Hello,
And welcome to the Story Nexus.
Tonight you will be falling asleep to a story about a young woman named Marcella.
It's entitled,
Marcella's New Adventure.
Marcella was very confident.
However,
In this story,
She finds herself feeling very unsettled.
Her fiancé,
Or the man she used to call her fiancé,
Has returned from a four-month-long trip on the high seas.
Before he left,
She left him,
Abruptly and with no explanation.
Tonight,
We find out what made Marcella leave so suddenly,
And whether or not her man,
Captain Cornelius Waveborn,
Will be able to forgive,
And if he's willing,
To take her back.
Before we discover Marcella's dilemma,
Let's have you in the here and now,
Safely tucked into your bed and ready for a good night's rest.
If you need to,
Take a moment to find a very comfortable position.
Let your body sink into the bed,
Feeling yourself being fully supported.
Now,
Allow your eyes to close gently,
And begin to breathe slowly and easily.
Just allow the breath to come in,
And then let it go in a long,
Soft exhale.
With each breath,
Feel yourself releasing the day,
Letting go of any thoughts,
Worries,
Or tension these do not need to be carried on through tonight.
Now,
In the next few moments,
This story will gently carry you deeper and deeper into calm and peaceful sleep.
All you need to do is allow these words to wash over you like a soft ocean wave.
And our story begins.
From her window,
She could see the familiar black and white milking cows in the field.
They pulled at the hay she had tossed for them just a short time ago,
While their udders hung beneath them,
Laden with milk.
Their young calves,
Born in the spring,
Played alongside them.
The calves would soon be weaned off their mother's milk.
In the meantime,
They nibbled at the hay and jumped around in the slightly snowy field.
In a few weeks,
It would be Christmas.
Soon after that,
More snow would arrive.
That's how the weather had been year after year for as long as she could remember.
This winter was going to be extra long,
Though,
For different reasons besides the weather.
Marcella stood just outside her bedroom window,
Wrapped in her woolen cloak.
The hood was pulled up,
And her arms were by her side.
In one hand,
She held a letter she'd written,
But hadn't had the courage to send yet.
She stood still as an oak tree and watched the cows and the morning sunrise.
The sun was coming up over the horizon.
This was her favorite time of day.
Part night and part day,
Which is often how she felt inside.
Marcella stood gazing into the glowing horizon in front of her.
Her family's land extended all the way to the cliff,
Where it met the infinite ocean beyond.
She had heard the captain was coming back from his travels soon.
It had been over four months since Marcella had seen him.
She wanted to run to him and apologize and beg his forgiveness,
But her pride wouldn't let her.
She knew she was wrong.
Her stubborn pride once again allowed her to lose someone she loved.
The salty air blew Marcella's long,
Red,
Wavy hair in all directions as she stood in the morning light.
She looked down into her hands,
Where she clutched the crumpled letter she'd written and read a hundred times.
It was for Captain Cornelius Waveborn,
Her former fiancé.
She'd written the letter to try and make sense of what she had done the night before he left.
She wasn't sure exactly why she said she couldn't go with the captain on his venture.
That was the thing he wanted most.
The captain wanted nothing more than to have his beautiful,
Soon-to-be bride by his side,
Sailing the high seas with him.
Her reason for not going was as good as any,
Yet also preposterous,
Especially knowing how often they had discussed sailing together and how much each of them wanted to experience that.
Marcella imagined Captain Cornelius in front of her now,
His presence as unforgettable as ever,
Tall,
Strong,
And infinitely confident.
It was impossible to ignore the captain,
And more impossible to forget him.
She had not seen his sun-bronzed face for over four months.
She wasn't sure what she'd say if he was actually standing in front of her now.
In the four months since the night she slipped away from Castle Waveborn without a word,
Marcella had felt terrified and confused.
She wasn't afraid of Cornelius himself.
No,
Never of him.
He always made her feel safe and welcome.
However,
It was the future he offered that scared her to no end.
The life he wanted to share with her was a life tied to the sea,
To long months of sailing,
To the very real possibility that one day the captain's ship,
The Marauding Mermaid,
Might never return.
The captain wanted Marcella by his side every minute of the day,
If he could.
He didn't want to leave her behind for months at a time.
Cornelius always let her know how much he valued her presence in his life and felt that his trips overseas could only be enhanced with her by his side.
It was because of all of this,
All of these feelings and intentions and plans that were so unbreakable that she did the unthinkable.
Marcella had panicked.
She didn't know how to tell her wonderful,
Strong,
Adventurous man that she,
The flaming-haired,
Daring lady,
Born to a metalworker of the king,
Had a condition of desperate seasickness.
After their two-year courtship and the many hours spent talking of ocean adventures together,
She hadn't the heart to tell him the real truth of why she was reluctant to go.
In fact,
What she'd actually done was told him a half-truth.
It was this.
She did not want to leave her parents for months at a time.
Marcella was midway through a metalworking apprenticeship with her father.
Her father was an expert metalsmith.
His work had been bought and used in castles across the country.
For a time,
He even worked for the king,
Creating custom iron hand grips for the doors throughout the king's castle.
These handles were a blend of two very intense animals,
An eagle and a snake.
They were emblematic of the king's family.
It was a perfect design for the castle.
Marcella's father had crafted each metal handle into a smooth and appealing shape that depicted the two animals right next to each other.
The king had been thrilled.
All the visitors to his castle commented on the striking hand grips.
It became known that the king was obsessed with details,
Right down to the door grips in his castle.
With all the great talk of the metalwork,
For many years afterwards,
Marcella's father had more work than he could possibly handle.
It was now time to pass down his skill to the eldest of his two daughters,
Marcella.
It was very unusual for a woman of the time,
The 1600s,
To be a skilled metalworker.
Marcella,
However,
Loved working with metal,
And gold in particular.
She'd become good at making jewelry.
She loved wearing the necklaces she made,
And so did her mother.
One of the shops in the village sold her pieces.
It was an honor to be able to do this type of metalwork,
And Marcella did not want to disrespect her father by leaving him to sail the seas with her fiancé.
Of course,
That was only an excuse.
Her father would have been fine with her leaving to be with her Captain Waveborn.
It was only right a young woman be with the man she loved.
As she reminisced while gazing into the dawn,
Marcella realized just how scrambled up inside she really was.
She didn't like feeling confused or too restless.
It was an uncomfortable feeling for her.
It made her feel like a little girl,
And she was far too old for that.
Marcella preferred the comfort of knowing how she felt about everything and everyone around her.
This was Marcella's gift.
Her ability to be confident everywhere she went.
Well,
Almost everywhere.
For the last several months,
While Captain Cornelius was gone,
She'd been in so much turmoil,
She now felt compelled to find a way back to a sense of serenity.
And the sooner,
The better.
Beautiful morning.
Marcella caught her breath.
A deep,
Familiar voice spoke from behind her.
She suddenly wanted to flee.
Instead,
She forced herself to turn around,
Doing her best to look like she was in total control of herself.
Marcella still clutched the letter she'd written to this man tightly in her hands.
There he stood.
Captain Cornelius Waveborn,
Her fiancé,
Who she left to sail the high seas over four months ago.
He was looking peaceful and strong,
And was standing just a few paces away.
For a long moment,
Neither of them spoke.
The wind whipped between them,
Carrying the smell of the ocean with it.
Marcella,
He said at last.
His voice was low and slightly rough.
You're still here.
Cornelius's gaze traveled over her face,
Taking in the light in her eyes and the way her red hair refused to stay tamed beneath her hood.
He wasn't sure what he would feel when he saw Marcella again.
But now,
In this moment,
He wanted to take her in his arms and tell her how much he loved her.
But he didn't.
Instead,
He said,
It's chilly.
Does your mother still make her renowned apple cider?
Marcella exhaled audibly and said,
Yes,
Of course.
Come in.
I'll heat some up for you.
They entered her family's small,
Castle-like home.
Not a full castle,
But not a wooden structure like others in the area,
Either.
Marcella's family home was a perfect blend of rugged stone and earthy wood.
It had been in her father's family for generations.
Captain Cornelius had always felt very comfortable here.
As they removed their cloaks,
Marcella discreetly tucked the letter she'd written to him into the side of her corset.
She would not be giving the captain that letter today or any day.
The captain sat at the large wooden table in her family's kitchen like he'd done a hundred times while Marcella poured the cider into a pot to heat.
The fire in the stove crackled and had been burning all night.
It was still quite warm.
She took several pieces of wood and loaded them inside the belly of the stove.
Captain Cornelius watched her every move.
In silence,
Marcella poured the now-steaming cider into two large,
Handmade ceramic cups and placed them on the table.
She sat across from the man she loved,
Still wondering if he was her fiancé.
Marcella wouldn't blame him if he didn't want to marry her anymore.
They sipped in silence and stared at each other over their mugs.
Then Captain Cornelius slid a large,
Calloused hand across the table and gently held one of Marcella's much smaller hands in it.
In a low voice,
He said,
These last few months I've faced gale winds,
No good pirates,
Uncompromising reefs,
Unpredictable tribes on isolated islands,
And at times I went weeks without fresh water.
Through all of it,
I thought of you,
Marcella.
I wanted you there by my side.
The captain looked long and hard at Marcella as he said this.
He was a man who was direct and uncompromising in many ways,
Although he did not ask direct questions very often.
His belief was that others can choose to disclose what they deem necessary and should not be asked for more than that.
He also felt,
Too,
That too many questions made a captain look incompetent,
Something Captain Cornelius would never allow himself to be perceived as.
Then he said,
I still want you by my side,
Marcella.
I love you.
You're the woman I've chosen to build a life with.
That includes adventures at sea.
I won't drag you aboard the Marauding Mermaid,
Though.
You'll have to walk the planks yourself for us to set sail together.
Marcella sighed loudly.
Oh,
I want that,
Too.
There was a pause.
He waited for her to explain her sudden disappearance the night before he left for this last trip.
Marcella stared into his deep blue eyes and forced herself to say,
I'm seasick.
The captain stared at her blankly.
She repeated the words,
I'm seasick.
I have the seasickness.
In but a few hours of sailing,
I'd turn as green and pale as a turnip.
Captain Cornelius's eyes grew big as he stared at her.
Marcella braced herself.
She would not blame the captain if he raged at her and then stormed out.
It was such a silly reason not to sail the Marauding Mermaid with him.
Perhaps she should have gone and done her best to deal with the sickness.
Marcella had second-guessed herself for months,
And now was the moment of reckoning.
It was all in the captain's hands now.
As they stared at each other,
Marcella bracing herself,
Captain Cornelius suddenly threw his head back and let out a huge howl of laughter.
He continued chuckling loudly for several minutes.
At first she was shocked.
Then she became annoyed.
Then she refilled her mug with cider.
Finally,
She joined him in his merriment and laughed along with him.
You are a stubborn,
Prideful woman,
Marcella,
The captain said once he stopped laughing.
Did you not think to tell me this so I could provide a remedy?
He shook his head and continued.
I know of a secret herbal concoction that will ease the sickness.
It's been in my family for generations.
Marcella gave a small shriek of surprise.
All this time and you didn't tell me?
Why would I?
We both come from a family with seafarers.
It's not common for folks by the sea to get the sickness.
Aye,
That's true,
Marcella agreed and then added,
You must have a mighty steady stomach then,
Since you sail with a wineskin on your belt.
Captain Cornelius gazed at her with sheepish eyes.
What?
She asked.
That's not wine I carry in my wineskin,
My bonnie lass.
She gave him a puzzled look.
He took a hand,
Placed it on his stomach,
Patted it and rocked side to side.
After a moment or two,
Marcella suddenly understood what he meant and burst into hearty laughter.
The captain used his secret concoction himself to prevent the seasickness.
They both laughed long and hard until her mother and father entered the kitchen.
They were thrilled to see Captain Cornelius in their home again.
With the captain's permission,
Marcella shared the secret concoction in his wineskin.
They all laughed and Marcella and Captain Cornelius began planning a sea adventure together.
The End
