The turquoise waters of the Andaman Sea had always been Tian Sheng's playground. A seasoned diver with hundreds of dives under his belt, he considered himself a master of the underwater realm.
Today's dive, however, felt different. He was leading a group of four – rookies Maya and Ben, veteran diver Anya, and their excitable photographer, David. The plan was simple: explore a known reef system, photograph the vibrant coral, and return before sunset.
Everything went smoothly for the first hour. The reef teemed with life, colourful fish darting between coral branches. David, with his waterproof camera housing, was in his element, snapping away like a kid in a candy store. But then, a change in the current tugged at them, pulling them further than they intended.Panic started to set in when the visibility dropped drastically. The vibrant reef faded into a murky grey, and the familiar landscape was replaced by towering rock formations.
They were lost."Everyone, stay close!" Tian Sheng yelled through his regulator, his voice muffled but urgent.
He activated his emergency beacon, hoping it would pierce through the rock and reach the surface.
They swam blindly, their dive lights cutting narrow beams through the gloom.
Suddenly, Anya gave a frantic signal, pointing into a narrow opening in the rock face. It was a cave, barely wide enough for one diver to squeeze through. Desperate, Tian Sheng made the call.
"We go in. It's our only chance to find our bearings."The cave was pitch black, the water cold and still. They proceeded slowly, carefully avoiding bumping into the sharp, jagged rocks.
After what felt like an eternity, the cave opened into a larger chamber. Their dive lights illuminated a breathtaking sight: a colossal monument carved into the rock face.
Intricate carvings covered its surface, patterns that seemed both familiar and alien.
Then, Maya gasped, her eyes wide with disbelief. "Look…up there."Following her gaze, they saw it.
A towering figure, sculpted with incredible detail. It was humanoid, but its lower half was undeniably…fish-like.
"It looks like a…human with a fish tail?" Maya blurted out, her voice trembling slightly through her regulator.
David, ever the excitable one, pushed forward, his camera flashing.
"You mean a mermaid… or a merman! This is incredible!"The monument radiated an unsettling aura, a sense of ancient mystery that made the hairs on Tian Sheng's neck stand on end.
He couldn't shake the feeling that they were trespassing, intruding upon something sacred and forbidden.
"Hey…" Tian Sheng said, his voice firm despite the tremor in his gut. "Don't explore further. We might get lost even deeper in here. We need to mark our path and get out of here. This place… it doesn't feel right."He pointed towards the way they came, his dive light cutting through the darkness.
"Anya, Ben, you two lead the way back. Mark the cave walls with your lights. David, Maya, stay close to me."His instincts screamed at him to leave, to abandon the monument and escape this suffocating cave.
The lure of the extraordinary was strong, he knew, especially for David.
But Tian Sheng's priority was the safety of his team.
They were in unknown territory, and the deeper they went, the more dangerous it became.
He knew, deep down, that this was more than just a cave. This was something that should remain undisturbed.
Something that perhaps, wasn't meant to be found. As they slowly made their way back, Tian Sheng couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched, that the cold, silent statue of the mermaid was silently observing their retreat.
The ocean, he realised, held secrets best left buried. And tonight, he and his team were lucky to be turning their backs on one of them.