for a moment, deeply pensive, and then bowed her head and softly requested the honor of sharing what the shell would offer. The shell gently loosened her grip and moved closer to Willow. "Take all that you will, for it is my honor you have returned to us."
Willow bent down, took only a small portion, bowed again to the giant shell, and said, "I accept this offer with gratitude."
Ellura and Morven looked at each other in astonishment and awe. "She truly is the one we have waited for," Ellura said.
"She already knows the ways of our people, and yet she is so young," Morven added.
"We have chosen wisely."
They were pleased with the respect Willow had shown the Goddess of the Shell Kingdom. Willow had endeared the whole shell clan to her.
Willow surprised even herself with her response. It was as though she had always known how it was to be. But where and how had she received this knowledge? This was another question she would ask Morven when the time was right.
Soon the others came near to her, touching her and marveling at her beauty for one so young. There were water people of all ages: old ones that moved effortlessly through the waters and little ones bumping into shells and rocks and even getting tangled in the flowing seaweed. Such beautiful people, she thought. And they are my people now too.
Ellura approached Willow and motioned her to go with her. Without question, Willow followed Ellura, dodging through the coral forest, in and out of caves and up and down from the depths to nearly coming out of the water. Ellura brought her to a cave beyond sight of the place she felt comfortable in. She felt a sense of unease, but she was not afraid, because Ellura was with her. Ellura looked into Willow's eyes and without saying words communicated to her that there was much to learn and someday she would have great responsibilities. Willow started to ask a question, but Ellura disappeared in the water like a sudden beam of light. Willow sat there quietly for a moment, waiting for Ellura to return, and realized she was alone, that Ellura had left her there on her own.
A voice inside whispered to her, "Don't think about how. Just do it. Just see where you want to go." Without further thought, Willow wanted to be back with the others—and then she was. Ellura was sitting next to Morven.
"Not bad for your first lesson, little one," Morven said.
"Lesson for what?" she asked.
"In due time, in due time," Morven replied. Then Morven and Ellura disappeared as quickly as a flash of light.
Willow drifted in and out of the seaweed, just adventuring through her new world without a thought of how. So much beauty in every turn, she thought. As she came around a large cropping of caves and rocks, she spotted the young man she'd seen before as she was returning to the shore with Ellura. He didn't notice her as she watched him for a brief time, but when he looked up, their eyes locked. She turned and glided away as fast as she could. Although she wanted to stay, her impulse was to retreat. She was a bit embarrassed, but her heart was beating very fast, and she noticed her body was tingly all over. It was a feeling she hadn't felt before, and it was a bit uncomfortable.
She darted through the forests of seaweed, twisting and turning, not knowing which way was up or down. It wasn't long before Willow was bound like one of her father's tangled nets during a storm. Not only was she embarrassed, but fear came over her as well. She had never been in such a situation before. After all, she was raised on land. This was all new to her.
Would anyone find her there, and if not, what would become of her? Surely she didn't choose to enter that world to fade away, trapped in seaweed. She struggled to free herself, only to find the tangles gripped her ever stronger. I should never have ventured out on my own, she thought. She became tired and weak from her struggles and soon appeared to blend in with the seaweed.
Willow felt numb all over and her thoughts seemed foggy. She couldn't focus on anything but the thought of her mother and how she may never see her again. If only I could hear her voice one more time. Though she felt herself fading, she called out to her mother in their private language of the mind. On land, it was a language that only she and her mother knew. She had forgotten that this was also the language of the water people. She could barely hear her own thoughts. As she began to drift off, she thought she heard a soft whisper. Drifting deeper and deeper into the dark place in her mind where there was only emptiness, she heard the whisper again. This time, it was a little stronger. She could barely make out the words because of her weakness.
Willow felt an inner strength arise from the core of her being when she heard the soft voice of her mother. "Be strong, my dear daughter." They had connected between the worlds. Willow felt comforted and at peace, yet she was still tangled within the grip of the seaweed. Soon she drifted into a deep state of stillness.
When Willow awoke, she was nestled in her cave, wrapped in her own comforting bed of seaweed. Had it all been just a dream? Was it a vision, and if it wasn't, how did she return to her cave? How had she become untangled from the seaweed that began to take the life source from her? Did she hear her mother's voice in a dream?
It all seemed so strange and new to her. She knew there was much to learn to adapt completely to her new environment. She slowly lifted her head and glided down the edge of her cave. Morven was waiting for her at the rim of the forest. As Willow approached, she wondered if it was Morven who had rescued her or if it was indeed a dream. Morven said nothing about the event to her, but smiled in a way that gave her reason to suspect she did know.
Soon all the water people were gathered near the forest's edge beneath the waves as they did each day. She looked around to see if there was any clue to someone knowing what had happened. No one acknowledged that such an event even existed. But she'd heard her mother's voice—she knew she had. There was no denying that was real—or was that a dream too?
The day in the endless waters proceeded as it had each previous day. Ellura and Morven glided close by Willow and, when they did not want anyone else to know, they spoke to her in the language in which her mother often spoke to her. "There is much for you to learn and so little time," Morven said.
"What do you mean?" Willow asked.
"Soon you will fulfill the promise made so long ago, but for now, you need to know the ways of your people. You will need to speak the language of all the clans of the waters and navigate between them with complete ease. You will learn the ways of many clans. You are the bridge between the worlds beneath and above the endless waters."
"Why me?" Willow asked.
"You were promised," Ellura whispered.
Morven spoke of how quickly Willow had been granted a taste of the life source from the shell clan. "Not everyone is granted that life source, only those who are destined for great things." Willow became very quiet while Morven and Ellura told her of things she had heard only from her mother and grandmother. Of course, those were just stories from the old ones, so the villagers would say. But now, there she was beneath the waves of the endless waters, hearing this from Morven, her great-great-grandmother, and Ellura, the woman of the water.
She remembered the stories of the woman who was childless and lost her husband. The waters brought her a baby with golden hair. She was told someday the gift must be repaid, and a promise was made. She wondered what the promise was and how that was relevant to her, yet that question was not to be answered yet.
Ellura and Willow glided through the waters with the ease of light, in and out of the forest in the waters and through caves and caverns that seemed to be the foundation of this magical place. Willow saw creatures that only imagination could conjure. Creatures that moved effortlessly with the grace of a butterfly through the waters appeared by her side as she glided through the waters, following Ellura. Soon she was surrounded by many of these luminous underwater creatures. She was in awe of them. They radiated with a soft, golden glow and the essence of deep blue that appeared to stream through their bodies like beams of light. Their iridescent wings fluttered with such speed, they appeared to be motionless.<
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As she continued to watch them, she found herself spinning as she marveled at their grace and beauty. Willow became dizzy and powerless as she was transfixed on them. She could hear the sounds of tiny bells, which as she listened became a buzzing, then a chattering. Soon she could clearly hear voices. Not like the voices of the water or land people, but voices she could understand but had never heard before. "Welcome," they said. "We have waited a long time for you to return." She was startled for a moment. How can I understand these beautiful creatures? And what do they mean, waiting for my return? I have never been here before.
As her thoughts became one with these creatures, she felt a connection and began to speak freely and comfortably with them in their own language. Then she heard Ellura calling to her. As she turned to find Ellura, the little beings brushed against her skin as they spun around her and then disappeared.
When Ellura approached her, Willow asked about the beautiful creatures and how it was that she could understand them. "They are of the Water Spirit Kingdom. You will know the languages of all the clans within the kingdoms in time," Ellura said.
16
Soon they were back in their own forest with the other water people. Willow felt tired from the events of the day but could not stop