Love's treasure (Inkwell #83 / Dreemport Challenge)

in #hive-1707982 years ago

We all be sailin' aboard me pirate ship, The Flying Down, with Capt'n Dreemie. Sailin' fast for Thursday's port -but we be headin' for a hidden sand bar! Unbeknownst to any pirate, this sand bar was newly created in the last storm of the area, and if we hit it - we'd be marooned there for days!

Lo and behold - a massive whale starts headin' our way...

"Capt'n! Whale of the port bow! She's headin' straight for us!!!"

Right before she hits me ship - she crests the water - almost takin' flight over the ship! She creates a MASSIVE SPLASH and wave that begins to push our ship out of the way of the sand bar.

"Blow me down!!! She's trying to steer us off course! All hands on deck!!!" I spin the wheel back on course and try to put us towards our treasure destination - heading BACK towards the sand bar. Dreemsteem

David slid the small embroidered bookmark into place, caressing the raised letters gently with his fingertips. Then he softly closed the storybook's covers over its treasured pages. Turning it over in his hands, wistful memories bubbled up under the surface of expectation. Reading to his son at bedtime was one of the greatest blessings of his life. Nothing could ever deny him these precious moments.

As the chapter drew to a close, he sensed the gradual slowing of his son's breathing; the rise - and falls of the little chest snuggled in beside him growing further apart. A long-drawn sigh. A timely release of the remaining burdens of childhood for the day, as Thomas drifted off. The little arms tucked around his neck relaxed, going limp and he turned to support his son's head gently onto his pillow.

Running his fingers gently through the wispy ash-blonde fronds framing Thomas' face, he bent down to kiss his forehead.

ok, buddy... sweet dreams... we'll continue tomorrow and find out what that silly whale is up to and whether Capt'n Dreemie and her crew made it to the treasure.

He tip-toed out of the room and onto the landing, pulling Thomas' bedroom door gently behind him until he heard the soft click securing it in place. Then, hesitating, he reopened it an inch - just in case. If Thomas had another of his nightmares, he wanted to be able to respond when anguished cries of "daddy!" rang out.

He made his way down to the kitchen, flicked on the light, and refilled the kettle. Then he settled down at the small table, always laid for three, to eat his dinner; reheated leftovers from the evening before. The place setting opposite him had remained untouched for a little over two weeks. The pricking in the corner of his eyes caught him off-guard, but he fought back. He probably had no tears left to cry anyway.

Thomas sat bolt upright in bed. He glanced wide-eyed at the carriage clock sitting on his bedside table, emitting a low luminous glow. The big green hand was on the 12 and the little one on the 1. He was awake again in the middle of the night but this time there was no nightmare to blame.

Thomas!

His name, nothing more, nothing less. He had heard it so clearly. It was so loud that it had awakened him, resounding inside his head. But he wasn't scared because he knew that voice and he would have recognised it anywhere.

Thomas?

There it was again, although this time less urgent, more gentle. He looked around and, at first, saw nothing and no-one... Then the scene started to shift and change and he felt himself drifting... He was lying down, in a place where the earth met the sky, surrounded by a billion stars, twinkling ethereal in the reflection of his eyes. Autumn leaves swirled around him, dancing to their own tune, reminding him of the passing of time. He reached out to touch the sun; so close, so warm, so comforting - Day and Night - coming together as one. And then he heard her voice whispering amongst the stars...

I love you...

and then it all dissipated once more.

Thomas leaned over the edge of his bed and felt underneath for his wooden box of special things. Retrieving it, he placed it gently on the sheet in front of him. He stroked the grain of the lid, and slowly moved his fingers to its smooth rounded edges, before lifting it to reveal what was left of his world. A small photo album, some loose pictures, a dry pressed daisy chain, a few small pebbles, a DVD, and his favourite book; they were his little treasures.

He picked up the book and sat staring at the cover art.

The Whale who loved too much.

Then he placed it aside for a moment while he retrieved the DVD from its case, slipped off the bed and made his way to the little tv across the room. He slid the disc into the player and turned it on.

He knew his dad was trying hard... really hard, and he loved it when his dad read to him, but he knew the end of the story already. He knew that Capt'n Dreemie would find her treasure and that it would turn out to be very special indeed. His mom had read it to him every night for as long as he could remember, and tonight he needed to hear her voice again. Two weeks felt like eternity.

His mom appeared on the screen, laughing, happy... and he was there too, curled in her lap, snuggled in between the fluffed up pillows on her bed. She was tickling, he was giggling. His dad... filming. Hard to believe it was only a few months ago. And then she picked up the all too familiar book, opened its covers and started to read to him.

David stirred. Once again he had fallen asleep sitting up at the kitchen table. Once again the thought of returning to their bedroom had been too much to bear. Losing her felt insurmountable. He strained his ears... he could hear muffled voices coming from somewhere in the house. He followed the sound through the hallway, up the stairs and onto the landing. He walked across and found himself outside Thomas's bedroom. Through the crack in the doorway he could see light flickering through the room and he realised that the TV was on...

... and then he heard her voice, closing out the story...

... and then the whale lifted Capt'n Dreemie out of the water to safety and back onto the deck of The Flying Down where her pirate crew was ready and waiting to follow her on their next adventure.

Capt'n Dreemie turned to the whale with heartfelt appreciatiation.
"Thank ye kindly, me fine friend. So if I understand ye right, there is no treasure to be found where X marks the spot."

"Aye, ya welcome Capt'n Dreemie... ye be safe now... and yer ship be afloat once more... ye be staying clear of them sandbars now, ye hear! And, I say it again... There be no treasure chest! But, there most certainly be treasure, it's just not what ye might be thinkin'. The treasure ye be seeking, starts with LOVE, and from love... the riches of life, they will follow. So set sail for home Port and dally no more..."

...and with that the whale turned tail and swam off into the deep blue.

What was that all about, Capt'n? Enquired the 1st mate.

Aye, that me Heartie... that was a lesson in Love.

The end.

David turned and sank to his knees, gasping for air. This time, unable to suppress his emotions, his gut wrenching sobs escaped from his heart and tore through every fibre of his being.

When the final whimper had escaped his lungs, David pulled himself slowly from the floor, entered the room and padded over to his son's bedside. He took a moment to stare at his sleeping child, whose head was buried under the open book and pressed into the neck of his favourite giant stuffed animal: a plush blue whale called Love.

He picked up the book and was about to close it when the inscription caught his eye again...

To my darling Thomas, my love's treasure. I hope you are happy throughout your life. Start with LOVE, follow your heart, and you can't go wrong. Love always, Mom x (PS: X always marks the spot... and it's a place in your heart where I will always be, and where love resides.)

A single tear splashed to the page on this closing chapter. David moved the bookmark back to the beginning and tucked the book into Thomas's box. Then he slid the box carefully under his son's bed.

He was retracing his steps across the room when the DVD player sprang back to life, and the home movie started replaying, stuck in a timeless loop. He moved to switch it off but then, looking back at Thomas, sleeping peacefully, he thought better. Their lives had been forever changed, but no matter where it went from here, they would always have time for her, and she would always have a voice in their home.

... and so he headed towards the light of the landing instead.



This is my entry to the Dreemport Finish the story and Name the Ecency whale contest, and to the Ink Well prompt 'chatterbox' - where I have used the part-prompt 'box'.



Introductory quote from the Hive post:
Start here, bring Creativity, thinking caps on!
used with permission from @dreemsteem

Header image Dreamer by Silent47 in Canva Pro library

Dreemport banner used with permission of @dreemsteem and @dreemport and designed by @jimramones

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Positively beautiful! I could have continued reading on and on, but was content with your delightful ending! ♥️

Thank you so much Melinda. I am so pleased it was received like this 💗 !LUV !ALIVE

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Wow, oh my. What a splendid and heart wrenching story, @samsmith1971! It took my breath away. The loss and grief is absolutely palpable. What a gift that DVD is. And thank goodness the father and son have each other to lean on through their mourning.

So good to see you in The Ink Well. We have missed you!

Aw, thank you so much Jayna ❣️ I loved writing this one. I feel like it needs a final paragraph... (and I kinda know how it should end) but I was also trying to get it out there to meet a Dreemport challenge deadline too. I might write the final paragraph and add it as an Afterward edit. I've missed all of you too!!! !LUV !ALIVE

Ah, I see what you mean. I hadn't thought it needed more, but I agree that one more paragraph after the dialog would be good!

😊

I've added a final piece. I hope you like it !LUV

Oh I do, @samsmith1971. That is a lovely ending, and a really nice resolution for the story.

🤗💗 oh, I'm so pleased it works... thanks for the feedback !LUV

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thank you teamuk - you are much appreciated! !PIZZA

A very tender story. Especially when you tell your son the importance of love, of following what his heart tells him to be happy.

Thank you for your kind words and for taking the time to read my story, Ramona. I enjoyed writing it🤗 !ALIVE

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This had me glued to my screen, heart warming story and we'll delivered, awesome write my gee

aw thank you, I'm glad it resonated with you 🙏💗 !ALIVE

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@samsmith1971 Your story is so heart warming, how the grieving father and son ended up with a touching message from the mum, also how you used the two prompts to make a story, i love it, thanks for the creative write up.

Dreemport brought me here

Thank you Glory 🤗 I appreciate you stopping by and taking the time to leave such a lovely comment. !LUV

oh my gosh... lol well i'm bawling! LOL

that was so beautiful Sam!!! and so real!!!!!!! I loved that you took it in this realistic spin from a fictional tale! I just loved it! i have chills hehehe

and I love that the answer is.... LOVE :)

that is always the answer. no matter what name it has - the heart is always love. gosh hehehe the tears came springing up just as fast as they did for David! heheheh this was beautiful!!!

aw... now I got the feels and a small lump in my throat 💗 Thank you for enjoying the direction I took... I didn't know if it was cheating the challenge or not... hehe... !LUV !PIZZA

Always a pleasure to read you @samsmith. This is a quite brilliant way to finish the story and at the same time bring together two other contests. I really thought this was going in a supernatural direction in the middle, that there was going to be something magical about the book (maybe the mother was trapped in the whale story, for example). There's certainly another storyline that could be followed here, if you wanted to.

The treasure ye be seeking, starts with LOVE, and from love... the riches of life, they will follow.

How often do we have to be reminded before we get it? Why do we reject the message when we hear it? Questions to ponder...

hi Cliff 😊 thanks for stopping by, and for your kind comments! Yeah, I had a couple of options with that middle piece but I decided to leave what happened there... open to interpretation. I chose to keep it real. So did he dream the little piece about his mom? Was she there in spirit or did he whisked away for a brief moment in time?... All are left as options... and probably some I haven't thought of... ;-)

And it was always going to be about love💗 ... we all need to step back, reassess and start with love every single time. !LUV !ALIVE !PIZZA

I think it works to leave it open to interpretation there, and to me it seemed like a dream. But, wondering exactly what was happening kept the hook in too. :)

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Awwwwwwwwwwww that’s too fabulous for words. What a wonderful idea, X marks the spot for love, the ultimate treasure. Beautiful despite how dreadfully sad the story is. You’ve outdone yourself here, @samsmith1971

aw thank you my dear Stylish, I thoroughly enjoyed writing this one... and good to be writing in the Ink Well again too! I knew I wanted to write to the prompt this week and it worked for me that the Dreemport prompt and Ink Well prompt together sparked an idea - saved my creative butt so to speak hahaha 💗 !LUV !ALIVE

At least I think I know that the man in the story is my Ray! You’ve got him and Jethro so perfectly, it breaks my heart

😭🤗 so sorry my darling... bringing peoples' pain to the surface and exploring it creatively is interesting for a writer. Very emotive and connecting. Hope you are ok...and for them, I hope their hearts will heal one day - losing love through death is always unbearable 💗💗💗

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I dunno, my stylish friend - I'm not sure it is quite as sad as it could be, given the continuing presence of the the mother, with her words having the ability to resonate through the young man's life. There's something rather powerful in the ability of words to shape someone - and having the same words over and over speaking love, I dunno - perhaps there's something in that.

PS Good to see you back in The Ink Well Sam

Thanks, Tim 🤗 I hate being away... !LOLZ

I always try to use the word mucho around my Spanish-speaking friends.
It means a lot to them.

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yeah, Tim, this is exactly how I saw it as I was writing! !ALIVE !LUV

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Your beautiful story tugs at our heartstrings in the most poignant possible way, @samsmith1971. The characters, moments and sensory details of your story put us right there in that scenario, imagining father and son each coping with their loss in their own way.

Thank you for sharing this wonderful gem in The Ink Well! Remember to read and comment on at least two other members' stories for each one published in the community. Thank you!

Thank you for your wonderful comment. I was right there in the moment with them, myself. 💗

MAGNIFICENT! You made me chuckle, you made me wonder, and you made me cry!

I love how you spliced the two prompts together with grace, creating a tale that takes you through grief... leaving you with a mother's endless love, alive in a cherished story. Incredible imagery here, you brought us into the room with Thomas and David! Thank you for sharing @samsmith1971 😁

aw, thank you for your wonderful comment, hun. It makes me happy that you enjoyed it and that the story found a touchpoint with you. I enjoyed the write. This morning, I added the part after the inscription, as I felt it needed a better ending and it has been bothering me since I hit the publish button. !LUV

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