A Heart In Flames

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Oma rose up from the sand at the beach. Everywhere was dark. The waves of the sea were rumbling. His sword was still planted on the ground –and it shined to give him light. His sac containing his axe laid on the sand, a distant away from him. He stood confused. He couldn’t tell what had happened. The last thing he remembered was when the bat flew towards him from the dark hole under the rock. He slept? He couldn’t tell.

“My wife . . . My wife . . . My wife,” he said, as he reached out for his sword and his sac.

“Your wife is safe but . . . ,” a voice said in the dark.

He turned round and saw the shiny, beautiful fish perching on a shiny stone beside the huge rock.

“But what?” he asked desperately, and took few steps to approach the fish.

The fish stepped down from the stone and waddled to meet him. “Your wife’s heart has changed. She is in love with the demon. A strong spell is on her now, and it will take a real struggle to get her freed,” it said.

Oma sobbed. “But why?” he screamed, and mightily hit the sand with his sword. His voice echoed far in the forest. His heart became broken. Never did he think such a thing could happen.

“Take heart,” the fish said soothingly, “relax and regain your strength fully.

“What happened?” Oma asked, and drew a bit more closer to the fish.

“You collapsed,” the fish said, “and became unconscious. I have been here for a long time; keeping watch over you, and waiting for you to return to consciousness. Sit down and rest. I will tell you what you can do to win back your wife.”

Obeying the fish, Oma sat down. He needed to rescue his wife, and so, the words of the fish so much comforted him. Getting back his wife was all he needed; it was the most important thing to him at the moment. He could not afford to lose his wife to a demon.

The fish waddled slowly with its turtle legs, and stood before Oma. It looked tired, but it was still willing to help him.

“The demon is still down there, under the rock, with your wife,” the fish revealed, “and he has caused your wife to like him. Until the spell is broken, she would neither love you nor stick to you again.”

Oma sat quiet. His heart ached. He couldn’t stand the thought of his beautiful and lovely wife getting separated from him. For awhile, he blamed himself. “I blame myself for embarking on this mission,” he said with a worried voice of a discouraged soul.

“It is no fault of yours,” said the fish. “You should have heeded my advice however. You should have hewn down the tree first. If you had done so, the demon wouldn’t have gotten the power to cast a spell on your wife. Now, it will be hard to free your wife from the spell, but take heart because there’s still hope. I will tell you what to do.”

“Tell me right here, right now. I will do everything you tell me to free my wife from the evil hands of the demon. I can’t live without my wife.”

Oma and the fish became more closer that night. They continued to talk at the beach. Oma was desperate to see and free his wife. As for the fish, it patiently explained to Oma what was needed to be done.

The night was long as usual, but the weird happenings on the island was not witnessed again by Oma. The strange bird sound was not heard, and the colour of the huge tree did not turn red. Perhaps, the power behind all that was the statue of the blue dart frog that Oma broke.

The long night finally came to an end. And unlike the previous days, there was no earthquake in the morning, and no horn was blown; an indication that the giants were really dead. That was quite pleasing to Oma. He was somewhat satisfied that his mission was on a path of success, but he did not rejoice – no, not when his wife was in the grips of the demon.

“Do exactly as I told you,” the fish told Oma and waddled into the sea. It was time for it to leave.

“I will forever be grateful to you. I will not leave out a word of what you told me,” Oma replied to the fish before it began to swim.

Alone at the beach, Oma sat and waited for the Demon and his wife to come out of the big hole under the rock. According to the fish, he needed not to do anything forcefully or angrily. For him to gain his wife back, he had to be patient and act in a way that would not provoke her. If he did anything forcefully, the spell would not be broken; it would be tightened instead.

As he sat waiting, Oma’s mind roamed, and his memories took him back to Subasu. He recalled the time when he and his wife started loving each other. He remembered the many good times they had together. He remembered their beautiful wedding, and their magical honeymoon. He remembered when Mansa decided to sail with him to the island, and his initial refusal to allow her. If he knew a demon was going to cast a spell on her, he would have refused coming with her to the island. He also remembered the people of Subasu, especially the town crier, the Great Savant, and the boat makers.

One thing he also remembered was the millennial misfortune that took the life of his parents and the parents of his wife. It was actually because of that calamity that he and his wife came to the island. The more he remembered the millennial misfortune, the more vivid it became to him, and the more he wanted to fight to defeat the evil hands, and hew down the tree.

The long morning passed, and exactly at noon, Oma saw the demon coming out of the hole under the rock with his wife. The demon was holding the hand of his wife. They were having a lovely chat; smiling and winking at each other. Mansa seemed to love the demon; he had probably forgotten about Oma.

Anger and extreme jealousy brewed in the heart of Oma when he saw the demon and his wife that way. He simply could not control himself. “Tamun Hu Oma,” he chanted and the sword burst into flames. He was ready to fight.