The Story of Thalaspolis

Deep under the Aegean Sea there lives the forgotten people of Thalasapolis. Thalasapolis means city of the ocean and that is what happened when their city fell into the ocean thousand of years ago.

The people did not die, but slowly changed into sea dwelling creatures that no longer look like the humans of the land world. Their ears became elf-like in appearance, long and pointed, and act as gills. Shiny scales began to grow from their waist to the knees, on their forearms and ankles they formed fins and their hair formed into clusters of colorful bubbles.

I am one of these strange people. My name is Astra and I will tell you my story which happened many years ago. I was young at that time and now I am much older than when my journey began. It started in the summer when I was a clever girl of seventeen. Then I was lively and being petite, young and slender gave me a gentle look but I was mentally and physically strong. I was a friendly and responsible girl but could be impatient and quick tempered person.

At that time the Great Fall was only a story told by the old to the next generation. Only one man was still alive that had lived through the Great Fall. He was the city's Elder because we knew him to be the wisest of all men. Our government has a Senate to council the Elder.

Our rebuilt city has many white buildings with large arches and columns that line the streets and great halls. We also have many lanes of little shops. The streets are paved with a crushed coral and the floors of the buildings have beautiful mosaics made by crushed seashells.

Our city blocks are divided by our Kindred House which are built from limestone and shells and surrounded by living coral walls. Each block has its own orchards of sea fruit and each family owns at least one tree in the orchard. This is the only food we eat. I was living with my Yaya, my father's mother, since my parents had been killed in one of the minor shifts of the ocean floor. That summer I was attending music school and singing in the afternoon at the public market to support my Yaya and myself.

That summer I was attending music school and singing in the afternoon at the public market to support my Yaya and myself.

I seem to remember that I was in a hurry that fateful day as I started down the shelled lane because I was again late for my voice lesson. It was an average day with sun shining into the depths of the water making it sunny and warm. All of a sudden, I was thrown against the wall of a building and I felt the ground swaying beneath my feet. I looked up and saw the buildings beginning to crumble and pieces of the walls fall to the ground. I felt a strong current hit my body and pull me towards the fruit orchard. I saw the fruit swinging from the tree limbs and saw one of the trees fall and then another fell but this one was very close and came crashing down on me.

I awoke to a terrifying scream. I opened my eyes and saw a creature just a few feet away. It had a long beak and was hopping around and then spread its wings and flew away. I recognized it as a seagull from one of my school books on Earth Science and Fables. My chest was hurting and I realized that I was breathing oxygen. I was on the surface of the earth.

As I laid there I realized I had done what I had always dreamed of doing, seeing land. Though this wasn't quite the way I had imagined it would be. It was to be a wonderful moment in my life to be shared with my friends and family by coming to see our homes of old. But I had no such feeling like that only the fear of being alone. Lost not only from my city but also from my sea. I knew I could not lie there much longer since the sun was beating down making my skin very dry and uncomfortable.

I sat up and took a full look at my surroundings. I was sitting on a sandy beach lying near a large boulder while the waves of my homeland splashed against my legs. My first impulse was to jump into the water and swim back to my beloved city and throw my arms around my Yaya and tell her I was alive and unharmed. I knew I couldn't do this because I was too weak and tired and I wondered how I was to survive in this strange new world.

Suddenly, I heard voices coming closer. Then around the boulder walked two men. One was old with a long white beard. The younger one was my age with short brown hair. They came closer and the older man asked me who I was and were I was from.

Many questions later after hearing my story the older man, name Jonathan, said to me,

"It must have been God's will that we found you." "Come, you may join us and we will give you food and dry clothing."

Later that evening as I sat before a fire in a dry robe they told me they were traveling musicians and they had just come from Jericho where they had heard the man called Jesus of Nazareth speak to a large crowd.

The young man, Jabez, told me,

"We believe him to be the Messiah so we followed him to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration and you may join us if you wish."

The next day we started our journey and by nightfall we had entered the city's gates. The soft robes covered my fins and hair so I easily blended in with the crowd traveling into the city. That evening I sang while Jonathan and Jabez played their instruments and the people threw us coins. It was very exciting but I was tired and soon feel asleep.

I was awakened early the next morning by the people singing "Hosanna" and throwing down palm leaves and their cloaks on the path for a muscular middle aged man that was smiling at the crowds of people.

We followed this man into a courtyard of a wealthy Jew. There were merchants to lowly beggars crowding into the courtyard. This was the Messiah that Jonathan and Jabez had told me about during our journey to Jerusalem. He was Jesus of Nazareth and I could see why the crowds loved him. He was strong of body but had a gentleness when he spoke to the children.

After that evening of listening to him tell the people of the many wonderful mansions in God's house and how all were welcomed but few would be allowed to enter, of forgiving people of their misdeeds against you, loving the people in your family and village and you would love yourself and, most importantly, loving the one God more than any earthly possession and above all things, I knew I was a follower of this man.

During the next few days I followed him and even sang for him one evening during the Jewish Passover meal. He didn't speak to me but when he smiled I felt my heart leap and I knew I would never be the same again.

Those few days were full of happiness, heartbreaking sorrow but ending in great joy. One of his followers betrayed him to the Jewish High Priests and he was turned over to the Roman authorities. In that part of the earthly world they hanged criminals on erected wooden crosses along the roadways until they died. This is the way my Jesus was killed dying with common criminals. I followed him as he carried his own cross bar upon his shoulders and stood and watched him die. I thought I too would die with grief.

On the second morning after his death as we were about to pass through the city's gates we heard unbelievable news. The Messiah had risen from his tomb. At first, it was rumored that his body had been stolen but then he appeared to many of his followers. Then Jonathan and Jabez said he had fulfilled the words of the old prophets.

I traveled with Jonathan and Jabez for almost a year. During this time, we listened to many followers of Christ. I grew in my love for this man and his teachings and I knew I must return to my home and tell the people of Thalasapolis of all I had learned.

It was with much sadness that I left my friends and started my long journey towards home. I might have given up for it took many days of hard swimming but my new found strength in Christ kept me going.

I found Thalasapolis had been greatly damaged but the people had already rebuilt many parts of the city. My greatest joy of all was finding my Yaya alive and well. She was still living in our apartment and always believed that I would someday return home again.

It has been many years now and I am an old woman with grandchildren of my own. We now have a section of the city where mostly the followers of Christ live together and the old pagan traditions are slowly becoming myths. We have many missionaries that go up to live on land for a year's time to continue to learn more about the teachings of Jesus and many of our young men have become priests and come back to serve our community. I still love to sing but I learned to use my voice not just for entertainment but to teach the goodness of our Lord.