Waterseer

Danielle Marie

                             Ch. I

    Jessica walked along the cement path, careful not to step on any of the cracks.  Anita would have told her she was being silly, but Anita was absent that day, so Jessica walked alone.  At first she had been disappointed that Anita wasn’t there, but now she was actually enjoying being alone.  The day was beautiful and the park was deserted.  As she walked along, humming to herself, she noticed the old stone fountain.  When she was a little girl, she used to love that fountain.  She would drop stones and pebbles into the water, making all kinds of extravagant wishes, then looking in the ripples for a sign that they would come true.

Now she hardly noticed the fountain.  It was old and chipped and dirty.   Anita wouldn’t go near it.  Jessica was feeling young today, though.  Young and carefree.  Without really thinking about it, she walked off the path and across the soft grass to where the fountain quietly waited.  She sat on the rough stone edge and scooped out some old leaves.  She threw them down on the ground where they stuck with a splat.  The water felt cool on her hand.  She couldn’t see the bottom, but she imagined all of the small rocks which rested at the bottom, rocks that, as a child, she imagined were special coins. 

She sat for a while, gazing at the dark water, enjoying the cool air and the rough feeling of stone under her.  Then the water began to change.  The spot where she was looking down wavered and then cleared.  But she was not looking at the bottom of the fountain.  She was flying like a bird over a beautiful blue coastline.  High on a cliff was a castle, white with blue casings and blue flags fluttering in a light breeze.  Then she swooped down through a window.  There she saw a magnificent throne of blue marble, carved like a huge flowing waterfall.   And sitting on the throne, she saw-herself.

She gasped and the image abruptly faded.   She glanced around, but of course there was no one to tell her she wasn’t crazy.  She looked back down at the water.  The image was gone, but now she could see a glint of silver deep in the water.  She reached down and pulled it out. 

At the end of a long silver chain was a silver pendant set with a clear blue stone.  On the back were engraved two wavy lines that looked like waves.  It was so beautiful she stared in surprise.  Looking closely at the stone, for an instant she thought she could just see the throne.  Then it was gone and suddenly she felt very alone.

The breeze picked up.  It was colder than it should have been and she shivered.  The pendant felt warm in her wet palm.

On an impulse, she slipped the chain over her head.  For a moment, she felt a flicker of warmth against her chest.  Then it grew hot, the whole world got white hot and she had to close her eyes.  Then she shook as if the whole world exploded and she knew no more. 

The waves were lapping gently around her knees and the sun was nice and warm on her back.  The sand was grainy against her cheek, though, so she lifted her head. 

The bright sun made her blink.  She was very hungry but her clothes weren’t wet.   She pulled herself to her knees and looked around.  She was on a deserted beach.  There were no buildings or any other signs of people living there.  The ocean wasn’t anywhere near her home and she got a sinking feeling as she realized that neither was she.

Voices approached.  Jessica felt terrified.  She staggered to her feet and tried to run for a nearby group of rocks, but her legs didn’t seem to work right.  She almost fell but made it to the rocks.  She crouched in the moist sand behind the largest rock.  The voices approached and passed.

She remained hidden for a long time, too terrified to move.  How did she get here?  Then she remembered the pendant.  It still hung around her neck.  She picked it up in her hand and thought she still felt a trace of warmth, then it was gone.

“Send me home,” she whispered to the stone, “please, I’m so scared.  I don’t belong here.”  She closed her eyes and wished as hard as she could to be back at the park.  But the sound of the waves breaking on the sand told her she was still far away from home.  She opened her eyes.  The pendant looked fuzzy through her tears.  She blinked them away and sighed.
 
“I guess I should go try to find a cop,” she said aloud.  She looked around hesitantly, then began to walk along the shore, following the footprints left by the voices.

The sun had moved in the sky by the time she came to a small village built in a tiny harbor.  She had never seen anything like it.   The small buildings were all made of wood, the roofs some sort of grass.  The roads were all smoothed dirt except for the main road that led through the center of town, which was paved with stone.  This road led to a series of creaky wooden piers where there were several old boats tied up. 

Most of the boats looked damaged, however, and some were completely sunk, only part of the mast or the point of the bow showing above the shallow water.

Looking back at the town, she realized that it too, had seen some sort of catastrophe.  Debris had been cleared from the road but was piled along the sides.  She turned and walked down this road, deep into the town.  Here and there she saw roofs caved in, and on one house it appeared the roof had been completely torn off.

Everywhere she looked, she saw busy people, either picking up debris off the ground or drying their possessions in the afternoon sun.  A few groups of men worked together to fix the roofs on some of the buildings.  Young children played in the rubble, but it seemed that the all of older ones had been put to work.

“I must be farther from home that I thought,” she whispered.  “Maybe this is Africa or something.” 

Nowhere had she seen a car, phone booth, mailbox, or even a power line.  Everything was made of wood or grass or stone.  There was no concrete or metal or plastic anywhere.

“Excuse me,” she said politely to a woman who was spreading clothing on a bench to dry, “can you tell me what country this is?”

“This aint the country, it’s a town.  Were you dropped on yer head?”  The woman said angrily, hardly even looking up.

Jessica looked around, even more confused.  Three small children played in a muddy pool across the road.  One boy had dark skin and dark curly hair.  A little girl had long dark hair and startling blue eyes.  They exchanged throwing mud balls with a slightly older boy with bright blond hair.  This didn’t seem like any African village she’d ever heard about.

She turned back toward the woman.

“I’m sorry to interrupt you, but I’m very lost.  Could you please direct me to someone who can help me?” she said her anxiety now showing.

The woman stopped what she was doing and looked up.

“Water is life!” she gasped staring at the pendant.  “It’s you!  Come, everyone, come quickly!  It’s her!  She’s here!”

Jessica took a step back and looked around in a panic.  From everywhere, people emerged, some of them shouting, all of them looking straight at her.  She wanted to run, but she was surrounded.  There was nowhere to run to.
 
“Who am I?  Who do you think I am?” she asked the woman desperately.

“You are the Chosen One.  You are the Waterseer,” she answered, gazing back at her with an awe that Jessica had never seen.

                  End of Chapter. I  

Full story on Amazon, paperback or e-book.

On Amazon, paperback or e-book.