Son of the Sea

Home

Nsu was nowhere to be seen. Instead, this dark, bleak landscape was all that stretched on and on for miles ahead. A bit frightened at the sudden loneliness and quiet of the forest, Nana called out.

"Hello?! Anybody home? If this is really a dream, I'd like to wake up now. Hello?! Anyone?"

Silence.

With nothing else to do, Nana sat down and studied his surroundings. The forest had really changed very suddenly. The once lush, green shrubs and grasses had withered and dried up. The trees, which were so full and weighed down with fruit, were now naked and shivering from the icy chill of the wind which was howling in the distance. Resignedly, Nana crawled under the inadequate shelter of one of the trees and huddled into a shaky, unstable sleep.

And now my reader, you may very well ask: What happens to someone who sleeps inside a dream? It sounds a bit absurd, doesn't it? In fact, what happens is that when a human being sleeps inside a dream, the sleep acts like a channel which takes him or her directly into the sleep of whomever he wants to see the most. Being at least halfway human, this happened to Nana. No sooner had he closed his eyes than he was standing in a very bright, very familiar place.

Namely, his backyard garden.

To be more precise, he was standing in a corner of the wall of his house overlooking his backyard garden. Pleasantly surprised, he breathed in the fresh, morning air which smelled like vegetables and flowers and earth. His eyes misted over. Gosh, he didn't know exactly how much he missed this place. Since he was born, this had been his home. He had so many memories here. He had first learnt to walk and talk here, he had blown his flute for the first time in this garden. He had buried his first pet here to, a fish which he had called Esiama. He stood there, buried in his thoughts, the memories flashing in and out of his eyelids, wondering if anything would ever be the same now that he had been plunged into this strange new world. The son of a Sea goddess? He shook his head, very confused.

"Nana?" called a voice behind him, and he jumped in surprise. He turned to see his mother looking at him with surprise in her eyes, tinged with hope. "Is that really you?"

Instantly, his eyes welled with tears. He ran to embrace his dear, safe, familiar mother. "It's me, mom. I've missed you so much. You'll never believe what happened to me me, Mama."

"I know, son. I should have told you about this a long time ago. Your father and I should have given you some sort of warning, but we were strictly instructed not to. Oh son, I've loved you for so long as my own, but now you must take your place in your own world, where you belong."

"Wait, mother. You mean you know about this? Does this mean that all of this is true? That I really am the son of some ancient goddess?"

She sighed. "Yes, my son," she said as she sat on the ground and patted the space beside her. Nana followed suit. "Before we had you, I was a poor fishmonger, and your father had no job at all. We were young and very much in love, and so we were content with what we had. Our life was simple but beautiful. Our only problem was that we had no children. This worried us to no end. Now, as you know, our family, although Christian, has always been very superstitious about such matters. After the first year of our marriage went by and we still had no child, my grandmother visited the sea and made a prayer. She made an offering, too, but she refused to tell me what kind of offering it was. Well, it turns out that at that moment the goddess needed someone to take care of her own baby, so she gave you to us to do so until you were ready. In return, she gave us all this wealth."

"But, mom, why didn't you tell me about all this?"

"She instructed us not to, son. And now, you have been torn from me. I really do not want to part with you, but I must do as the queen wishes. You must take your place as heir to the kingdom. Oh my son. My beautiful, wonderful son....." And then they embraced so tightly that it seemed they would never let go.

Nana felt her tears in his hair, and whispered, "I don't want to leave, mom. I don't want to go anywhere..."

"I know, my son. But there is nothing either of us can do about it. Even now, you are paling into nothingness.

Nana looked at his body, and jumped with a start. Truly, his body seemed to be growing dimmer and dimmer by the second. He looked up at his mother's tear-streaked face, mirroring his own.

"I love you, mom."

"I love you too son. Always remember....."

But Nana would never hear those last words his mother was telling him. All sound faded as the world turned black and he felt himself falling, falling into a deep hole, and he awoke back in the green forest, beside Nsu.

Or should he say, his mother.

"I am sorry for the suddenness of your meeting with your mother. I just thought that it was in order for you to meet her one last time, and I cannot properly control the magic of this realm, as I do not have control over it. I trust that you were able to say your goodbyes?"

"I want to go back home," was the only reply she got from him. As she studied his sad face, her face turned to a mask of concern.

"I'm sorry, Nana, but this is your home now. I promise you will get used to it in time. For now, I think you need a good rest. Come along," she said as she stretched out her open palms.

Robotically, Nana placed his hands into hers, and they vanished, leaving the realm of dreams as suddenly as they had come.

Hello, people!

Okay, so I know most of y'all are confused right now. I am SO sorry about his, but I recently reread the story and realized I had left a few potholes which needed filling. This is part of the editing process, but I realize how disconcerting it may seem to reader when the author takes away some chapters and puts in new ones. I will replace the old chapters, but I just having to finish setting the scene for them first, Kay? Hope you understand. Thanks so much for your patience ;-)
Ciao!