The Decision

The legend of Goddess Lafatina was told to Eurdell by her great grandmother, Lucy, when she was eight years old and now at the age of 40 she was actually going to the ocean where Lafatina was actually “living” for millions of years.

Goddess Lafatina was born millions of years ago in a tiny town called Sabrina. No one knew exactly where the town of Sabrina was. No one could find it on any maps in ancient times but that was the story. Lafatina was “gifted” she could see into the future. She would walk around the tiny town and feel and sense things about other people. She tried to ignore this power many times, especially when her mother told her that her powers of seeing into the future were evil. Lafatina was not sure what evil met or what her mom met but she tried to obey her mom and tried to “turn off” her powers. It didn’t work. Almost everyone she encountered she could see them doing something in the future or she could see something happening to them. It was not all good sometimes  and she fought the urges to tell them.

But, one day, when she was 11 years old she could not fight the urge to tell one person about the death they saw in their future. It was not the death of that person but it was the death of the person’s grandfather. She saw a clear picture of the grandfather in her mind of the grandfather being stoned to his death by a group of younger men. She could not see the faces of the men but she could see the scared and dying face of the grandfather.  She knew that she couldn’t stop this from happening. Or could she? She thought that if it was in the future and hadn’t happened yet maybe she could change the future just once. She ran to her friend’s house and knocked on the door. Her friend, Alia, was surprised to see her standing there and when Lafatina told her what she saw about her grandfather the little girl literally burst out in tears. Unfortunately, the little girl's mom who overheard them didn’t react the same way. She grabbed Lafatina by the shoulders and shook her violently as if she was trying to shake the evil out of her. 

She thought that the woman would never stop shaking her. After she stopped Lafatina ran home. By the time she got home her parents had heard about Lafatina’s vision and little did she know that in a few days she would be at the bottom of the sea. 

A few days later, Lafatina’s dad took her on a fishing trip. Lafatina really did not know why because he never took her fishing. He always took her brother, Gus, with him. Nevertheless, she was happy to spend some time with her dad catching fish for dinner. 

Lafatina’s father took her deep into the sea on their little fishing boat. It was a cold, foggy morning and it was hard to see 10 feet in front of you. Lafatina asked her dad when they were going to get to the fishing spot. He didn’t answer her. He looked at her in a way Lafatina never saw him look at her before. Lafatina got a vision right than a vision that something bad was going to happen and in an instant after that vision something did happen. 

“It’s done.” Lafatina’s dad told her mom when he came back from the fishing trip with no fish but with guilt written all over his face.

“It had to be done.” His wife replied.

“Yes, wife, I know. It is better this way.”

Lafatina has been drowned by her very own father. Her body was never found. But, her spirit was going to stay in that sea forever. Her spirit was a kind spirit as she had been in life and people went to that sea which had now been named the Sea of Lafatina or some people called it the place where the sea goddess Lafatina lived.  People who visited that spot often had visions of their own. 

Eurdell was going on a cruise and the ship would be docked not far from that part of the sea. Eurdell was anxious. She was struggling with a big decision in her life and she thought that maybe the sea spirit of Lafatina could help her. She knew it sounded ridiculous  to most people but Eurdell always felt a strong connection to the sea, ocean, and to Lafatina since she heard the legend. 

Eurdell went to her closet in her apartment and looked at all of her new clothes that she had brought especially for her trip. She couldn’t wait. She pulled out some shirts, shorts, a couple of floral dresses, some sandals, running shoes, and some sun hats. She could not forget the sun hats with her fair skin. She meticulously folded her clothes and packed them in the suitcase and grabbed some sunscreen and a few other necessities for her trip. 

“There.” She said to her cat, Riley. Riley was sitting on her bed watching her every move.

“I am ready to go tomorrow. Just have to call and make sure Sabrina will pick you  up at noon.”

Riley wagged his tail and jumped off the bed and went to the other room.

“Welcome to the Queen of Soul cruise lines' ' A male voice said from a loudspeaker as passengers entered the ship. Eurdell was thrilled she finally heard those words and knew she was closer to where she wanted to be. 

“Hi, I am your cruise director, Jonie. Can I help you find your cabin?” A tall woman with blonde hair  and a white uniform with a badge that said almost the exact same thing as the words which came out of her mouth. 

“Yes, I am Eurdell Moon.” 

“Welcome aboard, Ms. Moon. You are on the sunset deck. Follow the yellow line through the first set of double doors and make a left at the staircase. You are in cabin 13. “

“Thanks.” She nodded to the cruise director and walked through the doors and found her cabin.

“It’s kind of small.” Eurdell said to herself. 

She unpacked and changed into a yellow and white sundress and headed for the bar two flights up from her room.

The bartender, Ray, introduced himself and asked if she would like a drink. Lafatina just ordered a club soda with lemon and lime and a slice of lemon on the side. Her friends always laughed at her for only drinking club soda and for always asking for an extra slice of lemon. But, she didn’t care. She wasn’t much of a drinker and she loved lemons. As a matter of fact, the color of the lemon almost matched her dress.

A day later, Eurdell was where she needed to be. It only took 25 hours and a tugboat to get there but there she was looking down in the water. She was certain that she saw something in the water and looked around to see if the other three people saw it too who were on the boat with her. They didn’t seem to notice anything and were busy chatting and taking pictures and selfies of each other. 

Eurdell stepped as far as she could away from the others. She looked into the water and saw the face of a little girl. The little girl was tiny and looked to be around 11 or 12 years old. Eurdell froze for a moment. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing and couldn’t believe that nobody else saw anything. The girl didn’t say a word. Neither did Eurdell. After about two minutes the girl disappeared in the water. She swam to the bottom of the ocean and Eurdell threw in a red rose necklace in the ocean where she had seen the little girl. She knew it was Lafatina. She also knew that she had her answer. She had the answer to the question that had been stuck in her heart and head. Now, she knew what she had to do when she got home. She had to make a call. 

Eurdell arrived home a few days later. She barely unpacked before she picked up the phone. She nervously dialed the number and waited.

“Did you see her?” The voice on the other end of the phone said as soon as they answered.

“Yes, I think I did.”  Eurdell said petting Riley.

“Do you know what you are going to do?” The voice asked.

“Yes. I do. And to answer your question. The answer is yes.”

“I am thrilled that you said yes. Well, pack your bags because we have got some traveling to do and plans to make.” The voice screamed.

“I can’t wait. My future daughter is waiting for me.” Eurdell said as she hung up the phone. 

“Well, Riley, looks like you will be getting a little sister soon. As soon as I can hop on the next plane.” Eurdell yelled to her cat, Riley who looked like he was happy too.

“And thank you, Lafatina.” Eurdell said.