1 Water Phoenix Chapter 1 The newcomer

The beach was littered with fiberglass and debris from a boat wreck. The village people that live closest to that part of the beach, was walking looking for survivors. There was only one man that they had found alive so far. Either the rest of his crew and passengers drowned, or he was the only soul onboard. Either way, he was found unconscious on the beach.

The villagers brought him to my hut. As the niece of the chief, it was my place to help render aid to anyone that they found. This of course was a daily ritual. There was a group of villagers who looked for survivors daily. You see we live on a magical land. There are people who arrive here daily. Both up and down our beaches. This gentleman happened to come to shore on the beach closest to my village.

Most of the time the people arrive from plane crashes, and boat wrecks. Our village and many others patrol the beaches daily, and as much of the forests as we can. We try to help all those in need. Any survivors are offered a place in any village. Most of the beach villages are brimming with life due to this.

After he had laid there for a few hours he had started to stir. I got a cold cloth and wiped the beads of sweat off of his brow. The man looks a lot like the surfer that washed abord early last year. He is wearing Bermuda shorts, which makes me giggle. I only know the name because of the surfer guy from last year. But it makes me giggle every time. You see, we are in the middle of, what regular people call the Bermuda Triangle.

Anyway, he does not have any other clothing on. He is tan and has some pretty black hair. It looks like he has a shark tooth neckless around his neck as well. I wonder what his old profession was. His hair is down to his ears and is somewhat bleaching. He really sets off the surfer dude vibe. Some of it is in his face. I vary gently brush aside the hindering locks. Then I wash his face again.

He slowly opened up his eyes. He has dark green eyes! How lovely! He reached up slowly and took the cloth from my hand. "Thank you miss, a? Sorry, who are you?"

"Oh, forgive me, we have not met yet. My name is Sereia. It is very nice to meet you. What is your name?" I put my hand out to him to shake his hand.

He sat up slowly in bed, "I must be dreaming!" He rubbed his head and sat on the side of the bed. "Where is everybody? I cant be the only one who survived! Man, the waves were so high!"

I scooted my chair out of his way, just in case he wanted to get up. "Can I get you anything? I know you had a rough time last night." I paused for a moment to let him think. "We found you on the beach this morning. Do you have a name I can call you?"

He looked at me, "Where is the chief of this village? I need to speak with the chief! I have to find my friends! I can't be the only survivor!"

I stood up and walked towards the door of the hut. I tried to be as sympathetic as I could be. "My Uncle will not be back till this afternoon sir. I suggest you get some sleep. He will want to talk to you this afternoon. I hope you like crab. That is what is for dinner." I left the hut.

We always have two guards by the door with newcomers. We have had several times when newcomers have caused a lot of trouble before. For some reason newcomers just cannot understand where they are at for the first few days. This guy may take a life time. Either way, I don't have any more time for him this afternoon. I still have to clean todays catch and cook supper.

I went and gathered the crabs I had bartered for this morning. I knew it would take them a while to cook. I got the big pot and began filling it up with water. It takes me several trips. I have to carry the water from the nearby river back to the cooking fire. The little boy of my neighbors sees me and comes to lend me a hand. He is roughly nine years old and so sweet. For payment I promise them a bowl each of tonight's stew along with a crab.

As soon as the pot is full, I lit the fire, then put the crabs in. I like to bring it up slowly to a rolling boil. It was not long until the water was bubbling fast either. I just had to add my seasonings to the water. You see, I never ate the crabs myself. I eat the broth. I never had a taste for the crab. But I also add fish, onion, carrots, potatoes, and salt and pepper. I have a few other things I put in as well. But the fish stew always turns out fantastic. My Father says the only way to eat crab is boiled in fish stew.

I had just gotten finished putting everything in the pot, when out comes new surfer dude. The two door guards follow right behind him too. I got my big spoon and began to stir the pot. He sat down by the fire, he breathed out like he was frustrated. Then he talked with some major attitude. "You know, you could cook that a lot faster if you move your pot slightly to the left. Then it would be more in the middle of your fire."

I roll my eyes not willing to look at him. I can't stand attitude right out the gate like this. But I take a deep breath. He has been through quite an ordeal. I will explain and try not to lose my temper. "Thank you for noticing. I am not trying to cook this quickly. It needs to slow boil. I just barely put in the crab. It takes the crab a while to cook properly. You probably should go lay back in bed. I doubt you are fully recovered yet."

He looked like he was angry for some reason, "Well your rude! When someone gives you a suggestion, it is only polite to except. Especially when your guest is starved. Isn't that supposed to be part of you natives hospitality?"

I walked to the other side of the fire and added some wood. "It is only polite to except the guests suggestion if that is how I am cooking it. If you would like raw crab that it can be done. Otherwise, that is not how our supper will be cooked tonight. Thank you though!"

He sucked his teeth, "Is there anything I can eat right now? I am so hungry, and I still have the taste of saltwater in my mouth."

I took a deep breath. I was imagining smashing a over ripe papaya in his face. "Yes, give me a moment." I went in and got him some of the biscuits I had made this morning. I cut up some apple, pineapple, banana, and dragon fruit. I put it all in a bowl with the biscuits on top. I even brought a cup of coconut milk. I handed him the bowl. I took what was left of the biscuits, tore them up, and added them to the stew.

He gobbled up the whole bowl. He sat down the bowl and stretched out on the rock he was sitting on. He acted like he had lived here all his life. He got up once to answer natures call. When he came back he began talking with attitude again, "Why do I have the shadows? Am I under arrest? Where am I anyway?"

I attempted a smile. I am afraid you could tell it was forced. Man, this guy really disappointed me. He was good looking to. "Every newcomer will have a guard while you are in the village to start. It is not because you are under arrest. It is mainly because you do not know the island. There are many hazards here that are different from other islands. Until you decide if you would like to stay with our village, or move on, they will be with you to help keep you safe."

The man laughed out, "You silly little girl. I spend most of my life island hoping. I guarantee you do not have anything different here that I can not manage. You need to tell your goons to back off. Where is your chief anyway?"

I kept stirring the stew, "My Uncle and Father will be back after they have finished fishing for today."

The man threw a rock into the fire. It caused embers to jump out. They nearly jumped onto my dress. I quickly jumped back. He said, "Sorry, I did not mean to make the fire pop. But when are they going to be back. In that I mean what time?"

I gently kicked the ember back into the fire, "it depends on the fish."

The man leaned back again on his rock, "Whatever!"

My Father and my Uncle had just so happened to pull their boat up on the beach. They were walking up, and heard how the young man was talking to me. My Father and my Uncle both looked at each other. Nothing needed to be said. They both crouched down and stayed out of sight listening. When they had had their fill of listening, and saw the embers fly, they came on up.

My Father is a rather large and burly man. His favorite fishing trips include fishing for shark. In order to do that he has to stay in shape. Also, my Father and Uncle love to spar. They like to see who is the strongest on a daily matter. First thing you notice when you look at them is that they are twins. But they use their looks to their advantage. They are both clean shaven and have shaved heads. My dad has four ear piercings on each ear when my Uncle has five. I learned that at an early age the chief always has five.

My Father had heard the young man talking with me. Instead of me having to answer, my Father answered for me. "Hello newcomer! I am Chelan. My brother here is the Chief. His name is Edmar. We would be glad to answer any and all of your questions. That is after we have eaten my daughters incredible cooking. I am telling you son. You have not lived until you have had her cooking." My dad walked straight up to me and hugged me. My Uncle on the other hand sat down hard on a rock and stared down the newcomer.

The newcomer breathed out frustratedly, "Finally! I have been asking for the chief since I woke up. This young lady told me I would have to wait till this afternoon."

My Father spoke, still with a bit of laughter. However, he was beginning to change his tone. "My daughter is a very wise woman. Normally we do not come home from fishing until later in the afternoon." He helped me to push the hot pot more over the fire. "Sereia, I am sure our guest is hungry. Lets hurry up this fish stew slightly. The neighbors said you had a newcomer in the hut. They said they would clean the fish for us tonight. I think I can see why."

I giggled, "I had not realized the guards had changed papa. Sern was one of the guards today."

My Father and Uncle both nodded, "He saw him wake up?" I nodded. My Father looked at the man who looked utterly shocked he was being left out of the conversation. "What is your name son, and what brings you to this land?"

The man was red faced. He literally looked like he was going to explode. "Do you know who I am! Do you know…" He huffed and stood up throwing his arms up in the air. "I want to talk to the chief. I am about to make your tribe rich. My Father owns the mainland shipping company freightco. When he finds out he can build a hub between the two bodies of land he will freak! I am in the Bermuda Triangle right?"

The chief spoke up, in a very deep voice. "Our land, to be honest is not a small island. Really, according to the maps I have seen on some of the shipwrecked boats, our land is not an island at all. However, that is what all the current residents call it. We call it an island. According to the maps I have seen though, our island would be, like a super continent. Which is part of it being so magical. I believe, in an old history book, I saw the name of our home once. It was called Pangaea, and yes before you ask, there are dinosaurs that both live and work here. Some are dangerous, some are highly helpful."

The man wailed out in laughter, "I must have hit my head! You sounded serious just now." He looked around at all of us and none of us wavered. "Maybe the girl was right, maybe I should go lay back down. Look does anyone have a phone I can borrow? I really need to let my dad know where I am. He needs to come and get me asap!"

Now it was the chiefs turn to laugh, "We live in a simple little village, on a hidden land, in the middle of the ocean. Only the ones that are chosen can find this island. As long as you follow our community rules, you are welcome to join our village or any other on the land. However, we have rules."

My Father jumped in and gave the list. "Rule number…

1. "This rule is across the land between every village. While on our land you may encounter all kinds of creatures. Creatures such as unicorns, and mermaids. No one should approach any magical creature. If they approach you, than that is okay. If you approach them or kill one of them, the punishment is to be put adrift in a raft and forced to leave the island. This is a magical island after all. Once you leave, there is no coming back. The punishment is so strong because you would be messing with the balance of magic on the island."

2. "Our village's main rules is never kill, or gather more than you or your family can eat. If you cannot follow our rules, there are other villages with different rules throughout the land. Those people are more than welcoming. All of the villages on the land have open arms for newcomers."

3. "Everyone does their part. All villages on our land have no need for money. Everyone does their fair share of work. It is equal trade for anything you want. Most people pay with goods for goods. Then there are favor's, exchanging food, or paying with chore's. In this way, greed is not a factor in our land. All the villages trade in this fashion. Thus, we all get along decently with each other."

"We have a pretty good system going. Every villager has an important job. If all the jobs are done at the end of the day, we all get to have a huge feast. There are hunters, basket weavers, beaders, wood carvers, builders, gatherers, fishers, and many other jobs. All of which help keep our village thriving and fed."

The chief cleared his throat, "Every village is different too. My village likes to live the simple life. Besides keeping the beaches clean, hunting, fishing, gathering, weaving baskets. We do a lot of beading, minor mining, and hunting for seashells. Why you might ask. The entire land lives off of a bartering system. Anything we put effort into, can be used in trade."

The man shook his head, "I have died and gone to hell! That or dad finally sent me to that reform camp he always warned me about."

I spoke up shyly at first then louder when I noticed he was not listening. "It is a lot to take in at first glance. The villagers will help you to learn your new roll."

I dished him up a bowl of the fish stew, and put a couple of the small crabs on top. I handed it to him. He took the bowl and looked down at the food in disgust. "I will not eat anything you make me, or give me. I want to go home to my Father. I should at least get one phone call." He threw the bowl, stew and all, into the fire.

Okay I had enough, "Hay I worked hard on that! You do realize that was your one free meal right." I took a deep breath. "Tomorrow you will start working for your living. I will give you your first chore if you decide to stay in our village. Otherwise, I will point you in the right way to walk."

My Father and Uncle were already on their feet. The two guards were right up his backside. But he did not notice either. He was to focused in on me. He said, "You just try to make me work. None of dads stupid reform crap has worked before why would it now. I offered you a chance to make it rich. You told me fairy tale stories instead. Like there is really such a thing as unicorns, mermaids, and dinosaurs."

I laughed, "Seeing is not believing. I will not show you dangerous animals just so you can say you saw them. I don't know why your Fathers tactics did not work. However, since you put it that way. Let me think, maybe it is because they could not touch you. But I have more leeway than they did. They can't touch me here. Neither can you."

He leaned down towards me, "I dare you to hit me." He laughed, "you want because, OAFFFF….."

I had punched him in his bread basket. "Please talk like that to me again tomorrow. This was fun." I looked up at the two guards. "Please take him back to bed. He must still have some sea sickness in him. You might want to stop at the bush by the hut. He may need to let some of that sickness out."

Both the guards were laughing as they grabbed an arm each and carried him back up to the hut. He was crying! "She hit me!" "I am going to sue you!" "When I am done with you, this whole island will be mine." "You just wait until I tell my Father." "You'll be sorry!" "Stop laughing!" "It is not funny!" "She hit me!"

The bigger guard laughed out loudly, "Yes, what good entertainment. For Sereia to get angry! That never happens. She did not even lose her cool. Boy I want to be your guard tomorrow."

The other guard spoke up, "Yea, I knew she knows how to fight. I have seen her in the sparring field. But knowing how to fight and how to hit are two different things. She just became a lot more attractive."

The bigger guard, "I know right! When she picks her merman, he will be one lucky guy!"

The other guard laughed, "Well that will be after her coming of age party next week."

The bigger guard, "Well we will just have to make sure we keep a close eye on her."

The other guard, "All the guys in the village want to! Even the chiefs son. But she has already turned him down. She told him she may be adopted, but he is still like a brother to her."

The new guy yelled, "Hay! You cant treat me like this. I am here too! Don't talk over me!"

Both guards continued on with their conversation. Ignoring the guy completely. The new guy eventually gave up and just listened. The bigger guard, "What! Really!"

The other guard, "Yea, and the weirder part was he agreed."

The bigger guard, "What an idiot! He has been pining after her since they were kids."

The other guard, "Well it is their choice, plus it gives the rest of us a chance. I hope she picks me! I want her having my baby by this time next year."

Both the guards laughed as they through the man into the bed and took their stations outside the door. The man lay there clutching his stomach. He had never been punched in the bread basket like that before. To be hit by such a pretty woman. Well, it was worse than insulting. Normally women like that are falling at his feet. Then from what the guards said, she is about to pick a boyfriend or husband. She sounds like she may be the prettiest woman in the village. He really had screwed things up. But as his dad would say, Tomorrow is another day. He came across as a spoiled brat today. He will make a better first impression tomorrow.

Sereia, her Father and her Uncle shared their food with the guards. She told them both about how the man was acting since he woke up. After some deliberation they decided, If he stays in their village, that his first task, would be picking up the beach from his wreck. If he wanted to move on, they would have the guards walk him to the next village. If he moves on, they were washing their hands of him.

Sereia and her Father went to her Uncles hut for the night. They wanted to give the man a night to reflect on his rudeness. They were really hoping a night alone in the hut would help him to clear his head. As of right now they were all hoping he would move on and be someone else's problem.