Wyn floated with his pod above the churning sea. His umbilicus untwisted itself, and he spun lazily, staring down at the circling wings below. Nimble fliers, those wings. Wyn remembered not long after ascending how frightened he was of the little creatures zipping between the umbilical tethers of his people. He worried that their beaks would tear through his taut skin and send him soaring into the clouds. He did not want to go up.
But Wyn’s tether was strong — it held him through storms, snapper swarms, and island rollovers. He could withstand a thousand tiny wing-beaks at once. Wyn didn’t worry about such things as he gained experience.
The storm swept southward. Swirling winds whispered goodbyes. Wyn watched the suns fade behind swelling thunderheads, and a gentle red glow suffused the world. He stopped spinning.
Below, the walking islands crept along their spiraling journey through the seas, tugging Wyn and his people with them by their roots.
Ebo spoke to Wyn. “That was a big storm.”
“We’ve come into the Buffets,” Wyn answered.
“So we have,” said Ebo, staring down at the calming sea. After a long pause, where Wyn could hear his own umbilicus stretching, Ebo said, “I thought about letting go.”
Wyn raised his head. “Letting go?”
“It’s nearly time for me.”
“Oh, Ebo. No. I’ll miss you.” Wyn shifted to face his friend, lifting his left fin.
“Yes. But we’ll meet again. Above.” The older floater flexed his whiskers — smiling.
“Maybe. Unless going up is the end.”
“Have you been listening to Vyxis?” Ebo chuckled. “He’ll soon find out for himself.”
Wyn looked up at the cloud bottoms. They were relatively calm, especially for just after a storm. Only sheet lighting. “You’re not much older than me, Ebo. My pod ascended just after yours.”
Ebo’s eye twinkled. He looked down toward their roots. “Yes. And your island is getting big. Eating a lot. Your pod is gaining plenty of buryl. You’ll follow me soon, Wyn.”
“But I’m only just realizing my strengths! Learning the ways of nature. The mysteries of life.”
“I feel the same, Wyn! I’m only just reaching the strongest I’ve ever been.”
“And you’re not sad about going up? Being cut off in your prime?”
“Were you afraid to leave the ocean, Wyn? When you knew your umbilicus was long enough — strong, and ready to hold you? When your head breached the surface of the water, was it fear you felt? Or exhilaration? Longing. Hope. Excitement.”
“All of that. And yes I was afraid to leave the quiet, comfortable sea and rush into the sky, Ebo. I was afraid my umbilicus would snap and I’d keep going up. I worried I’d choke on the air, or get hit by lightning. Yes, Ebo. I was afraid.”
Ebo swept over and nudged his companion. “It’s going to be fine, Wyn. I can feel it. I want to let go.”
“You’re just high on buryl.”
“I truly am.”
“I’m going to sleep.”
“Pleasant dreams, Wyn. Savor every day.”
Wyn awoke to another storm.
Ebo shouted, chasing away the memory of a dream. “Wyn! I’m letting go. I’m going up! I wanted to let you know.”
Lightning snapped nearby, illuminating Ebo. He seemed to vibrate.
“Ebo!”
“Goodbye, Wyn. See you soon!”
“Don’t let go!”
Ebo shook as tendrils of lightning shot from the clouds above. Wyn looked down to the darkened sea. He strained to see the end of Ebo’s long tether. And from the jagged mist of rain below, it came whipping past.
Wyn looked up to see his friend illuminated just under the clouds — a fit of lightning surrounding him. Within moments, only the flayed-wide tendrils of Ebo’s roots remained below the constant cloud-cover. Then he was gone.
The rest of Ebo’s pod followed. Six floaters withdrew their life-sustaining anchors threaded deep within the rock of their island, and went up. Before he knew it, there was empty space to Wyn’s left — something that had never been. The storm raged. Wyn was hit with all its force.
***
Many storms passed. Wyn spent each of them thinking about his friend, and how much he missed him. Ebo had always been beside him, even closer than anyone in his own pod. He could barely speak to just two of his brethren across the wide sky between them, and only on calm days. He remembered Ebo’s words. He savored every day, even sad ones.
Each storm made the lightning into an electric garden. The clouds above grew less threatening. Wyn still did not want to go up. He felt strong, and dove through air currents, tugging on his tether, nearly as agile as a wing. For the first time since just after birth, Wyn was aware of his roots.
A new pod ascended from Ebo’s island. A floater came to rest beside Wyn. She was very beautiful.
“I’m Aryl,” she told him.
They fell in love.
The couple spent time talking and singing, wrapped around each other’s umbilicals. They soared through winds and danced. They made love. Aryl dropped spores into the ocean. Wyn thought about the cycle of life. He felt complete.
One day Wyn said to Aryl, “I’m going to let go when this storm hits.” He watched one gathering to the north.
“Oh, no!” Aryl said. “No, Wyn, our time together has been so short. What if it’s the end, going up? Please don’t leave me.”
Wyn marveled at his lack of fear. He felt buryl rushing through his tether. He drew on its stores inside his wide body. He felt it hardening his umbilicus, turning it into a tail. Wyn looked up to the canopy of clouds, laced with lightning. He longed to fly.
Rain pattered against his skin. Wyn flexed his roots.
He told Aryl, “I’ll see you above the clouds.”
Lighting reached down for Wyn. He looked up and the canopy parted — he could see through. Fliers swam in a clear, deep sky.
Wyn let go.
Kevin Shamel is a bizarro fiction writer who talks about himself in first-person: “Hi! Thanks for reading this stuff I wrote about me. When I’m not writing, I like to dig for black opal, walk in the rainforest, make kefir water, take photos of the sky, hang with my sons, and generally appreciate life. My new novel, Island of the Super People, comes out in the Spring of 2011. (There are links to other things I’ve written at my site.) Please have lovely, weird, bizarro days!”
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20 Responses to “TETHERED • by Kevin Shamel”
Comments
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April 5th, 2011 at 1:22 am
I think that to effectively introduce a new world, new creatures, etc., you need more than 1,000 words.
This piece reminded me a bit of ‘The Matrix’ and the end of ’2001: A Space Odyssey’ combined.
I’m afraid I couldn’t get into it.
April 5th, 2011 at 1:58 am
I enjoyed this story; was able to visualize and like the new strange world. A longer version is always welcome.
April 5th, 2011 at 4:29 am
Imaginative and orginal are the first words that come to mind.
I, like Paul, needed a bit more space and background to really get into it, and so like Rumjhum think this would be well-suited to a longer version!
I also might have cut these lines: “Wyn thought about the cycle of life. He felt complete.” It might help draw readers further into the story by allowing them to conclude this on their own.
April 5th, 2011 at 5:21 am
I’m surprised, I ended up liking it. It took an effort to visualize but I think I’m getting the hang of this fantasy stuff. Doesn’t come naturally, but I’m trying.
Very well done. Some unnecessary words which are pet peeves of mine. “He worried that their beaks…” Take out ‘that’ and it reads easier, but I’m really nit-picking here.
I only hope it’s that easy to let go. And I get to pick when.
April 5th, 2011 at 5:27 am
There’s very little sense of a short story structure here, with too much weather description and no real conflict or characters to engage with. The dialogue seems inauthentic. Although there’s a sense of allegory, and a hint of a serious theme, a longer format would allow for a more satisfactory treatment.
April 5th, 2011 at 7:26 am
Many themes for a short story about a large, one-eyed, floating entity on an alien world, but somehow the author made it all come together (for me). I like it…a lot.
I think I liked it because it took the many themes and made them simple. There weren’t any complexities to this story. It dealt straight forward with life, death, friendship, love, security, fear, longing, and ultimately, courage.
I found it, “refreshing”. Four big, soaring, untethered stars from me.
April 5th, 2011 at 8:44 am
A terrific story about a lot of things, but mostly about the growth process that we humans, and really all creatures, go through. We move from the inexperience and fear that keep us tethered and rooted, into a sense of mastery that ultimately allows us to let go and soar high into the next stage, to become “fliers.” Great job, Kevin!
April 5th, 2011 at 10:49 am
I really loved the world created in this story. The characters and the mythology about their sfterlife were both relatable.
April 5th, 2011 at 10:58 am
I really enjoyed this story, Kevin. The world was drawn beautifully for such a short piece. My only question was how the island growing big and eating a lot led to the floaters being ready to let go. I liked the story’s message, and I thought you handled it really well.
April 5th, 2011 at 12:17 pm
Interesting. Well constructed. Unusual.
Thanks
April 5th, 2011 at 12:39 pm
I think this story could be almost any length in the hands of this writer. He built the world for me and, in a very few words, I was up there in the sky with Wyn, wondering what was above. Terrific.
April 5th, 2011 at 11:58 pm
This was beautiful. I love how they are attached to the earth and at the same time floating free. I wondered about how the world worked, but I love wondering. Gorgeous imagery. Made me cry.
April 6th, 2011 at 6:12 am
Wonderful world-weaving, Kevin! I’m picturing a large gas-giant with swirling winds and storms and differing layers of atmosphere. In such a world, the weather would be an integral part of the lives of the creatures that lived there, and you did a perfect job of describing such a lifeform.
You also made these alien beings connect with us humans in a universal story of the cycle of life, hope, and the wonder of what lies “above”.
Great job!
April 6th, 2011 at 12:47 pm
Full disclosure: comments penned by a guy high on cold meds who doesn’t like fantasy much, but who is given to gushing praise when he reads some he likes. This, I like. The surreal or world-building details are secondary to the soul of the story. This piece is beautiful without falling to hokey sentimentalism. Very well-written with a seasoned writer’s precision of language. I think I will still enjoy it once the meds wear off. Five stars from me.
April 6th, 2011 at 5:04 pm
I didn’t think I would like it, but I did. Obvious allegory, but it works. Solid job.
April 7th, 2011 at 1:24 pm
This is a story that you finish and just go, “Wow!”
Creates a vivid picture.
April 7th, 2011 at 11:04 pm
Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment, everyone. I’ve been away from internet access for the past five days, and this is the first I’ve seen the comments. I’m glad many of you liked this story. It was fun to write.
April 8th, 2011 at 3:46 pm
Surreal and breathtaking, Kev. I’ve missed reading your work.
April 15th, 2011 at 2:21 am
Oh… After reading this story, I want to send myself in a pod into the sky too.
May 17th, 2011 at 5:15 am
Great cliff-hanger. 5 stars