The Sacred Heart

<p>READ: <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+SAMUEL+16%3A1-13%3B+LUKE+10%3A25-37&amp;version=NLT" data-type="link" data-id="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+SAMUEL+16%3A1-13%3B+LUKE+10%3A25-37&amp;version=NLT">1 SAMUEL 16:1-13; LUKE 10:25-37</a></p> <p>Just above the sea’s drop off into the cold depths lay the city of Aquis. Turrets of shell and pearl sparkled under the liquid bubble that encased the city, allowing its inhabitants protection and breathable air. Most of the Colo colony had come from above the sea, before the war and fires had burned and destroyed everything they once held dear. The Colo were a proud people, fiercely loyal to their own, and determined to never again be forced from their home.</p> <p>Cor wiped sweat off his face as he completed his morning strengthening routine. His golden skin glistened as waves from a passing pod of dolphins rippled the surface of the bubble. He jumped as Viva popped out suddenly from behind a fofo plant, its puffy pink petals raining down. “Have you heard the latest?” Viva blurted as she pushed her long, plaited braids off her shoulders. “What’s the latest?” Cor asked. “With you, it could be anything.” She lowered her voice. “There’s been a disturbance in the dark side of the sea.” Cor’s coal black eyes turned grave. “Gigas?” Viva nodded. The great creature lived in the depths, rarely surfacing. Yet when it showed its spiny face and thrashed its powerful body, devastation was left in its wake.</p> <p>Suddenly, a deafening roar shook the sand beneath their feet. Cor and Viva watched through the bubble in horror as creatures of the deep clawed, swam, and fought their way out of the drop off. Among them were the Nura people. The Nuras weren’t enemies of the Colos, nor were they friends. They simply stayed in the depths, occasionally speeding up to the surface to do no-one-knew-what. Most of the Colos assumed they were up to no good. As unsightly as the Nuras were, something inside Viva’s heart broke as she watched them stru