The Dragon Palace Under The Sea

In tonight’s sleep story, inspired by the Japanese fairy tale of Urashima Taro, you gain the ability to breathe underwater, and you visit the Dragon Palace, the undersea sanctuary of the ocean god Ryujiin. When you finally return to dry land, you discover that much has changed during your adventuring absence. | Tonight’s key ingredients: Ocean waves | Fairy tale magic | Body scan
Music: A Glimpse of Avalon by Flouw; Samadhi by Syntropy, EpidemicSound
Sounds: ZapSplat

Transcript

Travel to an underwater palace,

A magical place where time moves differently in tonight's calming sleep story.

Sleep and Sorcery is a folklore and fantasy inspired sleep series.

My name is Laurel and I'll be your guide on tonight's fantastical journey.

Sleep and Sorcery is one part bedtime story,

One part guided meditation and one part dreamy adventure.

Listen to my voice for as long as it serves you to do so and when you're ready,

Feel free to let go and surrender to sleep.

If you are still awake at the end of the story,

I'll guide you through a relaxing meditation and body scan.

In tonight's story,

You save the life of a turtle caught in a fishing net.

The next day,

Another turtle comes to you,

Thanking you for rescuing his daughter.

In return for your heroism,

He gives you the ability to breathe underwater and bears you to an undersea sanctuary where you visit the mysterious Dragon Palace.

When you finally return to dry land,

You discover that much has changed during your absence.

This story is inspired and adapted from the Japanese fairy tale of Urashima Taro.

The passing spring.

Birds mourn.

Fishes weep with tearful eyes.

Matsuo Basho.

It is a fine evening for fishing.

The soft summer twilight is accompanied by a quiet ocean breeze that carries the clean fragrance of salt and sea air.

Your small fishing boat bobs up and down in the gentle waves of the coastal inlet.

The fish have been less eager to swim into your net today than usual,

But you will still bring back plenty to the village so you are unconcerned.

Perhaps the fish are simply drifting lazily in the calm waters,

Enjoying the lull and the light like you are.

It will be time to row back to shore soon before the sun sets behind the mountains.

Even though it's midsummer,

There are still thick patches of snow on the summits which now catch the waning purple light and reflect it back to the skies.

You savor the sweet tranquility of the moment before securing your catch and picking up your oars.

But before you can lower the oars into the lapping water,

You hear a strange,

High-pitched sound echo across the waves.

At first it's difficult to identify where the sound is coming from,

But as you turn your head to locate the source,

You see distinct splashing just beyond the cove.

The sound,

Whatever it is,

Seems to indicate distress and you,

Often called soft-hearted by the people in your village,

Cannot bear to leave a creature in anguish.

So instead of rowing for shore,

You move the boat toward the source of the call.

As you round the monolithic limestone that borders the inlet,

Your eyes widen.

The sound is coming from the mouth of a small sea turtle who whines and splashes her fins in the water.

A moment later,

You recognize the source of her stress.

She's trapped in the holes of an errant fishing net,

Perhaps left behind absent-mindedly by another fisher from your village.

Your heart aches for the poor creature.

You row closer,

Slowly so as not to scare the turtle into further entanglement.

When you reach an arm's length distance,

You lean over the edge of your boat.

With one hand,

You grasp the turtle's shell firmly.

With the other,

You begin to untwist the tangled ropes and threads of the fishing net.

The turtle continues to struggle against you,

But you steady her with a gentle hand.

She ceases making her high-pitched sound as her fins become unstuck.

As you remove the final loop from around her neck,

The turtle becomes calm and still.

In a moment of lucidity you've rarely seen in a non-human creature,

She turns to you and makes eye contact.

Her eyes are almond-shaped and obsidian.

She blinks once or twice,

Angling her head in a way that reminds you of how dogs and domesticated animals display affection.

Your eyes water slightly.

It's as though she's thanking you.

The sun is nearly set when the turtle ducks below the surface of the water and vanishes.

You exhale a great sigh of relief.

You feel proud of your efforts,

And you hope the small turtle is safe and free of injury.

You gather up the abandoned fishing net and place it in a pile at the bow of your boat.

No other unsuspecting animal will become trapped in it now.

Then you row back to shore in the cooling,

Darkening evening.

After that night,

You prepare a modest supper and sit before an open sliding door so you can feel the pleasant evening air while you eat.

You can see the inlet,

The limestone,

And a swath of sea from your home.

Now it's lit only by the waxing moon.

Watching the waves pull in and out in the dim light,

You find your thoughts drawn back to the small sea turtle.

You have always found turtles to be creatures of exquisite beauty.

You remember as a child watching a nest of baby sea turtles hatch upon a beach and scramble drawn by forces of instinct to the whispering waves.

They were so new,

So determined,

As though they arrived in the world with an unquenchable thirst.

You've heard it said that a crane can live for a thousand years,

But the crane's lifespan is only a fraction of a sea turtle's.

They can,

According to some,

Live for many thousands of years beneath the sea.

Yet even given your long fascination with this species,

There was something unique about the turtle you rescued tonight.

Something in her eyes spoke to you,

Accessed thoughts and emotion beyond the typical beast.

It was almost as though she whispered to your soul like she was more than a turtle.

Was she a spirit?

A shape-shifting force?

A god?

Perhaps the bewitching beauty of the moon on the dark water has muddled your mind,

You think,

Spirits and turtle gods.

It's all just your tender compassion for the creature mixed with the magic of the night.

You turn in for bed before long.

Another day of work lies ahead,

And you need your rest.

During the night,

You dream that you're riding on the back of a giant turtle,

Flying through the sky while iridescent fish dart in and out of the clouds.

You return to solid ground as dawn's light streams into your bedroom.

You dress,

Eat breakfast,

And prepare for another day on the water,

Hoping for a more substantial catch today.

Once upon the waves,

You release your nets,

Enjoying the tender haze of a mild morning.

You like to be the first on the water each day and the last to leave each evening.

It's how you've gained such a good reputation at the fish markets in the village.

Before you can even snare one silver sea bass,

You are surprised to hear your name cut through the early morning quiet.

Has one of your friends or rivals joined you on the water already?

You turn around in your boat,

Expecting to see another bobbing behind you,

But there's no one else around.

You shrug,

Supposing you imagined hearing your name,

An illusion of the laughing waves.

But there it is again.

Your name,

Clear as a bell,

Floats over the sea.

Where can it be coming from?

Not one boat bobs in the ocean about you or in the inlet.

From what you can see,

No person stands on the shore,

And if they did,

No human voice could carry from such a distance.

Confused but attempting to shake off the strange occurrence,

You lean once more over your boat to adjust your net and your eyes meet a pair of black,

Almond-shaped eyes by the side of the boat.

Startled you nearly topple out of the boat,

But you catch and steady yourself.

They're the eyes of a turtle,

And stranger still,

The turtle is speaking your name.

It is not the same sea turtle as the unfortunate one you rescued yesterday,

Though.

This turtle,

Floating serenely on the water,

Is more than three times her size.

He's nearly the size of your fishing boat,

In fact.

And when you look closely,

You can see that his shell is encrusted with fine jewels,

Gold,

And pearls.

He is clad in such finery that it reflects the sunlight and water,

Seeming to shine like the stars.

You have never seen something so magnificent in your life,

And you are left speechless.

In your stunned silence,

The turtle speaks again.

His voice is deep and booming,

With something of a gurgle to it,

As though he speaks from just beneath water.

You are so amazed by his appearance and speech that it takes you a few moments to catch up to what he says.

He thanks you for your kindness and nobility,

Which came through in your heroic act of rescue last evening.

The turtle you saved was,

In fact,

This marvelous creature's daughter.

Now he introduces himself.

He is Ryujin,

The Emperor of the Sea.

Your heart leaps in your chest,

The Emperor of the Sea.

Now truly you are in the presence of a god.

You scramble to bow,

Rocking your boat back and forth as you bend in deference to Ryujin.

But he utters a deep,

Friendly laugh that sends waves and ripples outward.

There is no need to bow.

For you,

And here he speaks your name again with great respect,

Are an honored hero.

Ryujin wishes to offer you a reward for your act of compassion toward his daughter.

You protest,

For you only did what you felt was right.

But the turtle insists.

You wonder if he will offer you one of the jewels from his shell.

Only one of those sparkling gems would surely surpass the money you could make in a year of fishing these waters.

But Ryujin has something else in mind.

Have you ever heard of the Palace of the Dragon,

He asks.

The words ring in your head.

You are still wonderstruck with the situation,

But they do carry a familiar weight.

And now you know where you've heard Ryujin's name before.

You recall the myths of an underwater kingdom when ruled over by a powerful god in the form of a dragon.

He was known as the Emperor of the Sea.

Ryujin asks you to climb aboard and he'll take you to the Dragon Palace where you will be the guest of honor.

But you protest,

What about my boat?

The boat will be safe and it will be waiting for you on your return.

But I cannot breathe underwater.

A problem easily solved.

The great turtle revolves in the water and beckons you to climb aboard.

You look back to shore.

You can see little people moving along the road,

The rooftops of the village.

Your hesitation falls away in the soft light of the morning,

Gathering up your net and leaving it in the bow of the boat.

You carefully climb onto the back of the jewel-encrusted turtle.

You think of your dream,

Amazed and amused as Ryujin begins to swim.

He carries you out into the ocean over the curve of the horizon.

When you turn around for another glimpse of your home village,

All you can see is sea.

The turtle moves with uncanny swiftness and the wind whips through your hair,

Salt and sea breeze.

Then Ryujin turns his head to glance back at you and instructs you to hold on.

You grip his shell even more tightly than before and in one swift and singular movement,

The great turtle dives.

Your first instinct is to let go,

Float to the surface and swim back for sure.

After all,

You are a beast of land,

Not of water.

You cannot breathe below the surface of the sea,

But you can.

As the turtle cuts a diagonal path downward through the deep blue water,

You realize that to your astonishment,

You feel no resistance,

No urgency for air.

As water streams around you,

You find that you can breathe without issue.

At the same time,

Your clothes miraculously remain unmoistened.

What divine magic is at work here,

You wonder?

Released from all worry about surviving underwater,

You take in the marvels all around you.

As much time as you have spent fishing these waters,

You've never so much as imagined the richness and beauty of the world that lies beneath the surface.

The morning light casts golden beams that ripple throughout,

Illuminating schools of tiny fish that flash by in an instant.

Born by Ryujin,

You cascade ever downward toward the ocean floor.

This part of the sea is many leagues deep,

And you sense the quality of light shifting as you draw nearer the bottom.

The sea floor is dappled with waning sunlight and explosions of color,

Blooms of billowing seagrass and swaying anemone.

Countless colorful,

Unusual organisms undulate with the rhythm of the waves,

Seeming to breathe all at once,

Collectively.

Fish of orange and electric blue dart in and out of hiding,

Flashing their fins against the eye-catching hues and striking textures of coral.

The great turtle slows,

Drifts over the slope of the impressive reef.

A landscape of swaying seaweed lies ahead,

Taller than a temple.

As Ryujin approaches,

You still clutching the edges of his shining shell.

The seaweed parts,

Rippling outward to allow you through.

Ryujin swims through the parting weeds like a dense jungle.

When at last the final strands of seaweed part,

You are greeted with a most spectacular sight.

Now revealed in all its undersea splendor is the Dragon Palace of the Emperor of the Sea.

It is such a wonder as you have never beheld,

Not even in your wildest,

Most decadent dreams.

Ryujin slows and comes to a gentle landing on the seafloor,

Allowing you to slide off his back.

With your feet on the soft sand,

You feel yourself succumb to the gentle sway of the deep ocean as you behold the majesty of the palace.

It is of an impressive size,

Only once in your life have you seen a structure so immense,

A shrine at the base of a mountain you visited as a child.

If that spectacle evoked feelings of awe,

Now you are simply wonderstruck.

The palace radiates color,

Blazing red,

Gleaming turquoise,

Opalescent pink,

And every hue imaginable.

It appears to be constructed of treasures of both land and sea,

Coral,

Crystal,

Gold and the most sumptuous pearls,

Its sloping rooftops cascade into elegant gables and eaves,

Spacious verandas hide beneath the curves,

Marble steps lead up to the entrance,

Wide at the bottom and narrower toward the top,

Seeming to disappear into the interior.

Between you and the entrance is an ornamental garden replete with blooming azaleas,

Sculpted topiary and a pair of brilliant cherry trees in opulent bloom.

That these flora of the land might bloom so splendidly in the deep sea confounds and inspires you.

Awed by the tantalizing beauty of the palace and curious to know if your voice will sound in the deep,

You turn to Ryujin,

Exclaiming your admiration.

But to your astonishment,

You no longer behold the gilt and jewel-crusted turtle,

Something even more magnificent stands in his place,

Crimson and gold,

Serpentine and taloned,

With a mane and whiskers that ripple with the motion of the water.

Now you once again feel the awestruck urge to fall to your knees and venerate this creature.

But something in the dragon's eyes makes you pause,

For they are familiar and full of kindness and gratitude.

It is Ryujin still,

Transformed from his earlier visage into this,

Which must be his true form.

Profound wonderment and pure irreverence wash over you,

Making you feel light and warm even in the cool water.

Is it not the greatest wonder you have seen?

Ryujin the dragon asks,

His voice just as commanding as before,

But somehow enhanced by his new dazzling appearance.

You agree.

Your voice sounds muffled in the water,

But also in a way musical.

Then Ryujin urges you to step inside,

Take in all the exquisite beauty of the palace,

And make yourself at home.

Hardly believing your good fortune,

You move toward the marble steps.

Walking along the ocean floor,

You feel only moderate resistance against your movement from the water.

It's deeply calming as you feel the water gently massaging all tension from your muscles.

You feel younger than you are,

Refreshed and rejuvenated.

Ryujin does not follow you.

The palace is yours to explore for as long as you like.

As you ascend the marble steps,

You turn back to see Ryujin swimming toward the jungle of Seaweed,

Which parts once more for him to pass through.

The doors of the palace swing open as if by magic to allow you inside.

As if you were not already so dazed by the opulence of the exterior,

The interior is perhaps even more grand.

You enter a central chamber that's vast and sparkling and cylindrical.

The ceilings stretch upward into a cavernous crescendo,

Giving the impression of eternal extension.

The walls appear to be adorned with large fish scales,

Which reflect off each other iridescent silver,

Gold,

Blue,

And green.

The whole space glimmers,

Catching your reflection too and sending your likeness across the room in varying angles.

In the center of the room,

There is only one piece of furniture,

A small raised table on which sits a peculiar item.

It's a tiny jeweled box,

Which rather reminds you of Ryujin's sparkling turtle shell.

You feel tempted to open the box,

But you resist.

There is no telling what wonders or strangeness lies within.

You will ask Ryujin about it when he returns.

So you turn your interest to the perimeter of the chamber,

About which various doors lead to unseen corridors,

Rooms,

Or verandas.

There are four of these doors,

Including the entryway from which you came.

That door is hand-painted on the inside with decorative cherry trees and spiraled clouds that appear dark and full with rain.

The cherry blossoms,

Blooming gloriously,

Remind you of the lovely pear that framed the entry garden.

You perambulate the chamber,

Curious as to what each door might correspond to.

Moving clockwise,

You come to the next door,

Which is painted with a shiny glaze that renders angled rays of sunlight from a slice of sun at the top of the frame.

Yellows,

Oranges,

And whites dance together in the multifaceted image,

Which evokes warmth and joy.

On the next door is a rustic scene carved straight into the wood rather than painted.

The focal point is an engraving of a mighty oak tree whose leaves are stained red and gold and brown.

Some of the leaves descend gently from the branches,

Where piles of fallen leaves gather.

The last door,

Painted with glaze again,

Is striking in its contrasting colors.

The painter has manifested a delicate,

Wintry landscape.

The ground in the scene is obscured by pillowy snow.

A lone pine tree stands out against the pure reflective white with a near-black,

Twisted trunk.

Evergreen needles are barely visible beneath more snow frosting.

The sky is a pale and sheer blue,

And in the background of the scene,

A bright vermilion and black form indicates a playful fox enjoying the flurries.

Just looking at the scene brings a subtle chill over you,

But also makes you think,

Longingly,

Of pleasant winter days with family,

Cozy nights beside the fire,

Drinking warm tea and enjoying good company.

Feeling inspired,

You reach for the brass knob of this wintry door and open it.

To your surprise,

The door leads not to another chamber within the palace,

But to a spacious,

Enclosed garden.

And even more amazing,

Here on this sheltered veranda,

It is actively snowing.

Taking it all in,

You note that the spectacle is rather like a snow globe,

Wherein a dusting of sparkling snow flurries are suspended in clear water,

Catching light and glittering like tiny,

Twirling stars.

You are awestruck by the wondrous magic and beauty of the scene.

The garden is encircled by black pine,

Each tree's trunk twisting in a wind-swept pattern and adorned with thick masses of emerald green needles.

Walking through,

You leave shallow footprints in the snow,

Which vanish moments later as the sway of the ocean lifts and transposes the snowdrifts.

Reaching out,

You catch one of the tiny snowflakes in your hand and examine it.

On a close look,

You realize that its crystalline structure is composed of thousands of tiny pearls.

Amazed,

You release the pearl snowflake back to the whims of the waves.

Just as you look up,

You see a hint of movement behind one of the pines.

You frow your brow,

Unsure of whether it's an illusion caused by the perpetual motion of the water and the sunlight's play on the ocean floor.

But now you can hear something.

If you're not mistaken,

It's laughter.

You trudge through the snow to approach the source of the sound.

Before you reach the far side of the pine,

However,

The lurker steps forward.

There,

Laughing,

Blushing,

Is a young woman dressed in regal finery.

Her hair is black as night,

And it floats like clouds of ink about her head and shoulders,

Adorned by a gold diadem inlaid with pearls and aquamarine.

She bears an infectious smile,

And her eyes,

Dark and almond-shaped,

Shine with amusement.

You've seen those eyes before,

You think,

And with a flash of revelation,

You realize that they are the same eyes of the small turtle caught in the fishing net,

The young turtle you rescued just a day ago.

Such wonders have befallen you since last evening that this almost seems obvious,

Destined.

The young woman throws her arms around you,

Wrapping you in a compassionate embrace.

When she releases you,

She says your name.

It sounds different in her voice somehow,

Distorted perhaps by the water.

It sounds like a far away thing,

Like a name that once belonged to you and now does not come close to describing you.

Then she introduces herself as Princess Otohime,

The daughter of Ryujin,

Emperor of the Sea.

She is so happy that you have come to visit the palace.

In gratitude for her rescue,

She hopes that you will stay for a while to enjoy the riches around you.

You and the Princess walk serenely around the winter garden,

Admiring the evergreens and the pearlescent snow drifts.

When you've seen the whole garden,

She guides you through an archway in the hedgerow,

Which leads around the perimeter of the palace.

There is another enclosed garden,

And you recognize the door at the top of the steps as the one with the carved oak.

This garden is perhaps even more marvelous than the last,

For while the snowy pearls were captivating,

The central spectacle of this enclosure is simply breathtaking.

Just as depicted on the door,

A mighty,

Monumental oak stands at the center of the garden.

Its leaves are dazzling red,

Orange,

And yellow,

And they shimmer and shine like gold in the shifting light.

It takes you several moments of staring agog to realize that the leaves are in fact not leaves at all,

But fish,

Thousands of small,

Bright,

Colorful fish,

Plidding almost as one,

Reflecting the light and shining like gold.

You gasp with wonder which causes the fish,

Startled,

To scatter,

Dispersing like a firework across the wide water and leaving the oak entirely bare.

Now the garden is alive with fish,

Swimming in and out of hiding places,

Flashes of golden crimson.

As you take in the rest of the garden,

Maple trees and pink bursts of anemone flower,

The fish slowly retake their places among the branches of the immense oak.

Motohime explains that the palace is enchanted so that each side holds a different season of the year.

Then she leads you from the autumn garden through a twisted archway of branches to the next side,

The summer garden.

Now you feel your heart must grow in capacity to accommodate the splendor of what you are witnessing.

After such tranquil and expressive beauty in the spring,

Winter,

And autumn gardens,

You are hardly prepared for summer.

You behold peonies in full resplendent bloom,

Pink and extravagant against glossy greenery.

Purple hydrangea unfold perfectly at home on the ocean floor,

Resembling coral or sea anemone.

Flying irises and styrax line a sloping,

Pebbled path.

Morning glory creep along a stark white trellis.

Ornamental lavender bursts in deep violet bunches.

Elegant koi drift around the stems of sky-reaching sunflowers.

The summer garden is alive with joy and color.

Princess Otohime's eyes are bright as she witnesses your amazement.

All is bathed in cascades of sunshine that reach to the depths of the ocean floor,

As the longing to caress the petals of such glorious blooms.

You feel the warmth of the sun and the weft of the waves and the gratitude of your new friends.

You feel more loved,

Seen perhaps,

Than ever in your life.

You sit for a long while in the summer garden while the princess tends to the flowers,

Breathing underwater,

Beholding the beauty all around you,

Meditating on the miracles of the world and all the secret,

Hidden magic of it.

Finally,

You feel complete enough to follow Princess Otohime inside.

You can always return to the garden,

Of course,

But a feast has been prepared in your honor.

Crossing the threshold into the palace atrium once more,

It occurs to you that a word more lavish than feast should be invented to describe what lies before you.

Where once was an austere hall,

Now a sumptuous banquet awaits beneath an air-locked dome.

Fruits and vegetables,

Laden with the finest,

Freshest foods you've ever seen.

Fruits and vegetables of land and sea.

Main courses bathed in sauces and herbs.

Sweet breads,

Cakes,

Candies and cream puffs stacked in caramel towers.

The place settings are elegant with fine silver and delicate china patterned with sea creatures.

Seated at the head of the table is a regal-looking man bearing a jeweled crown.

While at first you move to introduce yourself to the stranger,

The twinkle in his eye and proud bearing quickly identify him as Ryujin in yet another form.

You take the place of honor and share a decadent meal with the emperor and the princess,

And they regale you with stories of oceanic adventures and the distant lands of the deep sea,

Even more unusual than this one.

When at last you feel full and content and the feast is cleared away,

A lull of drowsiness falls over the table.

A chamber has been prepared for you for as long a stay as you like.

Seeing your love of the summer garden,

Princess Otohime made certain that your room would overlook it.

She shows you to a hidden spiral stairway just beside the door to the summer garden,

For the palace is full of hidden passages and sliding doors.

Your chamber is at the top of the stair.

You ascend the staircase made of living coral.

The chamber is large and spare with a cozy looking bed against one wall on which is a hand painted underwater scene of seahorses and plant life.

More enough,

A sliding panel on the far wall opens to reveal a spectacular view of the summer garden.

The light is dim now,

But bursts of color and bioluminescence are visible beneath your room.

You stand there for a time,

Watching the movement of the flowers in the rhythmic sway of the water.

You too surrender to the sway.

It's so,

So peaceful.

Everything feels strangely familiar too.

Just as every night,

You sit in your home and watch the sunset on the sea and the shoulders of the mountains,

It's as though you're looking at it from the other side.

This is an unfinished thought.

You're sleepy.

Finally you move to the bed,

Curl up under the blankets.

Like you and your clothing,

They're miraculously dry and warm and you fall asleep.

You remain in the realm of Ryujin for many moons.

Each day you rise with the sun and take a stroll through the four seasonal gardens of the palace.

Sometimes Otohime joins you,

Bringing you treats and gifts.

Other times you walk alone,

Observing and meditating.

Each night you join the princess and the emperor for an opulent supper before retiring once more to your chambers.

It's easy to lose track of the days,

Weeks,

Months,

Years.

For in every day you visit spring,

Summer,

Autumn,

And winter.

The earth still turns at its regular pace,

Surely.

But you walk in miracles,

Blissfully unaware of time.

You grow immensely fond of the palace and Ryujin and Otohime,

Who prove gentle friends as well as generous hosts.

On some days you accompany Ryujin as he oversees the vastness of his undersea kingdom.

As a dragon or a jeweled turtle,

He allows you to ride on his back,

To visit conclaves of dogfish,

Or entreat with an octopus.

You see wonders beyond your wildest dreams.

But as time goes by and you watch the sunset from the seafloor night after night,

You begin to ache for the surface,

For the real feeling of sunlight on your face,

For the thrill of being the first on the water in the wee hours of the morning,

For the feel of your own floors beneath bare feet,

For family and loved ones left behind.

You feel torn between your ordinary life on land and your new,

Extraordinary life in the ocean.

And as much as it pains you to consider leaving the beloved company of Ryujin and Otohime,

Or the miraculous beauty of the palace gardens.

One morning you come to the realization that it is time to go home.

You find Otohime in the winter garden where you first saw her in human form.

She is pruning the branches of an unruly black pine.

When she looks up to greet you,

She sees the look in your eyes and she instantly knows what you are about to tell her.

Otohime feels great sorrow that you're leaving,

But she admits that she knew this day would come.

All have their place.

But she will only permit you to go if you accept a gift,

To which of course you acquiesce.

From her own chamber she retrieves a jeweled box.

In all this time you'd forgotten to ask about the mysterious capsule that sat in the center of the palace that first day you arrived.

It's a small and lovely thing.

It fits in the palm of your hand,

But carries a substantial weight.

Awed by its delicate beauty you move to open the lid,

But Otohime cautions you not to.

This box,

She explains,

Will protect you,

But you must never open it.

Curiosity pricking at the corners of your mind,

You agree and accept the gift with gratitude.

Ryujin,

Once again in the form of the great turtle,

Offers to carry you back to your village.

He too is sorry to see you go,

If only because he knows how dearly his daughter will miss you.

You climb aboard his back.

Otohime then takes her turtle form.

As Ryujin bears you toward the ocean's surface,

The princess follows just behind.

You soar through the water over stingrays,

Schools of fish and coral reef.

When you finally break the surface,

A rush of warm,

Salty air fills your lungs.

It's an ecstatic feeling.

The sun is high and you squint in its brightness,

Your eyes filling with hot tears.

It feels so good to be above water again.

Ryujin carries you to shore,

Past fishing boats and fisherfolk whose heads turn and jaws drop at the sight of you.

You look for your friends and rivals,

Hoping to savor their looks of incredulity.

But strangely,

You don't recognize anyone in the cove.

You climb ashore and turn back for one last look at your dear friends and hosts.

The two turtles,

Eyes bright and shining,

Seem to give you their blessings in a glance before diving beneath the waves.

You wipe away a tear,

Gazing at the ocean for a while before turning toward home.

As you make your way through the little village toward your house,

You notice peculiarities in your surroundings.

For one,

Though you've lived in the small seaside village since childhood,

You recognize not one face in the passersby.

They all seem to regard you with faint bemusement or questioning.

Their clothing too is strange.

Many don styles you've never seen before,

Though you've never been a close follower of fashion.

Perhaps you've grown so accustomed to the fashions of the undersea royalty that ordinary clothing looks strange to you.

You have a mind to stop at your favorite food stall for something to eat,

But you find that it's changed hands and is serving a different cuisine entirely.

Could the old owners have sold overnight,

Perhaps retiring to the country?

Indeed,

There's something not quite right about the village.

Even the atmosphere feels different from what you remember.

The air smells different,

Maybe.

Though you could just be adjusting to life on land again after so long beneath the waves.

When you finally arrive at your door,

However,

Eager for an afternoon doze in your own bed,

You find the house in an alarming state.

The eaves,

Gables,

Walls,

And doorways are overgrown with greenery.

Lines and ivy and weeds wrap the home in a tight embrace.

The ladder of morning glories climbs to the roof,

Speckling the green with a deep lapis.

You stare for a long time,

Taking in the sight,

Unsure of how to process it.

Then when you're ready,

You climb the steps and walk through the open door.

The floor,

Once smooth and man-made,

Is now blanketed with soft moss and tangled weeds.

In the center of the room,

A black pine twists toward the ceiling.

A hole in the roof lets in an angled ray of bright sun,

Which falls on the needles of the pine.

You sigh.

At last,

You allow yourself to understand.

The days you passed in the Kingdom of Ryujin were more than days.

The seasons did change without you.

Here,

You've been gone for a long,

Long time.

There's something quietly mournful about the realization.

Your features,

Still smooth and unblemished,

Suggest youth.

But the land has aged in your absence,

A new generation walks the pathways of your village.

A new crop of fisherfolk survey your seas.

But you take comfort in the fact that your home is still standing,

Reclaimed as she is by the clutches of nature.

There is still a place for you here.

And you've been afforded an opportunity like no other.

The next friend you make may be the grandchild of someone you love,

Grown to their potential.

You will see the blooms of the seeds most never see break the surface.

This is a nice thought.

Feeling an indescribable peace laced with sorrow,

Longing,

And gratitude,

You sit at the base of the black pine.

Through the open door,

You can see the waves and mountains in the distance.

The sweet sunlight dances on your shoulders as faint clouds pass by overhead.

You watch as the afternoon sun sinks slowly in the west,

Eyes watering still at its brightness.

Then you remember the princess's gift.

You remove the jeweled box from a pocket inside your garment and smile,

Taking the time to really examine the exquisite little thing.

You hadn't noticed before,

But the sides of the box,

Under a shining glaze,

Feature delicate,

Hand-painted scenes with mother-of-pearl inlay.

On one side,

There's an elegant underwater scene,

A beautiful green sea turtle swims among golden koi.

On another,

There's a painted palace reminiscent of ryeugens.

On the third side,

There's a magnificent dragon,

Not underwater but soaring among the clouds.

And on the fourth and final side,

There's a fine painting of a graceful crane.

Feathers of white and head crowned with crimson,

Its wings are spread against a deep red sun.

Beneath it,

Waves crash,

Sending blue and white spray into the space where the sea meets the sky.

You remember the legend that a crane might live a thousand years,

And you feel a sudden kinship with the bird,

Who observes the changing generations as though they're nothing more than changing seasons.

How must time feel to these long-lived creatures,

Cranes,

Turtles,

Dragons?

In your tenderness and curiosity,

Forgetting momentarily the warning of the princess,

Or perhaps willfully ignoring it,

You gingerly lift the lid of the tiny jeweled box.

Inside,

There is a feather,

White as snow and sweetly curled to fit in the small space.

You remove it,

Holding it up to the light and admiring the fine wisps of down.

You think it must be a crane feather,

And you imagine the beautiful crane from which it has come.

But beneath it,

In the basin of the box,

Is another,

Smaller box of glossy maple wood.

You hold the first box up to your eye level,

Reach inside and unlatch the tiny lid of the second.

As the lid opens,

A puff of white smoke erupts from within,

Clouding your vision momentarily.

An unusual sensation passes over your body,

From head to toe.

It's as though you're gradually pulled downward toward the earth by the overwhelming tug of gravity.

But the sensation and the smoke subside,

Leaving you bewildered and feeling somehow smaller in space.

There is no turning back now,

You think.

A third box lies in the basin of the second.

This one's so tiny,

It's difficult to reach inside to unlatch it.

Your fingers feel strangely less dextrous than they did before,

But you manage it open.

Inside the lid,

There is a mirror.

It's so small that when you hold it to your face,

Only an eye is reflected in its shining surface.

But that eye,

Your eye,

Is unfamiliar.

It's the same color,

Surely,

But it's surrounded by wrinkles and folds that were not there before.

You hold the mirror to your other eye.

You hold it further away,

Trying to capture a bigger picture,

And you behold your face in reflection.

And now you understand.

Inside the box,

For all those years,

You spent in the company of the emperor and the princess of the sea.

Now they've caught up with you,

Returned to you.

You feel new weariness in your bones and muscles.

But for now,

There's nowhere you need to be,

Nothing you need to do.

A sense of peace and freedom settles over you.

You set the box down before you.

You think about sleep.

Perhaps you'll simply lean against the twisted spine of the black pine tree and close your eyes and dream of winged turtles.

But before your eyes close,

They fall upon the white crane feather which rests upon your folded knee.

It's moving.

Odd,

You watch as the feather floats into the air,

Then attaches to your shoulder.

You reach to pluck it away,

But as you do,

You witness your hand and arm sprouting more feathers.

Your arms elongate into large,

Expansive wings.

You feel your neck stretching upward,

Your face changing.

The weariness and ache of age melts away as your whole body seems to lighten and lengthen.

Your feathers are pure white and they gleam in the golden green light of the overgrown house,

Feeling light,

Buoyant,

And immeasurably joyous.

You kick off from the mossy floor with your tall,

Narrow legs bursting through the hole in the roof.

Your wings catch the breeze as you circle higher and higher into the sky,

The little house in the fishing village growing smaller and smaller below.

Your heart is full and you feel ageless and limitless in flight.

You soar out over the village square to the shoreline.

You feel the salty sea breeze as you glide over the water.

You descend toward the surface to enjoy the feeling of cool spray against your face and feathers.

Ahead,

Leaping dolphins catch the scarlet light of the waning sun.

From an ordinary person to the guest of honor at the dragon palace beneath the sea to a soaring,

Ecstatic crane,

You have become master of land,

Sea,

And sky.

You never want to touch down.

Breathe deeply.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Feel the breath in your body filling up the belly.

Savor the sweetness of your breath,

How it nourishes the body,

How it sustains you.

Feel the breath flowing in and out of the body like gentle waves flowing in and out,

Up and back on a quiet,

Peaceful beach.

Picture yourself on that shore,

Comfortable.

Maybe you're lying on the warm sand or seated in a chair.

Maybe you're out to sea,

Lying on a safe raft that bobs up and down with the waves.

Wherever you are,

Feel or see the waves rolling in and out,

In and out in time with your breath,

In and out.

Feel where your body connects with the sand or the seat or the raft,

And feel how the tides are part of one big interconnected system of life,

Energy,

And movement.

Breathe.

Maybe dip your toes in the water if you like.

It's perfectly warm.

Feel the warmth travel up from the toes into the soles of the feet,

Tops of the feet,

The ankles,

The calves,

The shins,

The knees.

And breathing with the rolling waves in and out,

The thighs,

The pelvis,

The belly.

The waves roll in and out with the rhythm of your breath,

The back,

The chest,

Shoulders,

The upper arms,

The elbows,

The forearms,

The wrists,

The palms.

The backs of the hands,

The fingers.

Breathe in and out with the rhythm of the waves,

The neck,

The jaw,

The face,

Ears,

The forehead,

The scalp,

The whole body,

Warm,

Nourished.

The whole body soft,

Relaxed.

The whole body breathe in and out with the rhythm of the ocean.

Sweet dreams.

Applause.

You

Reviews

I rarely make it past the first little bit, but even when I get woken up half an hour in, it's still able to help me slip back to sleep easily

Definitely one of my favorites. I listen to this sleep story at least twice a week, falling asleep within minutes. I actually just had ro sit through it once just to hear the full story. Thank you.

Woke up in the middle of the night and your soothing voice helped me get right back to sleep. Thank you! 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽

Your meditations are so nice I have never heard the end of anything you upload! I love your meds so much & I think your one of my number one teachers though you have more meds

You are my favorite meditation teacher. I keep on going back to your older stories over and over. Please keep on making new ones, your work is magical. Thank you so much!

Very nice and enjoyable, Thanks 😊

This is my go-to sleep story. I have yet to hear the ending!

This is another wonderful Sleep & Sorcery story. Laurel, you have done a terrific job with your writing and your delivery. Thanks for another relaxing meditation to help me get to sleep.

Like all your stories, I fell asleep. Thank you so much! 🙏🏻❤️

Such a magnificent mental space these series hold. Laurel's voice and pace is amazing for sending one of to sleep.
They're perfectly prepared and centred... Just what I've been looking for in a sleepytime wind down.
I have to be honest in that I struggle to get to the end without falling into a deep sleep - but that's what they're for!!
I look forward to new titles and adventures often.

Marvellous so very clever thoroughly enjoyed this story thank you Namaste 🙏🏻

Awesome tale and told beautifully