We flew for a long time. Days and days, on the backs of enormous metal birds. They were kind to us, in their way, and bowed when they left, which felt polite. I did ask if one of them could take me home for a bit, just to check everything was still there, but I don’t think they understood, or maybe they did and pretended not to. I said goodbye properly anyway. I’ve lost friends before. It doesn’t get easier.
When they finally set us down, we saw the ocean. A real one. It’s much bigger than the pictures, and it keeps moving even when you stare at it. I didn’t like that at first.
There’s a little town by the water called Canton. It looks sleepy, but it feels wrong, like when a song is slightly out of tune and you can’t stop noticing it. When we walked in, a bell rang, and people shut their curtains. Everyone smiled too hard.
We stayed at a tavern. Mum, I need you to believe me when I say this, they served hot wax as a drink.
Gloom drank it! On purpose.
He said it was fine. It was not fine. The man serving it seemed very pleased.
They charged far too much for everything until we complained, then suddenly everything was cheap again. The room they gave us was called the Blanket Room. It had too many blankets. An unsafe number of blankets. Every surface. I think if there was a fire, we would simply become blankets ourselves.
While we were hiding in the blankets, which felt sensible at the time, a man came to speak to us. His name is Chris Pringle. He has a moustache and many scars, and he smells like the sea. He says the people in this town are not really people.
They’re fish.
Fish that wear jewellery so they can look like people.
Apparently, they replaced the whole town.
I don’t know when that happened, Mum. I don’t think the fish know either.
Bawbaggings climbed out the window, very quietly, to check for himself. He says it’s true. He even stole one of the rings. I don’t like that he stole it, but I’m glad he did, because it proved the magic. Daisy says the ring works like a disguise spell, but only for fish. I didn’t understand all of it, but Daisy did, and that helped.
Daisy was brave, as usual. He stayed calm when everything got strange, which it did. Gloom fell asleep not long after the wax. He said the blankets were “nice.” I think that means he’s going to be all right.
We’re having breakfast in the morning. With the fish people. And Chris Pringle.
I don’t know what fish eat for breakfast, Mum, but I hope it isn’t wax.
I miss you.
I miss cake.
I’m trying very hard.
Love,
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