A look of shock and excitement knitted Netu’s facial muscles as he stared intensely. "In my mind’s eye I see a highly dangerous scenario before me," Netu nudged.
"Cataclysmic havoc," Pere boomed in response. "Atlantis quaked, belched and sank like scenes from an awful nightmare and we were flung apart, forward and backward, on the hard driveway. After several quakes that seemed to sink Atlantis, we jumped out of the Hansa - the aerophibian car - as advised by our guests who were at the porch of the mansion, but nothing worked in our favor from that point onward. Next we heard a strident rumbling in the near horizon, just beyond the easternmost hedge of the vast yard. When we looked at the source of the frightenig rumble, we knew death was near."
"What made the frightening rumble?" Netu asked, sensing the ghoulish nature of what Pere hinted at.
"A huge tower of cascading wave, which splashed and threw us apart. Separated from my three children, the huge wave swallowed us, and soon enfeebled our maneuvres aimed at safety. We couldn’t even swim to in subsequent splashes. We were just minor specks in the colossal destruction that became the lot of Songhai, and I believe the entire Atlantis.
“I can still hear the shrill cry of my children - before they were drowned. I can also see the struggle and agony of a weary mother who had lost not just her three lovely children but on the verge of losing her own life under the roaring current of titanic waves. The fear engraved on my mind and face as I sank at that moment was chilling.”
Pere shrivelled from the images of her momentary conjuration. "Netu, it was gory. I tell you this. And I admit that at that point when I recognized the ghost of my dear life as death knocked, my sacrilege before Tonka Manu came to haunt me. It was the final blow that led me into the beyond. I suppose Atlantis met its end in that manner."
Netu observed her put on a smile now as if unaffected in the least way by the dreary picture she had called forth on her own easel.
Netu drew a heavy breath and stirred, stupefied. He did not pretend he understood the irony of their present dispositions viewed rationally in the context of their parallel interests in Atlantis. He came short of appreciating why fate had tricked him to hobnob now with Pere, someone he would rather see as an adversary in his other incarnation. Why he felt emboldened in the ongoing act as a spy prying into Pere’s guided past he could not really say. In spite of it, he took fate’s unusual zest with its ironical twists as he had always taken the many intrigues of his life.
"Oh, boy!" he gasped at last. "It seems quite a halo of dread! The swiftness of the waves as you recounted must have crippled any attempts at escape. It was the mother of all surprises for Atlanteans."
"No one escaped the onslaught. The splendor went down with the waves," Pere said. "Can we now get to your own roles in Atlantis?"
Pere’s eyes sparkled with sentimental interest. She had often used this with great effect to soften him. “The key to my past is right in your hands. Let’s even up scores a bit. Would you now open the door to your past for me?" she cajoled, grinning.
Their eyes locked for a brief spell. Netu’s pan stare gave way to a discerning smile, and then he laughed. Her eagerness to discover his past bewildered him. But she seemed to be in order.
"I was a denizen of Atlantis too," Netu said.
"But," Pere interrupted, "what was your role?"
"I have no answer to that question right away without due consultation elsewhere."
"Meaning?"
“I’ll get back to you some other time with what I know. I need to validate the piecemeal information I have of my past role in Atlantis. I don’t want it to be a fruitless conjecture.”
"How are you going to do that?"
"I’ll have to ask Father Manu about it and see what he’ll come up with," Netu said.
Pere puffed, disappointed by Netu’s refusal to talk in-depth about his role in Atlantis, believing he did not trust her enough to disclose his secrets. Nonetheless, she had no regrets sharing hers with him. She reckoned he would one day walk out of the thin smokescreen he had put on to confide in her. She could put a bet on that.
"I give up the chase," she said. "Whenever the validations are over, you can trust me to keep your secrets."
"Settled."
"Yes, settled."
At the end of the rendezvous with Pere, Netu felt twice as wise as when it began. After reviewing the turbulence of the past and the intrigues of the moment, his resolution found onward strength. He would walk on the path of life with all the wariness it deserved.
Now, shelving the sad memory of Atlantis, they walked side by side in the early night as he observed the scenes of Vidya Valley.
He broke the lingering silence. "You have any idea how long you’d be staying here, Pere?"
"No,” she said, glad he spoke at last. "No one knows these things. A week or two perhaps. It depends on how long we take to make you see reason."
"You don’t give up do you?" Netu laughed and went on, "It means we still have time to see each other before your party zooms off in another direction."
Pere grimaced happily. "We’ll be waiting hopefully for you - the sooner the better."
At the western apex of the up-flung, bow-shaped street, Pere signified her intention to retreat. "I better get back before they start screaming kidnap or blue murder," she bantered.
"Right. You’ve done a wonderful job with your sweet company, Pere. What would you have me bring along for you when next I call?"
"I’ll leave that to your discretion."
"Alright. I’ll think of something nice and portable."
"Stay out of trouble, remain cool!" Pere advised and stomped down the steep hill whistling like a happy child.
"That goes for you too!" Netu called after her. He watched Pere swagger down the slope till her figure blended perfectly with the invading darkness of night, and then he turned and cracked one of those lingering smiles of his and walked off toward Ashi Park.
The next moment, another component of his life that drew his attention daily, magnified in his inner eye - Lina Phillip Uwa. He would have to inform her of the Brotherhood’s plans to bring him back. A trusted goblin in times of trouble, he needed her now more than ever before.
Chapter Twelve
Save for the five people who stood in solemn ritual taking in the consistency of the night’s illusion on the water surface and the gentle toss of the glimmering yacht in moor, the shoreline was empty.
Also, save for the recurrent lapping of low surf and the resounding hiss of salt sprays on the shoreline that thrilled these adventurers on the private jetty which extended toward the endless mist of sea at the tip of the beach ridden Landai peninsula, it could have passed as an eternal monument created in nature’s most tranquil and exotic setting. They watched the full moon depart unhurriedly, donating soft petals of its ambience on successive rolling surf with poetry of wondrous motion.
On the sandy shore, the shimmering points of the moon’s reflections on it or on the jetty’s embankments, danced back to the troughs of subsequent surf. These were re-flung in an enchanting bob and flare. And the array of stars above, aiding the tingling illusion, made the surface of sea a marvellous constellar dance in the eyes of the crew.
"Friends, we’re getting on board the yacht. We’re hitting the low tide, a non-stop sail," said one of the men, rubbing his two hands to keep warm. His thick raincoat and gloves could not insulate him from the stirring cold wind and its bite. He pulled on his face cap and clambered down the ramp to the yacht’s stern.
"I’m on your heels, Netu!" a lady called out, dragging a traveling bag on the jetty’s platform toward the yacht. “The wind is murderously cold but it’s not a deterrent to our mission. If we set sail now, we’ll make it before dawn."
"Need any help with the bag, Lina?” Netu called back.
"No, thanks. I can manage. Just get on with the yacht’s
lights and get the engine going. We shouldn’t be procrastinating."
"Are the others ready?”
"They are right behind me," Lina said.
"We’ve got to hasten up getting on board. We’re sailing behind time," Netu said, disappearing into the yacht’s lounge. “The wind is just right for our sail. We won’t encounter much high tide before dawn. By then we are safely berthed at our destination."
Three others, two men and a prim lady joined Netu and Lina in the yacht’s luxurious lounge. Netu climbed back to the jetty to undo the mooring chains while the others scurried in search of packing space for their light gear.
The next moment Netu Deo heaved himself to a seat in the captain’s cabin. He engaged the engine and the yacht roared to life as Lina Uwa joined him, clinging on to her raincoat.
"Netu, I’ll be at the stern, you handle the rest."
"Why stay at the stern when we can both steer her from here?"
“I want to hold the forte while you do the steering."
"No, you’re staying right here with me, Lina!"
"Don’t argue it, Netu. You can steer the yacht whichever way you want and be confident all will go well with my psychic support."
"Your proposition is high fallutin. I suppose you know what you’re doing?"
"Fear not - there’s absolute control."
"In that case you have a blip caller by your side so we can keep a tab on each other. There's the lounge on the top deck if you need to ease off tension. And enjoy the wind slap and whistle past you by the swimming pool."
“I won’t need all that at the moment. I just want to hold the forte for you, honey. Now, gun the damn engine!" Lina said and made for the stern, picking up the blip caller.
"Good luck at your venture, Lina!"
"Good luck, Netu!”
The custom made luxurious yacht eased out of the jetty and garnered up steam in the opposite direction, toward the realm of endless mist, a scar of broiling water and counter surf trailing on both sides of its wake.
Poised at the stern, Lina Phillip Uwa watched the receding glitzy panorama of the waterfront and Landai as a whole. Their mansion by the upper fringe of the jetty seemed in the fast motion of the yacht to have an embellished grandeur. The various neon fittings in and around the grounds under the glare of the moon and stars were like a confluence of briliant laser rays producing astounding illusions. The waterfront was even a lovelier illusion. In her mind, however, there were other priorities.
The other members of the team walked up to her side on the stern's railings and made her turn cursorily.
"We intend to lounge by the pool up there," pointed the youngest of the men - a brash, queer character of a man.
Lina thought she recognized a devious gleam in his pale eyes even with the hazy lighting at the stern.
"I’m content here," she said, devoid of warmth.
"Say you want to be out here alone?" demanded the other lady, climbing up the upper deck with animal vitality. "Hey, why don’t you come up with us? Four is more than company you know," she added glancing at Lina on the stairs.
"I like it here," argued Lina. Their patronizing gestures offended her somewhat. An unexplained loathing for the trio took over her senses. She knew intuitively they were a bag of trouble. Or perhaps, it was the product of her warped imagination.
The second hefty man nodded with indifference and hastened after the others. Lina spied them with spiteful curiosity and riveted her attention to her self-assigned task of keeping vigil at the stern.
Far into their sail, far across the sea, numerous ships and yachts sailing toward Landai came so close to their line of compass. The fear of collision with the other yachts was palpable in the hearts of the five adventurers.
Netu, as captain, showed his mastery of the sea and the controls of the yacht. He veered to a new compass point each time a collision with an oncoming yacht seemed inevitable. Yet if not for Lina’s reliable holding of the psychic forte and her strong advice to remain on course each time he panicked, he would not have had the nerves to pull through. She stood at the stern like an unmovable rock, inspiring Netu with sweet words through the howling windy.
The moment of anxiety went after they crossed the sea. Now they were cruising smoothly in a canal. The dawn sky had commenced its usher of warmth and brilliance. Though the sun was yet to rise in full, a warmer burst of wind replaced the earlier chill of the night around the mangrove lined swampy bank of the canal. It also had a sweet whining appeal in their ears.
Netu noticed Lina enter the captain’s cabin. Her face appeared ashen-gray with hate or anger or despair. He just could not say which.
"Are you alright?" Netu demanded, worried by her sour state. She nodded an answer but he was not satisfied with the response. "I’m not so sure you’re okay, Lina."
"I want these fellows to alight somewhere nearby, Netu," she replied taciturnly.
“Alight? What do you mean?”
“Let your friends on the top deck get off at the nearest harbor. This is vital."
"Why propose such a crazy thing?"
"Just let them disembark I say. Don't be heady," Lina warned.
"But why," grumbled Netu. Her bags of tricks were inexhaustible and often helped in harnessing his roughened ride, but this obtuse decision was not one of her usual tricks. It left him as numbed as a dead mind.
Lina gestured to a distant outline of a harbor along the canal through the cabin glass.
"Look, over there. Less than two leagues ahead, there’s a harbor on the right. Let them alight there, then we can proceed with our journey." She ignored his astonished, gaping pose. "Make sure you do as I say." She left him at that moment.
"What excuse would I give for such an impulsive action?" he shouted in anger. "It’s foolhardy."
Lina did not respond. She went back to the stern. Fortunately the others had eavesdropped on their rather loud exchange so it became quite easy on Netu’s part to convey the sad message at the harbor. They were ready to disembark even before he had the courage to tell them.
"You don’t need to say any thing. We are disembarking at the harbor. We heard her orders and we’ll comply to save you the torment of passing on the message. We know it’s not your wish," the prim lady said on behalf of the two men.
Netu Deo pulled in the yacht at the harbour unhappy about the developmen. Their three companions carted their gears and left the yacht without rancor. After their exit, Netu tried to engage the yacht out of harbor but the engine remained as dead as a rock. None of the control mechanisms responded to his touch.
Stuck at the strange harbor, the canal’s currents, treacherous to their aspirations, swirled the yacht off anchor and steered her toward midstream. Netu tried within his powers to fix the fault, if any, but he found none.
Lina’s indifference at the moment of trial confounded his rage. He could not understand why the engine had to give up at that point, and why Lina felt so indifferent. He sat pounding angrily at the combinations on the ignition board as if by such fury he could get at the fault and rekindle the spirit of his obvious imbecility.
His tensed gestures no less indicted Lina as the cause of the malfunction of the yacht’s engine. The accursed idea of sending their comrades packing at the harbor was hers. Look where that decision landed them both, he cursed between breaths. And the heck, she did not even care about their predicament - as indifferent as she was by the stern.
He remembered the cabin had its own blip caller and reached for it, but found it equally dead like the engine. This rendered his idea of calling for assistance from the harbor a waste of time. In the alternative, he thought the blip caller with Lina would serve the purpose. Therefore, he scampered out of the captain’s cabin in search of her at the stern.
No trace of Lina at the stern either. Surprise glared in his eyes. He ran up the stairs to the top dec
k but the same windy emptiness welcomed him. His pulsing veins now bordered on panic. Where had she gone?
Netu hurtled back to the bedroom on the deck below and found it empty as well. His intestines began to knot. In his spine tinkled the eerie chill of deep fear. The luxurious yacht, the harbor and even the brightening horizon of the canal, assumed a spooky tint. Were they doomed? Had he been lured to a voodoo land where he had been trapped witlessly?
"Lina. Liiinnnaaa!" he cried out, but the swift wind swept off his voice’s resonance as ineffectually as his strive to maintain calm, or start the dead engine.
He climbed down to the captain’s cabin, worried. It dawned on him a trap door had shut so against him and nothing aside his will would get him out of trouble.
He began another check on the controls, this time a lot more calmer. He knew without doubt he would win. He had always won his battles in the past.
The dream reel reached its terminal at that juncture. Netu woke from slumber perspiring, nestled in the warm arms of Lina Phillip Uwa still sound asleep on her small bed. He noticed his face close to hers on the pillow and could smell the strong odor of their profuse lovemaking hours earlier pervading the air of the room.
He extricated himself from her embrace and sat up in bed, apprehensive. What a dream, he mused. He regarded Lina in the dim light of the clustered room appraising how benign she looked in sleep. This contrasted sharply with the iron lady of his dream whose uncompromising whims he had appeased like a goddess, and to his detriment.
Denied of a sudden of Netu’s bodily warmth and comfort, Lina stirred, still dreamy, clasping him back to her bosom.
"Where do you think you’re running to now? It’s not yet dawn," she yawned, snuggling into his outspread arms.
"I’m not running away, Lina. Had a dream, that’s all. Now go back to sleep," he said, laying his head back on the pillow.
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