Interlude
“That was fun.”
“Yeah, it was!”
“You know who it made me think of?”
“Gran!”
“Yes! Oh, I loved her stories!”
“Me, too… Which was your favourite?”
“Let me think… Ah yes. The one she said her Gran had told her when she was a little girl.”
“And her Gran to her Gran!”
“And so on, yes… Oh yes.”
****
This happened a long time ago. Gods and goddesses lived closer to the people back then, it is said. So it was that there was a goddess of the sea, called Thala. She was immensely beautiful, as is the sea. So she was beloved by sailors.
By they also knew that the sea can be bitter and unforgiving, and that happened when Thala was offended because a sailor would fall in love with her. And she, the sea, could not stand being loved by a mere mortal, and then they sent storms and raging seas forth. And so she was feared as much as she was adored, and mariners gave offerings to her before leaving port.
There was this young fisherman, Aleo. He was quick of mind and gentle of word, fast to help and last to leave effort. He was also regarded by many as a really handsome man. And he never forgot his prayers to Thala before he set sail.
So it was that one day, as Aleo was in his boat, busy with his nets, Thala saw him, and for the first time she felt love. For a mortal no less!
So she came upon him on a wave of foam, surrounded by her divine majesty, and hailed him. Aleo was in awe, and he talked to her with due reverence and his usual gentleness. And thus, little by little, Thala let her godlike layers fall, and after several hours, all that was left was a man and a woman on a boat, talking to each other.
Every day Aleo would go out to fish, and every day Thala would visit his boat. And as it was bound to happen, he fell in love with her. They promised to love each other forever, and spent many happy hours together in the middle of the sea. And every evening Aleo would return home.
Yet Thala could not forget that, after all, she was a goddess and not a woman, and deep inside, she knew that her love was impossible. And she made a decision.
The next morning, Aleo offered his prayers and set sail, and waited for Thala to appear. But she didn’t. And so it was day after day after day. At first he felt sad, but slowly his sadness became anger and then resentment. In the end, Aleo stopped praying to her before sailing, and he was always sullen and remained silent, and the people in his village stopped talking to him as well.
One day, as Aleo was fishing, he saw a storm coming, and got ready to leave for port, as other fishermen were doing, but his net got stuck. He tried to free it, but couldn’t, and so he grabbed a knife and cut it.
It was too late, as the storm was already upon him. Aleo had to use all his skill as a mariner to survive, but the storm took him away from the coast. He spent the night fighting the storm, and in the morning, he found himself alone, in the middle of the Great Sea.
Aleo tried to navigate back home, but several days and nights passed, and he didn’t reach any coast, nor did he see any other vessel. He fished with a spare net, but he couldn’t get any fresh water, for it didn’t rain. Thirst grabbed him, and he became febrile, lying on the bottom of his boat, almost out of strength.
And Aleo prayed. He called upon Thala. He asked why she had abandoned him. He said he would do anything to see her once again. Aleo thought he heard her voice, asking him if that was true, saying that there was a way for him to survive, for them to be together, but it would cost him his humanity.
Feverish, Aleo agreed. He would die happy, having spoken with Thala once again, if only in his mind. He closed his eyes, one last time.
But next he awoke, and before him was Thala, again the goddess and not the woman, and Aleo had been changed, for his form was now that of a dog with a lion mane and the tail and scales of a sea serpent, bright and powerful. And Thala extended her arms, and they embraced, and were together forever.
****
“That was it, exactly.”
“Do you think she invented it?”
“Ha, probably. Or her Gran. Or her Gran’s Gran! I’ve never heard or read the same story anywhere. Other sea gods and goddesses, yes. But not this one.”
“You know, I’ve always wondered…”
“What?”
“Myths. Legends. Where they come from?”
“You’re getting profound now?”
“Nah. It’s just that I’ve had these ideas. What if they really existed?”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. Maybe there were some kind of… supernatural creatures in the past. People who only looked human, perhaps. People with powers.”
“Or… aliens?”
“Ah, now you’re mocking me. I should have never pointed you to Stargate.”
“Hm. Look, maybe they were, I don’t know, warriors or monks who did this or that, and people built on it. People from abroad, other tribes, other countries. People whose tales the travellers brought back home. And the stories grew in the telling, like Gran’s.”
“That’s interesting. You sure you don’t want to study that?”
“Nah, it’s just a silly idea. But not as silly as yours!”
“You moron!”
This is my story for this week’s prompt from Wording Wednesday, a writing group on MeWe. It’s also the fifth chapter in my own series… here are chapters 1, 2 , 3 and 4.
This week’s prompt was difficult, because I couldn’t make it fit with the (very basic) ideas I have for my story arc. But in the end, I just cheated…
