(Continued conversation between the pa and the daughter)
Pa:My sweet girl, though you've taken yes as an answer from everybody on board due to them being quiet, there's still time. Are you absolutely certain about your resolve since you're wet behind the ears in the case of the tutelage of a child?
Daughter:Yes father, my resolution is inexorable.
Pa: If that's the case, we need to first figure out if Arin's one of us or not.
Daughter:I wholeheartedly believe that he's one of us.
Pa: Being born into a "Fozard" family is an unparalleled honour, but if he was not born into a "Nezard" family like us, or even worse, if he was born into a "Norboo" family, he'll give up the ghost the moment we enter the Thunder realm, and not a minuscule of its body extant will be left.
Daughter: I acknowledge the truth that his body will turn into smithereens if he's not one of us. I don't know why, but I can sense that Arin is one of us, and he'll make it past the Thunder realm since he already beat the horse sense by enduring (who knows how long) in this mammoth Moana.
Pa: I guess we don't have any other choice left; leaving him is not an option as he'll die in this gargantuan moana, so taking this probability of life and death is our only option.
The girl looked at Arin for some time with a tranquil gaze and figured that she doesn't want to lose him in ashes but this is the only way. The baby boy, Arin, also kept on looking at the girl with a curious gaze while keeping its cakehole closed. The girl then booped the neb of Arin and kissed him on the cheeks. In response to the girl's kiss, Arin started to giggle at first but kept on grinning from ear to ear later on.
Pa:Looking at both of you anybody could tell that there is a certain bond between you two even though you meet with each other for the first time.
Daughter:I know right?, just look at how his visage is coruscating with a beam of euphoria!.
Pa: "Yeah, he's definitely on cloud nine!" Saying this, the girl's father took the neonate Arin in his embrace and started canoodling as the baby nestled in his arms, sucking one of its fingers.
"I'm going to bring Mary's moo juice for the pickney to drink; we need to check right now if he can survive by feeding on it before we enter the Thunder realm," said the girl to her father, and she was headed for the kitchen.
Within a short patch of time, the sheila came back with a gold-plated flagon brimful of moo juice.The pater of the sheila holded the baby upright to make it duck soup for her to feed the lad.
As the lad was feeding upon the moo juice with gusto, the swarming people of the vessel had a Jack Nohi at the baby and were distancing themselves from the little one to steer clear of any kind of attachment as the kid's future was full of obscurity.
After the kid drank some of the milk, it didn't seem to prove harmful for his body, which became clear as time passed. In fact, the kid seemed to enjoy drinking every last bit of the milk, which made the girl happy beyond words that he'd be able to survive by drinking Marry's milk.
"We are about to enter the stormy site of the Thunder Realm; take caution, y'all," shrieked a man on the vessel, who was presumably a crew member.
"My beloved daughter, it's now crystal clear that we can feed Arin Marry's milk, which makes him extraordinary as most babies would face difficulties such as intestinal bleeding if they didn't get their mother's milk and were fed an animal's milk, for example, a cow like our Marry, but it's now time to witness the most dangerous aspect of the child's fate, which is whether he'll live after entering the Thunder Realm or not," said the girl's father as he held the kid's tiny soft fingers gently.
"Father, albeit the child's past is mysterious, I'm positive that Arin will make it through the Thunder realm since he already passed the milk test, which was essential for his survival, and proved himself as a truly exceptional kid unlike others," uttered the girl while contemplating the black clouds that had emerged and were gyrating all over the sky.
"I hope so. May God's divine blessing be on this child, Arin, as I wholeheartedly wish to see him grow up before my very eyes as my grandson."
Amidst the dark clouds hovering above the vessel, thunderclaps could be heard as lightning cracked the caliginous sky, and blue flashes of light could be glimpsed, but those were of no biggie compared to the unresting kismet of the child Arin's entity. Every one of the vessels was curious to see whether Arin would make it or not, which thrust him into the limelight of their dim-lit, evanescent gazes, fixated on him as he breathed.
Witnessing the storm worsen, the girl also began to pray to God just like her father, hoping that God might bestow his divine mercy upon the body and soul of the lad.
The torrent combers of the turbulent seawater were ramming at the hull of the vessel but the ship was safeguarded with a barrier of makutu so there was no damage done to the ship's body.With the passage of time, the sea's rolling billows became more intense, but even without magical protection, the vessel was sturdy enough to get past any obstacles with ease.
"We are currently inside the stormy site of the Thunder Realm," yelled a man in his forties as thunder rumbled behind them in the distance.
The girl quickly glanced at Arin, and he was motionless while white fluids were coming out of his cakehole. The girl then took Arin in her embrace and hugged him affectionately as tears cascading from her eyes formed a rill throughout her visage.
"Don't be doleful, my child; I still haven't chucked up the sponge yet, so you too have to stay vigorous!" said the girl's father, leaning towards her to calm her down.
Her father's words ignited a fire of hope inside her and she was patiently waiting for Arin to come back to her emerging as victorious over this life-or-death predicament.
After some extent, Arin locomoted his hands and giggled looking at the girl. The girl also grinned like a Cheshire cat with tears of euphoria and wiped off the white fluids from the bazoo of Arin.
"See, he's living. I believe in you, my daughter, so take good care of my grandson Arin from now on," said the girl's father while gently petting her on the head.
"I will, father," said the girl, looking at the baby boy she named Arin with a benign grin.
As for the people of the vessel, they all had an exuberant emotive mien seeing the bairn survive the trial of life and death except one woman in her twenties almost the same age as the girl.
The woman bit her pursed lips in vexation since she amorously carried a torch for the girl as the ideal vivacious woman of her dream, but the girl never had the hots for the woman named Lilia as she was not a tribade in nature.
Lilia probably would have been the happiest woman alive if Arin had kicked the bucket. She was planning to impress the girl by solacing her after the child's death to win her heart, but who knows? She still could have been rejected by the girl even after this spurious act of compassion.
The dark, stormy clouds that had blanketed the whole sky began to dissipate, leaving blue-coloured, crystal-clear skies in their place. There were no injuries on the ship, so everyone was perfectly safe and sound.
"We made it, y'all; we safely went past the stormy site of the Thunder Realm, and now all that's left is to locate its mainland, which will be our new homeland starting from today," said the captain of the ship with a jolly mien.
"We are free from harm now; I'll take great care of you starting from today, Arin Sonnet, my beloved son," said the girl as she squeezed the fluffy cheeks of the baby and landed a heartwarming kiss.
Seeing the girl all snuggly with the bairn made Lilia bit her handkerchief out of envy and thus she plotted a stratagem.
"This child should be given to a woman who has previous experience in terms of taking care of a child, not to a bachelorette like Erina, who is wet behind the ears," articulated Lilia, pointing her finger at the baby boy Arin.
"I don't get it. Why do you have an issue all of a sudden? Why didn't you say anything when I asked if anybody had objections to my decision?" enunciated Erina as she cradled Arin in her arms.
"It's because I forthrightly didn't think that this baby boy would make it past the Thunder Realm, but now that the boy has survived the ordeal of life and death, we most certainly need to ensure that a caring and experienced foster mother loves him and provides him with a better chance at life," said Lilia, while erasing the sham teardrops falling from her glistening eyes.
"For God's sake, Lilia, this is a blissful moment between them; couldn't you rain on their parade later?" said Erina's father, coughing.
"It's okay, father. I know how to deal with it, as she's only a naysayer clamouring for attention," said Erina calmly.
"What!? I'm vying for attention. Be real, Erina. There was complete pandemonium among everyone in the crowd as they were concerned whether they would finally be free or not, so nobody paid attention to the baby boy and didn't even consider speaking up for him, except me," replied Lilia, appearing distraught.
"It's weird, isn't it? I knew that people were afraid about their future, including me, but I didn't seem to quite catch anyone panicking in a state of hysteria. Anyway, while I agree with you that it would be a wise decision to give him to an experienced carer, I can't and won't relinquish him just because you have issues with me and have doubts about my ability to raise him as a mother," said Erina as her eyes bore into Lilia's with an insinuating, defiant glare.
"It's not just me; others also have a problem with that, right?" After saying this, Lilia looked around for people who agreed with her slant on Erina's motherhood, but none raised a voice as they all knew the resolute and strong-willed nature of Erina better than anyone.
"See, no one except you thinks it wouldn't be a crackerjack idea if I became the mother."
Instead of being wooed by people as Lilia was expecting, she had to back down as the crowd fell silent, which not only spoiled her plan but also led her to stop her masquerade bellyaching. However, she still hasn't given up on pining for Erina and has decided to stay patient for the time being.
"Does anybody else has objections?," asked Erina sounding equanimous.
The crowd was tight-lipped like before, and Erina once again took it as a yes from everyone present.
"Land, y'all, I can see the mainland; we can finally live our lives in this realm, being free from the shackles of the World king," uttered the captain of the vessel.
All the people of the ship were in seventh heaven to finally find a place unassailable from the grasp of the world king and it was followed by whoops of happy cheers.
The captain and his crew steered the ship closer to the mainland and dropped the anchor for everyone to get down on land from the vessel.
All the people on the vessel wanted Erina and the baby boy in her arms, whom she had named Arin Sonnet, to be the first people to set foot on this newfound land.
Erina accepted their proffer, so she jumped from the ship and landed swiftly on the mainland. Everybody on the ship clapped their hands to celebrate the momentous event of Erina and the baby boy in her arms, named Arin's, setting foot for the first time on this land.
Erina looked at Arin and kissed him on the brow, but he was sound asleep and made no reaction to her affectionate touch. She further found Arin's cuteness striking as he was sleeping, sucking one of his baby fingers. After Erina's descent onto the land with the baby boy named Arin in her arms, the people of the vessel started to get down one after another.
Erina's father also got down shortly after, and the captain and his crew were the last people to disembark.
"We made it y'all after travelling for umpteen days on the sea, it's been a tedious journey but it was worth it and I am cock-a-hoop of the outcome,"said the chief of the group named Dilion, the father of Lilia.
"What will we do now?" asked a man amidst the chock-a-block.
"Let's see, for now we'll first start by setting up impermanent tents made up of canvas to sleep in at night, and from the next day onward we'll work together tirelessly every day till we build cozy wooden houses for everyone."
"What about food?" asked a woman after coming in front of the crowd.
"Don't worry, we have a reservoir of viands laden on the ship that will last for two days, so we'll need to manage something for everyone to eat during these upcoming two days."
"Does anybody else have questions?" asked Dillion, raising his ears.
No one enounced a word or wanted to impugn, so the chief and the people under his command started to work diligently to set up the tents for ephemeral usage.
Amid the ongoing work, the eastern horizon began to show the first hints of dawn, adding a tiny shade of grey to the blackness of the world that draped a soothing reprieve over the nonstop toil of the wearied labourers as a tranquil mantle of rest.
When the sun fully dipped below the skyline and the night unfurled its obsidian expanse, suddenly, high above the serene, ginormous, star-spangled, velvety cosmic canvas, a blue comet streaked through the heavens, leaving a dazzling trail on the horizon. It bedazzled everyone and marked the creation of a stupendous view that served as a beacon of hope for the people who had just arrived on this newfound land.