Transformation

by Michael Ocheskey

  “Interesting,” King Aquarius chimed in, “but why did it take you so long just to discover that?” He leaned in toward the guards, eager to hear the rest of the conversation.

  “Well,” the guard holding the newspaper clipping spoke up. “After not learning anything useful under the sea, we decided to take our investigation to the surface world. We waited until nightfall and snuck on shore. Once there, we hid our armor and put on some human attire. The following morning, we went to one of the surface dwellers libraries. It's surprising how similar they are to our own. Anyhow, we spoke to the lady behind the desk, a librarian, I think she was called. We told her we were looking for information on an airplane that crashed in the Atlantic a week ago and she brought us right to the information we needed. This explains what happened to the man Alana found. It also tells us his name, Thomas Cornell.”

  The guard handed the newspaper clipping to King Aquarius, who unfolded it and started reading aloud:

  Tragic Hero Dies at Sea

  In a shocking and heroic tale, 23 year old Thomas Cornell died yesterday when the airplane he was flying in crashed over the Atlantic Ocean. The airplane in question had equipment failure, which caused the engines to explode. The explosion tore the plane in half and caused both pieces to plummet into the Atlantic around 5:30 P.M. Miraculously, there were no deaths or injuries caused by the explosion and no subsequent deaths from the crash itself. The only death was that of Thomas Cornell, who died a hero.

  The front half of the plane contained both the pilot and copilot, who were able to direct the passengers to safety by using the seat cushion floatation devices. The passengers in the rear end of the plane would surely have met their deaths if it hadn’t been for one brave and intelligent passenger. Thomas Cornell saved the lives of the other passengers through his calm direction and determination. He also rescued nine year old Jenna Stone in an act of complete selflessness.

  Mrs. Rachael Stone, Jenna’s mother, had this to say about Thomas: “My daughter was nearly sucked out of the plane by the strong wind pressure, but Thomas jumped toward her and pulled her back inside. Immediately after that, he instructed us how to use the seat cushions to float to the surface. He then told us he was going outside of the plane to rotate it so that the hole was facing upward.

  “Somehow, he managed to succeed in turning the plane so that we could all just hold on to our cushions and let them float us to the surface. When he was trying to get back into the plane, however, the support beam that he grabbed hold of snapped and struck him across the face. We lost sight of him after that and he never resurfaced. He was by far the bravest and kindest man I’ve ever met. My husband and I are planning on having a large memorial service for him in the near future.”

  According to the pilot, Captain O’Neill, if Thomas hadn’t rotated the plane, all of the people in the rear half would have died. Had Mr. Cornell not turned the opening upward the floatation devices would never have allowed the passengers to swim through the onslaught of water rushing in.

  “Have you ever tried to take a beach ball or something else that floats on water and push it downward inside a swimming pool or the ocean? It’s a nearly impossible feat because the water pressure keeps forcing the ball toward the surface. The same thing would have happened with the floatation devices. If it hadn’t been for Mr. Cornell, that airplane would have been those passengers’ graves,” Captain O’Neill commented the morning after the incident.

  Thomas Cornell was an Anthropology and Archeology major at California State University who had just received his Bachelor’s degrees. He was on his way to Africa to begin an internship with Dr. Oliver Stone, renowned archeologist, and the father of Jenna Stone, whom Thomas rescued.

  We were given the opportunity to speak with Jenna for a few brief moments and she told us, tears streaking her face, “He was a really nice man. He played with me on the flight and read me stories. My Mommy and me really liked him. He was just like Daddy. I can still feel how warm and safe it felt when he had his arms around me [she is referring to when he rescued her on the plane]. I’ll never forget him. He told me that he believed in mermaids just like me, so I hope the mermaids give him a proper funeral. Mommy says he was only lying to me because he didn’t want to hurt my feelings, but I think he was telling me the truth.”

  Thomas Cornell is succeeded by his mother, Vanessa Cornell, and father, Richard Cornell, as well as his younger sister, Alice Cornell, who is currently 11 years old. His final words on the plane were to Rachael Stone, “If I don’t make it, please tell my family I love them.” Thomas Cornell, you are a noble hero and you will be sorely missed.

  After finishing the newspaper clipping, King Aquarius broke into a wide smile. “I never expected this,” he expressed jubilantly. “It seems my daughter was right about this man, this Thomas, after all. Such nobility to sacrifice himself for the good of others. It is clear to me that this man is not selfish and worthy of our trust. I trust from his actions that he would not hurt of betray us. I see no reason why he should be killed for having been brought here. I need to speak with my daughter immediately. Please call her to the throne room.” It wasn’t a request, but a command.

  “I’m sorry, Sire.” At that moment, a servant who’d just entered the room interrupted. “I was just on my way to inform you that dinner is ready. I didn’t mean to overhear, but you should know that Princess Alana won’t leave her room, Sire. She is determined to stay with that surface dweller constantly until he awakens. I’ve had to bring her meals to her room for the past week now.”

  Captain Orion, who had been intently listening to King Aquarius read the story, turned to the servant with a look of complete and utter hatred. His eyes were cold and he had to bite his tongue to keep from speaking out of turn.

  “What? Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?” King Aquarius demanded.

  “I’m sorry, Sire. I should have told you sooner, but Princess Alana ordered me not to tell you. She seemed to think it would upset you. She mentioned something about you not keeping your promise if you knew, although I don’t understand what she meant.”

  “Oh, alright. I will go to her instead. You are dismissed. I will be down for dinner as soon as I finish speaking with my daughter, so have it prepared. Thank you.”

  When King Aquarius left the throne room Captain Orion roared with fury, knelt down, and thrust his fist as hard as he could into the marble floor. His eyes continued to burn with an unspoken hatred as he lifted his fist, which had begun to bleed from cut knuckles, off the floor. His fist had left blood-streaks on the marble.

  “Clean this up before His Majesty returns,” Captain Orion ordered the servant as he stormed toward the door. “I’m going to see Dr. Algie. Maybe I can get some information from him.” He licked some of the blood from his knuckles to sooth the pain and left the palace.

  Alana was lying on the bed next to Thomas, crooning a lullaby gently into his ear when King Aquarius knocked on her door and entered. He smirked slightly as Alana jumped up with such force that she caught her foot in the bed sheets and fell to the floor.

  “Are you okay, my dear?” He helped her to a standing position, the smile never leaving his face. “What were you doing, my dear?” King Aquarius looked down at Thomas’ motionless form and then into Alana’s eyes. His eyes narrowed in a mock-accusatory manner and he added playfully, “Should I leave you two alone for the moment?”

  “I was singing him a lullaby,” Alana flushed bright pink as she rushed to defend herself. “I’ve been singing to him every day. Dr. Algie told me that talking to a person in a coma may help bring them around. Since then, I’ve been keeping close to his ears. I thought that if I sang and spoke directly into his ears, he might hear it more easily. By the way, father…why are you here?” Suspicion flared as she finished her question and she stared her father down; mixed accusation and worry in her bloodshot eyes.

  “I’ve come to tell you that the delegation has finally returned from their investigation. They brought me som
e very interesting news, including this boy’s name. It’s Thomas Cornell. Here.” He handed the newspaper clipping to his daughter.

  She looked at it and frowned. “I can’t read this, father. I haven’t spent any time on the surface world like you have, so I can’t understand their languages.”

  “That’s right, I’m sorry. Here.” He took back the newspaper article and read it to her. “The man you rescued, this Thomas, is a noble one. I have come to tell you that if he wakes up....”

  “You mean when he wakes up!” Alana snapped at her father.

  “Of course, my dear. When he wakes up I will fulfill the promise I made with you. He will not be harmed for entering Atlantis. In fact, I was hoping that he would stay with us for a while. I have many questions to ask him as I’m sure you do. I’m also sure he will want to know as much about us as he can, judging by his interest in anthropology and archeology. Won’t you join me for dinner, my dear?”

  “I cannot, father.” Alana glanced down at Thomas. “I have to stay by his side. He needs to have someone by his side constantly. And before you suggest it, no. I won’t leave someone else do it. I promised Dr. Algie that I would do it and I won’t break my word.”

  “Are you sure you’re doing this just because you gave your word?” King Aquarius couldn’t seem to hide the sarcasm in his voice. Alana’s face burned as red as the ruby on her father’s crown. “Well then, I should let you finish crooning your lullaby. Take care of him now. I will have one of the guards bring you a translator in case Thomas wakes up.” With that, the king left Alana and Thomas alone again.

  “Thomas Cornell,” Alana whispered as she lay down by his side again. “It’s a strange, yet wonderful name.” She laid the newspaper clipping on her bedside table and began singing into Thomas’ ear once more, her lips practically touching his skin.

  Heavenly Vision

  That night, as Alana slept, kneeling by the bed with Thomas’ hand in hers, she was awoken by a slight tap on her cheek. One of his fingers had twitched in her hand. Alana waited with bated breath. Had she imagined it? Two of his fingers flexed as she stared. Lost in excitement, she released his hand and leaned in close to his ear, “Thomas,” she whispered gently, “Thomas, please wake up. Can you hear my voice? Please open your eyes.”

  Thomas’ eyes snapped open at Alana's call and he stared up at an unfamiliar and blurry ceiling.

  “Where am I?”

  He sat up and turned his head. Without his glasses, it took a little while for his eyes to adjust. Alana’s face came into focus inches from his. His cheek tingled each time her breath touched his skin.

  He glanced from Alana’s blue hair to her long, pointed ears and screamed hysterically, “Wh-who are you? Wh-where am I?” He kept shifting between speaking directly to Alana and muttering to himself, only half aware of his surroundings and slightly delusional.

  “I know! I’m dreaming. I must be dreaming. You aren’t human,” he accused her, pointing a shaking finger at her ears. “You can’t be here! That’s it! This must be a dream.” He punched his thigh and felt nothing. “That didn’t hurt. Then this has to be a dream.” He flung his hand into his forehead in relief and felt a sharp pain in his skull. “Ouch, that hurt…th-then this isn’t a dream…Am I d-dead? I must be dead. You aren’t human,” he accused once more, waving his hand at her face, “You can’t be human! Those ears…that hair…even your face. No human is that beautiful!” As the shock of seeing Alana began to wear off, Thomas gradually calmed down as him senses returned to him.

  Alana was struck speechless by Thomas’ outbursts. At first she was insulted, but blushed madly when he called her more beautiful than any human.

  Calmed down slightly, Thomas continued his rant in a much softer voice. “I know, you’re an angel…and this must be Heaven. Wait, that’s stupid. If I were dead, then I wouldn’t be in my body, would I? Hitting my forehead wouldn’t have hurt either.” He continued to stare at Alana, but it was as if he had stopped registering her presence. He was now looking through her and into the past.

  “Hold on.” The past had finally caught up with the present. Thomas tried to recall what had happened to him. “I was in a plane and it exploded. Then…then I was hit by a support beam and thrown into the sea. What happened next? I remember opening my eyes and seeing two sharks heading towards me...no! There was only one shark. The other thing swimming towards me was….” His eyes refocused on his surroundings and he realized that Alana was still in front of him. He had been inching his face toward hers as he spoke. His nose was practically touching hers as he stared into her emerald eyes. “You…you were the one who saved me. What’s your name?”

  “Alana.”

  “That’s a beautiful name, Ala....” Thomas tried to stand up as he was talking, but his body shut down. He slipped back into his coma and fell forward, on top of Alana.

  “Oh no,” Alana spoke desperately to Thomas as she tried fruitlessly to shake Thomas back into consciousness. “No, you can’t do this to me. Not now. Wake up! Open your eyes! Don’t be dead! Please don’t be dead! You can’t be dead. Please…oh, please move. Not now. You were finally awake.”

  All her attempts to awaken Thomas failed. She was also too weak to lift his limp body off of hers. Alana shouted at the top of her voice, “HELP!”

  The guards rushed into the room and seeing Thomas on top of Alana, began to advance, infuriated, to strike Thomas down. “How dare you do such a thing to the Princess! Prepare yourself, surface dweller.”

  “Stop!” Alana commanded. Her voice was muffled slightly by Thomas’ shoulder. “He hasn’t done anything to me. I just need you to help me pick him up. He is heavy.”

  While the guards picked him up and laid him softly on the bed, Alana told them of Thomas waking up and then falling back into his coma, leaving out what he had said to her. It was both embarrassing and at the same time a memory she wished to keep locked in the security of her heart.

  “Summon Dr. Algie here first thing tomorrow morning. He will need to know what has happened.”

  The guards nodded their understanding, ensuring the order would be carried out, and left the room.

  Alana placed a cold rag on Thomas’ forehead and kept a careful watch over him. She was unable to fall asleep for the rest of the night, torn between fear that Thomas’ condition might worsen and hope that he might wake up once more.

  The following morning, Dr. Algie gave Thomas another thorough inspection and told Alana that his condition was stable. “It seems that he couldn’t keep up with everything. You said that he was in shock when he woke up. I think his mind had woken up and was running on overdrive. His body was too weak to handle all of the stress his mind was putting on it, so his body shut down again. If he wakes up again, he should be fine since the initial shock from last night’s encounter has ended.”

  Dr. Algie’s words pierced her heart like a dozen daggers. Alana’s knees gave way and she fell forward, into Dr. Algie’s arms. He pulled her over to the bed and sat her upright. Her mind seemed to have locked up. All she could focus on was Dr. Algie's choice of words. He'd said, “If.” That couldn't happen. It couldn't! Thomas had to wake up again...he just had to.

  “I’m sorry, Princess. I should have chosen my words more carefully.” Dr. Algie decided to lie to her and ease her suffering slightly. “I meant to say when he wakes up again. His condition isn’t any worse than it was before, so I’m sure that he will wake up again very soon.” Not believing his own words, but glad that Alana had calmed down slightly, Dr. Algie left her alone to watch over Thomas.

  ***

  “It’s been nearly two weeks since that young man, Thomas, was brought to Atlantis.” King Aquarius paced along the main corridor towards the front entrance with Captain Orion in tow. “Captain Orion, has there been any news of his condition?”

  “Nothing of interest,” Captain Orion opened the front door and stepped aside for the king to enter. The glow from the barrier surrounding the city lit the large sapphire emb
edded in the chest of Captain Orion’s armor which identified his rank. The glow lit King Aquarius like a spotlight on stage as he stepped through the door.

  As they began their descent down the stairs Captain Orion continued his report, attempting to sound as official as possible without displaying the distain within. “He hasn’t woken since last week’s episode. I am not sure if he will reawaken. Dr. Algie told me about it. He didn’t tell Alana because he didn’t want to crush her hope, but he said the shock Thomas suffered when he woke up may not be reversible. He told me that the shock may have caused that boy’s body to shut down entirely.” Captain Orion tried desperately to sound uninterested in the subject, but he couldn’t erase the delight the news brought him in its entirety.

  “What a poor thing to have happen.” The king rubbed his forehead as he walked. “I hope, for Alana’s sake if nothing else, that Thomas wakes up again. She has always been a delicate soul when it comes to the suffering of others. It would break her heart if that man dies.”

  “Sire, you’re not telling me she is in love?” Captain Orion stopped dead in his tracks, his fury building to an eruption. “In love with a surface dweller?”

  “I cannot say either way, Orion. She certainly is infatuated with the boy, but I’m hoping that it is just curiosity. Her desire to protect and care for him isn’t an unusual development. She has always been kindly. She met Tiger when he was badly wounded and nursed him back to health. She can’t stand watching others suffer, so she has always tried hard to protect them. You remember that day, don’t you Orion?”

  “Of course I do.” Captain Orion’s expression softened somewhat. “It was the first day that I met Alana…and the day I lost my mother.”