I was the one who’d been sensually bushwhacked and then taken advantage of!
The right was on my side!
I lay there for a moment gritting my teeth, but eventually I lost the battle. Nine years of lovingly committed marriage wouldn’t let me just lay there and let a wrong go by when I had the power to correct it.
“Keturah?”
No response.
I reached out and grasped her shoulder and pulled her over flat onto her back. She looked a little surprised and guarded all at the same moment.
I glanced down at the netting as eye contact right now was too much, “Of the two of us Keturah I’m the crazy one. I was crazy to come to this place and I’m crazy to attempt to free the slaves on the mainland and no doubt they’ll be something else that I do which will be crazy. Anyway what I’m trying to say is, I don’t mind being labeled as crazy, but apparently you do. I’m sorry that I evidently hurt you. It was my intention to hurt you and for that I’m doubly sorry. My wife died seven years ago and since then I have been a man full of bitterness and anger and somebody simply not pleasant to be around. You’ve stated in bold fashion that you want to be my mate. It’s an unanticipated occurrence on my part and I don’t think you quite understand the ramifications of it, but if it happens I genuinely hope the best for you because you’re not getting much in return. I think you should seriously reevaluate whatever decision-making process that has led you to this point and find yourself a younger man that is not so jaded and has more life left in him than I do.”
I looked up to see what impact if any my words had on her. The smile was back both in her face and in her eyes and that meant I had failed to dissuade her from seeing me as a poor catch.
“Thank you for apologizing, but I’m not reconsidering my choice of having you for a mate. I’m yours when you want me.”
I sighed heavily and glanced away and upwards towards the shifting clouds overhead.
Was God setting me up with this girl or was she just a distraction to be powered through and ultimately ignored?
I honestly didn’t know.
All I knew was that the painful and very personal process of facing my past and perhaps healing from it had gotten a lot more complex and perhaps eminently more painful.
I glanced back over at Keturah to find her already asleep with a smile on her face as she now faced me instead of facing away from me. What made a beautiful girl like her willingly shackle herself to a has been like me?
What did she see worthy enough about me that would cause her to take such a leap of faith? Or reversely was she really crazy?
Time would tell and unfortunately my reawakened libido was playing favorites against me.
“God help me.” I whispered out softly as I drifted off to sleep under the impetuous of the rhythmic surge forward followed by a slight lull before surging forward again.
Blinking I sat up and looked around. I didn’t think I would ever get used to this constant light. All in all though I felt surprisingly rested.
I glanced to the netting beside me, but Keturah was gone. Something was different. We weren’t surging ahead anymore.
I got up and located the others who were awakening as I had from the lack of the steady expected motion of the whale tugging the boat onward. In alarm I searched the open expanses of the catamaran, but saw Keturah nowhere!
Where was she?
Matt came up alongside of me and pointed out to sea at something. I turned to see the massive whale that been pulling us like a trusty steed through the waves for hours basking on the surface, only he wasn’t alone!
Keturah was sitting on the front end of the whale’s snout and appeared to be in deep conversation with the giant beast. Crazy came to mind but then I had to admonish myself some as I remembered how my wife had talked to her pet cat as if it understood all of life’s troubles. Admittedly the cat had seemed to understand some of it or perhaps it had just been a world-class faker.
A pet cat was one thing, but a pet whale?
Everyone else on board was standing beside me now as we watched the girl and her whale. Keturah seemed to notice our gazes all of a sudden and abruptly stopped talking to Dimbo. Was this why she was called crazy?
It was extreme, but I didn’t think it was crazy. Well maybe a little, but it wasn’t alarming anyway.
Keturah said something and the great bulk of the whale shifted in the water without hardly a ripple. The whale came towards us and it was hard to hold onto courage as it came at us slowly head on. Where were we going to flee to anyway?
Its great tusk that had to be close to fifteen feet in length rose out of the water until it was suspended just over the side of the ship’s netting. Keturah slid down the scarred rubbery snout to the tusk and gracefully walked the broad length of it barefoot.
That tusk had been rammed through countless sea monsters no doubt, but Keturah showed no fear. She stepped down onto the deck netting and the whale drew back as graceful and as calculated as the swish of a cat’s tail.
Keturah smiled a little nervously and quickly stepped through our shock and awed ranks to head for the mainmast of the boat. She was obviously embarrassed over having been caught talking to an animal. She really had been scarred by someone into believing that she was crazy.
I looked from her at the mainmast back out to the sea. I was somewhat startled to see that the whale had come silently broad side of the vessel and its great eye was directly in front of me. It stared at me with an intensity that was undeniable. Just how much intelligence had God given to these creatures?
I knew that whales had their own language much the same as dolphins did, but I felt like I was getting a stern lecture through the one eyed glare of a higher significance. I got the message. Don’t hurt his pretty master or there will be consequences.
Message delivered the whale dipped down silently beneath the waves and was gone from view.
Matt glanced from the still water to me with a knowing smirk, “Well you’re still here so I guess he approves.”
I gave him a dirty look and turned back to see what Keturah was up to. There was more of a sea breeze than there had been before and Keturah in the absence of my attention had already unfurled the sail and made the necessary tie offs of ropes attached to it. She really was a superb sailor and I respected her as such.
I stepped aft and undid the directional sail swing boom. So lost in the repetition of her timeworn habits Keturah was reaching for what I had just done when she saw I had already done it. She gave me a ready smile that had real pleasure in it.
“I hope you don’t mind.” I said, as the wind caught the sails more fully.
She quickly shook her head no as her smile got richer. It seemed that all her smiles and attentions were just for me. She was so giving of herself.
First she’d offered me her body whenever I wanted it and now she was handing over the reins of her boat, which had to be her one pride and joy in life. When it came to me she seemed to be nothing but joyful surrender. It was humbling, confusing, and utterly annoying.
I didn’t want to like her, but I did. It would have been somehow easier to resist the lush temptation of her if I hadn’t liked her.
The wind was catching the sails now and I had to admit that this makeshift catamaran was a joy to navigate. Keturah indicated to follow the wind and I let the boat go to chase after it and we really picked up some speed.
Christina cried out nervously as the right dugout canoe boat dusted up off the waves and the platform heeled over to the left to coast on just one canoe pontoon. There wasn’t anything wrong with what was happening. She just wasn’t used to what real sailing was like.
It had been a long while for me too, but it came back to me now along with the free roaming joy of it. Something occurred to me then. I glanced around to see what had become of Keturah since I had taken over the ship.
She stood leaning back against the mainmast her knotted braids whipping around in the sea breeze. She was smiling as usual only sh
e had a look of pure contentment to her face now. Like it or not my taking over stewardship of the ship had been a symbolic gesture on my part.
Handling her boat and mastering it through the waves was a close thing to doing the same thing with her body as her mate. It was clear from the look she was giving me that she recognized the progression in our relationship as well as for what it was a sign of interest on my part for something more.
Change was terrifying, but it could also be exciting.
An hour later the color of the water changed. I relied on Jim to tell me what was different about it other than the color.
He came back to me and said, “It’s shallow. There’s a coral reef or something like it down there.”
I motioned to Keturah and she came closer to me and I asked, “There are other islands?”
“Yes, but they are very small. The whale people get the wood they need for our crafts from the islands and they grow food on the beaches.”
Jim and I gave each other a disbelieving look. They grew food on the beaches?
Keturah seemed to sense our quandary of mind and said, “The water of the inner lagoons is sweet. You can drink it. It’s not salty.”
“How’s that possible?” Jim asked with curiosity rarely known for him to express.
Keturah shrugged to say as if she didn’t know before saying, “The water comes from below. It has lots of bubbles in it. Some can even swim in it without coming to the surface for air for long periods of time, but that is very dangerous.”
No kidding I thought to myself before asking, “Why? Don’t they drown?”
Her face was serious as can be as she said, “That’s why it’s dangerous. One has to drown little bits at a time and fight down one’s own panic for it to work and not be fatal.”
Matt had come up to us and he stated what both Jim and I were struggling with to comprehend, “I know I just heard her speak clearly, but I don’t have any idea what she’s talking about. Do you?”
I shook my head no and Jim did to.
Breathing bubbly water as if it was air?
Everything was so different down here.
The coral reefs got more numerous and ran even closer to the surface. I even saw where they crested out in spots.
Keturah took steering the ship back over as she expertly sailed in and around the underwater obstacles as if she knew the way like the back of her hand.
Crazy came to mind again as the pontoons of the boat sliced through the waves perilously close to outcroppings of coral above and below.
“Shouldn’t we take some sail down?” I asked finally as I chickened out.
What we were doing was akin to playing Russian roulette. She gave me a sideways glance full of mirth followed by a deep chuckle to match.
“Scared?” She asked her voice full of playful teasing.
I had the immediate knee-jerk reaction to lie and protect my masculinity, but I told the truth instead, “Yes!”
Jim to his credit nodded affirmatively as well. Matt and Christina were beyond words and had stopped looking outward from the ship, but instead they sat huddled together with their eyes crammed shut. It was tempting to join them but my last vestige of pride resisted such a notion.
Keturah gave Matt and Cristina a sympathetic look and then gave me one, “I’m sorry, but it is the only way. If we take sail down we’ll lose speed. If we lose speed we’ll sit heavier in the water and hit the rocks.”
I nodded grimly.
“This is the only way into these islands?” Jim asked in exasperation.
Keturah’s eyes dodged away as she said, “There is another way through, but it is several hours away.”
She glanced to where Matt and Christina were huddled and softly admitted, “Perhaps we should’ve gone that way.”
I stared at the back of Keturah’s head my emotions wrathful. Forget mating the girl, as I might strangle her first!
I heard one pontoon scrape enough to give everyone a healthy jolt of fear and I was about to lash into Keturah for being so stupid, when Jim’s hand gripped down over my shoulder warningly. He leaned in close to my ear and said, “She was just trying to impress you. Cut her some slack Captain.”
I turned to him with disbelief, “You too!” I exclaimed.
He shrugged and smiled briefly. Everyone it seemed had made it their mission to hook me up with a hot date.
I stepped away to the side and was lashed in the face by kicked up sea spray as I stared at the obstacle course that still lay ahead of us. We weren’t out of the rough yet by any means.
I glanced at Keturah in anger and was arrested by the sight of the trail of a crystalline teardrop making its way down her smooth cheek. My anger died at the sight of the tear.
I glanced at Jim and he nodded his head strongly indicating I needed to do something. I stepped closer and brushed the moisture from off her cheek. Her eyes came to mine and she mumbled out, “I’m sorry!” before hurriedly looking back ahead to the fast approaching reefs.
I nodded and said, “Pride gets the best of even the finest of sailors at some point.”
Her eyes reflected relief at my tolerant tone and I realized at that moment that I had the ability to crush this girl with just my words alone. I didn’t want to do that.
“I think she’d maneuver better with a little less sail.” I said, as I caught several strands of beaded hair that had fallen across her eyes and brushed them off to the side with my fingers.
“Okay with you?” I asked.
She quickly nodded, “Whatever you think best.”
I headed forward and Jim followed and together we took down a little sail, which did help us make a way through the patches of coral a little easier.
Keturah was a lot like my oldest daughter had been I realized as I worked on the sail. To yell at her when she’d done something wrong did little good. Instead she would freeze up emotionally and not hear a word of instruction. I would need to refrain from yelling at her if at all possible, as it would do more harm than good.
I shook my head at my own thoughts. Why was I even worrying about such things as her emotions?
About fifteen minutes later we pulled free of the last of the coral reefs none the worse for wear. Ahead of us lay a series of twenty to thirty islands.
Keturah had been right. The islands were tiny. More fascinating than that were the floating wood platforms here and there that constituted a floating village upon the crystal clear water of the lagoon surrounding the islands.
Keturah been right about something else too. The water of the lagoon was bubbling. Out of curiosity I leaned over the side and tasted it. The water was literally sweet to the taste.
As long as I lived I doubted that I’d ever find better tasting water than this.
Matt had been one bubbly being of discovery once we had pulled free of the coral reefs. He was fascinated by the water of the lagoon as much as I was. How did one get fresh water in the middle of the sea?
It wasn’t just any freshwater either. It was the best tasting water I’d ever had and I actually felt like I was better off physically since I’d been drinking it.
“It’s not methane that’s for sure.” Matt said introspectively.
“What’s not methane?” I asked.
Matt glanced up, “The bubbles in the water. I’ve seen water bubble like this before in the Gulf of Mexico, but there it was because of methane gas escaping from pockets in the ocean floor. If all these bubbles were methane if someone so much as started a fire the whole lagoon would go up like a fireworks factory.”
“What is it then? What’s causing the bubbles?” I asked.
“I think its oxygen Eli, believe it or not. It’s like a big fish tank with highly oxygenated water. Perhaps that’s how people manage to survive without breathing regular air when they’re in it.”
“Why is it so pure and sweet when we’re surrounded by a sea as salty as the one topside?” Jim asked.
Matt turned to him and said, “It’s a matter
of pressure concentration really. The same thing happens with the Amazon River in South America. The pressure of the freshwater flowing outward pushes the saltwater back. It’s possible to still drink fresh water from the sea two hundred miles off the coast of Brazil at where the Amazon River flows into the Atlantic. Here I imagine the coral reefs help keep the salinity of the sea at bay as well. As to the water’s sweetness I think it’s high in pH value, which might mean that it’s circulated and purified through metal deposits below that raise the pH level of the water.”
“Don’t those expensive water treatment systems you can buy topside rely on platinum for their purification?” I asked speculatively.
Matt grinned big, “Yes they do and it’s a good guess that the Earth’s core is made up of such metallic metals and alloys. Who knows if we do get a chance to get out of here we might leave as wealthy as kings after all. Platinum brings more than gold on the market.” Matt finished with exuberance.
I didn’t really care about the possibility of a lucrative trade in platinum or some other rare metal or mineral. In fact I really didn’t care to return to the surface with all its technological chaos and lack of positive virtues at all.
More and more I was coming to realize that I wanted to stay here and continue to explore this new inner world. Here I had a purpose even a destiny perhaps whereas on the world above I was just a washed up has been, who was now deeply in debt, without a boat to show for it.
I glanced at Keturah and self acknowledged that I even had a beautiful mate if I wanted her, by which to complement my new standing in this inner world. I did want her, but I warred within myself against the forbidden desires that attacked my remembrance of the past and threatened to overwhelm them with something new.
Chapter Thirteen
Goodbye
We were drawing steadily closer to the floating settlement and we had attracted a lot of attention. A crowd of varying textures from black and white to in between made up the crowd that greeted us. The biggest difference from the island of Atlantis being that no one appeared to have the mantle of a slave pressed down about them. It was an encouraging sight.
I felt a peace settle over me as I took in the apparent unity of the gathered crowd. These people it seemed had finally gotten it right at least for a little while.
Jim grasped a hold of a line that was thrown out to us and moments later Ortega and Flynn caught lines of their own and slowly the catamaran was pulled into the dock and tied off. The crowd eagerly made way for us as we stepped off the boat onto at least something that resembled dry land.