sure the endless waters had claimed another one of their own. They were so glad to see her alive, it didn't dawn on them to ask her how she had survived and returned to the shore. Willow's family rushed her home. Her father put her into her loft, and she drifted off to sleep.
After everyone had gone to sleep and Willow was well rested, she lay in her loft, wondering if it had all been a dream. Could such a place and the beings that she thought she had seen really exist? As she laid her hand across her chest, she felt the shell with the silver threading still around her neck. She clutched it in her hand and felt the coolness of the deep waters and smelled the seaweed that had embraced her as she slept on the cave's edge near the coral forest. Yes, this was real.
Soon the rest of her family would be up, and she was sure to be questioned on what had happened to her and how she had gotten back to shore after the endless waters swept her away. What would she tell them? She couldn't tell them what really happened, but she was not accustomed to lying.
She could smell the sweetness of the morning meal filled with berries and oats and some of her mother's "secret" ingredients coming from the pot over the fire that her parents had prepared the night before. Whoever arose first would swing the pot over the burning embers.
Little did any of them know that Willow's mother had not gone to sleep that night. She was so happy Willow had returned to her safely, but she wondered how she would explain it to the villagers.
Willow was the first one up and went into the kitchen to sit with her mother. She waited cautiously to see if she would ask her about what she had seen and experienced. Audra greeted her with a warm cup of milk and asked if she'd slept well. Willow replied, "Yes, I slept well." Nothing else was said.
The rest of the family slowly shuffled in for the morning meal. They gathered around the table and drank their warm milk, then ate the bowl of cooked oats and berries. Raven was the first to ask. "How did you live through being swept off the rocks and into the endless waters, and you aren't even scratched?"
Seth chimed in, as did the twins. "What happened to you in the waters? Did you become part of the endless waters and then return to life? Are you really alive?"
"Enough of that," her father said. "We may never know what happened. We are just grateful the endless waters spared her and returned her to us. Let that be the end of it."
Willow looked over at her mother, and she could tell by the look in her eyes that she knew. How could she not know what had happened to her beneath the endless waters? After all, she could hear Willow's every thought.
It seemed as though life in the village continued as normal after that, but Willow wondered what they must be talking about behind her back or if they even gave it another thought at all. She never heard another word from anyone about her ordeal.
But the question did arise. Would Willow return on the next full-moon ceremony, which was nearly a year away, to pick a mate, or would she become an old lady without one? After all, she would then be past her prime by villagers' standards. Willow was glad she didn't have to face that anytime soon.
As the weeks went by, Willow became more withdrawn from village life and her old friends and stayed close to her mother and sisters. She knew not to go near the shore while anyone was watching and didn't want to upset her parents. But again the urge to return became stronger and stronger.
At night, she would dream of the water people: Morven, Ellura, and the face of the young man that she had seen. Some nights, she would awaken in a sweat and realize it was because, in her dreams, she was close to him. The feelings that came over her were not feelings she'd ever experienced before. She longed to see him again.
One evening, she saw her mother sitting out in the moonlight in her rocking chair. She slowly approached and put a blanket around Audra's shoulders, as she had so often done. Her mother reached up and held her hand and spoke to her the silent language only she and Willow could hear. "Come sit with me, my daughter."
Willow knelt beside her mother in the moonlight. She looked into her mother's eyes, and they were filled with tears. "What's wrong, Mother?" Audra smiled at Willow and communicated with her; she knew everything that happened to her, the places she'd been, and the water people. She knew of her experience with her great-great-grandmother Morven. "I have known this time would come when the call would be too great and you would return to the other side of who you are. You are also of the water people of the endless waters, and with the coming of your womanhood, you will choose a mate from that world."
Willow could not speak. She didn't completely understand what her mother was saying, yet she agreed the pull to return was getting stronger. "I cannot leave you, Mother."
Audra squeezed her hand and smiled with the tears still cascading down her cheeks. "You must, and you will. It was promised so long ago. I told you the story of the woman that was given the baby by the endless waters. Well, it was said that a day would come when the gift would be returned. A chosen one would be born that would return and help her people. You, my precious daughter, are that one. It is written in the stars that you will return, and I have heard the calls at night for you. Remember, I am part of that blood also and can hear the wind and waves whisper your name. My heart is saddened, but I cannot hold you back from what and who you really are. My love for you will always keep us near to one another." Willow could feel her eyes well up with tears too, because she knew her mother was right. The pull was almost too strong, and she knew she must return soon.
12
Willow fought the intense urge she had to return to the shore and back to the cove where she had entered through the light beam on her return from the water people. Each day, she carried on with her daily chores and spent long hours with her mother and sisters as her father and brother spent more time fishing.
One evening, after all had crawled into their sleeping lofts and she was sure they were asleep; she pulled back the curtain on her loft and eased out. She headed toward the kitchen to retreat out the back door toward the shore. Her mother stood there and without words said farewell to her daughter. They embraced, and Willow ran to the shore. She turned back to see her mother in the moonlight and could barely stand the idea of leaving her, but the pull was too strong. In the distance, she silently called out to her, "I love you, Mother," and her mother called back, "Be well, my daughter. I love you also."
Willow watched her mother standing on the hillside for a moment, then walked toward the cove. She hesitated for a while, reflecting on her life on land. She knew if she left, it would never be the same. Could she really abandon her life, her family, and all she had ever known for something she was unsure of? She knew she had to return to the endless waters and find what lay ahead for her. She had no choice; it was meant to be.
Willow waded out as far as she could, then plunged into the icy waters. At first it took her breath away, and she could see nothing, feel nothing. Had she made a mistake? Was this what she was really meant to do, or was it a childish fantasy. The waters rushed around her body, slapping at her tender skin, stinging with each slap. Her head began to spin, and soon she couldn't tell up from down. Her arms seemed frozen, and she struggled to move them. Her legs became heavy. She felt herself succumbing to the power of the current. She had lost all control and felt helpless. She wondered if she would become a victim of the power of the endless waters. She struggled to get control and for a brief moment she thought maybe she could make it back to the surface. Finally, she gave in to her fate. "OK, if this is it, so be it."
The waters around her became darker and darker, and she felt heavier as the water was in total control of her every movement. It seemed as though she was sinking. Darkness took over...
Just as she began to lose consciousness, Willow saw the beam of light coming nearer and nearer. She only needed to reach out her hand and touch it, but she couldn't move. She felt a gentle touch on her arm and the soft caressing of silver strands of hair against her cheek. She looked to her side. Ellura! She thought she would collapse into her
arms, yet strength came over her, and she glided into the light with no effort at all. She and Ellura swirled effortlessly down the channel of light. She saw the golden gate, and her heart felt the warmth of one who had found a lost love one.
The golden gate opened, and Willow was home, home with her water people, home where she was meant to be—in the endless waters.
13
Audra sat night after night in her rocking chair, staring out across the endless waters, hoping or maybe wishing it all had been a just a bad dream and Willow would return from an evening with her friends as she had done as a child, sneak up behind her, and place a shawl around her.
Life went back to what seemed to be normal in the village, but often there would be talk. "What happened to Willow? Was she taken by the endless waters? Did she leave the village with someone from another village?"
As time went on, life resumed the same patterns as always. Families gathered around their tables in the morning, planning the day's events, and in the evenings they'd reflect together on the day's events. When the moon was right, the men would leave in their fishing boats and often be gone for days if there was a big catch to bring back. If the catch was really abundant, it was shared with