“One, two… and three,” saying this, Orak dunked his face in a bucket of water. He could hold his breath only for a few seconds. He took his head out, and all his hair was wet. Panting, Orak scoffed, “Water and I can never be friends! How can Bajau people be in the water the whole day?”
The Gifted Four were reading about the Bajau tribe. The Bajau tribe people are found in Southeast Asian countries. They have a superhuman ability – they live only in water. They are superhuman divers. They swim deep into the sea and are not fond of the land.
Looking at Orak, Verum burst into laughter.
“Are they mermaids,” Felix asked cutely, clasping his palms together.
“Where can we go to learn diving from them?” asked Scorch.
“They are not mermaids, Felix. They are humans. We will have to go to the island countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, Scorch. Their way of life is popular in the human world. They have boats. Their houses are built on water, and they are fisherfolks. They catch fish for a living,” answered Verum.
“But how can they be in the sea all the time?” wondered Orak, “Human body is not made to be underwater for so long.”
“Well, many researchers studied them. They found that the human body can adapt to any environment if we live in it for many years. The Bajau tribe has been living in water for many, many years. Now, they can easily live in water,” replied Verum.
“Interesting. Were they always living in water,” asked Scorch.
“No! There are many versions of why they live in water. But a famous story is that a long, long time ago, they used to live on the land, just like other humans. They had a king who ruled over them, and the king had a daughter. The story goes that the daughter was once lost in the sea.
The sad king asked his people to find his daughter. But they could not find her. That’s when the Bajau tribe people decided to live in the water forever and never come on the land,” Verum sighed.
“Whoa! The princess was never found – that is so sad,” said Felix.
“Sadly, no, Felix,” Verum patted his head, “Bajau tribe people have lived in water for many years. Do you know that their children also are born as super divers,” Verum said joyfully.