Son of the Sea

Forest of dreams

When he came to, he was lying face down in a strange forest. The scent of green leaves and wild fruit filled his nostrils as he clambered to his feet. His dark, bare skin, as well as the entire landscape was unnaturally bright. The flowers glowed around him in vibrant hues of purple, pink and red, the leaves shone verdant under the harsh yellow sun, and the sound of birds, insects and other wild creatures sounded uncharacteristically close in his ears. He turned around, in the hope that
he would see the bearer of these noises, but not a soul was to be found.

"Here, we have privacy, my son", the lady from his dreams remarked behind him.

He whirled around to face her. "What is this place? And why is everything so shiny?"

"This place is the forest of dreams. Everything here is so vivid because it is the birthplace of the dreams of every living thing in existence. The sounds which you here are the sounds coming from the simultaneous dreams of all wild creatures. Our presence here may appear in their dreams as a result, and negatively affect them. That is why I brought you here, and not to the part of the forest which governs human dreams."

"Right. Now can you tell me what it is that I should know?"

"Sit down, Nana. It is a common trait of all sea children to have short tempers and attention spans, but you seem to be the worst of them all," she remarked, crossing her legs in the grass, her dark frame making a stark contrast with the bright green of her surroundings.

"There's a lot to talk about, my boy. Sit."

Nana looked at her position on the floor, once. He then proceeded to the nearest tree, broke off a large leaf and then came to sit on the grass opposite to the woman, mirroring her cross-legged posture. Shyly, he used the leaf to cover his private parts and then looked expectantly at the woman in front of him.

With that regal smile, she began.

"By now it should be obvious to you that I am not human. In fact, I am a goddess, and a very powerful one at that. I am Nsu, the queen of the ocean. I govern the entire ocean and every creature that resides in it. I am the goddess of the calm, because at times, the surface of my home is the most tranquil place on earth."

"You mean the waves? But....but most of the time, the waves aren't what you'd describe as, well, tranquil," put in Nana.

"Yes. The ocean is the very symbolism of action and reaction. When the winds tread softly upon us, we respond with a calm, azure countenance. But when the winds becomes too carefree, we roar and crash with deadly ferocity. That is why I am also known as the goddess of anger," she said. "The temper of the sea and her children is unrivaled in any other domain on Earth."

"Okay, so...... You're the goddess of the sea. That still doesn't answer my question. What am I doing here? And why did those asaboas want my flute so badly?"

"Patience, my son. All will be revealed in due time. You do know that most times, dreams are just remnants of memories, do you not?"

"Yes. I've heard that before."

"Good. Hold my hand. I want to show you something."

Gently, Nana stretched out his arms and held her hand. Then he waited, expectantly. Nothing happened at first, but as he sat, watching the expression of focus on the goddess' perfect face, and trying hard to avoid watching her heaving chest, he noticed that to his right, the view had turned blurry. He turned his eyes to that direction and was met with an image.....no, a video. A soundless video of a woman, badly injured on a beach. She was struggling, trying to get to the water, but she just couldn't move.

"That is me. I was the eldest princess of the sea, the next in line to the throne, and the wildest of the three daughters of my father, the King. I had gone on one of my expeditions to the surface of the sea, and had been injured by some fishermen, and brought ashore by net. When the fishermen saw that it was not fish they had caught, but me, they ran away in fright, hurrying to their homes to make sacrifices of appeasement to the gods. I was left alone, dying, on the sandy beach."

Just then, a man came into the video. He was tall, dark, shirtless and well-built, and he walked with a very carefree air about him. He strolled calmly into the beach with his fishing net, at first, and then, when he saw the wounded woman, he rushed to her side. He picked her up bodily and ran with her away from the beach, his footsteps leaving tracks in the sand, Nsu's long hair trailing on the ground as her head bobbed up and down in rhythm to his hurried footsteps.

"That was Kwami. He was just a random fisherman. He didn't know me, wasn't responsible for my condition. He could've walked away. Instead, he took me to his hut", said Nsu beside him, as the video progressed, "He cleaned my wounds and fed me, and taught me his songs, the songs of the fishermen, the sea shanties. For weeks on end he would go to the sea every day, to fish, and I would give him a message to be whispered into the ears of a fish, to my family. I at least expected them to visit me, to find out how I was coping, to find a way to bring me back home. But there was only silence. Cold, hostile silence. And on the twelfth consecutive day of silence, I realized my family had abandoned me.

I was devastated. Kwami comforted me. He helped me regain my health. He was so supportive during this time. He ignored his family, his friends and his favourite activities just to be with me all day, and all night. I also began to see his finer qualities, his beauty, his tenderness and patience. We fell in love, and then, we made love. Countlessly. We never felt so much joy as when we were together, physically joined to one another. That period was one of the best days of my..... What is it?

"I'm sorry, but don't you have a censor on that thing?" asked Nana, pointing to the memory-video beside him, which was showing everything that Nsu was saying in vivid, graphic detail.

"Censor? What does that word mean?" Nsu asked, puzzled.

"You know what? Forget it. Go on. Just, don't dwell on those parts," replied Nana, adjusting the leaf in front of his crotch.

With an amused shake of the head, Nsu continued. "As was expected, I became with child soon after. I was so happy when I discovered I was pregnant. By this time, I had lost all hope in my family ever coming back for me. Although I was healed, I swore never to return to the sea because I was so hurt by my family's neglect. Kwami was also overjoyed at my pregnancy. Nine months later, we gave birth to a chubby, dark haired little boy. He was so perfect and sweet. His skin was dark and smooth and so consistent, except for a tiny raindrop-shaped birthmark behind his left ear. We named him Nana." Pushing his head slightly to the left so that her hand could graze his birthmark, she whispered, "That boy is you."

The information came so randomly of of Nsu's mouth, that he didn't really hear it at first. "Wait.....what?" he asked incredulously, his mouth open like a fish out of water. "You mean to say that.....I'm- I'm- "

"My son, yes. My only child, in fact."

Just then, the sky darkened. Suddenly, thunder rumbled and lightning flashed across the horizon. The plants, trees and everything around them, once so bright, became dull and grey. Nana's eyes widened as his mother's video projection sparked in the middle, and went up in smoke.

"What's happening?" he asked, throwing away the now-rotten leaf which he had used to cover himself. Hearing no response, he raised his head to look at his mother.....

And found that she was not there anymore.

Okayyyyy! How're you guys doing? How was this chapter? Any thoughts? What do you think about Nsu? What do you think is happening in the last part of the chapter? Don't forget to vote, comment, and share!

Nsu - (in-soo) The goddess of the sea and temper.