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"This vortex is powerful; it's sucking us into the centre." Yelled Dip.

 

"Into the centre of what?" Replied Dive.

 

"I don't know…Help!" Dip shouted as she got sucked and disappeared into the centre of the vortex.

 

The three fairies got tossed about several times until the vortex spat them into the cold open ocean. A little disoriented and dizzy, they looked around. "Where are we?" Dip said as she stroked her arms to bring down her chills.

 

"I don't know, but let's go and find out; it's cold here." Splash gestured to Dip and Dive to follow her. They whizzed around underwater castles, across glittery streams, through crystal arches and icy tunnels. It was all like ice magic…wow! However, they were still clueless as to where they were or what they had to do. There was nothing out there but…an iceberg?

 

"We've arrived," said Splash. "This is the place."

 

"But there is only an iceberg here; we are supposed to help someone." Dip said.

"I think you got your calling wrong this time." Dive added.

 

"No, it's exactly here that we are meant to be, look there is an anchor attached to the Iceberg," Splash wasn't going to give up. She circled the iceberg, stared at it for a while, then went down deeper; It was huge, and the more they went deeper, the darker and more uncomfortable it felt.

 

"What is it? What do you see? Asked Dip.

 

"Look through the iceberg, and you'll see more; it's like a storage warehouse, where lots of things are collected, sorted, and kept; it's full of boxes," Splash said.

 

"Yes, I can see them now. What are all those things? and what are we supposed to do?" Asked Dive.

 

"I have no idea. Usually, the callings to help are clear, but I don't know who we're supposed to help. There must be an explanation; come on, girls, think!" Splash frowned.

 

"Maybe this isn't a call to help someone, but a call for something else? Something bigger!" Dip wiggled her tail in excitement.

 

"If this is a calling for something bigger, then we need a bigger clue. There must be some hidden message inside this iceberg. Come on, team we haven't finished exploring yet."

 

As they headed off, the corner of Dive's eye caught sight of something. "Hmm, girls? We have visitors. First, it was one Merman, then two, and next thing you know the was a whole pod of Mermen and Mermaids. It was a huge pod, like an underwater army.

 

"Hi, I'm Merman Mario; I'm the leader of my pod. We are your manpower."

 

"Manpower for what? I still have no idea what and who we are looking for." Splash sighed in frustration.

 

"We've had this calling because we need to convince everyone that they must find the time and courage to go down the subconscious and collect all their worries and bring them up to the surface...and finally sort them out once and for all. And we will help them do that."

 

'Is that what all those boxes are? So that's why it's so mysterious and dark down here.' Dip said.

 

"Yes, and if it is dark down, then whatever comes up will be dark too."

 

"Wow, that doesn't sound good. I can see why that iceberg has become the perfect hideout for everything people didn't want others or themselves to see. No one will ever dare to wander down in the abyss to dig them out." Splash said.

 

"But the contents of the boxes are only scary if they remain down there, everybody is moody, tired, angry, and not happy precisely because they've stored everything down here. After all these years, people have forgotten about their storage boxes at the bottom of the iceberg; the iceberg is now too full and cramped, which will cause another tremor. If that happens, the iceberg will crack open. All the boxes from the subconscious, filled with worries, anxiety, and fears, will float to the surface, and then… the whole universe will go dark. What is happening is a total disaster, and we must prevent it from happening.

 

"That sounds awful and scary." Said Dive as she felt chills across her body.

 

"I think we should go home now," whispered Dip.

"Totally agree,' said Dive.

 

Merman Mario cleared his voice. "It is ok to be scared; this is a big task you have in front of you. A calling like this doesn't happen daily; it is a privilege to help, but it is also a responsibility."

 

The fairies had one of their biggest challenges in front of them; it was big, threatening, and cold. With all those secrets hidden inside, it was bound to rock a little, and they didn't want to be there for it.

 

"Excuse me, Mario, the three of us need to have a quick meeting." Splash gathered Dip and Dive in a circle and started whispering. Then all the heads came up again.

 

"Hmmm, Mario, how long is this clean-up going to take?"      

 

"You may not see your pod for a long time. Some never go back to their pod!!' Mario said in a deep voice.

 

"Stop teasing them, Mario,” A gracious Mermaid, came forward.

 

'Hi, I'm Flipper; what Mario meant was that some don't go back to their pod and continue volunteering in the Mermen and Mermaid Rescue Team because they love it so much. Some come and help when they can, while others are more regular. It's called volunteering, and you are already doing it because you responded to a calling.

 

Being part of the rescue team is super fun; you get to make new friends and get sent to all these awesome places. You will get homesick sometimes, but that makes you stronger. You were sent out here to make you stronger, more resilient, and more powerful…you must experience the vortex to become a great fairy."

 

"We've already experienced the vortex, thank you." Dip noted.

"Fun wasn't it, don't worry, there will be more of them, even stronger ones with bigger challenges."

 

"Now that doesn't sound fun at all. Are you teasing us like Mario did? Flipper?" Dip asked.

 

"Don't be silly; trust me, it will be fun."

 

"I think it sounds awesome' Splash finally spoke. We don't venture out much; this is the furthest we have ever been."

 

"That's because, for big stuff like this, you need to be part of a team; fairies and mermaids don't get sent out alone to important callings. We need to support each other, for the time we are here on this mission, our pod is our community and family.'

 

The three fairies were now very torn between accepting the calling or not. They didn't want to leave their little pod and their little cave; it was cosy and familiar, here everything was big, dark, and cold. They were already homesick.

 

              Mario came towards them, chest out and lungs full of oxygen. "Scared, hey? I remember my first big calling, it was chilling,” he smirked at his own joke as his chest deflated a bit. Then another deep breath to puff it up again and he continued. “But look at me now, I'm a leader, and you don't get to be a leader if you don't experience the big, hard, and dark stuff; that's how you can teach others. How will you help people unpack all these boxes with their emotions if you've never experienced all the vortexes.

 

"So, it's true, there will be more vortexes?” Dip asked worried. Mario laughed, "yes, there will be many more dips. Then he giggled again for the pun and continued. "You will feel like giving up and going home, but that's when we get our guitar, drums, and ice cream, and all our worries go away. The great thing is that it happens often; getting sad and then happy again is kind of fun.  We go by the AR code which stands for Accountability and Responsibility”

 

Splash thought about guitar, drums, and ice cream sounded more fun than hanging around gossiping back in the cave, plus those two big words were now as interesting as they were scary. Plus, Mario could teach them a lot.

 

"I'm in girls. I'm staying." Splash was enthusiastic, but Dip and Dive were...fearful of the unknown.

"But you can't leave us alone; you are our leader."

"Don't worry, I will take you back to the pod and return. I'm a VIP Fairy now; I must become a great leader."

Dip and Dive now crossed their arms in frustration; well, that's not fair that only you get to become a leader; we want to be leaders too." they both said.

Splash rolled her eyes. "Get ready; I'm taking you back."  

With focused eyes and a big frown in the middle, their hands on their hips, and their flippers all in a knot, Dip and Dive protested.

 

"We aren't going anywhere; we are staying right here."

"I think you should go home; I need to focus on meaningful work here, and if you two keep interrupting because you're cold, hungry, or sad, I will never get any work done. You must go now.”

 

Splash turned her back to the fairies. Then suddenly, a big tremor occurred. This time everything shook. Mario and the rest of the pod got closer. “Sorry, it is time to come with us or leave; you must decide.

 

"I'm the leader of my pod now, and I say we stay." Dive spoke in her most threatening voice, which was barely a whisper.

 

“Who says you get to be a leader Dive? I can be one just like you.” Dip objected.

 

“I think we need to sort out this dispute with drums, music and hot chocolate, but before we do that, we have to send fear back in the vortex, because it doesn’t belong here.”

 

They all laughed. The three fairies looked at each other confused wondering how they were going to send fear back in the vortex if it was attached to their body and they were staying behind. They looked at Mario and realized he had it all worked out. He was a great leader.

 

 

 

Authors note

 

Teaching young children accountability and responsibility early on in school allows them to have more of a proactive attitude as they grow up. We don’t want our future generations to rely only on other leaders or high management to make a change. By starting from the bottom up, by creating a sense of community support, where they look out for each other, they can take the initiative and make a difference. Children need to be given the change to be accountable and responsible and must experience the benefits of making that choice.