Luky and the Birdmen

A warm blanket, a comfy bed, the scent of trees and juicy fruits. Anything Luky could dream of. It was nice and quiet here. Only the whistle of the wind tickled his ears.

And there was something else—the soft caress of the water on his furry feet.

Wait a minute...water?

Wind? Trees?

Luky’s eyes snapped open, and he gasped. He spat out water that had a disgusting and salty taste.

His ears and nose were full of sand. His fur was sticky and stinky. Where was he?

Luky rolled over, shaking his body, and blinked a few times. His eyes were swollen and irritated, but they got used to the light.

Standing right in front of him were tall trees Luky had never seen before. They had long and thin trunks, with spiky leaves in a bush at the ends. What kind of weird trees were those?

The sand was soft under his paws. Was this what the Heavens looked like?

No, smelling himself again, Luky knew he wasn’t dead.

Behind him, waves rolled gently along the shore. The sun shone in the sky, and there was nothing else but him and trees in this place.

Where was Miss Aurielle? And Ezra?

Where was the rest of the ship?

The sudden memory struck him—the storm, the lightning, the giant waves. Had they made it through? Was this what the Spice Isles looked like?

There was absolutely no sign of a storm here and no sign of anyone.

“Hello?” Luky called.

No response.

Luky walked up to the trees, chose one, and sat under it. He leaned against the trunk and gazed ahead at the calm ocean.

He was all alone in a place he didn’t know. He should have felt happy because he was finally in a new land, seeing something new.

But Luky was scared and still shaken by that storm. A tear rolled down his furry cheek, and he began to cry.

Luky sobbed in silence. The sound of the waves softened his cries.

Luky had fallen asleep against the strange tree. When he woke up again, he realized he was still exhausted and still all alone.

This time, he wouldn’t cry.

He picked himself up, literally, and like any reasonable being, he assessed the situation. If he’d ended up here, the others must have as well.

If they were castaway on some strange island, maybe he could find the others, and they’d build a new boat together! There were enough trees here to build a whole village!

The boy-lynx walked along the shore. If the others had drifted to this place, that’s where he would find them.

He walked for a whole hour until, finally, he saw something in the distance. It looked like a broken statue made of dark wood.

That’s when Luky realized he was staring at a shipwreck.

Based on the color and the size, it was probably the galleon. Luky gasped.

Seeing it like this, in front of his eyes, confirmed the realization of what had happened. Could there even be any survivors?

Was he the only one?

“Miss Aurielle!” Luky called. “Hello?” He put his paws around his mouth. “Hello! Is anyone here?”

Nothing.

But then, “Luky?”

Aurielle’s voice.

“Luky, is that you?”

Luky rushed to the sound. He knew exactly where it was coming from.

From behind the shipwreck, a figure appeared. It was Aurielle.

She ran to him. “Luky! Thank the gods...”

She was just in reach. Her blond hair was wet, messy, full of sand, and her eyes were red from the seawater. She no longer had a cloak.

Aurielle fell to the sand and hugged Luky so tight he could no longer breathe. Even though he barely knew her, her hug felt so comforting, like he had missed her dearly.

Luky shooed his tears away. “Where’s everyone?” he asked, his voice trembling.

Aurielle smiled and adjusted her clothes. “All of the survivors we could find are here.” She turned around and pointed at the shipwreck.

The boy-lynx noticed more people scattered around the shore. They all looked lost.

“What about Ezra?” Luky asked.

“Boy!” a man’s deep voice shouted.

Ezra popped out of the trees. He carried two full sacks of something looped over his shoulders. His long coat was dry but looked like it’d been through a fire. Ezra walked up to them.

“You’re hard to get rid of!” he said to Luky, but it sounded more friendly than mean.

Ezra dumped the two sacks on the sand and ran his hand through Luky’s tousled mane.

“Hey!” Luky whined, stepping back.

Ezra laughed and pointed at Aurielle. “Her Highness was already worried we’d never see you again!”

Aurielle blushed. “What’s all this?” She waved at the full sacks.

“Fruits, leaves, anything I found that looked edible. We’ll need something in our stomachs if we want to survive the night.”

Luky rounded his eyes. “Where are we?”

Both Aurielle and Ezra sighed.

“Definitely not on Indus-Kali,” Ezra said. He looked around, his hand protecting his eyes from the bright sun. “If my observations are correct, we might be even further down south.”

“To be honest, we’re not even sure of that,” Aurielle confessed. “The captain is gone, and over half the passengers are missing...” She hesitated. “So far, this place appears deserted.”

Luky didn’t know what to say. He was still stunned by the events.

Ezra picked up the sacks and walked toward the shipwreck.

A glimmer caught Luky’s attention. Tied to Ezra’s belt with a thin leather cord was a strange pyramid-shaped vial.

He hadn’t seen it before, but it looked...mystical. The liquid inside was like a slow spinning shadow.

“Come on,” Ezra said, pulling the boy-lynx out of his thoughts. “We need to eat something.”

Luky’s stomach growled. Not only was he still sleepy, but he was hungry now.

How long had passed since the storm? He didn’t even know, and he didn’t really dare to ask. He was a little afraid of the answer.

Sour fruit and tasteless leaves were on the menu tonight. After eating, Luky was still hungry, but there was nothing much he could do.

The sun was setting over the sea, and Ezra was already snoring beside him.

Aurielle, on the other hand, sat by the shore, her feet in the water. She was staring at the horizon, silent. She probably didn’t want to be disturbed.

The other passengers were speaking their own languages. Luky didn’t understand any of it, just that they sounded worried and sad. Perhaps he felt a bit of the same.

After dusk, the forest beyond the shore became alive. Caws, shrieks, bird calls, and other strange animal sounds emerged into the night. Luky didn’t feel particularly safe, and neither did Ezra.

The man was clinging to the pyramid vial in his sleep. Maybe it was some sort of magical protection?

Luky noticed Ezra’s other hand on the hilt of a sword. A red scabbard that was probably his rested beside the man. Ezra wasn’t just an antique dealer or explorer.

One thing was sure, the stars were exceptionally bright here. The night sky looked like a vast sea of tiny diamonds.