Ocean Unicorn
Stories similar to this that you might like too.
The wind blew hard and cool off the water. It had been a long journey over land for Ocean Unicorn, but he was ready now to find his home on the waves again. He could feel that it was so in his being.
It wasn’t easy at first to convince the others of this. The Sea Horse and Turtle Clan were both eager to continue their search for their lost companions and didn’t want to stop yet. But Ocean Unicorn’s instincts as a leader prevailed and they headed east across the desert, away from the coast, until night closed down on them all.
They found refuge among some sand dunes where there was shade from the fierce heat of midday. For most of the time, the wind still blew off the sea, but when clouds drifted inland it grew suddenly cold—so much colder than before! The Sea Horse felt chilled and shivered. The Turtle Clan were all bundled up under blankets, huddled close together.
“Are we near the ocean?” said Sea Horse with hope. “I can smell salt.”
“Yes,” said the Turtle Clan Elder, “but the air has changed somehow since we came through the mountains into the desert.”
As they ate dried fish and nuts they listened to the wind howling over the sands. Waves of hot air swept over them and then were gone, carrying the scent of seaweed and salt spray along with them. Then it grew even colder as the sun dipped beneath the horizon and stars appeared in a deep violet sky. At last, the wind died out completely; there was only silence.
As the moon rose high, its light shone white on the desert sand around them, illuminating the figures of the travelers who stood quietly in a circle. They gazed about them in wonder at the vastness of their own small world. A sense of isolation filled each one. Suddenly Sea Horse remembered something else they needed: they had forgotten to ask for rain!
A few drops spattered out of an arched cloud overhead. Rain began to fall gently in a steady stream—not a great deal, but enough to wet the dry ground around the travelers and make it soft against their feet as they made camp for the night. In the morning the storm had passed and the sun warmed their backs.
All the travelers looked eagerly toward the distant shore as they broke camp and set off once more. After many days of walking without sleep or rest, they knew that soon they would be able to take in the full force of the ocean’s power again, feel the strength of the tides, taste the spray of salt water, and touch the sandy beach.
Their souls had begun to hunger for those things again as they waited and watched the sea. They couldn’t wait any longer.
They continued on through the day, following the trail the rain left behind as it washed away the dust that lay on top of the sand, but by late afternoon they were weary of travel. They decided to stop to rest, but Ocean Unicorn was impatient. “We have traveled far enough!” he said angrily. “We must reach the ocean by tonight!”
But Turtle Clan Elder shook his head slowly. “My brother, I cannot go on another step today,” he said quietly, looking sadly ahead.
“Why not? What is wrong?” asked the Sea Horse.
Turtle Clan Elder turned aside to gaze at the Sea Horse’s face. “Do you know what happened to us all when we came here from the sea?”
The Sea Horse nodded, thinking, ‘Yes,’ because he had always known that Turtle Clan Elder would tell him. But he wanted to hear exactly how it was. He knew already, though. He remembered how his friends had disappeared without explanation, leaving a hole in his heart as big as the sea itself. He knew too that Turtle Clan Elder would never forget that moment and the terrible pain it caused.
Turtle Clan Elder smiled bitterly. “All our lives we’ve been searching for the missing parts of ourselves—for each other,” he said with a sigh. “What if it isn’t true? What if there are no answers waiting for us on land anymore, just more questions? We don’t belong here; we haven’t done well enough for a reason.
This is why we can’t stay, no matter how much we miss the sea.” His voice faltered and he swallowed hard as he looked out toward the horizon, past where the Sea Horse saw nothing but endless sand stretching out forever. “We’re broken, my brother, broken beyond repair, and we can only find peace at last by returning to the sea.”
Sea Horse could see that the others had noticed that Turtle Clan Elder had stopped to talk to him alone. But Turtle Clan Elder did not seem to mind.
It seemed he enjoyed talking to Sea Horse, and it was obvious that he loved the Sea Horse, although there hadn’t been much time for sharing thoughts like that between them since the day the Sea Horse left Turtle Clan on his way northward across the ocean to look for his friends.
The Sea Horse had tried not to let his sadness overwhelm him; he didn’t want anyone else to suffer so deeply for his sake, and he was determined to do something about it. So he had searched far and wide for his lost companions, visiting every tribe along the shores of the sea and trying to track down any of their clans or relatives who might still be alive.
There had been a handful of families in each group. One woman remembered Turtle Clan Elder’s son, a young man named Long Neck who had grown up beside her son. Another had seen two boys with a strange hair color that reminded everyone of the sea.
And a couple of times someone had remembered hearing from some fishermen whose ship had come to harbor one summer with two strangers aboard, but no one recalled their names, faces, or even where they lived now.
The Sea Horse hoped they would live long enough to grow old and become wise before they died, and that he would get to meet them again someday because he knew they deserved to see this: the return of a friend.
As much as it hurt his heart, he also hoped they would remember the pain they had suffered for his sake, and that they would understand his need to leave. He had been forced to choose between them and his dreams.
When Turtle Clan Elder turned back to his companions after finishing his speech, they listened respectfully but didn’t say anything. At length, he sighed and looked at the Sea Horse. “I hope I will be strong enough to go home myself, but if I die first, my brother, then you will lead our people to safety. Go, now! You must reach the sea by morning!”
As Turtle Clan Elder watched the Sea Horse begin to gallop eastward into the night, he thought of the boy’s words, spoken when he had told the Sea Horse that his parents were dead and that there was no one left to guide him.
That same day, Turtle Clan Elder had made up his mind to follow his son south. If he couldn’t bring him back safely, he would go without him to make sure the Sea Horse found the answers he needed.
He knew too well that death waited for all of them if they stayed behind. The sun was gone from the sky by the time the Sea Horse reached the shore, and the stars gleamed coldly through the blackness above, casting the beach in a silvery glow.
Turtle Clan Elder followed close behind, his heart heavy with sorrow for his lost son. He had never expected to lose a second family member so soon. They stood together near the water’s edge, gazing out to the distant horizon as the Sea Horse began to swim back to where they’d landed days earlier, to where so many things remained unfinished.
***
“There’s something I have to show you,” said the Sea Horse.
They had talked for a long while that evening as the Sea Horse prepared a feast of fish and berries for the three travelers. After they ate, Turtle Clan Elder sat with his head bowed as he stared out over the dark waters. Night Bird perched on the rock nearby, leaning against a tree stump, listening to the soft lapping of the waves below and feeling her heart grow heavy.
The Sea Horse had been right. She should have known what she was getting herself into when she chose to be his friend because she was already beginning to feel trapped inside his world.
Even though she was afraid that she would miss the chance to ever go home again, she couldn’t help wishing for another night of peace and quiet, free of visions of a future that would be forever beyond her grasp. But the Sea Horse refused to let her turn away.
“Come with me, and I will tell you stories, and we’ll share a fire and sing songs, and I will teach you all our ways,” he said. “For a while, we can pretend it doesn’t matter whether you belong with us or not. For an hour, a day, a moonlit night—it won’t change your life. It won’t take you away from anything important.”
Night Bird had hesitated only briefly before nodding to him and following him down the beach. She knew better than most how easily the spirit of a dream could seduce her.
She knew that she could give in and allow herself to believe her eyes, which were growing accustomed to the glimmering green light, rather than what was really around her, and she felt that she owed it to herself to know everything. So she followed as the Sea Horse led her along the shore until it disappeared beneath the water and swam into the darkness.
Night Bird tried not to imagine where he might be taking her or why, but she found it impossible to stop thinking about it. She had been so tired, she hadn’t noticed just how long it had been since they slept.
At last, she came upon a large flat stone near the ocean that was shaped like the head of some sea creature lying upside down. The Sea Horse stopped beside it and motioned for her to join him there. When she did, he placed his hand gently atop hers and smiled down at her kindly. “This is a place where no one will disturb us and no one can find us,” he said quietly.
It was the first moment that night that the Sea Horse seemed to notice her. His gentle expression transformed instantly into a scowl. “How could I have forgotten? What are you doing here?”
“What do you mean, ‘what am I doing’? Who else is going to teach me these stories and songs?” Night Bird asked. She wasn’t used to being treated this way.
The Sea Horse took hold of her hand and held it firmly in his own. Then he lifted it to examine the skin. “Look at yourself, girl! Look! Don’t you recognize yourself in the mirror? Do you know what has happened to your hands, your feet? Your face?”
“Don’t worry about me. I’m not worried about anything anymore,” she replied coolly. “I’ve done more than enough worrying for myself. You needn’t concern yourself any longer, either.”
A frown settled permanently across the Sea Horse’s features, and he shook his head sadly, shaking off the memory. He was trying hard to make sense of who this young woman was, and he wasn’t sure exactly where he’d found her or what he should even call her.
He was certain, however, that he didn’t want to hurt her. He was desperate for companionship after being alone for so long, and he’d grown fond of her during their journey together. But the moment she touched the stone on the beach that night, the Sea Horse realized he’d chosen badly.
“Why didn’t you tell me before? I would have warned you against it if I’d known.”
“Warned me about what?” she asked. “You told me to come here. What harm was there in that?”
“It’s too late now,” he sighed. “If you don’t mind, I think I’d like to sit for a while. We can talk afterward.”
He turned to face away from her and began to rock slowly back and forth on the stone, kicking his legs lightly behind him. In spite of his reluctance, it was clear that he had something to say to her, and it was evident to Night Bird that whatever it was must be serious for him to have waited until this time to speak up about it.
he knew instinctively that he wasn’t going to ask her if she minded, so she sat quietly beside him and watched him through slitted eyes, unsure of whether she should laugh or cry at his words.
When he finally spoke again, though, she wasn’t prepared for it. The Sea Horse’s tone was sad, but there was a note of hope buried within it nonetheless: “You are beautiful,” he said quietly. “And brave. And wise—and courageous. All things that I cannot offer you.”
She nodded thoughtfully and looked beyond the Sea Horse to the stars and then to the horizon, where the land ended and the deep blue sea stretched out endlessly before them. At last, she turned her attention back to the Sea Horse and smiled at him with pride and affection. “Then I’m very fortunate indeed,” she said.
With that, she closed her eyes and slept soundly by the ocean, unaware of the great danger that surrounded her and the spirits who were coming closer every day, waiting silently in the darkness to see who they might catch next.
The End