Wavedancer
An old man was looking out over a stormy sea. He was waiting for his grandchildren, who were coming to visit. This was rare because he lived on a peninsula that could only be reached by a mile-long hike over rocks. As if his thoughts had summoned them, there was a knock on his door. He got up, opened the door, and his grandchildren came in out of the drizzling rain. As he sat down in his chair, his grandchildren started begging for a story. He sat there for a second, thinking before saying, “All right, how about a new story, one you haven’t heard before?” They all agreed, and he began his story.
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Once there was a young man named Nathan who decided that he would go to America; but being poor, he had no money for passage. However, the young man was determined to go to America; so he found a trading vessel that was departing soon, and he bargained to work for his passage. The ship was large and grand.
When Nathan reached the ship, he started loading crates. He worked quickly, loading twice as many as any of the other crewmen. After they were done, each man was given a specific task to complete. Nathan, being the new man, had to scrub the decks. He did so without complaint and finished quickly, as if he did the job all the time. He worked nonstop until the ship was ready to set sail.
They had been at sea for five months when Nathan noticed that the captain and crew were becoming edgy. They were almost to America when the watchman started yelling, “Storm off the starboard bow! Storm off the starboard bow!”
Nathan looked and couldn’t see anything, but that didn’t last long. With frightening speed, the storm was upon them, beating them left and right. Nathan and the rest of the crew rushed to secure the cargo. After securing the cargo below deck, Nathan ran to help raise the sails.
As he was climbing the mast, he saw it -- The Face in the Waves. The face was huge, and could only be seen from above. The face had a white beard made of froth, and its hair was the mist blown by the wind. Instead of helping, Nathan climbed to the crow’s nest and shouted, “God of the sea what have these men done to anger you so?”
“They have ignored a god! I told them that if they wished to survive this trip, to leave a fortnight ago, and that the storms wouldn’t touch them. They turned down my offer. They are cowards! If there are no men brave enough to face the sea, then all will be crushed at the bottom of the sea!”
Nathan cried, “I will face the sea!”
The god chuckled and said, “If you are brave enough to face the sea, then dive overboard and challenge the sea.”
Nathan, without hesitation, dived over the side of the crow’s nest and into the sea. When Nathan hit the water, he was sucked under the waves. He had known that surviving the sea would be difficult, and was fully prepared to die, challenging to sea. As soon as that thought crossed his mind, the sea god appeared before him, with bronze skin and hair the shade of seaweed.
“You are brave, young one. Take this; and if you ever need anything from the sea, just place it in the waves and call,” said the sea god, hanging an amulet around his neck.
Just as the sea god vanished, a wave lifted Nathan high into the air and threw him back on deck.
When Nathan came to, the sky was clear and they were putting into port.
The captain was with him; and said before leaving, “I don’t know what you did, but as soon as the sea spit you back on deck, the storm vanished. The crew is uneasy, and there's talk of witchcraft. It might be best if you leave quietly. I’m sorry."
Nathan did just that and lived many happy years in America.
*******
There was a second's silence before the old man’s eldest grandson asked, “Did Nathan ever use the amulet?”
“No, he didn’t. He never felt the need to use it,” said the old man, smiling. “And now you all best be heading out, the storm's quieted.”
When the children had gone, the old man went down to the sea to watch the waves. After a while, the old man stood and pulled from his coat an amulet that he placed in the sea. The sea god appeared before him and said, “It’s good to see you again, Nathan. What do you need?”
The old man smiled and said, “My time is up, and I wish to return to the sea.”
And with that, they walked into the sea, never to be seen again.
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