Khudi's Voyage of Joy

“An ocean of stars” was what the eldest of the Elders had told me as a child. I gazed out into the night sky and I could see it in my mind. The gentle waves of stars rolling over each other like waves upon a shoreline, the shining moon softly kissing the waters, and even the occasional shooting star that burst across the sky like a wave cresting out of sight.

I felt joy spread through my body as I cast off the heavy green cloak that covered my shoulders and back. It was an honor to bring this gift to our greatest Queen and most esteemed Protector. But more importantly, it was freedom! Freedom from the endless cycles of work and sacrifice, of taking care of my parents while they took care of me. I was free! Free to explore this new world beyond our small home village!

I glanced at the dark blue water around me, watching for signs of life. When I first arrived on this planet, I feared its creatures would be dangerous but some were just like us - walking on two legs - except for their hairier bodies and pointy ears. They seemed to be friendly enough so I didn’t fear them too much... though that wasn’t always true for others nearby. Of course there were those nastier creatures who attacked us on sight but after years of conflict we learned how to deal with them or avoid them all together.

I waded through the water, feeling my claws sink into its soft surface until they kicked up some sand at the bottom. I picked up one paw and saw a small shell clinging to it. With my opposite paw, I scraped away at it until I managed to pry it away from my nails only to find an orange-colored pearl hidden within its center. This must be one of their eggs; they are very precious and highly prized in trade with other species so I tucked it away into my gown before continuing on towards shore.

The Queen’s palace was not far now but I knew better than to follow her path along the shoreline where her guards watched vigilantly for anyone who might approach. Instead, I followed her secret path through the marshlands that lay between here and there. My bare feet got wetter with each step but after years of helping my parents harvest rice on our farm, this kind of squishy terrain was not like wading through mud - no different than walking through wet grass after a heavy rain back home in fact!

As I pushed through tall reeds poking out from water up to my waist, a fierce hissing sound made me freeze in place - hoping not to attract whatever creature may have made that noise. Then, another loud hiss sounded right behind me followed by another at my right side before finally another at my left flank with none too soon because two large snakes were suddenly slithering towards me!

I don’t think they could strike if they wanted to because they were still underwater but still quite close enough that their fangs could get close enough to bite me if they wanted to eat me! As quickly as possible I scrambled forward towards dry land which turned out to be not too far away thankfully! Once safely on dry land again, I leaned against a tree trunk to catch my breath because that took some effort out of me!

As soon as my breathing returned to normal, a shadow appeared overhead blocking out all light from above. My heart pounded in fear for a moment until another hissing sound emerged from above and then quite suddenly a large frog fell out from above landing with a squish on top of one of the snake heads pinning it beneath him while another bit furiously into the other snake head keeping it still in place long enough for him to finish off both snakes before hopping off towards deeper swamp waters where he belonged... or so I assume since he didn't return after a few moments leaving only their dead bodies behind in his wake for me alone to deal with! Ugh... maybe next time when she asked me how many snakes there were, she should also mention how many frogs might be involved? After all this was supposed to be just a simple trip deep into swamp lands where no one else dared go so why would we need such warnings? She should know better really!