Unveiled

          “The sky has caught up, Baba.” Adonis muttered. The words shook a little in his throat as he tried to choke down a lump and hold back his tears. His father, not even taking a second to glance over his shoulder , just kept rowing the caique as fast as his sore arms would pump.

               The light skiff skimmed quickly over the ocean’s surface. The only sound came from his father’s grunts and the oars slapping the water. A loud rumble from the sky jerked Christos from his rowing. Rain mingled with  sweat on his face as he looked over his shoulder and up towards the heavens that fumed so angerly above them.

               “ I have never seen the sky so angry.” Christos panted over his shoulder to Adonis. “ It is so black, like midnight. A midnight without the delicate stars to break up the darkness. Who could have angered the gods so, that they would take all light away.” He muttered to himself as his son sat silently in the corner of the boat, staring up at the sky, preying to the gods to be at peace so the storm would cease to be.

               Suddenly, a flash of light rent the sky, slicing it in many pieces, each reaching across the heavens like hands grasping out for something.

               “The gods have not taken all light, baba, look!” Adonis said, thrusting his outstretched finger in the direction of the lightning. Christos pulled the oars into the boat and waited. Thunder seemed to shake the earth ;more waves rushed towards their boat. Christos began muttering under his breath “Ena…Dio …Tria…Tessera…Pente…Exi…Efta…Octo…”

               Another flash of lightning lifted the black shroud covering the earth, just for a moment.

               “Eight. Baba it is so close.” Adonis yelped, a tear made it past his iron clad defenses, he knew there would be more squeezing past as his heart began racing in his chest.

               “Yes, it will be over our heads soon. “ Christos turned to look at his son. The darkness made it hard to see him, even just a few feet away. He reached his hand out as more waves smashed against the boat, another boom of thunder shaking the world as a dog shakes water from its back. “ I hope the others are safe” he said, grabbing his young son and pulling him into a hug.

               The sky lit, this time after only five counts. Christos saw a shape out of the corner of his eye. Many shapes. As the Blast of thunder rang around him, he held his eyes open, straining them against the will to close for fear he might blink and miss what he was searching for. Finally, after four counts, a bolt shot down from the heavens and lit the ocean up like a candle lights a cave.

               Out on the open ocean, not more than a hundred oar strokes from where they were, an entire town, possibly many towns worth of boats all clustered together waiting for the storm to pass.

               “Come, Adonis, you help me row. We must get over to them!” Christos cried, shoving an oar in his son’s hand. The two strained , first turning the boat ,then rowing as fast as they could, closing the distance between there small ship and the group.

               Suddenly, as if thrown from Zeus’s own hand, a bolt shot down ,striking the mast of the tallest ship in the bunch. All was black again, but on the wind the voices of the injured were carried right past Christos and Adonis. The boy looked, terrified at his father, but Christos merely hollered to his son “ Row, ROW son! We have a chance now! Lightning will not strike here again, we must get on one of those boats , otherwise we will be lost in this wide ocean forever!”

               Adonis, tears streaming down his face, began to pull his oars frantically and out of sync from his father. The Skiff faltered, confused as to which way to go, it shuddered in place .

               “ADONIS, WITH ME!” Christos yelled over the booming thunder, shaking more waves in their direction. The boy, taking a few deep breathes , began to row in sync and the ship moved straight again.

               The moments passed as quickly as honey drips from a spoon. Christos’ heart began pounding in his ears. Squinting, straining his eyes he tried scanning the ocean, but the pitch-black sky did not give way. Waiting for the lightning to flash, he held his eyes open once more, tears welling in the corners. Suddenly the flash came, another bolt striking the pole of another ship.

               Adonis yelped, adding to the wailing screams in the night. Christos dropped the oar across his lap, his eyes never blinking, the outlines of what he saw still vivid in his eyes even though blackness took over once more.

               “What …has raised such a site?” Christos whispered. The dam broke on Adonis’ nerves, tears flowed freely down his face as he shoved it into his father’s chest. The Caique rocked back and forth freely in the waves as Christos, barely believing what he saw, sat wide eyed for just one more look. The lightning granted his wish.

               The ships were bare bones. Each hull gaping, with water lapping inside each belly. Sails were shredded, masts stood bent like old men under heavy burdens. A grave yard of ships, with wailing screams of the dead who went down with them. This time, however, the lightning showed more than it was supposed to . As if hidden in the background of some horrific painting, the source of evil revealed itself.

               Erected proudly , skimming above the water effortlessly, massive Snails filled the horizon as far as his weary eyes could see.

“Salinkári vrontís”.Christos muttered. Adonis lifted his head and waited for his chance to see the great demons .  

               Wails from the ships of the damned echoed from the darkness, a bolt lit the scene, and Adonis squealed frantically.“ Thunder Snails!” As the massive beasts grew closer, bringing the storm on their backs and hellish waves with them.

               The cluster of ships rocked back and forth, narrowly missing some and colliding with others. Christos and Adonis screamed, but their voices blended in with the dead’s.

               “Do they mean to kill us Baba?” Adonis cried, being thrown back and forth as if no more than a stick on the ocean.

               “ I don’t know son! This is beyond even my knowledge!” Christos hollered back. Suddenly they felt the ship catch on a wave. As if it were a surfboard, the boat sailed forward into the darkness.

               Great angry storms raged over head, but lightning no longer threatened so near their boat. Flashes of scenery, like strobes, lit quickly and then were gone. Christos couldn’t pinpoint where the ocean was taking them. Having little  choice but to be spirited away, he held his son tightly to his chest.

                                                                               ***

               The blush pink hue only a sunrise can make fought against the intense darkness of the night. Christos staired at the beautiful coming morning, watching as Helios battled Nyx , and won. The sunrise painted the sky with the most breathtaking pastels on its palette. Shaking Adonis away from his weary sleep, the boys’ eyes widened at the sight, a sight he didn’t think he would ever see again.

Beached on dry and craggy earth, the caique had weathered at least 5 years, but was still holding true.

“It seems we are being greeted by the natives” Christos said happily, standing, his legs shaking under his weight. Adonis raised his head to see where his father was looking. A family of giraffes were coming over to see what all the commotion was about.

“Giraffes? But I thought they were only on…” Adonis began to say, but Christos finished his sentence.

 “ Africa. I think we have been pushed all the way to Africa!”