Blown Away

14: A Bowl full of Frogs

The week passed quickly. Being on the open ocean one finds a lot of free time. I taught Zephyr how to sail. Everything from terms, to knots, to steering, everything but cloud reading. Since my recent experience with clouds, I've come to distrust any weather prediction they might make. So after days of practice Zephyr managed to pick up the knowledge faster than I did when my father taught me. You could say she was a natural born sailor. Had fate given her a human life, I could see her sailing the seas still embracing the wind.

While the days were fun, sunsets over the water were our quiet time. Unlike watching the sunsets from the land, seeing them over the ocean took our breath away. Colors blanketed the entire sky, edging clouds with a silver light. When the colors faded into night, stars replaced the empty blue, more stars than my eyes had ever seen. My father once spoke of a river in the sky. The Milky Way, he would say, was a giant moving map. He would show the constellations and explain how to locate the North Star, Polaris. He told me as long as you can see the sky, you will never lose your way. Thankfully Zephyr and I were right on course to meet the East Wind, as a matter of fact, we had arrived.

That morning while Zephyr and I lay asleep in the bottom of the boat, a sudden heaviness sank the bow into the water. I instantly threw the sheet off my head and looked about. Una sat on the bow watching us. With her legs crossed and her lips smirking, she removed her sunglasses.

"Rise and shine, wind seekers," she said. "Welcome to the cool waters of the Atlantic!"

"Una!" I cried. "You're alright!"

"Of course I am," she said. "You think those Cirrus clouds could stop me? Besides, the plan was to meet you here."

Zephyr stirred awake. As soon as she saw Una, Zephyr was on her feet hugging her.

"Get off me, Zephyr," she said, pushing the girl away. "I don't do hugs."

"How was everyone when you left town?" I asked, hoping everyone had fared well.

"The town got a little damaged, but no one was hurt. I have to give Mrs. McCallow for handling a Cirrus cloud all on her own. If she was a wind spirit, she'd be a fierce opponent." Una looked over the sea to the East. "You're approaching the spot."

"Why exactly are we all the way out here?" I followed Una's eyes and saw nothing but more ocean. "I don't see anything."

"You won't see anything until we are right up on it." Una swished her hand causing the wind to shift and turn the boat. "The East Wind is very powerful. She has the power of time and space. This offers my mistress the ability to see into the future and create rifts between places. This was the closest one she could make that wouldn't have human interference."

"What about the other winds?" I asked. "What are their powers?"

"My mistress can fill you in on those details," Una placed her hand in the water and brought it to her mouth. "We are here."

I followed Una and tasted the water. It was fresh instead of salty.

"It's not saltwater?" I said confused.

"Nope," answered Una. "We are entering the rift. Look!" Una pointed at the sudden water lilies floating around us. As more and more appeared, so did a mist. It consumed our sailboat leaving little visibility forward. We drifted further into the mist. Sounds of birds flying and toads croaking carried across the water. The mist started to rise and the air around us grew warm. The outlines of buildings with curved rooftops popped out along a shore beside us. Tall grass brushed the boat. We weren't in the middle of the ocean anymore.

"Welcome to Japan," said Una. "My mistress's power is something isn't it?"

The boat approached a Torii gate with painted red columns and covered in Japanese characters. We came to a soft bump on the dock.