HOME | DD

Description
In the scorching heat, Awa had only thoughts of her home. Even floating cost too much effort, and, as if dragging herself on the ocean floor, she pulled forward. Her mind was racing, picturing the worst possible endings for her underwater dwellings. She had been gone for so long, maybe the humans were taking advantage of her absence. Maybe mother nature had decided that the submerged buildings were ready to be demolished by giant underwater currents. If only she was there, she could at least try to stop it all.

Suddenly Awa noticed that no longer was she crawling forward on sand, but on hard rock. In a split second Awa hoped to hear the sea wind so she could finally go back, but those hopes were quickly crushed again by the sight of more mountains, but this time ranges of them, stretching as far as the eye can see. Fixing those shrines had done nothing for her after all. Maybe she should have destroyed them. It seems, after all, that those cursed symbols are keeping her here. For the first time since her travels had started however, her eyes opened wide with shock as she witnessed what happened before her. The ground began to shake heavily and some of the giant rocks moved out of their place towards Awa. With all her might and her last bit of strength she wriggled to the edge of a tall cliff, so she could drop herself down and avoid the falling boulders, but it seemed too late. The falling stones closed in and right before they smashed into her… they stopped, mid-air. There was a moment of pause as they appeared to float only several feet above Awa’s head. Then they shifted with great speed away, revealing a massive head on the other side of the rock chain. Now Awa saw what had happened, which did not make her less frightened of it. An esk of immense size, with rocks adorning its tail (the same rocks that were falling down on her a moment before), showed itself to the relatively tiny Awa. Now she stood eye to eye with the biggest Esk she had ever seen. It spoke with a remarkably booming voice.

“You have been on quite the journey.” he grumbles.

Awa was only able to witness the colossal creature, wide-eyed. When the great Raaga realised Awa would not answer just yet, he continued, without feeling the need to change his volume.

“I do not know what took you to those shrines; it was not me.”

Still no answer. Raaga became visibly annoyed now, frowned deeply, and moved in ever closer until there was only a breaths worth of distance between the two Esk.

“I do not know what your intentions were, but you have greatly affected my mountains, stranger.”

After five more seconds of silence, and a panicky stare from Awa, Raaga lost his patience and stomped the ground in order to provoke a reaction.

“SPEAK!” He pulls his head back. “What were your intentions?”

Awa instinctively averted her eyes now, but rapidly tried to collect herself. She knew this Esk would not have waited any longer for an answer.
“My name is Awa. I am… lost.” Raaga looked as if to say: you don’t say? “I somehow ended up somewhere I have never been to before. First a jungle up on a mountain, then on a snowy mountain top, after which I somehow arrived in a desert. And now… I am here.”

Awa cursed her curiosity that led her out of the water in the first place. Granted, the trail of flowers was interesting, but if that meant she’d be shifted away from home, maybe it would be best to never leave the ruins anymore.

“And the shrines?” Raaga asked, glad to have finally gotten a reply.

“The shrines? They called for me. Asked me to help fix them.” She thought back to the first shrine she had encountered. In the dark glade stood the mighty tree where the broken shrine sung to her.

“And with the first, you did not assist. Why?” Awa looked down for a moment and thought about her answer. Why didn’t she?

“I was suspicious of it”, she concluded. “I need to get back home, as quickly as possible. And I had no idea what fixing the cracks would have done to me.” Raaga did a slight nod, slight even for Awa.

“And the second one; why did you have a change of heart?” The answer to this was easily considered. When Awa made it to the small grotto, she once again heard the soft singing of yet another symbol marked in a rock.

“Leaving the first one behind did not bring me back where I need to be. Maybe mending the second one would grant me the opportunity to find my way home.” Instead, Awa thought, it gave back life to the plants around it. She was no closer to her desired destination, but at least it didn’t hurt her either. Raaga inspected Awa with a more interested gaze, and for the first time he seemed to speak without his previously intimidating tone.

“That leaves the third. When leaving one and fixing the second didn’t bring you back, why did you not try a third option: completely break the third?” Wait a minute, she thought. Why did I not think of that?

“Do you reckon that would have helped?” She said to herself, but once again averted her eyes when mumbling was met with a glare. “H-honestly, I… I never break things. I… I really only protect. Even my home is just a place, stuck in time. But I’d never want it to change.”

There was a moment of silence between the two Esk. Raaga was probably considering Awa’s words, but to Awa it felt like a long judging gaze. Meanwhile she was pondering what the master of the mountains wanted from her. Was he the one who had broken the totems in the first place? Or was he their guardian, like she was the guardian of the underwater ruins? Was he here to judge her actions? Should she have tried to destroy the signs, or will he be able to get her home? After countless thoughts of what-ifs and now-whats, Raaga finally caught her attention again by moving back a few steps, causing the ground to shake once more. Interestingly enough, he seemed to step back into his own footsteps, causing no damage to the surrounding trees and hills whatsoever. Several birds flew up in the air, but not to flee from him. As a matter of fact, they flew around his head as if worshipping him. No wait, as if… conversing with him.

“I have decided.” He finally said, and he moved back to where he once lay. Quiet and still as a rock, he was again part of the mountainscape.

Awa blinked thrice. Was this it? A few questions, and then back to sleep? She figured there’d be some kind of reward or punishment, or an explanation at least. But apparently not… It took Awa a minute to realise that Raaga wasn’t fetching something, but had in fact just gone back to his resting place. Still not knowing what and where the shrines had really been, Awa turned around. She had regained some of her strength and so swam back into the air like she usually does. Soon she found herself floating through rocky mountain passes. Until, at last, she finally sensed the salty water air.

How she had gotten back to the ocean edge, she had no idea. There was only one thing she needed to know now! Quickly she dove into the water, swimming to the deep. Soon she found her home exactly as she left it. No stone had been turned, no statue defiled. A group of humans just left the site, swimming back to the surface, but apparently they had behaved according to Awa’s standards. Maybe humans weren’t as bad as Awa had feared at first. Or at least, not all of them.

It was long after these events that Awa understood that Raaga had blessed her; fixing the shrines had been a good thing. After all, it was Raaga who led her back to the ocean, which could only have been because of Awa’s aid in helping him, even though she did so unknowingly. Or that is how Awa explained it to herself. She hoped she would see the great Raaga again and maybe learn his name for herself.

Description
In the scorching heat, Awa had only thoughts of her home. Even floating cost too much effort, and, as if dragging herself on the ocean floor, she pulled forward. Her mind was racing, picturing the worst possible endings for her underwater dwellings. She had been gone for so long, maybe the humans were taking advantage of her absence. Maybe mother nature had decided that the submerged buildings were ready to be demolished by giant underwater currents. If only she was there, she could at least try to stop it all.

Suddenly Awa noticed that no longer was she crawling forward on sand, but on hard rock. In a split second Awa hoped to hear the sea wind so she could finally go back, but those hopes were quickly crushed again by the sight of more mountains, but this time ranges of them, stretching as far as the eye can see. Fixing those shrines had done nothing for her after all. Maybe she should have destroyed them. It seems, after all, that those cursed symbols are keeping her here. For the first time since her travels had started however, her eyes opened wide with shock as she witnessed what happened before her. The ground began to shake heavily and some of the giant rocks moved out of their place towards Awa. With all her might and her last bit of strength she wriggled to the edge of a tall cliff, so she could drop herself down and avoid the falling boulders, but it seemed too late. The falling stones closed in and right before they smashed into her… they stopped, mid-air. There was a moment of pause as they appeared to float only several feet above Awa’s head. Then they shifted with great speed away, revealing a massive head on the other side of the rock chain. Now Awa saw what had happened, which did not make her less frightened of it. An esk of immense size, with rocks adorning its tail (the same rocks that were falling down on her a moment before), showed itself to the relatively tiny Awa. Now she stood eye to eye with the biggest Esk she had ever seen. It spoke with a remarkably booming voice.

“You have been on quite the journey.” he grumbles.

Awa was only able to witness the colossal creature, wide-eyed. When the great Raaga realised Awa would not answer just yet, he continued, without feeling the need to change his volume.

“I do not know what took you to those shrines; it was not me.”

Still no answer. Raaga became visibly annoyed now, frowned deeply, and moved in ever closer until there was only a breaths worth of distance between the two Esk.

“I do not know what your intentions were, but you have greatly affected my mountains, stranger.”

After five more seconds of silence, and a panicky stare from Awa, Raaga lost his patience and stomped the ground in order to provoke a reaction.

“SPEAK!” He pulls his head back. “What were your intentions?”

Awa instinctively averted her eyes now, but rapidly tried to collect herself. She knew this Esk would not have waited any longer for an answer.
“My name is Awa. I am… lost.” Raaga looked as if to say: you don’t say? “I somehow ended up somewhere I have never been to before. First a jungle up on a mountain, then on a snowy mountain top, after which I somehow arrived in a desert. And now… I am here.”

Awa cursed her curiosity that led her out of the water in the first place. Granted, the trail of flowers was interesting, but if that meant she’d be shifted away from home, maybe it would be best to never leave the ruins anymore.

“And the shrines?” Raaga asked, glad to have finally gotten a reply.

“The shrines? They called for me. Asked me to help fix them.” She thought back to the first shrine she had encountered. In the dark glade stood the mighty tree where the broken shrine sung to her.

“And with the first, you did not assist. Why?” Awa looked down for a moment and thought about her answer. Why didn’t she?

“I was suspicious of it”, she concluded. “I need to get back home, as quickly as possible. And I had no idea what fixing the cracks would have done to me.” Raaga did a slight nod, slight even for Awa.

“And the second one; why did you have a change of heart?” The answer to this was easily considered. When Awa made it to the small grotto, she once again heard the soft singing of yet another symbol marked in a rock.

“Leaving the first one behind did not bring me back where I need to be. Maybe mending the second one would grant me the opportunity to find my way home.” Instead, Awa thought, it gave back life to the plants around it. She was no closer to her desired destination, but at least it didn’t hurt her either. Raaga inspected Awa with a more interested gaze, and for the first time he seemed to speak without his previously intimidating tone.

“That leaves the third. When leaving one and fixing the second didn’t bring you back, why did you not try a third option: completely break the third?” Wait a minute, she thought. Why did I not think of that?

“Do you reckon that would have helped?” She said to herself, but once again averted her eyes when mumbling was met with a glare. “H-honestly, I… I never break things. I… I really only protect. Even my home is just a place, stuck in time. But I’d never want it to change.”

There was a moment of silence between the two Esk. Raaga was probably considering Awa’s words, but to Awa it felt like a long judging gaze. Meanwhile she was pondering what the master of the mountains wanted from her. Was he the one who had broken the totems in the first place? Or was he their guardian, like she was the guardian of the underwater ruins? Was he here to judge her actions? Should she have tried to destroy the signs, or will he be able to get her home? After countless thoughts of what-ifs and now-whats, Raaga finally caught her attention again by moving back a few steps, causing the ground to shake once more. Interestingly enough, he seemed to step back into his own footsteps, causing no damage to the surrounding trees and hills whatsoever. Several birds flew up in the air, but not to flee from him. As a matter of fact, they flew around his head as if worshipping him. No wait, as if… conversing with him.

“I have decided.” He finally said, and he moved back to where he once lay. Quiet and still as a rock, he was again part of the mountainscape.

Awa blinked thrice. Was this it? A few questions, and then back to sleep? She figured there’d be some kind of reward or punishment, or an explanation at least. But apparently not… It took Awa a minute to realise that Raaga wasn’t fetching something, but had in fact just gone back to his resting place. Still not knowing what and where the shrines had really been, Awa turned around. She had regained some of her strength and so swam back into the air like she usually does. Soon she found herself floating through rocky mountain passes. Until, at last, she finally sensed the salty water air.

How she had gotten back to the ocean edge, she had no idea. There was only one thing she needed to know now! Quickly she dove into the water, swimming to the deep. Soon she found her home exactly as she left it. No stone had been turned, no statue defiled. A group of humans just left the site, swimming back to the surface, but apparently they had behaved according to Awa’s standards. Maybe humans weren’t as bad as Awa had feared at first. Or at least, not all of them.

It was long after these events that Awa understood that Raaga had blessed her; fixing the shrines had been a good thing. After all, it was Raaga who led her back to the ocean, which could only have been because of Awa’s aid in helping him, even though she did so unknowingly. Or that is how Awa explained it to herself. She hoped she would see the great Raaga again and maybe learn his name for herself.