The Boat of Destiny

I would like to tell you a story if you will take the time to listen. It is the story of how all this began. How I ended up here in Ireland, and why I can never leave. It is not a long tale, and some may even think it inconsequential, but to me it is the most important story of all.

It all began on a beautiful summer’s day at the fishing harbour in Barmouth. Now anyone who has ever been to North Wales will tell you a sunny day is a rare event indeed and we all tended to make the best of it. I had not long turned eighteen and had big dreams of becoming a famous artist. I was sitting on the edge of the harbour nursing the worst hangover of my life and trying to sketch the fishermen bringing in their catch when I sensed someone standing behind me. I glanced around and instantly wished I hadn’t. Stood arm’s length behind me watching me sketch was Mechi.

Mechi had moved to town around six months ago and worked part time on my friend Sion’s father’s fishing boat. He and Sion had bonded over fishing and as a result, he sometimes accompanied our group of friends. He was an odd one, he never really had much to say, he just seemed to stand in the background smiling.

Images of the night before flashed through my mind. We'd been celebrating the last day of collage and were already quite drunk when Sion and Mechi arrived after work. We were all talking about the great adventures we long to have in the only way us creative types know how. We talked of dragons and epic battles, rouges, warriors and elves. We spoke of where they had gone and what happened to them. We spoke freely of things that an outsider would consider crazy. Then there was the dancing. Oh god I had forgotten the dancing. My face burned as the images of our drunken escapades kept up their mortifying parade through my mind. Somehow, I remembered quite clearly Mechi hadn’t been drunk at all. He hadn’t joined in with any of our frivolity; he had simply watched us as usual, smiling. I wished the earth would open up and swallow me right then and there. Hoping he would think I was busy, I doubled my attentions on my sketch.

‘Nyla, it’s good to see you. How are you today?’ he asked in a soft Irish accent. I had never noticed the accent before and was a little surprised by it. I realised that in the six months he had been here I had never actually spoken to him. Feeling slightly guilty and ashamed of my actions the previous night, I turned slowly to greet him.

‘Hey Mechi. I'm good thanks, little worse for wear after last night though. What about you?’

I looked at him properly for the first time. He was good looking in a masculine warrior of old kind of way. He had long raven black hair pulled back into a ponytail, but it was his eyes that caught my attention. They were the greenest eyes I had ever seen on a real live person. They weren’t the usual soft green or emerald green you see on people. His eyes were more of a forest green, a rich dark colour that would look out of place on anyone else.

‘I'm good. I was about to take my boat out for a spin, the weather being so fine and all. Would you care to join me?’

I racked my brain for some excuse and managed to come up with the brilliant one of ‘erm’ and pointing to my sketchpad. Not the best I know but I was hungover, which thinking about it would have probably been a better excuse for not getting on the boat.

‘You can sketch easy enough on the boat, and I’d wager you could find a fair few more comely things to sketch than these fellows. Come now where’s your sense of adventure. We could be in Éire in a couple of hours the weather being as fair as it is.’

There wasn’t really much I could say to that. Hadn’t we been going on the night before about wanting adventure like in the old stories when Ireland was Éire? Probably, though most of what was said had now turned to white noise in my mind. Not wanting to seem like I was all talk, and really not being able to think of a valid excuse I had no choice but to agree.

Two hours later, I found myself in the middle of the ocean, no land in sight lying on the stern of the broken down fishing boat while Mechi was down below trying to fix it. My head was pounding and my stomach was churning. The only good thing about this day so far was I was going to get a hell of a tan out of it. A shadow fell across my face, I turned my head to investigate and found a huge raven had landed about two inches from my head. Naturally, I did the lady like thing of screaming and jumping to my feet and almost managing to throw myself overboard in the process. To my astonishment, the bird didn’t even ruffle a feather. Instead, it watched my reaction and started to laugh. Not a bird like caw that could be mistaken for a laugh, but an actual human laugh! I began to wonder at how completely impossible and insane this was. I knew none of my friends would ever believe me, no one would ever believe me. In fact, if someone had told me this tale before that day I would have laughed and suggested they call the local asylum. I was musing on the irony of this when the bird spoke;

‘You know in the old days people would fall to their knees at the mere mention of my name, at the sight of me they would worship the very ground I walked upon. Your reaction though highly amusing, is not what one of my station should accept, but I suppose times as they are we must endure for now.’

I stared at the bird slack jawed for what seemed like forever. Then uttered what had to be the keenest observational line of all time ‘You can talk!’ I know, I have no excuse, but seriously, I’d like to hear your witty come back when faced with a giant talking raven in the middle of the ocean! The raven just rolled her eyes

‘Yes I can talk and sing and dance. I have no time for this human my son will soon be finished fixing this vessel and I must be gone by then.’ She said in an exasperated tone

‘Your son? Your Mechi’s mother? Why do you have to be gone? I don’t understand!’ I blurted there were a thousand questions going through my mind making it throb more than the hangover.

‘There is much you don’t understand child. Yes, I am Mechi’s mother more commonly known as Morigan or The Morigan to be precise. In the old days, I was worshiped as a goddess both feared and loved equally but these days I am mostly forgotten. You see the world has changed. People no longer believe in us, they now put their faith in science and machines, which slowly kill the earth and strangle the air. Nevertheless, we have returned. We are going to take back what is ours and you will lead our people in the new world. You are to be our sword, the protector of the people. When Mechi gets you to Ireland, you will see what I mean. This is your destiny Nyla. Getting on this boat today ensured that. I am so glad you did people give up their destiny so easily these days for the routine and mundane lives they live. Now I must go. Remember what I have told you Nyla, you are our sword.’

A loud rumbling noise came from behind me startling me and I found myself waking from where I had lain in the sun. Laughing to myself thinking it all a dream I went to find Mechi. I found him trying to start the engine.

‘So, how was mother?’ he asked, and to my horror I knew none of it was a dream.

My life has never been the same it’s now one long adventure full of all the excitement I longed for, but that my dear friend is a story for another time.