play my cards;

6.1.09

Okay, I'm here to post for moyashi once again.

Here's your edited compo dude. (;
AND I'M UPSET THAT YOU'RE STILL SO TALL!!!

Relax, take a breath and imagine the smell of salt air and the cries of gulls. Feel the soft sand under your feet and dive into your memories of the sea. How has the sea touched your life? For me it is the greatest memory the sea has ever bestowed upon me.
“Stupid sea! Because of you, Daddy has to go away every now and then, leaving us alone in the house.”
My grandson, John, sulked as he tossed a few pebbles into the waves. They slowly disappeared as the currents quickly devoured them, pulling them back into the water.
His father was about to leave. As a sailor, his job required him to leave home several times a year, leaving only brief periods of his life being set aside for his family. John disliked my son’s job because of these conditions, but he disliked the sea even more. He hated that it took his father away from them, making their relationship grow distant.
As he continued on sulking like a spoilt brat, a smirk spread across my wrinkled face. My grandson, I thought to myself, was just like I had been when I was about his age.
“You shouldn’t blame the sea you know. It’s not the sea’s fault; moreover the sea brought great joy to two siblings.”
“The sea brought joy? What do you mean grandpa? How can that be possible when it always takes Daddy away from us?”
“Oh well, I just have to try and recall what took place in the year 1920….
“Well, at that time the boy was only 13 years old and his father, like yours, was leaving to set out to sea. He was also sulking and blaming him for not spending time with them especially when his mother was just finishing the gestation period and was nearly nine months pregnant. But they had no choice if they were to survive. His father was the sole breadwinner of the family, earning money for the family. One fateful day, his father decided to take them out to the sea so that they could have fun as a family and rode their little boat gently out to sea. It was summer but the water was the wrong temperature. It had this chilling feeling that made the boy shiver and it was a murky green colour. The boy, Will, wanted to reach out and touch it. But his short arms and the height of the side of the boat would not grant his wishes. He sulked, irritated by this development.
“Huh. So now even the sea is getting in my way. How nice,” Will thought to himself.
“Will! Don’t you try to touch the water! You know very well that those short arms of yours won’t reach the water! It will only get you wet when you fall in!” his father warned.
“As a typical teenager, his father’s words only had the opposite effect on the boy. Will decided to do it just to spite him. Will tried his luck once again and plunged his body forward, his fingers somehow just managing to brush against the surface of the water.
“Eeek!!! It’s really cold!”
Will withdrew his hand and just as he was about to pull himself up over the side of the boat, a huge wave crashed against the other side of the boat, tilting to a rather dangerous angle.At the sudden impact, Will fell into the deep dark shadows of the sea, lacking the time he needed to react.
“My body is so cold. I can’t seem to move. I can’t breathe. Help me!” the boy thought to himself.
However, his silent cries did not seem to penetrate the surface of the cruel ocean around him. Darkness cluttered his mind. Death was just waiting to swallow him when he finally realized how beautiful his life had been. He could feel his heart beating; its potent beat echoing in his ear.
“Is this the end?” Will thought.
He heard voices calling his name and he struggled in a final attempt at reaching the surface, intent on not letting the Devil tear his soul from his body and take his life.
A firm grip tightened around his hand and pulled him up to the surface and air filled his lungs again. Will was petrified with fear when he was pulled to safety.
Glad to be alive, his facial muscles relaxed and a smile lingered on his face. But his smile did not last and his expression became one of absolute horror- his father was fighting the Devil in his place. Streaks of lightning stretched across the evening sky as the onslaught of the storm continued. His father was trying to get back up over the side of the boat but the waves tossed him, up and down, up and down, and up and down again like a helpless paper doll. Will was frozen with fear, rooted to the spot as he stared, wide-eyed, at the helpless figure.
His father, still battling with the strong currents knew he would not make it.
“Will take care of them for m-“But before he could finish, a huge gulp of seawater forced its way into his mouth and then Will’s father vanished from his sights.
That was the last time Will ever saw his father.
Will stood rooted to the same spot for a few minutes, gaping with obvious disbelief, his eyes blank and wandering. His jaw hung open, numb with shock at the bizarre sight. All he had been able to do was feebly watch it happen. Slowly darkness engulfed him.
“Help me! Help me!”
“I’m coming father! I will save you!”
“Will, no matter what happens, please live on, no matter what….”
“NO! Father please come back! Don’t leave me!”
Will shot his eyes open and he bolted upright. Beads of perspiration trickled down the sides of his face, dripping onto his hands. No, it was not the water that had haunted him in his nightmare but rather the raindrops that had emerged from his eyes. A wave of emotions swept over him, and unable to control it, he felt his eyes clouding over.
“Gone….Father is gone now… Forever…” he sobbed to himself.
“Will remember…Always take care of your mother and sister for me….”
Will’s head snapped up at the words that echoed in his head. Where was his mother now? What about his precious unborn sibling she carried in her womb? These thoughts grew restless, urging him to satisfy the desperate yearning for his mother.And in spite of the fatigue that weakened his body, he searched for his mother, running aimlessly in the looming building of endless white halls.
“Mother, Mother where are you?” Will cried.
He finally reached a ward. But the only thing he could see was a nurse carrying a little baby girl. His mother had disappeared.
He could hear the nurses speaking in hushed voices.
“The poor boy.”
“Will isn’t it?”
“Yeah...Lost both his parents at such a young age.”
There was a pause.
“Now he is left with his baby sister. I wonder how they survived that treacherous storm.”
Will covered his mouth to in an effort to stop himself from screaming. It was all the sea’s fault.The boy squeezed his eyes shut tightly.
‘I hate it! I hate it! It took away everything from me!’
Ever since then, Will has always treated the cold ocean as his enemy.
As the years passed, the two siblings grew up together. Will was already twenty-three years old while his sister, Wendy, was fifteen.Although the hatred for the sea stood firm in Will’s heart, he had to support the two of them. He had to take up a job as a fisherman, sacrificing his education.But he felt it important that his sister went to school in his place.They were fortunate as their landlord agreed to let them rent a house for 5 pounds every month, but Will still had to take up many jobs. However, due to his young age, jobs were scarce, and his salary was not satisfying at all.
However, what made matters worse was that is sister loved the sea, but Will’s over-protective sister-complex demeanor did not allow her even a toe in the water.
Wendy knew why her brother hated the sea but she did not agree that the sea was at fault at all.
The sun was shining brightly in the clear, cloudless sky.
Will cringed at the sudden brightness, his eyes feeling uncomfortable.It had just become evening now, and it was a perfect time to fetch Wendy from school, despite her insistence on going home herself.The young man was sure his sister would wander off to the ocean.
He narrowed his eyes.
He wasn’t about to risk that possibility.
Will made his way up the hill routinely, only to find that Wendy had already left to look for him at the jetty.
‘That girl!’ He thought. Wendy had always loved to sneak out of school early to collect seashells near the coast. Knowing that her stubborn brother of hers would never let her near the sea, she longed to put out the flames of hatred within him. Alas! He found her. As usual, his guess was correct; Wendy was there by the seashore again.
The sun-kissed sand was soft and fine. Grinning, the girl dug both of her feet in it and wriggled her toes. What a wonderful feeling it was, the sand slipping between her toes, tickling. The waves rolled in and then receded with a whisper as a breeze lifted her bronze tresses lightly. Several dolphins swept past her, swift as torpedoes. They clicked and chirped, whistling and squawking as they swarmed around her, swimming gracefully in a slow, sinuous circle. One even came up to the surface, close enough to tease Wendy, kissing her on the cheek. She chuckled with obvious delight. If only her brother loved the sea as much as she did. He would not be so miserable then.
She let out an audible sigh, she had tried so many times to persuade her brother but he had remained adamant. Watching her brother suffer in silence with that look of pain that remained permanent on his face, she decided. She would give it her all and try once more. She was serenity personified. She stood up, oozing with confidence, only to realize her brother had already been watching her for quite a while.
Wendy flinched and tried to avert her brother’s angry gaze. She walked towards him, preparing herself for a day’s worth of lectures, feeling slightly guilty. She put on a calm expression and set her mind to discussing the last topic her brother would want to hear. Knowing what was on her brother’s mind, she waited for him patiently for the harsh reprimand coming her way. However, Will did the complete opposite of what she had expected.He hugged Wendy tightly. So tightly up to the point that she had difficulty breathing. Wendy was taken aback by his actions.
“Brother? Are you…you ok?”
Said person did not answer his sister’s question. Instead he could mutter.
“Sorry….”
He finally let loosened his grip on her, his arms slacking around her shoulders. Wendy continued to wait patiently for her brother to speak. Will knew exactly what she was thinking. He had known throughout the years that Wendy had been suffering with him. His hatred for the sea had only made matters worse when he stubbornly forced his sister to hate the thing she loved.
“How could I have done that? How could I have been so cruel? I was only hurting her when I thought I was protecting her…” After watching her near the ocean, Will had seen something he had never seen before; the twinkle in his sister’s eyes and her pearly laugh as she skipped and danced on the beach. It was a genuine happiness that radiated from her, and she glowed. Will had always been living in self-pity, draining his sister’s happiness away.
“Brother, don’t say sorry. Why should you be sorry? You are the most wonderful brother anyone could ever have, and I am so happy that the sea has brought us together. If not we would not be so happy right now. It has returned you your happiness, and returned my big brother to me.”
Those words struck a chord in Will’s heart.
‘The sea saved us?’
It finally dawned on him that all this while he had been so foolish to have ever hated the sea. The sea had given Wendy to him after all. It had been an accident, that incident all those years ago. Will furrowed his eyebrows, drawing a long tired breath and leaned back. He had decided.
“Let’s go see mom and dad shall we?”
Wendy smiled at him. She could guess what he had in mind. The two siblings held hands as they climbed up the hill to where their parents’ ashes were. After burning their bodies, Will had brought Wendy to collect their ashes and stored them in two similar vases, the ones that their mother were so fond of.
“Do you miss them?”
“Of course I do! How could I ever forget them? Even though the only memories I have of them are in photographs.”
“Shall we let them watch over us forever in bliss?”
“Yes.”
She looked at her brother curiously.
“What do you plan to do brother?” Wendy asked in wonder.
Will laughed heartily for the first time in many years, joy emanating from the light sound. He grabbed Wendy’s hand and they ran down the hill each carrying a vase. They raced down the hillside until they reached the sea. Will took off his shoes and stepped into the water, feeling it between his toes.How long had it been since he had last played and swam in the sea, he wondered. He took a deep breath. Fresh air filled his lungs as he felt extremely exuberated, refreshed. The feeling was great. It filled him up inside. The two of them opened the vase they each carried and scattered the ashes all over the waters as the gentle waves came and swept them away. The siblings broke into an impish grin and exchanged cordial smiles. This was the happiest moment for them. As you know, the story ends with a happily ever after.”
John’s eyes were bright with curiosity.
“Wow! That was an amazing story grandpa! But how do you know they were happy forever?”
His grandfather laughed.
“Oh well, that I’m sure of. After all, I am the Will from the story, my dear boy.”

(2455 words)

♪.moonrise.♪

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♪.Sing to the Heaven of the Dawn.♪