Magic in the Water

Origin Story Part 1

The children were headed North walking through the woods with purpose. Time was of the essence. Getting away was easy. No one was paying them attention. They planned against it. Lunch had just ended but the large family would punctually convene again for dinner. If the children weren't present having washed and dressed smart or stylish, accountability would come into play. Neither of them wanted that so they agreed before they set out, they had to be back before sundown. No matter what.

He put a considerable amount of thought into the things he packed for their journey into the unknown. He'd made a list of all the things he thought they would need; a flashlight, water, nutrition bars, rope, a machete which he wore in a sheath strapped around his waist, and a pair of snorkeling goggles with a twenty-second breath tube for the both of them, all in a rucksack he carried on his shirtless back.

He used the machete to clear their path. She had only trekked behind him this far because he said he knew the way back to the place where they'd found a water-filled cave on the island that was their home. They found it the first time by accident playing devil's advocate with how far they could go from the manor on foot. The sun was setting then, so they couldn't explore their find but this time it was morning and the sun was shining bright when they escaped the watchful eyes of their parents and fled across the manicured lawn an acre long then entered the trees running like they couldn't be seen from several windows.

They had been walking through an entanglement of brush for nearly forty minutes. She lagged behind him, feeling the humidity affect her breathing. He never seemed to get tired just powered on having lost his shirt like Mowgli from the Jungle Book.

"Are you still sure you still know the way? It's getting hot and it feels like we've been walking forever. I'm getting tired. I don't remember coming this far last time."

"We're almost there," he told her. "I can feel it."

She doubted that but made no verbal argument. He acted with such certainty she was compelled to keep up even though her excitement over finding the hidden cave was rapidly fizzing in the summer heat. They made it to a clearing, a length of grassy space where the trees thinned out although the dense canopy overhead only broke for a handful of sporadic rays of sunshine that beamed through the leaves straight to the ground on a 45-degree angle. She took a rest on a rock. Once he noticed she was not with him, he came back to get her.

"Are you trying to get lost?"

She hissed and rolled her eyes. Her cheeks were pink from the heat. Thin tresses of her thick chocolate-colored mane of hair whispered across her face sweetly. Sweat glistened on her forehead. It was clear she was exasperated. "I told you I was tired. You didn't listen."

He didn't speak either. Simply turned his face towards a welcomed gust of sea air that beckoned from the north, between the trees in the direction they were headed. He could smell the sea and longed to be in the water. The scent reminded him that they were still at home though they were far away. He caught something that looked like a fox move in his peripheral vision and searched for it possibly hiding low to the ground in the angel hair grass. He could sense its aura like a pulse though he could see nothing.

"What is it?" she asked. "Do you see something?"

His eyes told the truth when he lied. "I see nothing. Let's go."

It was a short walk from there. They came upon what seemed like the edge of the island. A sand barge that connected to another much small green island. They crossed the soft white sand with bare feet. She begged him to stop and swim for a bit but he was adamant about getting to their location before they swam. They entered another patch of woods then he stopped to listen. "Hear that?"