it off and started to head towards the forest.
"See you soon, Miguel," she said flirty before she disappeared.
As I rowed back to Arendelle in my boat, I started to think of all the good times I had with Honeymaren and I questioned myself whether I liked her as a friend or more. But even if it wasn't more, she wouldn't just be a friend. She would be one of my very best friends. She was my very best Northuldra friend.
