Braving The Storm

14 - Orm Marius

Confusion concerning my whereabouts set on me when I sat up. Then, the events of the previous night came rushing back.

The lighthouse was quiet. I could hear seagulls in the distance. The guest room was located at the end of the house with a door and window that accessed a back patio. I stretched out and rubbed my eyes, feeling unusually refreshed.

Recalling that I was supposed to meet Orm, I showered and changed into the clothes Mera left for me. An aquamarine, flower print dress. It was odd. I never wore dresses. I thought they made me look like a rag doll.

But when I sat in front of the mirror and brushed the tangles out of my hair, held it back with a pin and borrowed some cosmetics in the drawer, I looked nothing like Mary-Rose Philips afterwards.

Perhaps, a wealthier version of her. I could barely recognize myself.

Quietly, I strolled out the back and found the stout man standing with both hands in his pockets. He was totally bald. Little waves rolled in and halted a mere inch from the tip of his shoes.

I walked to him, his identity dawning on me.

“You're Arthur's father.” I muttered.

He turned, recognized his company and chuckled. “Don't tell me you deduced that because we have the same hair.”

I fought back a laugh. “The witty sense of humor is proof enough now.”

His gaze retuned to the waves. “I see you had enough rest. It's strange, given all you must've gone through last night.”

“It isn't a first.” I admitted.

He threw me a fleeting glance. “Ah! So you've known Orm longer.”

“No more than two weeks.”

“I vouch they've been eventful.”

I nodded. I liked the guy. “Very.”

He chuckled again. “It's that way sometimes – your life is stuck in a boring loop and some random stranger pops out of nowhere and breaks the cycle. Like it was never there to begin with. And then you realize you'd been waiting for change all along and that you like it better.”

“That's. . .” I squinted. “Oddly specific.”

“Well, seeing as history is damned to repeat itself, I could safely say I was once in your shoes, my dear.” He heaved a sigh and looked to the shore. “The sea brought Atlanna to me on a stormy night just like the one we saw yesterday. I didn't understand why, but when she came, my whole life changed. I had my son, a lot of ups and downs with that and eventually, wholesomeness. It's beautiful.”

It made sense – all he said. I didn't find it hard to believe that wisdom ran in the family on both sides. I felt tongue-tied and simply stood there, hugging myself whilst staring at the clear water on the beach.

His body moved this time when he turned to me. “Whatever becomes of today. . .”

“Rosy.”

“Rosy.” He said the name as if it were delicious wine. “Whatever becomes of today, do remember that it will turn out for the better sometime later.”

The advice made me nervous. Did Arthur's father have some kind of magical foresight?

“Tom.”

I turned and found Atlanna. Her eyes locked with mine for too long before I picked up the signal.

Excited, I raced past her and around to get to the front of the house, but my joy melted off when I found a large gathering.

I couldn't begin to describe the kind of creatures I saw, but I knew they were all Atlanteans. Aquaman stood near a redhaired man in blue armor, he himself dressed in gold and wielding a golden trident. Next to him stood Mera in her morning clothes and Junior in her arms. A large reddish crustacean flanked by a quarter fleet of his kind and Atlantean soldiers crowded next to the redhaired King.