Willow was taken by the beauty of this being with long, silver hair and skin that appeared to illuminate as she made her way through the deep waters
Ellura spoke to Willow with her mind, urging her to come into the circle, where she would meet her water people. One by one, they entered and bowed in honor as they were introduced to Willow. Each one was more radiant than any being she had ever seen. After all the introductions were made, Ellura and Willow glided off, away from the others, through the darkness of the water.
Soon Willow noticed a light in the distance that became brighter and brighter as they drew near. There was a large, golden gate that slowly opened as Ellura spoke. The two of them entered through the gate into a beam of light, and both were suspended and then circled higher and higher into the vortex of light. In what seemed to be a blink of an eye, they emerged on the surface, where the water met the sky.
Ellura wanted Willow to know the passageway between the water and land people and why it was important for her to understand their connection. Ellura told her of a story of long ago, when the land people knew nothing of the existence of her people. There was famine and drought on the land, and no children were being born. The men were dying and could no longer fish for the village.
One night, the youngest daughter in the village slipped out in the night to her father's boat and headed out to the deep waters. She knew nothing of fishing but felt compelled to try, for without food from the waters, they would all soon perish. She cast her nets over and over, but got nothing in return. She felt hopeless, knowing she could not return to home without a catch to feed her family and villagers.
She sat on the edge of the boat and wept. Her tears cascaded into the water; her moans could be heard to the very depths of the endless waters. Her cries were heard by the son of the water queen. He slipped away from the deep waters toward the vortex of light that carried him to the surface. He saw the young girl sitting there, weeping. He drew nearer and nearer to her. She was so different from anyone he had ever seen. Her hair was as dark as the night and her skin the color of the coral near the shore. Her eyes were dark but gentle. He was captured by her beauty.
He swiftly glided closer and closer, and just as he approached the boat, the young girl threw herself into the water and tumbled in the waves. She started to sink into the deep, cold waters. He darted toward the girl, catching her in his arms. He gently brought her back to the surface and placed her limp body on the deck of the boat. He sat beside her for a long while until she slowly opened her eyes.
She sat up in amazement, wondering how she had gotten back on the boat. She looked around and suddenly saw the most amazing young man sitting next her. She was captured by his beauty and gentleness. They sat there talking for quite a long time. She shared with him the difficulties of her village. She told him she could not go back without a catch in the nets. What was she to do? He asked her to remain in the boat until he returned. He entered the vortex and disappeared into the waters.
She waited for what seemed like a long time. She lay down on a blanket on the deck of the boat and drifted off to sleep. When she awoke, her nets were pulling at the boat. She struggled to pull them in and noticed they were full. When all the fish were aboard, she collapsed again. This time, when she awakened, the boat was resting on the shore, and the villagers were gathered around her. "How did this happen?" asked her father.
When she tried to tell them what had happened, she could not speak a word. From that day on, each time her father went into the deep waters to fish, he returned with full nets. So did his sons and his sons' sons.
Ellura told Willow of the guardians of the villagers and how this vortex of light was the passage between the two worlds, and that someday she too would travel between these worlds through this light. As quickly as they ascended, they descended back to the deep waters.
Exhausted by her experience with Ellura, Willow collapsed onto the bed of seaweed and drifted off into a deep sleep. She dreamed of her land family and missed them but felt this was her home. She felt she'd always been here, or at least had been meant to be here. She tried to speak to her mother with her mind to ease her pain and worry, yet she could not hear her.
She felt a gentle brush against her skin, which awakened her. Morven was sitting with her, and once again the sense of calm and comfort came over her.
"Why am I here?" she asked Morven. "Will I ever see my mother and family again?"
Morven stroked her hair and smiled. "Come," she said.
They drifted back through the coral forest, where the others were. "This is your home, and we too are your family! You are the one who will unite our worlds. You can ease the fear of those on land who see us as the ones who steal their loved ones from their boats and separate them from their families. It is not the water people that take them away. This is not an easy task, but it is your destiny and your calling!"
"Why me?" Willow asked.
"All in good time," Morven answered.
As the two drifted deeper into the endless waters and beyond the realm of the group, the glow from Morven's golden hair illuminated the path in the darkness. Willow felt so at ease and at home. She drifted further and further into this unknown world before she realized Morven was no longer with her and she was alone. She felt startled, and a slight sense of fear arose in her. She became still in the water, but her hair swirled with the current. She allowed her body to drift with the current with a feeling of calmness yet anticipation. Where am I? Will anyone know where I am?
Willow allowed herself to be carried by the current, yet wondered why she was not afraid. Occasionally, she thought she saw something or someone out of the corner of her eye, just outside the illumination of her path in the shadows. As she drifted further, she felt a slight tug on her hair. She turned, but nothing was there. Soon it happened again. She whirled around, and there was a face of a young man with hair of golden strands like her own and gentle, crystal-blue eyes. Then he was gone. Or at least she thought he had been there, but in the shadows, it might have been her imagination. Her whole world was filled with images of things she couldn't even imagine before. It was almost too much for her to process.
She began to feel exhausted again. Out of the darkness, she felt the hand of Ellura, and she drifted off to sleep. This time in her sleep, she heard her mother calling her name. She answered her and began to tell her what was happening. Her mother said, "Since the day you were born, I knew you were the one, and you would have to return to the endless waters of the ancient ones. Be well, my precious daughter."
Willow awakened and found herself nestled in the soft, flowing seaweed once again. She could still hear her mother's voice.
Morven was sitting by her side. "Did you enjoy your adventure?" she asked Willow.
Willow replied, "I did, but I wasn't sure that what I thought I was seeing or feeling was real."
Morven smiled and said, "Oh, it was real."
Morven took Willow to Ellura and told her it was time. Willow looked into the deep blue eyes of Morven and through her mind asked, "Time for what?" Morven vanished into the waters behind the caves. Ellura drifted through the waters with Willow with ease, as if they both had done it a thousand times before. Willow was unable to speak—or just knew she shouldn't.
In what seemed to a blink of eye, they were both at the gate, the entrance with the amazing beam of light that seemed to have no beginning or end. Ellura motioned to Willow to enter. Willow turned once more to speak to her, but she too had vanished. As she entered the light, she looked back one more time. There stood the young man she thought she had seen before. He looked so magnificent. His skin had a glow that nearly matched that of Ellura, his hair was as golden as the light, and his penetrating crystal-blue eyes caught hers before he too vanished. In an instant, Willow was in the cove near her land home once again, but the image of the young man remained implanted in her memory. She knew she would not forget him, and she wondered if she would ever see him again.
11
Willow la
y on the beach near her village, thinking about what she would tell her family and friends and if they would ever believe her. Suddenly, all she could think about was the grief her family must be feeling. As she moved to get up from the rock near the shore, she looked around her, and there stood her mother with tears of joy streaming down her face. She knelt in gratitude. She was sure she would never see her daughter again, but then in the night, she had thought she heard her daughter's voice calling her. Yes, it was her voice and the voices of the water people telling her to come to the shore for Willow's return.
Willow jumped up and then fell to the ground, realizing she wasn't gliding through the water anymore and had to move a bit slower. Her mother reached down and helped her up. The two embraced and sat on the shore together, not speaking, but communicating in their own language.
Willow wanted to tell her mother everything that happened. Audra said, "I know, I know. I'm just so glad you are here with me now." Willow asked her mother how long she had been gone because for her it seemed like a lifetime, or at least weeks. Audra said, "Several days."
As they slowly walked up the shoreline toward the village, Willow's sisters, brother, and father rushed to her. Soon the entire village rushed in. They thought for