Azha and Delphinus

In another part of the world, there lived a man named Azha.

He was a shepherd who lived alone. Every day, he herded goats, from morning until evening.

Near the Eridanus River, Azha was busy taking care of his livestock, which was quite large.

While playing in the water on the edge of the river, Azha enjoyed his little life. "Thank God for all the good things that accompany me," Azha said to herself.

The sound of the water rippled, accompanying Azha's enjoyment of playing. The thirsty goats also made cheerful sounds, "mbek...mbek...mbek...", while drinking the fresh river water.

Accompanied by Delphinus, a freshwater dolphin that was so intelligent, magical, and obedient to humans, the interaction was truly pleasing to the heart. Azha could play with the cute and smart animal.

"You're so cute, Delphinus," Azha praised herself to herself.

The interaction with Delphinus erased the loneliness that haunted Azha. She forgot all her sadness. Azha is always grateful for the various gifts that have been given to her.

The sun is already in the west. In a few hours, it will set. Azha begins to tidy up from herding her goats on the banks of the Eridanus River. She will go home then.

(Looking at the sun) "Wow, the sun is about to set," said Azha.

"I have to get ready soon," she continued.

Not long after, when she had finished tidying up and started to go home, suddenly a ship approached Azha.

"Shuttt!" (the sound of the ship's sails from a distance).

"Lower the anchor!" (shouting) The captain's order that was heard by Azha.

"Yes, Captain," answered several crew members that were heard again in Azha's ears.

Because the Eridanus River is a very large and deep river, making a ship that big able to anchor and lean there.

Then... "Krekkkk, krekkkk, krekkkk," the ship's door opened and the tip touched the edge of the Eridanus river, making the ground shake slightly.

Not long afterward, the captain and several of his crew members came down from the ship. They approached Azha, who was standing still looking at the extraordinary ship.

Azha wondered to himself, "Who is he? Why would he approach me? I don't know him myself."

After being right in front of Azha, the captain said, "Greetings, you don't need to be afraid. I'm just a traveler."

He then asked, "O young man, what is your name?"

Azha answered, surprised to see the man smiling, "Greetings again, my name is Azha. And who are you?"

The captain introduced himself, "My name is Jason, and these are the Argonauts, some of my crew."

Azha muttered to himself, "From his appearance and clothes like a captain, he seems like a good person."

Jason reached out, "Nice to meet you."

Azha shook hands with Jason, still feeling surprised, "Me too, nice to meet you."

Jason asked, "Okay Azha, can I ask you something?"

Azha wondered to herself, "Now he wants to ask me something. What does he want to ask of me?"

Azha answered, "Yes, of course."

Jason said, "Then if you allow me, I would like to offer myself to be your friend. Can I be your friend?"

Azha mumbled again, "So this is what he wants to ask of me. He seems like a good person, but I'm still curious why he wants to be my friend? Okay, I'll just accept him as my friend."

Azha answered, "Of course. I live here alone and I really hope there is someone who wants to be my friend."

Jason was happy to hear that, "Thank you, thank God. I'm happy to hear that. Thank you very much for accepting me as your friend."

Azha asked again, still feeling surprised, "But why do you want to be my friend? I'm just an ordinary person."

Jason replied, "I don't care whether you're an ordinary person or not. I just want to have a friend. And I feel like you're a good and fun person."

Azha smiled, "Thank you for your compliment. I'm also happy to be friends with you."

Azha asked, "Oh yeah, if I may ask, where are you from and who are you really, Jason?"

Jason answered, "Oh sure, I'll explain. My name is Jason Navis. I come from the Kingdom of Nesia. I was a captain there. The Argonauts and I chose to explore the sea to save ourselves. Our king, King Orionus, was killed by his own sister, Medeusa. Medeusa was hit by evil magic at that time, and with her magic, she took the royal throne from her own sister's hands. Everyone who was hit by her magic would definitely die and turn into stone. We weren't able to fight it, so we saved ourselves. Luckily, we survived. We feel very guilty because we didn't can save King Orionus. All the magicians in the kingdom were also defeated by Medeusa and turned into stone. We saved ourselves because the King ordered us to stay alive for him.

He did not want us to help him if the kingdom was in trouble or civil war. He said,

"You are not allowed to help me if the kingdom is in trouble or civil war. If you still want to help me, then the way you help me is by staying alive. Why? So that the name of the Nesia Kingdom can still be heard throughout the world thanks to you."

Azha said, "Oh, I see. You seem to come from so far away. I have never heard the name of that kingdom before. I am sorry to hear your story, O Jason."

Azha began to feel convinced that the captain was a good person. He muttered, "My guess was right, he was indeed a good person."

Jason replied, "That's how it is. Thank you for your condolences."

Azha said, "Yes, you are welcome."

Jason said, "Actually I don't want to remember this. This is really sad for me, but it's okay. Let it be, it's all in the past."

Azha said, "I'm sorry I made you remember it again."

Jason said, "It's okay Azha. It doesn't matter to me. I only regret not being allowed to save my own king."

Azha said, "Stay strong, Jason. Actually, you have a bigger mandate than saving your king, which is to save the pride of the kingdom."

Jason said, "You're right, Azha. Thank you."

This has been my wish for a long time, Azha said in her heart. Okay, I'll just tell Jason, the captain.

"Oh Jason! Can I join you in wandering the seas?" (expressing her wish).

Without thinking, Jason immediately answered, "Oh, of course Azha, with pleasure. You made me happy today."

"Yeah, thank you. Thank God, I'm really lucky. However, I have another request to make of you," Azha continued.

"Oh, what is it? Just tell me!" Jason was curious.

"Well, I'm a goat herder. I have a lot of goats, so can I bring them on your ship when we travel? And also my dolphins? They're really magical, I can't bear to leave them all," Azha asked.

"Wow, that's what you wanted to ask. Just made me curious," Jason said to himself.

"Of course, Azha. I'll gladly allow it. You're always up to something," (laughing a little).

"Yeah, I'm really happy today," Azha said to himself. Meeting new people and wanting to be my friends again.

"Thank you for your generosity, Jason. I owe you a debt."

"It's normal, no need to be excessive."

"Hmm, can I ask about your dolphins? I'm curious," continued Jason who was surprised by Azha's statement that her dolphins were magical.

"Of course you can," Azha replied.

"I don't see them, where are they?"

"Wait a minute!"

Khwit..khwit..khwit.

Azha called her beloved dolphin with her distinctive voice. Instantly, her dolphin appeared. It appeared on the edge of the river, quite far from where Jason's Argo Navis ship was docked.

"That's it!" Azha pointed. "Let's go over there and approach it!"

"Okay!" Jason and the Argonauts answered.

Then, Azha, Jason, and the Argonauts walked over to Azha's dolphin.

"Let me introduce you all, this is my dolphin, his name is Delphinus. He is very intelligent and obedient, easy to interact with humans, and he is truly magical."

"Delphinus is truly unique, huh, he can obey human commands," Jason praised.

"Will he be able to follow us when we wander the ocean?" he continued.

"I think so, we'll try it later. He is a smart and magical dolphin."

"Okay, I'm sure of that. Hmm, I have a request for you."

"Sure, what is it, Jason?"

"Well, I want to ask permission, can we spend the night at your house tonight?" Jason said. "To rest, because tomorrow we will start our journey."

"With pleasure, Jason. But, my house is quite far from this river, how about it?"

"That's no problem," Jason replied.

"Okay, fine. Wait a minute, okay?"

Khwit..khwit..khwit.

Azha told Delphinus to go back to playing in the Eridanus river.

"Come on everyone!" Azha invited. "We have to hurry, because it's getting dark."