Rescued by the Giant Octopus - Voyages of the Destiny's Dreams

“In the ancient codices, how does the sun come back after it sinks into the ocean on the longest darkness of the year?” 

When the storyteller Ana spoke, she saw the shining eyes of nineteen-year-old Xochitli, the scholar of Nahuatl ancient history and myths.

Xochitli's face and eyes showed someone with depths that held many secrets. 

The young Nahuatl woman spoke. “The sun, Tonatiuh, he who goes forth shining, is reborn as a hummingbird. It is in the hieroglyphics of the ancient codices.”

She continued. “We must find the ancient codices and save them from the treasure hunters. They contain the ceremonies for the Solstice, the calendars, the movements of the sun, star constellations, and the moon.”

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“The heart of the people is in the literature of the Nahuatl with the songs, stories, and poems that are in the codices.” 

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“The Nahuatl language has survived for over 5,000 years. The codices have rituals for harmony in the universe.” 

Xochitli’s eyes became wet when she explained the codices. 

“It will mean so much to us to have these. They are part of our heritage.” 

Xochitli did not know then that the treasure hunters were already trekking over the sand and cactus covered peninsula, searching caves for the codices stored in sealed pottery for hundreds of years. 

Despite still being in her teenage years and lacking experience, plus the threats of meeting with treasure hunters and pirates, Xochitli hoped to succeed in finding the records of her ancestors. 

It was in the 1800s on the clipper ship Destiny’s Dreams. The narrow, fast wooden vessel glided beneath her white sails that were puffed out with wind, like fluffy clouds. They were west of Mexico in the Pacific Ocean on a warm, sunny day. 

Peaceful days aboard the ship on the quiet seas allowed the passengers and crew to relax. Light winds kept the vessel moving. 

The day and night of the December Solstice of the Sun was approaching. 

Ana, the storyteller of the ship Destiny’s Dreams, spoke to Xochitli, the young woman who still spoke the Nahuatl language. 

“In my own people’s ancient history in Peru,” said Ana, “the people crouchrd on the ground in the dark and waited for the new sun to rise. Then they sprang up, stretching their arms to the sky and kissing the air.” 

“My ancestors lived on the coasts and mountains of Peru. Some of them lived farther south in the wilds of Patagonia on the southern tip of South America. It is where the Antarctic currents and winds make ship crossings from the Atlantic to the Pacific treacherous.” 

She saw shimmers and movement in Xochitli’s eyes. The young girl impressed Ana with her steadfast devotion to her cause. 

Xochitli spoke to Ana. “I was one of the people selected to carry the ancient wisdom of the Nuhuatl ancestors. Our Nuhuatl culture has existed for thousands of years, even before the Mayans and Aztecs.”

“There are still many people who speak Nahuatl. But their number is much smaller than in the past. Now only a few of us know the secrets of where the codices might be found. 

Xochitli’s voice trembled a little with determination. 

“When I heard treasure hunters were looking for the codices I knew I must leave to find them first.” 

The written story of Ana’s time with Xochitli would be discovered in Ana’s journals over a hundred years in the future. 

The diaries of the voyages of the 1800s clipper ship Destiny’s Dreams would be found in a wooden sailor’s chest in the attic of the Mystical Lighthouse. 

The yellowed, dusty pages of fading brown ink in the journals continued Ana’s story about Xochilti. 

“I must save the codices so they will be preserved for future generations. The treasure hunters must not find them.” 

“They may be following us. The ancient writings belong with our people, not with treasure hunters who only want to sell them to the highest bidder.” 

Ana turned her head and her eyes searched the ocean.

“I don’t see any boats behind us.” Then Ana called to the ship’s first mate, Adelberto, who was high up on the mast adjusting the rigging. 

“No, I don’t see anyone.” Adelberto’s voice floated down to them. 

The ship Destiny’s Dreams was taking a young scholar on a voyage to the coastal desert to search for the missing ancient codices in the caves. 

Xochitli’s voice carried over the sound of the waves slapping the ship’s hull. 

She spoke with a calm, steady voice. But Ana sensed a tension beneath the surface. 

Despite her mask of courage and calmness, inside Xochitli the fear of failing and of letting her people down still churned and bubbled. 

Xochitli was traveling with Izel, her twenty-two-year-old brother, who was a wise mentor, and fourteen-year-old Citlalli, her mischievous younger sister. 

Izel’s name meant unique, the only one. He wore a wrap around his shoulders embroidered with glyphs that meant continuity and knowledge. 

“You can always turn to me,” he would tell Xochitli and Citlalli. 

“We are so grateful to have you, Izel,” they would say to him. 

Citlalli’s name meant star, gift from above. She was playful and she liked to play tricks. Deep down she was very loyal.

But sometimes she was impulsive. Then Xochitli and Izel had to rescue her and set things back to normal. 

Xochitli’s black hair was braided with red threads, to symbolize bravery, and she wore a neckpiece with carved hieroglyphs of the ancients. 

She lived in the mists that veiled different worlds. One world was of the ancients of her ancestors.

The other world was today’s modern life in the 1800s. The flow of the universe connected the worlds. Her name meant flower. 

“Ana,” said Xochitli, “I grew up in the world full of traditions and wisdom from the ancients. Then I attended university at the big city. It was started as a small school in the 1500s and it has grown now into a college. I feel as if I am living in both the past and the present. It is so important not to let go of the wisdom of the ancestors and to keep that connection.” 

“Today there are many new inventions and ideas. But the old wisdom of the ancients is precious and we need it to stay in harmony with the universe.” 

Ana listened. Xochitli’s voice was blending with the sounds of the ship’s timbers creaking, and the wind breathing on the sails. 

Xochitli, young Nahuatl woman, continued. “My family and village raised me to be a guardian of the heritage. The ancient calendars, sky charts, records, stories and songs, lyrical poetry and epic tales, pictures and writing, I have gone to the university for one year of study and I will continue there. Someday I want to be a teacher to share the ancient wisdom of our people.” 

“Tell me more.” Ana spoke. “About the lost codices. Written in the 1500s. During the invasion. Where could they be now?”

“The scribes tried to record the ancient’s wisdom to save it. But the invaders were destroying everything. So the scribes hid the codices written on parchment in sealed pottery.” 

“They sneaked out by dugout canoe, paddled up the coast to the dry, desert lands, and hid them in a cave. My ancestors have passed down to me the directions for where to find the missing codices. It has been an honor but also a burden to carry this information.” Xochitli paused. 

Then she spoke again. “Legend says they crossed a quiet sea to the tip of a peninsula. Now I am trying to go there to look for the codices.” 

So far the Destiny’s Dreams and the other two boats of her fleet had not detected any surprise visitors who might be pursuing Xochitli to find the codices. Preparations for the Solstice Celebration began. 

Izel asked for a gathering of everyone on board the Destiny’s Dreams. 

“When we anchor off the point of the peninsula, we need to go on shore to gather plants, shells, seaweeds, and decorative rocks to make our masks of the sun for the Solstice Celebration.”

There was enthusiastic cheering when they heard his idea. 

“We will have music from clay flutes, ancient style ocarinas also called potato flutes, gourds of pebbles to shake, drums made from wood, and singing.”

The passengers and crew of the ship smiled, nodded, and buzzed with chatter. 

“Wonderful.” 

“Let me help.” 

“We can’t wait.” 

Then they became more excited when Izel continued. 

“We will also have chili pepper spiced food, maize also called corn, beans, squash, and shellfish. And spicy, sugarcane sweetened Xocolatl, chocolate drink.” 

There were sounds of pleasure from the group. 

Late one afternoon Raul, one of the sailors, called down from high up in the rigging. 

“Land. Land.” He hollered and pointed. 

The wind blew briskly and at the end of the day the ship anchored in a sheltered bay. 

“We made it. After the celebration we will begin searching the caves for the codices.” Xochitli’s voice vibrated with excitement. 

Izel, her brother, and Citlali, her younger sister, beamed. Ana the ship’s storyteller got ready to go ashore. 

Captain Alfonse of the Destiny’s Dreams, his wife Luciana, and their three children joined the passengers and crew in several surfboats. Soon they were wading in the tidepools and the surfboats were pulled up onto the sandy beach. 

A desert landscape surrounded them, with rocky cliffs, cactus plants, and rocky hills. 

“I am going to do a quick search of these caves nearby.” Xochitli’s voice carried to her brother, sister, and Ana. 

“Don’t go far. We need to get back to the ship soon.” Ana was concerned. 

The sun began to get closer to the western horizon and the light faded. 

“Where is Xochitli?” Ana thought the seeker of the codices would be back by then. 

When darkness fell, one of the surfboats returned to the Destiny’s Dreams with part of the crew and the passengers who had gone ashore. 

The rest of them stayed to search for Xochitli. 

The stars began to light the night sky. The silhouette of a bent figure on a desert sand hill headed toward the beach. It was Xochitli. 

“I found the codices.” She opened a flap of her shawl to show several pottery vessels clutched against her chest. 

“They called to me. I sensed their presence. The ancestors guided me.” Her eyes glowed in the light of the rising moon. 

A shout came from the desert and a group of dark shapes ran to the beach. 

“It’s the treasure hunters. Quick. Get into the surfboat.” Adelberto, the First Mate of the Destiny’s Dreams, hollered. 

Izel the experienced brother grabbed Xochitli in an embrace and flung her into the boat. Citlali, her sister, turned sparkling eyes at the treasure hunters charging at them.

“EEEeeiiii… eiiiiiEEEE.” She screeched and made one of the eerie sounds of night animals from the jungles to the south of the mainland. It sounded like creatures from another realm attacking. 

The shrill sound penetrated the ears and the mind. It ignited instinctive fears inside all those who heard it. 

She jumped into the surfboat. “EEEEiiii…iiiiiiEEEEE.” She kept up the screeching.

The treasure hunters gasped. Something must be attacking them.

The shadows of the treasure hunters paused. Their ears rang and they looked fearfully at the sky and all around them. 

“The ancestors must be protecting the codices,” their leader called to them. “Let them go. We cannot fight the unseen. Run.” 

The sailors of the surfboat paddled hard, rowing the toward the Destiny’s Dreams. 

“Look. They stopped. Citlali, you did it. You saved us. And the codices.” Xochitli’s voice was still gasping for breath. 

The surfboat reached the hull of the Destiny’s Dreams and the sailors helped everyone climb aboard. 

“Now we can really celebrate.” Ana’s voice was joyful. 

On the peninsula, the treasure hunters planned for one last attempt to get the codices. 

Their leader, Ramone, gestured for them to gather around. He wore a weathered wide-brimmed hat, and clothing that was becoming rags after days in the bright sun and heat of the peninsula desert. 

“We will paddle out to the ship in the dark. They will be waiting for the sun to come up. Haha.” His bearded face twisted into a rough laugh. “We will be surprise visitors. They will not be expecting this. Subdue the crew and passengers. Then grab the young woman, make her lead us to the codices.” 

On the deck of the Destiny’s Dreams Izel as the wise, older brother, checked with Oxchitli the young woman scholar to be sure she had put the codices in the pottery somewhere well hidden. 

“I trust the passengers and the crew. But it is still important to be extra careful,” he said. 

Citlali, the mischievous sister, smiled at Izel and Oxchitli. “I know where they are too. But no one will find them, Izel.” 

Ana, the storyteller, began handing out candles. On the longest night they would gather on the ship’s deck with the lighted candles.

Beneath the ship’s hull, the lives of creatures living under the waves moved in the night waters.

There were whales who migrated to the warm waters for mating and birthing, and a giant octopus.

The eight, long, red tentacles with strong suction cup-like suckers on the arms of the tentacles curled and waved in the water. 

The giant octopus detected the wood of the ship’s hull above it. Intelligent and curious, the huge round octopus body and its enormous tentacles reached for the wood. 

Sliding the tentacles and grasping the ship’s hull, the octopus kept moving and its slippery red body and arms rose above the water line. The body without a bone skeleton wobbled and slithered up to the railing. 

The round red body of the octopus plopped on the railing and several long tentacles reached into the air, seeking to explore and grasp onto something. 

“Oxchitli, your ancient tales of wisdom are a special gift for us tonight.” Ana spoke and the group nodded

Under the dark sky, a small boat with the treasure hunters was sneaking up to the Destiny’s Dreams. 

“They will never be suspecting surprise visitors.” The pirates on the small boat congratulated themselves. 

Another unexpected visitor was crawling up the side of the ship. 

“What is that? Did you hear something?” First Mate Adelberto spoke to his wife, Isabella the map maker. 

They walked around the deck, pausing several times. 

“I do not hear anything. That must been the breeze rustling the reefed sails.” Isabella whispered and Adelberto nodded. 

“Sssshh…Easy now. We need to surprise them.” Ramone, the leader of the treasure hunters spoke to his group. 

“We can climb up over the stern. They are gathered near the bow with their candles.” His whispered message was passed along. 

“Follow me.” Ramone led the way. 

“When I say ready, we attack.” The whisper from Ramone was repeated to the others. In the dark shadows they surrounded the passengers and crew holding candles.

“NOW!” Ramone hollered and the treasure hunters jumped, grabbing people.

“We are here for the codices. Give them to us and we will set you free," the pirate shouted. 

In the candlelight Citlali saw something crawling over the railing. 

"Look." Isabella saw it too and shouted.

"What is that?" One of the treasure hunters hollared. There were screams.

Citlali recognized the red blob of the strange visitor surprising them.

It was the largest giant octopus she had ever seen.

"In the ancient wisdom, the octopus with its tentacles is from another world." Citlali's mind took this thought a step further.

"Was it sent by the ancient ancestors?" Citlali's thoughts raced.

Then her mischievous nature thought of a trick to play.

Slipping free, she leaped across the deck. 

Then she reached for the giant octopus with both hands. 

"Uuugggggh." Citlali grabbed the octopus by the body and picked it up.

She threw the bulging, slippery red body with its ten long tentacles at the leader of the pirates.

The flash of red whirled through the air.

It hit the head of the pirate leader, Ramone. The long tentacles curled around his head.

"AAAAeeeeee iiiiii." A piercing sound came from the pirate.

Then the octopus squirted its black ink at this foe. The dark liquid dripped down.

“AAAaaaaeeeee.” The pirate screamed again. .

Them the pirate struggled and crashed across the deck. He hit the ship's railing.

Splash. He went into the water, still wearing the giant octopus. 

The other pirates followed him before another creature like that could come after them too. 

Captain Alfonse of the Destiny’s Dreams and Adelberto ran to the railing. 

“We have been rescued by an unexpected guest. I am thankful to that octopus." Adelberto felt relief rising inside.

“Citlalli, sister, once again you have saved us.” Izel the wise brother gave her a hug. 

“The codices are safe. Our ancestors and our villagers thank you, Citlalli.” Oxchitli’s face was relieved. 

“I was inspired by the ancestors. I know they are with me. It was them, not me.” Citlalli spoke with modesty. 

When the new sun rose the next morning, the passengers on the Destiny’s Dreams crouched near the deck. Then they rose, stretched their arms to the sky, and kissed the air with gratitude. 

“I can now return to my people and bring them the missing codices.”

Oxchitli felt the tension fading. She had not failed. The people would have the codices now.

Everyone put on their masks of the sun. Then they sang and danced to the music of clay flutes, gourd rattles, and drums beating lightly. 

Under the waves, the red body and tentacles of the giant octopus danced in the water.

In the ethereal afterworld, the ancient ancestors were singing and dancing too.