The Night Marchers and Other Strange Tales by Daniel Braum

Author:Daniel Braum [Braum, Daniel]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Mystery, Science Fiction, Short Stories, Speculative
ISBN: 9781940658711
Amazon: B01F9ISS4C
Publisher: Grey Matter Press
Published: 2016-05-10T23:00:00+00:00

JELLYFISH MOON

Twin crescent beaches of fine, white sand fanned out from the rocky tide pools at the foot of the steep cliff, a calm and shallow bay between them. Two larger-than-life figures hewn from the rock flanked a wide cave entrance leading into the heart of the island. The seated men had the elongated heads of salt-water crocs, and were said to be servants of Harat, the guardian spirit of the small fishing community turned exclusive tourist haven. Where the beaches thinned and arced together forming the narrow mouth of the bay, San paddled his dugout full of tackle and wire to repair the nets. Bare-chested and barefoot, his dark skin glistened with salty sweat.

The bay was closed off from the ocean with nets. Just as it had been every time this year for generations. San’s father, and his father before him had been a net diver. With the growing tourist industry came stronger nets and plastic buoys, but the job was always the same:check the nets and keep the bay free of crocs for the Jellyfish Moon.

San paddled close to the line of buoys marking where the nets disappeared beneath the water.

Every paddler was on the water patrolling for crocs. San heard his brother-in-law Charlie’s deep chuckle. Of course he was happy. The sun was shining, all was cool and calm, and he came home everyday to his wife and children.

“San, you take your head out of da sky and dive down to those nets,” his sister, Tal, called from a cluster of paddlers.

Her voice surprised him. She should be preparing for the festival but she loved to wrestle the crocs out of the bay with her husband Charlie and the boys.

“I checked them twice already today,” he said.

“Den check ’em again.”

“Got ’em,” Charlie cried. His rope noose was taut from the struggling of a snared croc below. Tal deftly turned her boat to go help.

“And when you are done, Marika is here,” Tal called over her shoulder as she paddled away. “Charlie says one of the boys took her bags up to Ruby Shores.”

San’s arms went weak upon hearing her name.

It was the worst time, he had so much to do before the dark of the moon.

San put his feet in the water, readying himself to check the rocks at the sea floor anchoring this section of nets.

It had been almost a year since she had left. Only two more days to the dark of the summer new moon, the Jellyfish Moon. Already the round, translucent creatures were flowing in with the tide. The nets were wide enough to let their fist-sized, spherical bodies pass, yet small enough to keep the head of even a small crocodile out.

Feeling the soft creatures against his toes, he gazed at the huts and viewing platforms that had already been set up for the rich tourists at the distant edges of the beaches. Normally these were the least desirable places to sunbathe because of their distance from the palm tree shade and the outdoor pavilion of shops and vendors on the other side of the Temple.

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