1: The Raft
“Who can see where darkness begins?”
– Rasheath
On the Tempar Ocean a small wooden raft bobbed roughly through a dark and vibrant thunderstorm. Lightning flickered here and there revealing a lone, large figure hunched up against the vessel’s mast. Salt water slapped him in his face, time and time again, beating him mercilessly. The man felt he deserved it. He knew he deserved it.
The exhaustion and delirium from sailing the sea began to weigh on his mind and body. He started a slow, soft, and low melody. A song no one had ever sung. A tune no one had ever played. Lyrics he hoped would distract him, but doubted could. The words fell from his lips as tears poured from deep within,
“Out in the middle of nowhere,
I’m cast about in a little boat.
Ho-hum, tidally dom…”
***
“You’ve had twins!” The mender stepped from behind a doorway, wiping his hands clean on a rag to congratulate the young man waiting with wide eyes.
“I can’t believe it!” The young father cried excitedly, “What are they?”
“They’re babies, of course!” The mender grinned mischievously.
“No, no! That’s not what I meant,” said the young man, placing both hands on the mender’s shoulders, about ready to strangle him.
“Both boys, Ferny! Both are boys!” He felt Ferny’s release and was glad.
“Colner blind me! Two boys!” Ferny twisted his head oddly, completely baffled. “To tell you the truth, I was hoping for a boy. But two boys? Eeya! I can’t believe it! Can I see them?”
“Of course! Go right in.” The mender caught him by the arm as he was running past. “Just be careful naming them. Please don’t be like your mother.”
Ferny stopped in his tracks and glared down at the wrinkly old man. “You have a problem with my name?”
The mender smirked, “Let’s just say, ‘Fernochofellentino’ wouldn’t have been my first choice.”
“Hmm,” Ferny frowned. “Well, the wife and I had planned on Berlockonorvath for a boy and Beaitruthenore for a girl. We weren’t expecting two boys. Eeya! Two boys! I can’t believe it! Colner blind me again!”
Ferny’s anxiety spilled over. He pushed away from the mender and rushed to the private room where his young family was waiting for him. As he entered the room, there was an eerie silence about it that made him very uncomfortable…
If you would like to read the entire first chapter, shoot me an email, and I’ll set you up. If you want to read the whole book, I will let you know when it has finished the editing process and is ready for publication. Thanks for your interest in the Silent Knight.
