Mysterious Case of the Missing Arowana

Mysterious Case of the Missing Arowana

A Story by Schema
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The clicking sound of typewriters echoed through a dimly lit office. The grey concrete windowless walls surrounding cramped desks made the room look more like a box than an actual workplace. There were three men and a woman typing silently each on a scratched up desk. To the right of the group of writers sat a man in his mid 30s. He was the only person in the room reading over a pile of documents neatly organized in his desk. There were three main things that set his desk apart from the others: the lustrous clear paint still remaining on the surface, the three lined drawers on a cabinet left of his table, and the silver name plate that reads “Mr. Teru Media Executive Northcentral Weekly.” 


Uo was watching Mr. Teru’s every movement from behind. She knew it was creepy. A bit stalker-ish in harsh words, but she couldn’t help it. She could not afford to miss his sapphire blue eyes staring into her heart. The heart of a young girl that stutters and flutters whenever he turns around. His soft smile that melts her mind into a world of fantasy. She even felt a little envious at the printed letters of the documents he reads throughout the day. She dreams of the day where his arms would wrap around her tightly. She prays that someday, he would call her by his surname as he held her hands. 


But that was all impossible. It was forbidden. She was separated from him by a clear unbreakable glass wall. Her words can never reach him. She can never touch him. What a cruel world she lived in! If only there was a way to smash the wall into pieces. She drifted off to her daydream as she grew bored of staring at Mr. Teru’s back for the past three hours.


As Mr. Teru firmly grabbed my shoulder, he whispered into my ear, “No, Uo, you can not leave. I want you to be at my side.” “But you can’t be with me. Or else you’ll…” without a chance to finish off, his arms wrapped around me tightly. His blonde hair felt so soft and smelled like flowers. “Uo…” he called my name again. “Mr. Teru…” I answered back. Then, he placed  his right hand on the back of my head and pulled me towards his face. Our lips grew closer and closer and…


“Eyo Mr. Teru, how’s it goin man? I’ve been looking way forward to your latest issue couldn’t wait for them to arrive in stores!” At the loud ring of the door bell, Uo’s ideal date washed away like a sand castle swept up by the waves. The man that walked in was a tall lanky man, donning an excessive facemask. When he removed his gas mask, the face of a young man in his early 20s was revealed. “And I can’t believe you still have that dusty typewriter sittin there at the entrance! I keep saying this but do you ever plan on just getting rid of it?”


“Ah hello there Kai. I’m doing well, thank you. Glad you liked our paper! It’s all thanks to my talented writers. That typewriter is still functioning. But it’s the old Y67 model. We can’t just toss it since we’ve always been with that beast you know?” Mr. Teru reaches for the latest issue, “That would be 5 Chips.”


“It’s the highlight of my week yo, honestly, it’s super underrated. Can’t believe it’s still a local paper. Trust me, yours gonna make it big soon. Like that article on the last issue about the concert? That’s crazy man, 48 people dead. Only you have the nerve to publish things like that. You publish real news. Others only publish the good news.”


“Thank you we are very flattered. But yes, it was 48 dead this time. These numbers keep increasing and increasing. But they never even show us how they died. At least they died happily hearing the band live. My theory is that they would rather die hearing the band live since there are just way too many other horrible ways to die here.” Mr. Teru’s answer was as sincere and gentle as always. 


“That’s valid I guess. But man those fangirls? They are crazy! I’ll never understand girls. Hell, I’ll never even understand what’s so great about death metal in the first place!” Kai laughs. Uo found his smile a little cute but was surely nothing compared with Mr. Teru’s gorgeous face.


There was a short moment of silence which was broken by Kai. “Mr. Teru, your mini-aquarium is just as great as always. It’s honestly impressive you take care of them of so long. My favorite’s the long blue one. The biggest one in the tank.” He points at Uo.


“I see you have a wonderful sense of fish. It’s a species known as an arowana. I love all fish equally but I’m ashamed I have a small bias for arowanas. I paid 450,000 Chips for her. Fish are so expensive nowadays but she is just that majestic.” Uo’s heart fluttered upon hearing Mr. Teru’s words. “In the People’s States, it is believed that arowanas bring good luck to the keeper. I believe she will bring us all happiness.” Uo swam in circles out of excitement.


“Imma go to the viewing room. You don’t mind right?” Kai opened the door to the back room behind Mr. Teru’s desk without even bothering to hear back since he knew the answer was most likely no. Kai was finally able to be alone with Uo.


“Geez Uo. I was able to hear your mating call all the way from the entrance. You should be proud of that. I can’t hear most fish from that distance. Trust me, you got talent. But see, I don’t even know why you are so obsessed with that guy. Maybe because I never understand girls.” Kai teases her. He was the only person she met that could talk to her.


“Hmph. Maybe once you understand, you’ll stop complaining to me about you being single forever” Uo shot back.


“Ahhh ha that’s well said but I wouldn’t talk back today if I were you. I was actually planning on being your savior today but I might change my mind.”


“.... Well then. You left off last week that you were going to take a pretest for the Wizard licen…”


“Yeah! You know how to ask the right questions buddy! Take a look at this sexy thing!” Kai interrupted.


Without giving Uo a chance to answer, he pulled out an acceptance letter from his bulky bookbag and shoved it in her face. 


“Watch, in a few weeks, Imma be holding that Wizard license. My old days as a lame Magician will come to an end!” He confidently announced as Uo congratulated him by swimming in circles. 


“Yeah uh huh baby. So I’ve been feeling real good lately. I think I can finally make you into a human now. Fish transformation’s my speciality after all! Deal or no deal?” 


They made this promise a while ago but his words stunned Uo. She was not ready for her new life despite dreaming about it for ages. Her dreams of finally being able to confess her feelings to Mr. Teru. Her dreams of finally getting past the glass wall that she had cursed so many times. They would all come true at this moment. 


“Why would I refuse?” she answered, trying to take in the situation.


“I expected no less,” he already started taking strange objects out of his bag ranging from a giant conch shell to blue star sand to a bag of dust to a whale shark figurine. 


“See? I even got my conch shell. It’s my good luck charm. Now first, I’ll use this soundproof dust so others won’t hear me.” After throwing some suspicious looking powder around the room, he mixed some more suspicious contents into a bowl and used the mixture to paint his highest grade spell on the ground. He finished it off by placing the figurine in the middle. Complete species conversion was the most complex spell for transformation magic users at Magician level but thanks to years of practice, Kai can finally perform this spell at a somewhat reliable rate of 70%.


“All right. Preparation complete. Everything is going all good. Here comes the real part.” 


Despite his assuring words, Uo did not miss the slight nervousness in his voice. He held his hands upfront and started his incantations.


“To Saisi Lordeus Pistrium Muqos Kai Animio Altum...” As Kai started chanting in seeming gibberish, Uo started to feel the magic spark gathering around her.


“Ego Kenqing Pretori Wo Toutum Quanlium…” Blue smoke started to fog the room and the mixture started to glow.


“Pour Sosakio et byeonh… Ow! ….asi hominecto…” The blue smoke suddenly turned purple the moment Kai bit his tongue.


“Et Chuandula Ex Animula Kukyunio Risulo!” There was a large explosion loud enough to be heard from half a mile away. It was wise of Kai to spend extra cash to buy a soundproof dust from a professional sound Witch.


When the smoke cleared in the middle of where the spell used to be stood a young girl of 15. She wore a majestic iridescent purple dress and beautiful blue hair in fishtail braids. The spell worked! Uo was turned into a human!


“Ah ha! There we go. I was a little worried at one point not going to lie but you made it. How are you feeling? Say hello to the world outside the aquarium!” Now that the spell was over, Kai was finally able to express his doubts safely.


“...” Uo tried to share her excitement but nothing came out of her mouth. She tried to form her words by opening and closing her mouth. But nothing worked. Everything went just as she imagined except for her lack of voice.


“Uh,” Kai looked around the viewing room to get a grasp of what may have happened. He began to regret letting his guard down too early. Then, he noticed his conch shell was glowing just slightly. He held the shell up to his ear and…


“What on earth are you doing listening to your oh-so-precious shell in the middle of a spell accident!?” He heard the familiar voice of a 15 year old girl who used to be a fish.


“...Oh look Uo! I found your voice! It was in the conch shell.” Kai explained, relief on his face. He slapped his knee. 


“Man, I was so scared it was gone forever but thank god it’s still here. It seems like it failed conversion though. Only aquatic species and I can hear it. Woops! Happy little accidents.” He turned back to Uo and did his best to play innocent. This time, Uo really was just speechless. She simply did not know what to say. 


After a short pause of awkward silence came up, Kai was quick to think of  a follow up for Uo. He put together a quick plan B. 


“Wait up. Imma go get something really quick,” he left the room.


Uo, left in the room alone, was lost in thoughts. Before, her uncertainties were nullified by her dream of becoming a human and finally being together with Mr. Teru. But now that she surpassed her species barrier, she started to panic as reality of her current situation seeped in.


I’m now a human, a dream come true, yes. But now what? I would have never predicted that I would not be able to speak. How am I going to live like this? If Mr. Teru finds me right now and asks who I am, what am I going to do? How will he react? Will he throw me away? If that happens, will I be able to see him again? Will I have food? 


The door opened once again and was quickly shut after Kai returned to the viewing room. He did not want to attract any suspicious looks because of what he took to the room: the Y67 typewriter. 


“There you go. It has been sitting at the entrance for God knows how long. Might as well put that man’s old treasure to a good use. You know how to use it right?” Kai asked, staring at Uo’s widened eyes.  


“You spent your whole life watching people type. You should get used to it as soon as possible.” He fiddled with the typewriter to set it up for her. 


“Now that I’m looking at it, this is a portable model. Even better.” Thankfully, Uo was familiar with the human writing system since she has been practicing to read with the newspaper articles.


After a few minutes, Kai checked his wristwatch. To his surprise, it was almost 4:30 in the evening! An hour has passed since he arrived at the newspaper company. Worse, he was planning to meet with his bros at 5! 


“S**t, Imma be late,” he whispered, trying to avoid getting heard by Uo. But he clearly underestimated her hearing. A few seconds later, he felt a tug on his sleeve. Uo placed the typewriter facing him so he can read what she wrote.


It’s fine. You should go. I’ll take care of it somehow.


“Man, it’s only been a few minutes and you mastered this! I keep telling you, you’re talented. You are already a lot better with machineries than I am. Are you sure I can leave though? I mean it’s all kinda my fault. Sorry about that.” Kai said sheepishly.


Uo nodded.


“Alright then. If you're fine with it. See ya in a week. Better see you somewhere around here. Good luck. Oh yeah, the soundproof dust will wear off in an hour so I suggest you figure things out by then,” Kai packed up and left the room.


Once again, Uo was left alone. Despite telling Kai that she will be fine, she knew herself that she will obviously not be fine. She felt lost. She did not know what to do. To escape her fear of uncertainty, she attacked the keypads of her only ally.


There, I sat at the side of the street, cornered by the thought that I lost Mr. Teru forever. Hot tears poured out of my eyes and slid down my face. Then, I heard footsteps behind me. The distinct way his shoes sound and the rhythm of the steps let me know exactly who’s footstep it was. I was none other than Mr. Teru. “I’ve been looking all over for you. Please don’t cry. I find your smiling face the most lovely” “But… I thought you left me. Forever.” “I would never throw you away. I need you by my side because I lov…”


“Psst! Hey! You girl over there! What was it? Oh! I remember, Uo! Psst,” from somewhere inside the room, she heard a raspy man’s voice calling out for her. It was faint but her ears were sharp enough to make out the words. She heard it a few times before when she was still a fish. If she remembered correctly. It was from the smaller aquarium tank across from the large one she used to live in. The problem was, there was a shelf full of aquariums and she did not know which one the voice was from so she looked through each one of them guided by the voice. 

“Aye, you are getting close! Now to the right… Then a row up… No no to the left not the right.” After her small treasure hunt, she reached her destination, the leftmost tank on the second to bottom row. There awaited a white insect-like creature. All fish knew about them and avoided them at all costs. It was a tongue eating louse. 


“So you finally found me. Took you long enough. Kids have no sense of direction nowadays,” he clearly had a very welcoming way to greet someone. “Normally, I would not even bother to introduce myself but since I’m giving you a privilege to speak with me right now, you may call me Master Louse.”


Mister Louse,” Uo impatiently hit the keypads.  These louses turned up in her nightmares when she was a fish but now that she’s a human, there was no reason to be scared. She was ready to crush him whenever he became too annoying.


“Well, kids nowadays also can’t spell either, it seems,” Mister Louse continued being a nuisance. She did not have the patience to deal with this kind of conversation, especially at this moment. She reached into the aquarium to finish him for good. 


“Wait! Hold up hold up. Yeah sorry it was my fault. I am very sorry just please don’t kill me. I just wanted to make a deal. No lies.” Mister Louse called out.


Realizing his attitude can be shot down quite easily, Uo typed, “Fine, I’ll give you just one more chance. Get to the point.” 


“Whew! Thanks Uo! I’m glad kids are so considerate nowadays. Anyway, you see, I just can’t imagine living my life forever inside a stupid tank. You know? Life. Isn’t life all about climbing up that ladder and finally reaching the top? And seeing that beautiful scenery that is what you accomplished to get to the top you reached? That’s the kind of life I wanna live. Not this stupid aquarium tank!” Mister Louse ranted. 


And?Uo typed out each letter slowly.


“AND! That is where you come in! I’ve been watching you and that Magician for the past hour. You wanna get that Teru guy but you can’t speak right?”


Right.


“Then how about this. Since your body is artificially made by magic, your blood should contain enough magic for me to talk to humans. You let me live in your mouth as a tongue and let me feed off from your tongue. In exchange, I’ll be your voice and talk for you! You can just direct me with that typewriter. Sounds good doesn’t it? I find it a bargain! If I were you, I would agree right away.”


Yeah, no I don’t trust you,” her answer was swift and blunt. 


“Why not? Oh. Are you worried about my voice? Not to worry. Despite how I sound, I’m actually a pretty good voice actor. Here, listen to this.” 


He cleared his throat, “Mr. Teru, you look gorgeous today. Just like always,” he recited in a squeaky voice. It still had a hint of rasp of the original voice but was surprisingly convincing enough to barely pass off. “See? Exactly like your original voice.”


66/100. Barely passing. 


It was a bad impression but not as bad as she thought. But the more she thought about her situation, the more the voice became a secondary matter. The deal was actually her easiest way out of her life without a voice. If he actually works with her, this may actually turn out well. But can she really trust this louse enough to have him take complete control over what she says? What if he doesn’t cooperate? Her mind wandered. Then, she realized that he will be checkable since this would be a human-louse relationship not a fish-louse relationship. 


...Fine. It’s a deal. I still don’t trust you very much though.” She reluctantly agreed to what may either be the worst scam or the deal of the century.


“Really? You agree? Now that’s the spirit. Alright then. All you need to do is put me in your mouth and don’t bite.” It was one of the last things Uo wanted to do but she had no choice. She picked the little louse from the tank and threw it in her mouth. 


“Alright here we go. It’s gonna hurt a little. Just bare with me.” Right after Mister Louse left off his final words, Uo felt a sharp sting and then her tongue getting torn. She hoped the pain would be over soon or she would go insane.


“Whew. Operation complete. Nice and comfortable,” after a minute, Uo heard Mister Louse’s report of relief. It definitely was not nice and comfortable for her though, but she figured it won’t hurt much after she got used to it. On a good note, Mister Louse’s voice became sharper and clearer thanks to the magic. At this rate, his voice should be audible for a human. 


“I think I grew by 100% too,” he added.


The clock was nearing  5:30. The soundproof dust would be wearing off soon. Then, it would be the matter of time until Mr. Teru or one of his employees hears either Uo or Mister Louse. Just prepare whatever you need to say by then.” 


As much as she prepared her mind with all the scenarios that would lead to her confessing her feelings to Mr. Teru, when reality hit, she decided she was not even close to having enough courage to say anything she dreamed of.


 Don’t start off confessing to Mr. Teru. Start off slow. Just don’t mess up. Preferably, let me stay here somehow. Writing this to Mister Louse, Uo almost felt embarrassed by the contrast between her imagination and reality.


“Not to worry kid. I got you. I’m actually a pretty good businessman. Negotiating is my thing.” Mister Louse reassured.


“Hello? Is anyone there?” There was a knock on the door. 


“I’ll be coming in,” it was a deep and soothing voice that belonged to Mr. Teru. The soundproof dust wore off a little earlier than expected.


Thete he comed. Just relac. Just relax!Uo’s panicking fingers left the paper with lots of typos.


“Hello?” The door creaked open and Mr. Teru came in. 


“Uh, who are you? Why are you here? How did you get here?” Before having a chance to say a word, questions after another were shot without mercy.


“Um…. hi. You must be Mr. Teru. Nice to meet you. I’m so sorry I ended up in your aquarium. I was not careful enough. My name is Uo. I’ve been looking for a job in journalism and happened to come across your newspaper company.” Mister Louse introduced themself while Uo did her best to lip sync.


Without faltering his professional businessman smile, he enforces his question, “Ah I see. It is very nice to meet you Uo. I was just wondering how you ended up in a place like this.”


“I’m really sorry this all happened. I was taking a walk around the city and then… These teleportation magic users tried to use me as a guinea pig.” Mister Louse’s voice trembled to sound like she was crying. 


“And I tried to escape but their magic hit me and… Before I knew it I was in your aquarium room.” Even Uo would doubt such a far fetched explanation full of holes. Mr. Teru’s stone face did not change but when looked at closely, Uo could see his eyebrows twitching slightly.


“Well. Thank you for telling me. I understand you are in a difficult situation.” 


Understanding in the context also included understanding the possibility of the explanation being a lie. If it was a lie, there would be no problem kicking Uo out of the company. But that would mean letting a small girl wander around in the evening where streets were not safe anymore. Was that the right thing to do? Was the police something to be trusted? Of course not. Mr. Teru could not possibly do that.


 “You said you wanted a job, yes? I will let you stay here for now. I would like to know more about you before making a final decision about it. Thank you very much for your interest in working in our office. I will be looking forward to talking with you later. Until then, please stay in the office. Bathroom is to the right. Drinks and snacks are to the left.” Mr. Teru informed.


After that, he left to go back to his desk.


Uo shut the door to the viewing room and was alone for the third time, but this time, Mister Louse was with her. 


“You heard that? Told you I got this. First checkpoint is cleared!” he bragged. His voice was a little quieter than before so he could not be heard by any of the office workers.


Just barely though. But good job. I guess your trust level increased half a point 


Although Uo did not gain Mr. Teru’s trust completely, she still had to give Mister Louse some credit for talking her way out. And with that, the two started to plan for the second meeting with Mr. Teru.

© 2020 Schema


Author's Note

Schema
Hi! Nice to meet you! My name is Schema. This is my first time posting a writing on the internet. If you have the time, will you please let me know how you thought of my work? Thank you so much! Have a wonderful day :)

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Added on August 10, 2020
Last Updated on August 10, 2020
Tags: fantasy, fiction, Original, comedy, romance

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Schema
Schema

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