The sea was calm around the Isle of Wight.
Suspiciously calm.
Captain Pedro stood on deck, perfectly still, his captain’s hat aligned with great precision. In his tiny paws, he held a timepiece, which he consulted with the seriousness of someone who both understood it completely and not at all.
He looked out across the water.
Then back at the timepiece.
Then back at the water.
“Yes,” he murmured. “Right on schedule.”
Behind him, Esmeralda, Jack, Twinkles, and Prudence observed from a respectful distance.
“What exactly,” asked Jack, “is he doing?”
“He’s been like that for ten minutes,” said Twinkles.
Prudence tilted her head. “Is that… a watch?”
“It’s a timepiece,” Esmeralda replied. “Apparently it’s important.”
Pedro raised one paw for silence.
“This,” he announced without turning around, “is a highly confidential operation.”
Jack nodded slowly. “Of course it is.”
Pedro took a few measured steps along the deck, scanning the horizon with narrowed eyes.
“Visibility: acceptable,” he reported. “Sea state: cooperative. Mermaid probability…” He glanced at the timepiece again. “…imminent.”
Twinkles blinked. “Mermaid probability?”
Prudence folded her arms. “I knew it.”
Esmeralda smiled. “Mermaid watch, is it?”
Pedro turned sharply.
“Precisely,” he said. “You’re up to speed.”
“And the timepiece?” Jack asked.
Pedro held it up.
“Tidal synchronisation,” he explained. “Critical for accurate mermaid detection.”
There was a pause.
“Naturally,” said Jack.
Pedro resumed his patrol.
He stopped suddenly.
“Wait.”
The crew leaned in.
Pedro pointed dramatically at the water.
“There!”
They all looked.
A ripple passed.
Nothing else.
Pedro frowned.
Consulted the timepiece again.
“Hmm,” he said. “Early.”
Prudence raised an eyebrow. “Or… not a mermaid.”
Pedro ignored this entirely.
“Remain alert,” he instructed. “They’re known for subtlety.”
Twinkles grinned. “Have you ever actually seen one?”
Pedro paused.
“That,” he said carefully, “is not the point.”
The boat rocked gently. The sea shimmered. Time, as far as anyone else could tell, continued behaving normally.
Pedro, however, was operating on a higher level of understanding.
He checked the timepiece again.
Adjusted his stance.
Narrowed his eyes.
Then—
Another ripple.
Slightly larger this time.
Pedro gasped.
“Confirmed,” he whispered.
“What?” said Jack.
Pedro lowered the timepiece slowly.
“Mermaid activity,” he said.
“That was a wave,” said Prudence.
Pedro turned to face them, calm and composed.
“You saw a wave,” he said. “I saw a pattern.”
Esmeralda laughed. “So what happens now, Captain?”
Pedro considered this, then nodded decisively.
“We maintain watch,” he said. “At all times.”
He looked back out to sea, entirely satisfied.
The mission was ongoing.
The crew was informed (to the extent necessary).
And somewhere beneath the surface—he was quite certain of it—mermaids were behaving in a manner that justified his supervision.
Pedro adjusted his hat.
Checked the timepiece once more.
And continued his watch.
After all, a captain must remain vigilant.
Especially when no one else knows what he’s talking about.
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