***
Iwalked.Andwalked.Andwalked.Wet sand between my toes.The song from my dreams an echo in my head.
I looked up.Sunlight reflected off the surface far, far above me, even though no light reached to where I was.I walked for a long time, through cold, murky water.There was a ladder, its rungs festooned with green weeds that drifted in the current.
This was my way out.
I grabbed the ladder and stepped on the first rung, then the next.
I climbed.And climbed.And climbed.
I stood on a tower over the sea, looking at the horizon.So stunningly beautiful I couldn’t take my eyes off the incredible vista.The sight pulled at me with such compelling force that I needed all my strength to resist.The song became stronger, the notes a wordless temptation, the key a tremulous plea.
But why was I resisting?Perhaps if I simply gave in…
“Simon!”
A familiar voice that sounded very far away compelled me to pay attention.But I didn’t trust the sound and believed the words to be another hallucination.
“Rooster!”
Wasn’t that the captain’s name for me?Perhaps he wanted to come with me.
“Come down!Don’t jump, goddam you!”
Jump?I’m not going to jump.I am going to fly…
My eyes snapped open, and the sunlight blinded me.I wobbled, hearing men’s astonished cries nearby as I grasped for something to hold.My fingers wrapped around taut ropes.
Hands grabbed me and pulled me down to rest on a smooth and solid surface.
“Rooster!Simon, good God, man.Holy hell, you frightened me.Rooster?Rooster!”
“I don’t think he can hear you, Captain.Look at his eyes.”
“Oh my God.”The captain’s familiar voice became more desperate.“Rooster!Rooster!Wake up.Fight the beast’s manipulations.The monster’s got hold of you again!”
“Captain, his arm!”
“Oh, Christ, do something!Help him!”
I wondered what all the fuss was about.I felt fine, if a little woozy.But I couldn’t really see anything, and I wondered where I was.
Was I in the captain’s bed?Was I somewhere else?
I squinted, trying to see, but everything was blurred.
“This is my ocean.You shall not trespass over me.Witch!Devil!Outcast!”
My chest rumbled with the words, and my lips moved, but the voice was not mine.
The voice was not mine.
The creature spoketome,throughme.For surely, I was the witch in question.
Rage swirled in my belly.How dare this thing disrupt my life and the life of those around me?How dare the monster make such demands and claim ownership of the vast sea?Did the creature not know what I was?WhoI was?
I tried to move and felt resistance.The thing was keeping me still.The monster wouldn’t let me move.
