What Lies Beyond the Ocean

Chapter 32

Father leapt up onto Nyx, who looked back at me- questioning who this strange man is- why he's on her instead of me. I grasped onto Alyard's waist to gain balance as I swung my leg over Tide's back.

"Its okay, Nyx!" I exclaimed to her as she grunted. Father gently stroked her silky ebony mane, instantly calming her down.

Adjusting his posture, Alyard signaled Tide to take the lead towards the dirt path trickling down into the meadow and then the forest. The flowers seem a bit brighter than the last time I saw them- around the time I first encountered Alyard. I glanced at them and inhaled their decadent scents.

"Do we happen to be closer to the cottage?" Father pondered, raising his voice a bit to be heard amongst the chirping birds.

"We're almost there," I replied, noticing the gargantuan evergreen marking the halfway point towards home. I've been using that evergreen as a marker point since I was just a babe, running around, chasing butterflies, and trying not to be stung by those pesky wasps and bees.

"Great," he exclaimed, possibly feeling the adrenaline rush through his veins as we approached the cottage- the hay roof now visible between the tree branches. I, too, experienced that sensation.

Movement caught my eye- at first guessing it was just a forest animal- but then realising it was actually a human. A dainty woman in a familiar flowy red gown was approaching the cottage... who could only be Casa!

Alyard gave a brief glance over his shoulder in response to my sudden jump.

"That's Casa," I gently whispered as I restored my balance.

He smirked and motioned for Tide to quicken his pace.

~

Casa's curly locks were tied back into a lousy bun as she tended to the vegetable patch. Her head snapped up as she heard the sound of hooves approach. Trying to follow the noise, she set the harrow to the side, squinting to make out the shape of us as we drew closer.

"Mother!" I called out, heart beating as fast as that Zalfan's flute. I leaped off of Tide and ran over to Casa- her arms wide out to greet me.

Everyone and everything shut down around me, the only thing in my world was currently Casa- mother. Her sweet honey scent, her curls brushing against my face, the fabric of her self-made dress.

"Erline," she whispered in my hair, brushing my hair out of my face. "I... I can't believe you're here... I never anticipated-"

"This is my home, mother." I interjected, squeezing her hand. "I also brought back an old friend of yours..." I swerved my head as Father slipped off of Nyx, Alyard jogging up with him.

Still holding my shoulders, her eyes moved over to the two men coming up to us. Her light green eyes blended with the meadow grass as they widened in shock.

"Gael!?!" she hugged me one more time before running up to him. Father stumbled a bit as he caught her in his arms.

"You're... you're... still alive! I, all of these years, I thought you were gone..." she nuzzled her face in his chest.

"I'm so sorry," he stroked her hair, curls bouncing. "I've been residing over in Sileves this whole time... I sought refuge there after being seized by Nilopoians and was sent to one of their camps. Thank you, thank you for raising Erline to be such a caring, loving, and independent soul. I... I know you understand the circumstances of why I sent her with you... I just... I'm so sorry for causing 'this.' Causing her to leave you for so long... and not even being there for my own friend and daughter."

Casa took a deep breath and smiled, taking his calloused hand. "You blessed me with this beautiful soul. And now I am once again blessed with your beautiful soul, at last."

"Mother," I grinned whilst gesturing to Alyard towards us, taking his hand when he was within arm's reach.

"This must be that friend of yours you were telling me about back in that dungeon," she observed. "It may just be my poor eyes, but you, sir, look rather familiar. Are you from around here?"

"I am," Alyard validated. "My pa runs the butchery in the city-"

"Gery!" she exclaimed. "You have to be his son, then. I apologise if I'm not recalling it correctly, but your name is Alex, correct?"

"Close," he simpered. "Alyard, better known as Gery's 'little hunter.'"

"Ah," she pulled him into a rather awkward hug, but Alyard being Alyard, he rolled with it and hugged her back. She squinted as she noticed that nighttime was coming to replace the breezy evening.

"It's getting dark," she pulled her sleeves closer to her frame. "Please do come in; I'm almost done making rabbit stew and may have enough for all of us."

~

I glanced about the cottage- taking in the familiar scent of the lumber, the smooth dirt flooring underneath my feet.

"Its been way too long," I thought aloud unconsciously. Scenes of myself when I was a little girl running around the cottage, making tea with Jaila- Erline before I fully became Erline.

Suddenly, I remembered my journal- full of attempted portraits of Father, accounts of my days, but most notably, Father's letter... which was actually written to my mother, Caoimhe, not intentionally from Casa...

I excused myself from the small wooden table as Casa served us cups of fresh stew. I scurried to my bedroom- left as it was. I picked up the journal, blowing the accumulating dust clumping together. I slipped the delicate paper out of it, carefully unraveling it, whispering those last words Caoimhe would ever read herself.