The Light in Aquala

Mara stood at the edge of the sand for a moment and looked out at the ocean as her mother made her way to join Lena.

The old woman sat down with a few of the other older ones who hadn’t been helped into the boats yet. The waves came in and went out in their slow steady rhythm, and for a moment nothing on the ocean seemed out of place. The air was cool and the taste of salt was sharp, so sharp she could taste it on her lips.

Then she caught sight of it.

A vibrant blue light so far off in the distance that if she looked directly at it, she lost it. But if she looked just to the side of it, she could hold the column of light in the corner of her eye.

She had seen that same blue before. It was the same color that was at the center of the light at Aquala and also at the center of the drawing in the box she was now holding. This was the light that the old woman’s ancestor had gone to see.

She was sure of it.

Lena and Tomas were standing next to a one-person boat that one of the teenagers had made. It was rickety, but it wasn’t leaking water. A rope coiled on the sand beside Tomas and he had two oars in his hand. Lena was next to him and they had been talking, while watching the water, looking in the direction of the light.

"There is a light out there," Tomas said to Mara as she had run over to them to share her sighting of the light. "Past the break line and off to the left of the point. I have been watching it since the boats started loading. It has not moved."

"I see it," she said.

"I don’t like it." Tomas said with a scowl on his face, but with an undercurrent of curiosity in his voice.

"Neither do I."

Mara kept her voice even. "Can you take a boat out? Just far enough to see what it is, without getting too close."

Tomas stood up, and without saying anything, he simply picked up the coil of rope then pushed the boat off the shore and into the water. With a quick look back at Mara and Lena, and a nod of acknowledgement, he stepped in and started moving towards the light, rowing quicker than he ever had before.

He had already been discussing with Lena what to do, and he made it clear that he wanted to go see the light for himself. Now that Mara had asked him too, well, that was all he needed to reassure him that he wasn’t the only one who needed to know exactly what the light was.

Mara and Lena watched him row. He rowed incredibly quickly past the second sandbar and disappeared. They looked at each other with a curious expression, wondering if what they saw was really happening.

Meanwhile, the clicking sound from the jungle continued and the lights above the canopy had increased in brightness.

The village was bustling with activity, and they watched as one of the leaders called out from the front of the overland group, asking whether the supplies had all been loaded. Voices in different parts of the group called back saying they were ready to go. Children were clinging to their parents' hands, while the teenagers started to herd the animals, comforting them in hushed voices as they all started along the trail.

Lena and Mara stood at the entrance of the trail, reassuring people as they walked by and started along the pathway, making sure no one was left behind.

Tavi gave both of the sisters a tight hug goodbye, saying he would make sure they were all okay. He then joined the strong men at the back who were now moving into the jungle along the trail. One of the muscular hunters looked over his shoulder and winked at the sisters, a sign that he would make sure Tavi was okay. Lena smiled back at him, blushing slightly and hoping her and Gralor would meet again soon.

The sisters looked towards the ocean to see the last of the older ones being helped into the boats. The village was almost empty now.

Amazingly enough, Tomas had already arrived back, breathing hard, his tunic soaked to the waist and his arms shaking slightly from the quick pace. They ran over to meet him just as he pulled the boat up onto the sand and stood looking back at the ocean, before turning to the sisters as he heard them approaching.

"It is not a light coming from the ocean," he reported, as the sunlight cast a warm glow onto his tanned, weathered face. He continued talking, bewilderment evident in his voice.

"I was paddling quickly, but it was like the boat was going ten times as fast as it should be. Soon I was close enough to see the light clearly and it was standing on the surface of the ocean. It was a column of light, and I could see a vibrant blue at the center with silver and gold around it. It held steady, not even moving with the swell, and the ocean spray swirling around it was glowing Neon. The ocean underneath it looked like it always does. But I could see it only from a far distance. For some reason, I couldn’t get closer to it no matter how hard I rowed." Tomas scratched his head as he spoke, trying to figure out what was happening.

Mara's scientific brain was sorting this information out and found it very interesting. Especially when it was combined with what they had already figured out.

This column of light out in the ocean was in a place no villager could get to. She turned towards the jungle. If there was also one on land, it was obviously far enough away that no villager would stumble upon it by accident.

The continuous clicking sounds and the hovering lights Tavi had first seen were enough to keep people from exploring on their own.

She looked out towards the ocean again. Most of the villagers didn’t notice the column of light since they were too busy trying to get to safety.

Only Tomas noticed.

"Tomas." She kept her voice even. "Row quickly to the boats and tell everyone what you saw and that they need to stay close to the coast all the way to the Northern shores where they will be meeting up with the rest of the village. Please warn them not to go out past the break line."

He nodded once and turned back toward his boat. Then he stopped and looked back at her. "Mara, that column of light on the water was not there last night. I would have seen it. It arrived when all these strange things started happening today. You both be careful."

Mara and Lena both nodded in acknowledgement before he turned and got back into his boat.

He pushed off and rowed toward the other boats, which were almost filled with the older ones now. A few were still waiting on land, and he helped them into the final boat. All the boats waited for each other and left together, heading to safety, to meet up with those traveling up the coastline on land.

Lena watched them go, then looked at Mara, tucking a loose strand of hair that had been tousled from the wind behind her ear. Mara obviously had something on her mind.

"Lena, I think there may be two of those columns of light. One here in the ocean and one in the jungle, past the clicking sounds and the Neon lights above the canopy.”

Neither of them spoke for a moment. The clicking kept its steady rhythm behind them and somewhere out past the break line the blue line hovered on top of the ocean.

"The old village woman Bjiji gave me these." Mara continued, showing Lena the box she was given and what was inside.

"However many columns of light there are, I think that these mean something. From what Tomas said, that light in the ocean is real… and if there are two columns of light, another perhaps in the jungle?" The unfinished sentence was left hanging in the air, as the unease they both felt increased.

Lena nodded slowly. "The one on the water is somewhere no one from the village would ever go and if there is one in the jungle, it is too far away for anyone to get to easily. Plus, the sounds and those hovering lights are scaring people too much for them to go looking. Which means whoever or whatever is causing them knew not just anyone could get near to the columns of light. Or would want to."

Lena looked at the sea one more time. The small blue light in the far distance had not moved, had not dimmed and it had not gone away. She looked into the jungle, knowing that it was time for them to leave and find out what awaited them there.

If there was another light waiting for them.