THE SHADOW AROUND HIS HEART
PROLOGUE
The dark sky peaking through the thick foliage is full of looming, ominous clouds as they pour their moisture down. Sounds of the rain thunder on as each heavy drop ricochets down into the jungle like the pounding of a thousand hooves during a stampede. Nothing else can be heard above the hammering of the rain. But he doesn't mind. He knows the rain will be brief and the clouds will dissipate almost as quickly as they have appeared.
And he is right.
Clouds slowly disperse as the sun's rays began to shine down into the jungle once more. Water softly drips off the abundant plant life and drips onto the ground forming pools of water that sparkle as each echoing drop lands. Animals slowly come out of their homes to drink from the puddles, and search for food. The earth is wet and muddy from the torrential rain the jungle just received leaving the ground an opulently dark and rich color.
He breaths in deeply, enjoying the scent of the moist, rich soil and the sounds of the jungle. Placing his hands on the ship's railing, he gazes down at them curiously. Sometimes he is still surprised by the sight of his own skin. He slowly moves his hands along the wooden railing feeling the rough wood carvings, the smooth, grooved feeling of the wood. Closing his eyes he pauses as he feels the tepid, moist breeze on his face and the sun's showering warmth. With a contented sigh, he stays there for a moment enjoying the simple pleasures his five senses can offer him.
Unexpectedly a sharp pain rushes through his head and he gasps in agony, opening his eyes, but seeing only darkness. Rolling blackness, and endless abyss and...nothingness. A veritable hell of darkness.
But then just as abruptly there is bright light-almost too bright. Hot, blue, clear skies-the light from it so brilliant and blinding he blinks a few times, squinting, and raising a hand to shield his eyes. And then he notices the sand. Endless, rolling dunes of the dry, tan-colored dusty dirt, reflecting the light from that scorching, azure sky-endlessly rolling sand like nothing he has ever seen before. Old ruins of once great buildings litter his view as the wasteland's sand blows across them-a desolate, lonely vista.
And then, it's gone just as fast as it came. The pain and the burning, dry wasteland that he could see only moments before is gone, and only the flourishing jungle is again in his sight now. Carefully he reaches up to rub at his head where the pain had once been, massaging his temple slowly.
He hasn't noticed the outline of someone approaching while he had been in his trance, and turns sharply when the figure speaks, "He is getting closer isn't he?"
"Yes, Riplakish, the time is drawing near. El Soñador will be here soon, and the time will come when we shall rise against all that was foretold and El Soñador once and for all." He stares into the deep jungle, and narrows his eyes as his fist comes down hard onto the railing. "Once and for all."
Updated: September 14, 2016