CHAPTER ONE

The island of New Plutonia had gone through many changes since the theft of the sacred fruit. Desdinova, fearing that others would come in search of Imaginos' killer, had formed a significant army made up of her bravest and most ferocious offspring.

Seeing what she was doing, the star-vulture Buzzardo had promised her through their telepathic connection that his strongest descendants would help guard New Plutonia in times of war.

So seven years passed, and New Plutonia's small town grew, though it never went past the trees that separated it from the beach.

That, perhaps, was the reason that the woman who had been shipwrecked did what she did.

She had no memory, wasn't sure how she ended up on the beach. Waterlogged and shivering from her recent experiences, she felt a pang of hunger. As she headed for the trees, hoping to find nuts or fruits, she saw the dune and its singular tree. Seeing the fruit clinging high atop it, she whispered a silent prayer of thanks before ascending and retrieving the delicious looking fruit.

Once back on the ground, she bit into it. A sweetness unlike anything she had ever known filled her mouth. It was like biting into joy. Smiling, she savoured the taste as she sat on the dune beneath the tree and drifted into an unexpected sleep.

A figure no more than three years old, toddled up to her. He had green eyes and silver hair, unusual for a child barely older than a baby. He was dressed in a child's sailor suit and his eyes had an imploring look to them.

"Will you be my mommy?"

She knew she had to be dreaming. Nevertheless she gave the only answer that made sense to her heart.

"Yes."

She was awakened by the feel of someone jostling her arm.

"Lady! Wake up, lady!"

Opening her eyes, she saw a tall figure that looked like something from a science-fiction movie. It had a humanoid shape, but it was at least eight feet tall and had a carapace that looked like a giant oyster shell. It's six eyes looked at her, but once she got past the fact that there were six of them, she could see that they held no malice.

"You must come with me," the being said, and she noticed that the voice was female.

Following, she watched as the being retrieved the fruit with a touch of reverence, then turned to look at her with a sense of confusion and perhaps awe.

"You have eaten the sacred fruit. Desdinova will want to speak with you."

CHAPTER TWO

"Your majesty," the being said as the young woman followed her into the hut that belonged to Desdinova, "I have found this young woman on the Dune of Imaginos. She has eaten of the sacred fruit."

Desdinova quirked an eyebrow. The last person to have eaten the fruit seven years earlier had been immolated. Why had this woman survived?

"You're certain of this, Ostrica?" Desdinova asked.

Ostrica handed Desdinova the partially eaten fruit. The Queen examined it, then placed it on a nearby table. Then she turned to the woman.

"What is your name?"

The woman bowed her head, shaking it uncertainly.

"I see," she said. "Well, until we can find out who you are, I will give you a name. Oceana."

The woman seemed to consider this for a moment before nodding.

"Good," Desdinova said, decisively. "Now, I must tell you the last time anyone ate one of the fruits of the Blood Tree, it did not end well for them. Why did you eat it?"

"I did not know it was sacred to you," Oceana replied. "I was hungry and it was the first thing I saw that I thought might be good to eat."

"And what did it taste like to you?" Desdinova asked in curiosity.

"Indescribably good," Oceana admitted. "Though if it was deadly to others, you probably shouldn't tell people. No need to tempt fate."

"No, indeed," Desdinova agreed. She turned to Ostrica. "This does not leave this room."

"Understood, your majesty," Ostrica agreed.

"I had a dream," Oceana told Desdinova. "It was short, but it stuck with me. There was a young. He asked me if I would be his mother."

"What did this child look like?" Desdinova asked.

"A toddler," Oceana recalled. "But his eyes were a beautiful shade of sea green, like you see in the tropics, and his hair was silver."

"Imaginos," Desdinova gasped, her voice barely more than a whisper. "So our late benefactor is returning. And he has chosen you to be his mother."

"Who is Imaginos?" Oceana asked.

"Oh, the tales I could tell you," Desdinova replied. "Imaginos was many things, literally. But most importantly to the people of this island, he was a rescuer, a provider, and a protector. He was executed fourteen years ago for refusing to give our location to those who wished to exploit us."

"Sounds like he was an honourable man," Oceana smiled. "And now I will be the mother of this fine man reborn."

"You must remain with us," Desdinova decided. "I will have a home built for you. There is room to the south-east for more domiciles."

"Thank you," Oceana replied. She didn't know if she had a home elsewhere. If she lived alone or had a family. Indeed if she did have others, were they alive or dead? The word "shipwreck" danced through her mind and she wondered if that was how she had ended up here.

CHAPTER THREE

The hut that was built for Oceana stood in the middle of Arianna Road amongst a row of four others which were clearly built for families. It, too, was slightly larger than the typical one-person hut. But as a soon-to-be single mom, she would eventually need the space.

The huts of New Plutonia did not have refrigerators. As the people of the island ate only fresh food which was provided daily at the community meals, such things were not necessary. Nor was there any electricity to run it. So, they had learned to do without.

Oceana learned that the fish they took in each day was just enough to feed the population for that evening's meal. No more. No less. And the bones and heads were planted in the gardens as fertilizer, except on Vulture's Day when each family would leave a single carcass for the star-vultures who came from the Rings of Saturn to feed.

The Fire of Arianna, which had been lit several years earlier, was maintained by the community, each person older than twenty taking a turn at keeping it going. This was very important since torches taken from the flames each winter were used to light the fireplaces in each hut during the colder months and to light the community cooking stove for the regular fish dinner and occasional pot of steamers which happened once a month in the summer.

Desdinova brought a torch to the home of Oceana. They lit the small fireplace, hanging a small tea cauldron filled with fresh water from a nearby waterfall at the center.

"I've brought some tea," Desdinova told her, and as she added the leaves to the wooden cups, Oceanna could smell the familiar scent of peppermint.

"Thank you," Oceana said, as she went to the cupboard in the kitchen area and retrieved a wood jjar that was filled with sun-baked pastries that her neighbours had given celebrate her moving into the area.

"From the Merans?" Desdinova observed, selecting a banana-flavoured biscuit.

"Mm hmm," Oceana replied around a mouthful of a chocolate that was given to her by the Mizaro family. Swallowing, she added. "Everyone here has been very kind."

"You're the mother of our benefactor," Desdinova told her. "We all want you to be healthy and happy. Which reminds me of the reason I came here. Not just to bring you your share of the Fire, but to let you know that our local midwife, Callisto Dubhea, is honoured to accept you in her care."

"Do I have an appointment?" Oceana asked.

"Tomorrow morning after breakfast," Desdinova replied. "Her midwifery is two blocks west on Sea Breeze Avenue. From the community dining location it's less than half a block."

"Everything is so conveniently located here," Oceana observed.

"Imaginos and his crew set it up that way for us," Desdinova said. "During the day of Liberation."

"What was the Day of Liberation?" Oceana asked.

Desdinova went over to the window.

"How old do you think I am?" she asked.

"At a guess," Oceana pondered, "I would guess twenty-five. Maybe thirty at most."

"I'm two hundred and nineteen years old," Desdinova replied. "I was born in the early eighteen hundreds in the American state of New Hampshire. Or at least, Imaginos was. I'm one of his aspects. A mirror-image of him born of unhappy circumstances. For many years I was kept prisoner. Forced into things that I will not speak of. All I will say is that every being on this island over the age of a hundred was birthed by me."

"But there must be at least a hundred people that age here," Oceana observed, her voice filled with shock.

"Three hundred and seven," Desdinova replied. "Imaginos and a small army rescued us and brought us to this island on his ship, the Plutonia, which we named the island after."

The children seem to have mixed feelings about Imaginos," Oceana noted.

"Indeed," Desdinova told her. "The younger children are too little to remember him. He died fourteen years ago. But they've been told about his visits by their parents as a bedtime story."

"Sounds a little like the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus," Oceana remarked.

"Perhaps," Desdinova smiled thoughtfully, "if either of them came with a full army and took the children to an island on a tall ship rather than sneaking into houses and leaving candy and toys."

The cauldron whistled and Oceana poured the tea into two cups, handing one to Desdinova.

"Thank you," Desdinova said, taking a sip.

They spent the next hour in a comfortable silence, just sipping their tea and contemplating the mystery of Imaginos.