On that day, Clio swam up to one of the Strangers and introduced herself.

“Hi, I’m Clio! I was born here 2 years ago, and these are my friends Euphisto and Copepito.”

Clio gently said.

One of the Strangers, Mr. PETer, stepped forward and said,

“Hi, I am Mr. PETer. I come from very far away and I used to have another shape”

Clio was curious and asked,

“Why don’t you speak our language? Don’t you belong to the sea?”

Mr. PETer, looking at his friends, smiled and replied:

“No, we don’t belong to the sea. We are everywhere! We live in the air, in the water, in the sediments, on humans… We are a new species, and you and your family should become familiar with us because we are going to live with you for a long, long time!”

Clio and her friends were startled and took a step back!

They always heard about the human being, but they never met anyone who was really close to him before.

Clio’s friends were worried, and they ran to tell their families. Copepito excitedly told his family everything, and they immediately contacted their relatives around the world to make sure that these Strangers were not dangerous for the village.

While Copepito and Euphisto spread the word around, Clio thought it would be nice to have a welcome party for the Strangers, so she arranged an event in the main square.

“Mr.PETer, Cl-oude ed PaScaline, welcome to our house!”

she pleased said.

BUT, from the audience, Copepito’s dad yelled:

“I know who you are, my sister from abroad told me you are invading their seas as well… what do you want from us?”

Upon hearing this statement, the crowd became alarmed and the mayor had to halt the gathering. Mr. PETer and his friends were asked to move away, but Copepito’s father continued to recount the entire story to people on the streets.

“Everyone, please listen carefully! There’s something happening in the Strait of Dover, where the Atlantic Ocean separates southern England from northern France. My sister, who works for a shipping company and monitors all the ships crossing the strait, has made a shocking discovery. She has seen strange creatures floating in the water and after doing some research, she found out that these creatures are made of something called “polimeri” – and they are produced by humans! This means that these polymers are now in the water where sea creatures like us live, and we don’t know what kind of impact they will have on the healthiness of the water column. We need to pay attention and take action to protect our environment!

“Ohhh!!!” people gasped…

“We need to decide if we can live with these polymers, maybe even find a way to use them for good, or if we need to fight against them. It’s a very scary situation, and we need to make sure we’re doing our part to protect the sea and all its creatures”.

So, the village decided to work together to figure out if they could coexist with the Strangers or if they should fight against them. It was a big challenge, but they knew they could do it if they worked together.