Ika's Pearls

By: Nessus Posted on: August 03, 2004

Ika stared across the waters of the ocean again; something he had to do every day considering his occupation. He contemplated the rolling waves with calm brown eyes that gazed from a face devoid of expression, yet full of vigor. He sat upon the steps leading up to his cottage, sipping a hot red tea and burying his toes in the sand; delighting silently in the cool and gritty feel of the tiny granules tumbling about his skin.
Mornings like this were regular for him during the summer, when Tasur'ke's beach was filled with the glittering forms of dragonflies and the cloaked forms of the elders of the village. Soon more people would come to soak up the sun and grow darker in complexion, and for most of that time he'd be thankfully beneath the sea in search of oysters.

"Ika, have you let the dog out?" Came a soft and deep voice. His mother emerged like a goddess cloaked in a white gown from the cottage, her softly curling black hair being teased by the gentle breeze of dawn. Ika hadn't forgotten to let out the dog, and he said so in response to his mother's inquiry. In fact, just as he spoke his silly little mutt came running from beneath the cottage (which stood on thick wooden beams that held it above the ground) with a knotted hunk of old cloth in his mouth. He flung it around playfully for a few moments before abandoning it for the house once more, heeding the call of one of his caretakers who promised him goodies should he come back inside.

Ika was only slightly amused nowadays by such antics. His dog was only a minor entertainment and his mind would not allow him anymore than that.

After several more minutes, and after finishing his tea, Ika stood and began to remove his clothes; stripping down to a simple wrap of linen around his waist so as not to hinder his movement in any way. He called out to his mother, notifying her that he was off to work, and when her voice rang out past the open door and windows he set briskly towards the ocean and after uttering a small prayer and blessing to Neraeos, he dove in.

The familiar biting cold of water against his bare skin was a necessary evil to his craft, but he had grown so accustomed to it that his expectation of it lessened the impact. Soon his body grew used to the chill and his eyes, though blurred immensely due to the water, no longer felt the slight sting of salt. He pumped his muscular limbs as he began to float to the surface, and as he emerged the strong smell of the sea filled his nostrils with the familiar brilliance and excitement he adored.
After several deep-breathing exercises he decided he was ready to swim into deeper waters and begin diving for oysters. He made sure to steer clear of the usual spots that promised sharks and grizzly death, but also made sure not to dive in the same spot he had the day before. Taking one look at his surroundings, and using the Temple of Neraeos that towered high in the distance as a means of getting his bearings after emerging from below, he took a deep breath and plunged headlong into the water.

Only a few moments passed before he finally reached the ocean floor. He slowed down the rate of his heartbeat considerably and calmed himself against the heavy press of the water all around him. He opened his eyes to find the blurred semblances of oysters and pearls only inches beneath him. The amount of pearls was ridiculously high and the oysters that hung around them were frighteningly large. As he fought with the urge to laugh out loud, he unhooked the mesh bag from his loincloth and began to gather pearls and oysters. It didn't take long for his bag to fill with dozens of pearls; many of them very large and easy to grab onto. His powerful lungs began to send warning signals to his body, telling him to surface before he completely ran out of air. With a grimace of determination he untied a prickly pear from off the drawstring of his mesh bag and slid it into his mouth. Its sweet and tangy flavour exploded across his tongue with great force, and as he swallowed he immediately felt the signature tickle that came in waves across his skin. Tiny bubbles began to form and merge together from the pores in his skin, creating a thin pocket of air around him. He took a deep breath, realizing how much air he craved in doing so, and continued gathering his grand amount of pearls.

Thoughts of wealth and fame raced through his mind with each large and glistening pearl that he held in his hands. His bag was almost bursting at the seams with oysters and pearls, and it was growing more and more difficult not to waste his air by rambling to himself about how rich he was going to become and laughing maniacally.

Reluctantly, Ika began to float towards the surface again as his bag was much too full to hold any more pearls. He swam with excitement towards the beach and when he finally made it to shallow water, he realized how heavy his bag had become. It was only half the weight in water, but on land it was incredibly heavy.

Feeling that if anyone helped him, he'd be obligated to share his wealth, he worked hard to drag his giant bag of oceanic delight by himself; trying in vain to go as quickly as possible so as not to be seen. His path was slower and slower however due to the accumulation of sand piling in front of the mesh bag. He cursed the sand and cursed the sea for making him think the pearls were lighter than what they really were.

As he slumped to the ground in a moment of exhaustion, he heard the soft and gentle voice of a young man come up behind him. "You need some help?" The man asked, staring without shame or conscience at Ika's almost-naked self. He held out a benevolent hand to the wary pearl diver, offering to help him up, but Ika would not have it, and he pointedly ignored the stranger.

"If you need help sir, I can offer it to you." The stranger said again, but Ika still ignored him, pulling the bag onward after deciding his break was finished. The stranger walked along with him, slightly amused that this attractive man in a loincloth would be so juvenile. He walked alongside Ika for quite a while and commented on how far he'd gotten in that span of time: Five feet. Ika burst into a fit at the stranger's lilting laughter and pushed him to the ground with considerable force.

"Leave me alone you ignorant fool! Don't you see I'm trying to work!" Ika screamed with irritation. Beads of saltwater fell violently from the ringlets of black hair that spilled from his head and his face grew red with frustration. "If you want to help, leave your commentary somewhere else, and leave this place for that matter! I'm absolutely sick of you!"

The stranger's face grew brighter and even friendlier as he stood up and walked towards Ika, who would have lunged at him once more had he not found himself incapable of movement. The stranger's stare grew more and more benevolent as he drew closer, and with the silliest of noises, he pressed Ika's nose as if it were a button and said, "bwerp!"

The winds rose slightly and a powerful tide rushed up onto the sand. It crept higher and higher with each second and Ika thought on how he'd never seen the water come so high up onto the beach. It was surely a work of magic.

The water washed around the heavy mesh bag filled with pearls and the bubbly laughter of tiny little sea spirits bounced through the air. Three feminine forms emerged from the blanket of water that reached up towards the dry sand, and with mischievous pleasure they each took turns examining, and then undoing the weave of Ika's pearl-filled bag.

"What happens to a man who blesses the sea in one hour and then curses the sea in another?" The stranger asked suddenly.

Ika wondered what he was talking about, but was much too amazed by the sight of the sea spirits to respond; and much too horrified by what they were doing as well... Glowing pearls the size of coconuts rolled ponderously from the now gaping hole in Ika's mesh bag, and some other sea spirits arrived to play a silly game of ball with the larger ones as they took them back out to sea.

As the last pearl rolled out of the bag and into the hands of one of the water maidens, the sea receded back to its regular tide; leaving the mesh bag horribly stretched out and unusable. Ika stood pitifully with a shocked expression, and then turned angrily to face the stranger, who had since taken on His true appearance as Neraeos, God of the Sea. The echoing voice of a deity surged through Ika's body as the Lord said:

"He is given a blessing, and then given a curse as well."

As the Sea God vanished into a soft mist, Ika fell miserably to the ground; promising never to go into the ocean again, having hardly learned his lesson.