THE LIGHT OF A'LEST

CHAPTER 6

     Kara gasped as she awoke with a start. She placed one elbow beneath her and fought the urge to be sick as she struggled to rise. The ground swayed wildly, pitching back and forth at the slightest touch. The familiar sound of lapping water met her ears. It was quieter than usual. Subdued, as if she were hearing it from far off or through some unseen veil. The acrid scent of salt lay heavy in the air, and despite smelling different somehow, it still stung the edges of her nostrils. 

     She was on a boat, a small one if she was any judge. Its simple wooden mast creaked and swayed as the ship's unattended rudder drifted with the current. What happened to me? Where is Keko? Am I dead? If she was dead, then all the stories she had been told were astonishingly mistaken. The realm of the dead was supposedly a place devoid of light, filled with nothing. An eternal resting place, where all who had once been slept on for all eternity. A "Soul-Scape," her people called it. A place where all life waited. Unburdened and unbridled by the knowledge of their predicament. A nice thought, but Kara had always had her doubts.

     Frantically, she reached for the edge of the boat, wanting to feel the coarse wood beneath her fingertips. As they traced the sun-blistered planks, she began scanning the hold of the small vessel. It was empty. No provisions. No water jugs. Nothing. Even the iron clasps, which undoubtedly held oars at one time, lay empty. Looking up to the sky, she saw that even the mast was barren. Just a scrawny weather-worn pole, which tapered off as it rose higher and higher into a gray, mist-filled sky. Struggling to make sense of her surroundings, she stood and scanned the horizon. That was when she saw them.

     Not fifty feet from her, on a shore of black stone, stood her mother. She was dressed in a gown of solid black. Tears streamed down her face. Her slim shoulders heaved as another figure she somehow immediately took for her father stood behind her with his arms draped over her. She was surprised she recognized the man. She'd only realized it was him because of the strong resemblance he bore to the large portrait that hung in the foyer of her old home. Uncle Ca stood beside them, both hands clasped around his huge belly, a solemn look of repentance plain on his round face. Moments later, Keko came out from behind him, along with several of the performers from her guild, most of which she only faintly remembered. Each took their place in the line and stood silent, sheepishly smiling back at her. Several moments passed, and then some waved. Others chuckled. Kara stood there on the deck of that empty ship, gently swaying back and forth as she watched the strange scene unfold before her. A sudden assault of emotions slowly crept up out of the depths of her soul. It was not long before she found herself drowning in them.

     One of the performers, a boy nearly her age with as much acne as he had freckles, twisted his face into a sneer and stuck his tongue out. "Screw you!" she screamed. Overcome by the ridiculous scene before her, she felt herself losing control. A rush of heat enveloped her face. The warmth spreading behind her ears was followed by a steady throbbing that tugged at the base of her skull. Staring at first at the freckle-faced ginger and then at the group, she gave in. "You never cared about me! None of you! You abandoned me, Mother!" Turning to address the man that she should have held deep feelings for: "Some father you turned out to be! I never knew you. You cared nothing for me." She spit those and many other words with as much venom as she could, but her voice was but a small imitation of itself. She screamed louder, but the words died over the water. The group continued to stand there, as if she had never spoken.

     As she exhausted her rage against a crowd that seemed indifferent to her predicament, an uncomfortable thought leapt from her mind. Maybe I am dead? Part of her almost relished the thought. Not like I'll be missed. Her shoulders sank, and with a humph, she turned from the scene and began making her way to the bow of the ship. The deck swayed with each step, threatening to cast her into the sea. Ducking under the swaying arm of the mast, she reached the front of the ship and leaned over the side. She regarded her sulking reflection for only a moment before plunging her hands into the inky black depths and paddling farther from shore. Tears tugged at the creases of her eyes as she scooped handfuls of the icy water, but she refused to let even one fall. Fixing her gaze on the fog-tinged horizon and then to the steel-gray sky above, she wondered, Where am I? Does it matter?