Awhile back I wrote a story about a boy who was left on a deserted island by some sort of goddess named Gelea. You see, he is the bastard son of her husband Favian, whom she has seven daughters with. Afraid that the boy will take away the birthright of her daughters, she erases his memory, and leaves him on the Island. Understandably, the response to this ending was varying degrees of "What the heck Grindan?!" it was pretty sad. It weighed on me, I couldn't leave the lad all alone.
So, here is part two as requested by @treasuree @wrestlingdesires and @samsmith1971! This takes place 5-10 years after the ending of part one, where we are left with boy settling in. Between the provisions Gelea left him, and the remains of a wrecked airplane, he establishes a home. Favian leaves Gelea, believing his son is dead, and she slips into despair. For those who didn't read part one, no worries. You'll do just fine with my above summary :)
Gelea launches herself into the sky, her guts twisting in a marinade of loathing. She spins to a stop within the clouds, feeling the corrosive nature of her situation crawl up her throat. Her scream is ethereal, terrifying. It is not the sound a woman makes in anguish; it comes on with a flash of lightning. Electricity crackles around her, as the thunder acknowledges her pain, somberly.
Frost giants lob their waste down below, aiming at ships which are thrown about in the tide of a sudden storm. She sees him out there, thousands of miles away... and yet she hears him sing. The bastard. He finds her before bed, whispering to her as she lets her golden red hair down. His fingers reach through the strands of her mane, which betray her in the reminder of what she's done.
She knows he waits in dreams, their meeting unavoidable. It has now been ten years since she set eyes on him, but his image is crystal clear. As if she has washed him, fed him, and loved him all these years... except she's done the opposite. His beautiful eyes pierce her, judgement withheld.
Boy hears the drips that fall from the palms, a brisk storm leaving a pleasant breeze behind. They combine with the sound of his laundry, which hangs from a rough rope, flapping in the wind. He taps his foot, "oh, woah, oh ho, ha ho, yeah yeah, oh..." for someone who does not remember hearing music, his little song is kind of catchy. Gelea hears him, her stomach a knot of writhing snakes.
His eyes become glued to something offshore, which moves closer with each passing wave. Boy squints, titling his head forward. It was rare that anything that large washed up. Wading into the shallows up to his knees, he still couldn't make it out. The mass wiggles, and an arm flaps up briefly, before it sinks below the surface. In the blink of an eye, Boy is halfway there.
From the size of her dress, she had appeared much larger floating in the ocean. Back on the warmth of the sand, she coughed the water from her lungs, heaving the rest from her stomach with her back turned. Once she seemed gathered enough, Boy spoke slowly. "Are you alright? Can I... anything?" Words felt thick on his tongue in his first conversation.
She looks at him with dark dazed eyes, blonde hair clinging to her blue tinged face. With a jolt of guilt, Boy redirects. Helping her to her feet he says, "Let's just get you warm for now." his strong arms guide her gingerly, leaving the waves lapping the sand behind them.
Gelea shrieks out once more, the clouds surrounding her swell, as streaks of lighting glow in their depths. How had Aoina found him here? After all these years, to see her sister once more... she watched on, sick as anger and apprehension battled within her. The last time she saw Aoina, she had lain a curse on Gelea, insuring she would never have a male child. Why was she here?
In the distance, Boy brings a seemingly ravaged survivor to the home he has made. Built on stilts, the hut appears amongst the palm trees. Its frame is made of narrow lengths of wood, set a few inches apart. Weaved between them are braids of dried reeds. The poles bend to meet at the center of the ceiling, where a hole is left open.
A roughly hammered metal fireplace centers the room, its chimney rises through the opening, carrying the smoke away from the small space. "There are clothes in the trunk, and you can hang your things on the line" Boy says, gesturing to a length of rope across the hut. Blushing, he quickly snatches his underwear from it, and hurries out the door. Peaking just his head back through the frame he says, "Okay I'll be out here!" before shambling back down the hanging ladder.
Mischief ignites in Aoina's eyes, as she finds herself alone in the bastard boy's dwelling. Favian was an absolute dolt, so the kid must've gotten his smarts from his mother, he seemed to be doing well here. Handcrafted tools lined the walls, carved bowls and utensils sat neatly on a shelf of driftwood.
She kicked open the chest, it was full of Hawaiian shirts and khaki pants. Ruffling around, she found a navy jump suit near the bottom. It smelled fine enough, but dark stains marked the front. Shrugging, Aoina chose it anyhow. Magic could dry her clothes, but he didn't need to know that yet.
Once dressed, she descended to find the area around the hut deserted. She decided to pace about, to see what she could learn about the boy. There was a path made through the trees by years of footsteps, she followed along, amazed by the care he had taken in developing his island.
Strange traps hung in the trees, collecting bugs. As she walked along she came to a clearing where it seemed the boy was starting a fruit tree patch. A few young mango and coconut trees supervised the babies Boy was propagating nearby, housed in tin can pots.
Gelea watches her sister as she floats closer, filled with memories of the stranger who had once been her best friend... had it really been twenty years since they had spoken? Her mind drifts to childhood, when they were inseparable.
Aoina skips ahead of the others through the meadow, her hair bounces along behind her, the color of honey shining in the sun. Somehow, she is never dirty, she is never upset. Her teeth are so straight, so perfectly white. Her words do them justice, a precarious venture. She is loyal and brave.
The others trail close behind her, with Gelea taking up the rear. As Favian catches up to Aoina, she looks back toward Gelea to encourage her forward. Gelea is always in last place, although you'd never know it from the way Aoina cheers as she joins the group at last.
Shaking the nostalgia away violently, Gelea remembers that Aoina ruined her life. She once again goes through the merits of this visit, what does her sister have to gain from appearing here?
