My Precious Child

        “Nicholle, be a good boy and stay with Rikah for a while. Mommy will be right back, okay?” Nicholle keeps on sobbing while clutching Kelly’s arms. She just hugs her son to calm him down.

        Kelly then turns to Rikah. “Escape through the tender at the aft. I’ll meet you at the tenth ship in the west…” Kelly pats Rikah’s shoulder and continues, “please take care of my son….”

        Kelly exits the afterdeck first. A heavy blow shakes the whole ship afterwards. It’s the signal for Rikah and Nicholle to proceed to the escape route.

        I hope everything will go smoothly as planned. Kelly keeps on praying. She closes her eyes as the salty wind presses on her skin while standing recklessly at the bridge of the ship. She then hears growls beneath the ocean. They’re finally here.

        Fish-like creatures with four feet like that of a toad begin to leap from the ocean into the bow of the ship. Kelly can sense their hunger. The more aware she is of their vicious desires; the more her fury turns into ferocity.

        Kelly glides from the bridge of the ship down to the starboard. She then rushes towards the hateful creatures and takes off two daggers from her side. With her clear combat movements, Kelly swiftly slashes each creature’s gilled chest. They are increasing in number but Kelly somehow manages to dodge their every attack. However, she’s not certain how long she can keep up with the fight. In any way, she has to distract them long enough for her son and Rikah to reach the safest place in the west.

        After three hours of gory battle, Kelly finally comes to her limits. One of the creatures attacks Kelly from the back and unfortunately bites her left shoulder. She falls over her knees as blood starts to drip; but she endures the pain. She then grips the creature’s fish-like head and tugs it down in front of her, following a deep cut in its neck.

        Kelly regains her position but more and more creatures are coming out from the sea. Kelly has no other choice but to blow up the bow of the ship even if it means risking her own life. Kelly then scoots to the front of the starboard and strips out the tender’s cover. She lights a match and throws it to the dynamites inside the tender. She then quickly jumps into the sea.

        As her body submerges into the ocean, Kelly feels the saltwater slowly drowning her. She wants to open her eyes but she can’t. Her body feels numb. She can only hear the rumbling sound of the sinking ship. She knows, with her condition, she will not survive.

        Kelly’s hearing begins to fade away. Then memories start occupying her mind.

        Thud!

        The Pacific cruise ship, where Kelly and her son were in, hit something. Then cries from the other passengers followed.

        Kelly, who was staying at the fourteenth cabin of the ship, just grabbed her son and ran off to the ship’s uppermost deck. There, she witnessed an utter display of despair. Why and how their situation turned into something chaotic was unknown to her.

        Amidst the hysterical passengers, Kelly dashed to the ship’s bow since the ship was slowly sinking at its stern. She then hugged her son tightly with her right hand while holding on to the ship’s taffrail with the other. She knew that surviving in a shipwreck in the Pacific Ocean was hopeless. Still she prayed for a miracle to come.

        Kelly closed her eyes as she felt her son’s tears falling in her arms. “Mommy...mommy...I’m so scared...” Kelly didn’t know how to respond to her son’s distress. All she could do was to blame herself.

        As the ship’s bow sunk in the ocean, Kelly promised to herself, “If I’d be given another chance to live with my child, I would protect him with all my life and wouldn’t allow him to die in my arms again.” Tears dropped from Kelly’s eyes as her vision turned dark.

        However, Kelly didn’t know that her nightmare was just about to begin.

        Kelly and her son woke up in an abandoned ship. She was thankful enough to see her son alive; though, at the back of her mind, she was unsure of what the future would hold for both of them.

        The earth where they were awakened was not the same earth that they had known. It was entirely different -- no islands and no land animals existed. What was present was the ocean and billions of ships to keep humans alive. What was worse was the existence of seawater creatures that fed on humans.

        Kelly feels the wind slapping in her face. She knows she has regained her consciousness but her body wouldn’t respond. She hears something but she’s not sure whether someone is calling her or is it just the sound of the ocean waves. She relaxes a bit to grasp her surroundings. She slowly moves her fingers and clears her mind. She takes a deep breath and listens carefully to the wind.

        “…Mommy…please, wake up mommy…”

        She knows that voice – that sad tone of a voice. She feels the urge to be back to her senses. I must comfort my child. I must…

Kelly finally opens her eyes and jerks forward. She is gasping and shaking as she vomits an amount of seawater. She then stands up and walks uncomfortably.

        She looks around to search for her son, but she is astounded of what she saw. She has survived and is now in a ship with hundreds of survivors. This is the first time she has been on a ship with so many survivors.

        She looks around again, hoping she can find her son. She runs into the survivors and asks each one of them about her son, but no one knows.  

        Kelly nearly loses hope when she sees Rikah weeping at the deck. She grabs her and asks her in a flustered voice, “Rikah…where…where’s Nicholle…”

Rikah looks at Kelly, weeping and shaking her head. Then Kelly’s eyes go blank.

Note: This is an original story by Red Phantom.

 

Crimson Dusts

This is the tenth time I have gone deep in the Dark Forest. Though I have been warned many times of the dangers that await me here, I never hesitated on continuing this jaunt. That’s because, every time I smell the dried leaves falling from those boughs, every time I hear the million drops of water from those huge vines, I feel I am getting closer to my destination. It’s this feeling that drives me back here. I can’t deny it.

Twenty…no fifteen. Fifteen more strides and I’ll get to see what I came here for. It’s all the same – the trees, the barred night sky, the wild animals that kept on coming after each steps I made. It seemed this place hasn’t changed at all since the first time I lost my way here. I can still remember this same feeling I have now. It’s like I have known this place even before. So amiable.

Just like the last time I visited here, this place is full of magic. The hundred-year-old Oak tree glimmers as thousands of fireflies dance with ease around it just as they were preparing for the coming of their queen. The Oak’s leaves are swirling as if it was beckoning me to join their party. Beyond this rare beauty I have witnessed for the tenth time is the pleasant harmony that came from nowhere. Everything here is a mystery.

I couldn’t help myself but accept the implicit invitation this place has offered me. It’s inevitable for an orphan like me. This courtesy that the heart of the forest has showed – it’s like a dream. No one has been so dear to me before, not even my so-called friends cared much of me. I guess I’m really that lonely calling them as my friends though all they do was to torment me.

But this place, which I have not even known for years have given me the essence of a home. It’s too dreamy for me to feel this way. I will not let these moment pass. Just even through this, I can finally say that there’s still a place where I belong. There is a place where I can finally dance and sing without being bothered that someone might get annoyed or pissed off. This is the kind of home I have been seeking all this time.

It’s been an hour since I’ve arrived here in the heart of the forest. It’s about time for the queen to come out now and join the fun.

I can hear trumpets blowing from afar. She’s near. For the first time, I would be seeing her close unlike before where I would only be watching her flew above us towards the other side of the forest. This day is very special, indeed, for the queen to join us.

There, up that night sky, I can sense the silhouette of the queen blocking the moon’s light. It’s something I have never expected to witness at this kind of place. It’s full of mystery yet so warming. Just the sight of these scenes would calm me down.

Her  thin, silky, purple wings are flapping smoothly as hundreds of tiny magical crimson dusts fall from them. I wonder how those dusts didn’t reached the grounds after they fell. She is coming close to me. I can now clearly see her. But, I was deceived of my expectations. She is more than an angel. With those reddish eyes that glitter as she comes closer to me and that flawless face of her, I can’t tell whether a human could ever possessed such perfect structure. Her periwinkle hair is waving along with every breath of the wind. I am stunned with this kind of beauty.

The queen draws her slender hands on my forehead. Come, my child, enjoy the night with us ‘til you get tired. I can’t see her lips move but I can hear those gentle words of her in my head. As result, I let her take hold of me and made me joined the party with her. We are dancing, singing, eating, and drinking all throughout the night. I never had these kinds of stuffs before – stuffs that would give me bliss this much.

I know I am not imagining all of these because I’ve been here for so many times. I can feel its physical existence. Even though I can’t fathom what lies behind its magic and mystery, I’m still glad to be part of it. All of the mythical beings I have been with tonight seemed to understand what I feel from the start. They have comforted me so much, though I am a complete stranger. A nobody.

Child, have all the fun and be at home. Those words of the queen keep on repeating in my head. This feeling I have now is so grand that I couldn’t stop it from bursting. These scenes, if they were on the world outside this forest, I would not have gone all the way here just to witness them. My tears poured suddenly.

“My child, what’s wrong? Aren’t you having fun with us?” She wiped my tears as she uttered those words with concern. This time, her lips moved but she seemed to be troubled.

My tears then burst harder. “Why are you so kind to me? I am not one of you…”

I expected a bleak response but the queen smirked back and patted me, instead. “Why are you so worried my child? Haven’t my minions told you that you’re a part of this family?” After hearing those words of assurance, I suddenly felt at ease. My tears are beginning to wear away. I haven’t heard anyone said such kind words without hesitations ever since.   

The queen then flew up as high as the Oak tree and swirled around. I can the crimson dusts falling from her wings. Brownies circled beneath the queen and with them is a wide golden cloth. For the first time, the dusts finally fall into something. It’s another magic and mystery I couldn’t even tell how and why it happened.  

The queen flew back to me holding the golden cloth tightly. “The time has come my child. You have been summoned and you responded obediently. It’s time to give you back what really belongs to you. Welcome to this world, my child!” She handed me the golden cloth then flew again and sang in rejoice. The harmony now is getting louder and even more pleasant. It is slowly creeping into my body. Something inside me is awakened.

Note: This is an original story by Red Phantom.

There I Am

Awaken from the world of fantasies

There I am standing in the horizon

Still trying to escape away from reality

From the echoes of their grief

From the chokes of their havocs

From their bloody plea

From the facts they revealed to me.

It’s harsh to hear their cries

Gloomy in all the days of their lives

Daring themselves to survive

Hiding all the torments inside their hearts

Carrying their crosses ten thousand times

Waiting for a hero to revive their wills

But none are born to be the chosen one

Now, I must awake myself from fantasies.

Note: This is an original poem by Red Phantom.