THE SEVEN HEAVENLY CHILDREN

2ND ACT: THE GIRL WHO LOVES THE OCEAN

BRIEL SMILED AT THE SCENE IN FRONT OF HER. She felt awe at the different species of fish surrounding her, as if she was some kind of underwater deity. She wanted to giggle if only doing so would not drown her.

She was previously swimming around the coral reef, looking for plastics and other trash thrown by irresponsible people, when she noticed that some of the fishes were following her as if she was something special. She has seen this quite a few times already but she just can't get used to it.

She noticed one turtle approaching her with a plastic bottle on its beak. It was helping her out. She gently patted its small head to thank the turtle as she removed the bottle from its mouth. She plopped it inside her green net along with other trash she found.

It was sad seeing the sea creatures suffering from the inability of humans to properly manage their waste.

Her net was getting heavy so she decided to go back to the surface and lodged back to her boat. It was a boat made of bamboo that she built with her mother's help. She quickly removed all the net's content and was happy to see how much she had collected. She can definitely make money from selling this to the Main Island's junk shop.

She looked at the sky. It was sunny and the sea breeze felt good.

"Hey Axel, can you see me?", she asked while thinking of her brother.

He was abducted seven years ago. Her mom had already given up on the thought of her twin brother coming back. But there wasn't a day that Briel stopped believing. She can feel it. He was still out there.

"Briel, your brother is already gone," Yelena, her mother, had insisted. Pain and grief were visible to her eyes.

"No!" She bit back. "Stop saying that! I can feel it. He's still alive. Axel will come back for us!"

"I'm still waiting, brother.", she mumbled. "Mom needs you."

A tear escaped her eyes as she remembered her mom's condition. Her mother has been hospitalized for quite a month now. As each day went by, her mom's condition had gone from bad to worse. The hospital and medication fees are slowly draining their life savings away. It was only a matter of time before they ran out of money. Her part-time job is not even enough for buying a long list of medicine her mom needs. The main reason she chose to sacrifice her studies was to fully support her mother. She had to think fast.

She was about to leave when she noticed something shiny from below the deep waters. She went into the water again. Swimming as

deep as she can. Normal people wouldn't be able to reach that kind of depth without any diving equipment, yet with Briel, this was only child's play.

She and her mom had always lived on an island far from other people. The only thing that interested her aside from hunting was swimming. That is why she was so accustomed to the life she had been introduced to. The sea is a part of her already, a part she will never ever get tired of. Sometimes her mom would joke that they were a family of mermaids and that she was close to developing gills because of her extreme love of swimming in the ocean.

All her life they had been running away from the people that took her brother and had lived in isolation. Never trusting anyone, Briel and her mom relied on each other. They never stayed too long and never got attached to anyone. They never stayed anywhere near the city and preferred to live in the mountains or secluded islands. Her mother randomly took on any jobs within the area while she tried her best to learn anything she could at school. At weekends, her mother would train her to fight and protect herself and how to survive on her own. It was as if she was being prepared something she will face alone.

Whenever she asks her mom, Yelena's reply would only. "We will never know what will happen in the future, Briel. I want you to be prepared." Yelena's eyes would always tell Briel that her mother was hiding something from her. However, Briel can never force her mom to tell her anything. It was weird but whenever she brought it up, Yelena would quickly change the topic and she will never have the strength to push through with her queries.

She stopped thinking anything else as she swim deeper It was only a few meters before she reached the shiny thing on shallow depths of the water when she felt something from behind her. She was on high-alert. She pulled a small dagger out of her pouch and prepared for an attack.

From below! Her mind shouted. She quickly prepared for the attack when she saw something very familiar swimming towards her. It was her small dolphin friend. She hugged the creature lightly and they both swam up into the surface.

Her friend did a series of flips when they reached the surface making Briel squealed with delight. "Aww... Johan, I missed you too."

The poor creature was once lost into their shore. Wounded and was about to die any minute. When she got to it, the animal seemed to be attacked by an unknown predator. Briel had lived near oceans ever since and she was sure, no sea creature could cause such fatal wounds. However, her mom insisted not to think about it too much. They both helped the animal and somehow a miracle happened. It survived.

The dolphin went closer and from its mouth, it gave Briel a huge clamp. It had a very shiny shell and it dawned on her, this was the very shiny thing she saw before. Johan had got it for her. Using her knife she opened the shell, and it contained several pearls. Not just any regular pearl, it was a bunch of black pearls.

"Johan!" She shrieked in fear. She turned around to check if there were any fishermen around. They might get in trouble because of this. "I told you not to bring this kind of thing anymore." She cried.

Ever since they helped the young dolphin, it would always go back to their shore bringing all sorts of presents like seashells, pearls, and even lost human things. Briel assumed it was the animal's way to thank them. However, it can't keep on doing that. There are dangerous humans hovering over their area if one of those people spots the animal doing such things, it would endanger its life and that Briel cannot allow.

The little guy made a sound close to a cry. It broke her heart. "Little guy, please understand. There are bad humans. They will hurt you if they ever saw you bring these things. " She hugged the creature. "I'm only doing this for you little guy."

However, thinking about it as she looked at the precious stones in her hands. She thought of her dying mom. This could be the answer to her problems. She quickly put it inside the shell and then into her bag. Johan's gift enabled her to buy medicines for her sickly mother. And those black pearls might even help her secure hospital and medicine fees.

"This will be the last time, Johan that I'm going to accept this." She promised herself not to endanger the animal's life anymore. "Thank you, Johan." Tears filled her eyes. "You are my angel.

"WHERE DID YOU GET THIS?" The Dr. Celestine asked her. The old woman was absolutely flabbergasted while eyeing the number of black pearls Briel had presented to her secretly. "Did you steal this?"

She looked worried for Briel. She had only known them for a month now. Briel had been crying profusely and was beginning to call a lot of attention to the hospital's emergency yard, begging medical attention for her suffering mother. Something in the Doctor's heart broke at seeing the petrified child. Ever since that day, she had developed a deep kind of concern for both Yelena and most especially Briel. The young lady had reminded her of her strong-willed daughter who died while dedicating her life as part of the police force.

Briel quickly shook her head. "No, Ma'am." She swallowed before speaking. "I got it while swimming for trash out in the sea." The woman had known Briel's hobby of collecting trash and selling it to junk shops for money just to help her mom. She would also take part-time jobs and errands just to earn money.

The doctor sighed. "I'm sorry. I know you wouldn't do that." She held Briel's calloused hands. Imagining what those precious hands had to go through just to help her sickly mother. "Yet Briel, you are still a child. You can't do this alone."

"Actually, Doctor. I don't have anyone else." Briel looked at the window longingly. "I lost my father at a very young age. My twin brother is also no longer at our side too. My mother is the only family I had left, I will do anything for her." She took the bag of black pearls and handed it to the kind doctor. Tears filled her eyes as she swallowed by the fear of losing someone as important as dear life itself.

"I don't know how much do these things cost. But if...", she croaked. "If these are still not enough to pay for the hospital bills I will work for it. Just please, please help my mom." Briel practically kneeled down before the doctor in front of her.

The doctor pulled her up. "Hush, child." She had let Briel sat on the chair in front of her desk. Handed her a bottle of water. "Here drink this. Calm yourself."

Briel wiped her tears as she reached for the water bottle. Her hand shaking as she drank the liquid.

The doctor smiled and reached for her hand. Reassuring Briel that it was going to be fine.

"I am going to help your mom." The doctor promised. "But I will be honest, Briel. Your mom's condition is not getting any better. We might need to transfer her to another hospital."

Briel's eyes widened in horror. "But...I might not be able to afford such nice facilities."

Celestine held her hand. "We have another hospital in Cebu with better facilities. I can use my connections to help you and your mother to get there."

She held out Briel's hands and handed the pearls back. "Take this. You might need this in the future." The doctor smiled.

Assuming that the doctor hasn't taken her words seriously. Briel quickly retorted. "I promise you these are true and I didn't steal them.", she muttered as she placed her hand on her chest involuntarily.

The doctor smiled at her. "I know, child." The doctor sat on a chair in front of her. "I have a friend who has a Jewelry business and might be interested in buying your pearls."

"But please accept this as payment.", she pleaded.

"I already did." The doctor said referring to the two black pearls in her hand. "Trust me. With this quality, this will suffice as payment for the hospital fees."

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UPON BRIEL LEAVING THE DOCTOR'S OFFICE, A DARK FIGURE EMERGED FROM THE SHADOWS.

The doctor acknowledged the being's presence. She stood up from her chair and kneeled in front of the being.

" Young Master." Her consciousness completely rendered helpless at the influence of the powerful being.

" Very good, doctor.", the man muttered. Smirking as he stood by the window, watching as the night took over the day. The red tinge in his eye growing more crimson as darkness filled the skies. "Everything is going according to plan."