As she thrashed the covers to surface from the dream, Daniel, reached out patted her a few times and rolled over snoring. It was a recurring dream of drowning. Being pulled under the water, into the depths. Invisible hands grasping her ankles. She didn’t awaken screaming, which sometimes happened. She’d never discussed the content of the dream, She got up; turning on the ceiling fan to circulate the air. Maybe the dream was triggered by the oppressively warm night. But she really thought it was the pending trip to Hawaii they’d promised daughter Sophie for high school graduation. Kayla and Daniel counted them selves blessed to have a high school aged daughter looking forward to a trip with her parents. Kayla realized there was only an hour before their alarm went off, so she got up to make coffee, check the luggage and finalize checking the house before they left for the airport.
When she was a girl, maybe 11, her father’s company had their annual meeting on . She remembered they’d gone on a hike to see a volcano. The guide had spent the day talking about Hawaiian folklore, the goddess Pele, who was always to be addressed respectfully, her older sister Namaka, goddess of the waves and water and Maui the trickster demigod. Kayla had never considered gods outside of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit. She could have asked hours’ worth of questions, but her dad was giving her The Look, so she didn’t say that she could see Pele, an old woman with long white hair, but maybe it was just a trick of the light.
Later, they went to a beautiful golden sand beach with jewel colored water. She’d been swimming at the Y for several years, she was not afraid of the water. But the Y was a pool, and this was the ocean. She was in water, at most, up to her chest, but she wanted to swim, so she fully submerged. That was when she felt hands grab her ankles and begin to pull her toward deeper water. Kayla had struggled, until she was running out of air, to break free. She opened her eyes in the murky salt water and thought she saw a face, an angry old woman. It was fight or drown, when finally, a pair of hands grasped her hands and pulled her to the surface. Her father helped her ashore, coughing and sputtering. The experience left her wary. She didn’t go back into the water that trip. She walked along the beach, she swam in the hotel pool, but she swore when she got close to the water, she could hear voices urging her to the deep.
That incident had stayed with her into her adult life. It was why she chose to live in the high desert country, in a land locked valley. But now, she was willingly returning to the source of the nightmares. Their hotel, right on the water. When Sophie urged her mother to come with her to the beach, Kayla claimed she’d forgotten to pack a suit, and the hotel swim shop wasn’t open. She did accompany her daughter to the shore and watch as Sophie took to the water like a dolphin. Kayla relaxed in a chair with an umbrella where she could watch for Sophie, who seemed to be gone quite a while.
Kayla kept scanning the water and the beach, growing more concerned, when she finally noticed Sophie, being walked toward her, an old woman with long white hair had wrapped a towel around Sophie, and had her arm around the girl’s shoulders.
Kayla was not taking chances, “Thank you Lady, for returning my daughter to me.” She said with exaggerated formality.
“It’s ok Land Girl” the old woman replied. “Not everyone can live in the sea.”
Kayla looked her daughter over, then turned to the old woman, who had vanished. Or maybe it was a trick of the light.
— Lkai
When she was a girl, maybe 11, her father’s company had their annual meeting on . She remembered they’d gone on a hike to see a volcano. The guide had spent the day talking about Hawaiian folklore, the goddess Pele, who was always to be addressed respectfully, her older sister Namaka, goddess of the waves and water and Maui the trickster demigod. Kayla had never considered gods outside of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit. She could have asked hours’ worth of questions, but her dad was giving her The Look, so she didn’t say that she could see Pele, an old woman with long white hair, but maybe it was just a trick of the light.
Later, they went to a beautiful golden sand beach with jewel colored water. She’d been swimming at the Y for several years, she was not afraid of the water. But the Y was a pool, and this was the ocean. She was in water, at most, up to her chest, but she wanted to swim, so she fully submerged. That was when she felt hands grab her ankles and begin to pull her toward deeper water. Kayla had struggled, until she was running out of air, to break free. She opened her eyes in the murky salt water and thought she saw a face, an angry old woman. It was fight or drown, when finally, a pair of hands grasped her hands and pulled her to the surface. Her father helped her ashore, coughing and sputtering. The experience left her wary. She didn’t go back into the water that trip. She walked along the beach, she swam in the hotel pool, but she swore when she got close to the water, she could hear voices urging her to the deep.
That incident had stayed with her into her adult life. It was why she chose to live in the high desert country, in a land locked valley. But now, she was willingly returning to the source of the nightmares. Their hotel, right on the water. When Sophie urged her mother to come with her to the beach, Kayla claimed she’d forgotten to pack a suit, and the hotel swim shop wasn’t open. She did accompany her daughter to the shore and watch as Sophie took to the water like a dolphin. Kayla relaxed in a chair with an umbrella where she could watch for Sophie, who seemed to be gone quite a while.
Kayla kept scanning the water and the beach, growing more concerned, when she finally noticed Sophie, being walked toward her, an old woman with long white hair had wrapped a towel around Sophie, and had her arm around the girl’s shoulders.
Kayla was not taking chances, “Thank you Lady, for returning my daughter to me.” She said with exaggerated formality.
“It’s ok Land Girl” the old woman replied. “Not everyone can live in the sea.”
Kayla looked her daughter over, then turned to the old woman, who had vanished. Or maybe it was a trick of the light.
— Lkai
Lkai, this is marvelous. I held my breath until the end. You create suspense all the way through. Plus I enjoyed being back in Maui for a moment. Thanks for a fabulous read.
ReplyDeleteI realize this morning, there are quite a few editorial errors. Thank you for the kind words.
DeleteHawaii is definitely the place for a sea god visit.
ReplyDeleteOther-worldly, yet worldly! I had an experience once on Nantucket where I swam at a stony, gravelly beach that was very steep. When the waves retreated, there was a strong current just above the bottom. I seriously thought I was going to drown. If only I'd envisioned a sea goddess! It would have beautified my experience as this story is beautiful! ---Macoff
ReplyDelete