Mosa
Mosa I
From Pollen Grains
Written by Jungwhan Kim
Copyright 2010 by Jungwhan Kim
I love my God, and I love my neighbor,
truthfully and sincerely in my heart.
CONTENTS
Chapter 1 The Riddle Man’s Journal 4
Chapter 2 Nina Polchinski 7
Chapter 3 The Mercenaries 16
Chapter 4 The School 25
Chapter 5 The Wreckage 32
Chapter 6 Sharine Pestice 41
Chapter 7 Tasha 49
Chapter 8 The Assassins’ Chamber 57
Chapter 9 The Mute Girl 66
Chapter 10 The Fable 75
Chapter 11 The Mutual Benefit 81
Chapter 12 The Blood Thirsty Men 87
Chapter 13 The Old Sewage 99
Chapter 14 The Ghost Ship Operation 106
Chapter 15 Unhealthy Obsession 113
Chapter 16 Shall We Dance? 124
Chapter 17 The Cloaking 135
Chapter 18 The Rat Trap 143
Chapter 19 Sharine, The Cast Away 153
Chapter 20 A Dinner 159
Chapter 21 The Veil 165
Chapter 22 The Lumberjack 174
Chapter 23 Titto’s Guilt 179
Chapter 24 The Shelter 186
Chapter 25 The Machina Suit 192
Chapter 26 The Delusional Genius 197
Chapter 27 The Village 211
Chapter 28 The Paradigm Shift 219
Chapter 29 Peace 227
Chapter 30 The Kid’s Game 236
Chapter 31 The Hunters 246
Chapter 32 Cast the Dice into Time 261
Chapter 33 Tasha and Jake’s Past 268
Chapter 34 Puzzles 277
Chapter 35 Karl Wolff 290
Chapter 36 Henry Jefferson 299
Chapter 37 Declaring a War 306
Chapter 38 Happy Birthday 309
Chapter 39 The Fountain 313
Chapter 40 The Launch 326
Chapter 41 Titto’s Conscience 331
Chapter 42 The Raid 341
Chapter 43 Interrogation 349
Chapter 44 The Escape 354
Chapter 45 Cat and Mouse 363
Chapter 46 The Ambush 370
Chapter 47 The Maelstrom 376
Chapter 48 The Creatures 385
Chapter 49 The Dark Secret 397
Chapter 50 The Tavern 403
Chapter 51 Nina’s Nightmare 410
Chapter 1
The Riddle Man’s Journal
It was a starry night. The moonlight spread on the dark blue sea; tides let out the cool breeze. Fish swam and jumped from the surface and crabs crawled under the freezing crystal water. The beach was covered by seaweeds, making the slimy breeding ground for the sea creatures. The cliffs and mountains stood behind, blooming with flowers and trees. Stars were shining brightly and the moon hung on the sky. Suddenly the boat scratched the rocky sand and the big foot appeared; it spattered the seaweed and pressed the ground. The man, who stanched with the smell of fishes, sang joyfully around the neighborhood as if he caught a mermaid. He was jumping and hopping all the way home. He was carrying the small straw basket which contained fishes; it dripped the water on the ground as he was shaking it around. He travelled through the forest for a while and entered the peaceful little town hidden among the woods. One fox with blackish fur was digging the ground under the tree, hiding her secret treasure. As the man approached the village, the guards standing in front of the gates nodded at him. Within a few blocks he entered the house painted in red with a door painted in white; he pushed the key inside the golden door knob and pushed the door open.
The house was rather small and it was made out of woods. There were shelves with full of books, board games in the bottom. There was a bronze fish bone sculpture above the fireplace. ‘Biggest fish I’ve caught,' it was written on the side. On the table there was a vase full of wild flowers which one of his daughters brought, and the leftover cake which he have baked in the afternoon. The wedding picture hung on the wall. There was a beautiful and adorable woman, smiling happily with him. He spread some oil on the chopped woods inside the fireplace and put the fire inside; the orange light stretched out, warming up the room. He walked up to his old worn-out couch and collapsed on it and threw his dirty jacket on the floor.
It was late in the night; his three daughters were at sleep. They were all adopted in the past. Although he was old enough to be their grandfather, he managed to raise his daughters by his own. He was healthy and full of energy. Many things happened after his wife passed away, many stories and secrets were hidden in this very house.
The light was coming out from the kitchen. The slim fragrance of the baked cake still remained in the house. The kitchen light was dim and was not too bright. He stood up from the couch, took off his hat, whistling, and walked to the kitchen. He dropped the basket on the kitchen floor and kicked it toward the corner. He glimpsed at the leftover cake but he wasn’t hungry, so he went to his room. It was a dirty old room, full of disarrayed books and notes scattered in a random fashion.
He sat down and started dotting the map and writing figures. It was the map of the island he was living in. The map contained a bunch of red, blue magnets and the scribbles on it, as if it is describing the movement of migrating birds. On his desk, there was the mixture of notes, newspapers, books and the cookie crumbles. He started digging and moving around the piles, letting it land on the floor and fly in the air and grabbed one old journal. His eyes beamed, he grabbed a pen lightly, tapping against his palm, stared at the blank paper for a while. And then he wrote,
‘Is it a cruel fate that chained me, which was keeping me from becoming free for all these years? The chain did not break, no matter how hard I tried. Endless struggles I have gone through, my limb is failing. But I’ve found the key to the paradox, the last puzzle piece I was seeking. It is a true sanctuary, and it is true indeed.’
The man put down the pen and breathed deeply. On the side of the table, there were some of the outdated newspapers, it was filled with the picture of half blown cars and soldiers with guns.