Chapter 16

The Man from the Sea

Sophie sometimes wondered why she had her powers. Was she born with them? Did she acquire them somehow? Why her? Maybe it would remain a mystery forever. She wondered it again that morning as she continued helping her mother set the table. Fortunately, a clue presented itself that would get her one step closer to discovering the answer.

“Have I ever told you, Sophie,” her mother suddenly remarked, “about how Mr. Stanley and I were once engaged to be married?”

Sophie dropped the dishes she was carrying—making a large clank on the table—and gasped in amazement.

“No! You never told me THAT!”

“Well . . . ’tis true . . .”

Our heroine dragged a chair into the kitchen and placed it in front of her mother. She plopped down in it and gazed up with a big smile on her face, like a student sitting at a desk, eager to receive the day’s lesson.

“I’m guessing you want to hear about it,” said Julie.

Sophie didn’t even have to answer.

“Very well then,” her mother sighed. “If you insist.” And she told her the story. “Where shall I start?” She slowly paced back and forth, blushing. “Well, I was just a little older than you are when it happened. I was living at home with my mother and father. Charles was the boy next door. We were very close friends. We played together . . . studied together . . . helped on each other’s farms. He was terribly handsome! And I knew he liked me . . .”

“Go on . . .” urged Sophie, very interested.

“Well, one afternoon, we went for a walk in a little wood. I remember it like it was yesterday. The sun was out. There were bright flowers everywhere! We found a little field full of bunnies, and started feeding them. Suddenly, he got down on one knee. He said, ‘Dearest Julie, you are the fairest creature in all the land! And have the purest heart! I should very much like you to be my wife. I love you—and promise to love you forever!’”

“Really!?” exclaimed Sophie. Her spectacles nearly flung off. She had to push them back into place. “And what did you say?”

“Well, I didn’t know what to say. So . . . I said yes!”

Sophie laughed and laughed—nearly falling out of her chair.

“I know!” giggled Julie along with her. “Believe me, I was as shocked as you are. But why wouldn’t I say yes? It made perfect sense! He was a wonderful boy—kind, polite . . .”

“Handsome . . .” teased Sophie.

“Our families were thrilled. We both knew they’d been planning it. But . . . I started feeling nervous. Something just wasn’t right.”

“You weren’t in love with him.”

“No . . . I’m afraid I wasn’t. But how could I tell him? He was so sweet. Oh, you should have seen him.”

Our heroine kept listening eagerly.

“So, what did you do?”

“Well, I don’t think I realized it at the time. Or at least not right away. It was all so confusing. I was only thirteen. Nothing like this had ever happened to me before! One day I saw him coming over with his family to make wedding plans. Everyone was excited. My sisters had designed the dress, shoes—everything! We just needed to set the date and talk about living arrangements. Was I going to move in with them? Were we going to build our own house? Did I even feel ready to leave yet? I was so young! I was happy where I was. I didn’t want things to change. It was all happening so fast! Well, I began to feel terribly frightened by it all. So, just as I heard them knocking on the door, I jumped out the window and ran away!”

Sophie was really enjoying this story. Her mother was so embarrassed. She’d never seen her so red before.

“How ridiculous! Wherever did you run off to?” she asked, trying not to laugh too much.

“Nowhere! I just ran! I didn’t know what else to do. I ran and ran until I got to the sea. I cried. I prayed. I laughed—because of how silly it all was! What was I doing? Charles was such a sweet young man. What was wrong with me? I stood there gazing out at the ocean. The sun was setting. I cried out to God and begged he’d send a ship to come take me away—or to give me some kind of sign about what I should do. If marrying Charles was what God wanted, I would. I just needed to know first, that’s all! And that’s when I saw it . . .”

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“Oh! OH! Father’s ship!” Sophie shouted, slamming her fists on her thighs. She recognized this story now.

“Yes!”

She knew her parents met near the sea that way. She had heard it many times. But she never knew the reason her mother had been there in the first place.

“How romantic!” Sophie sighed.

“I suppose,” chuckled Julie. “But I promise you, it wasn’t very exciting at the time! No, it wasn’t a ship. It was a shipwreck. Someone had crashed there! I still remember it. Just as I finished praying, I saw it scattered across the rocks. The wind suddenly picked up. A great wave came and washed it to shore. A man tumbled out. He fell into the water. I had to dive under to save him. And, well, you know the rest. I dragged him ashore and revived him . . .”

“So, you kissed him?” Sophie teased.

“Heavens, no!” answered Julie. “What do you take me for? I had no choice! He wasn’t breathing. I had to resuscitate him.” Sophie felt like teasing her mother some more, but let it go. “When he came to, he couldn’t walk. He had no memory of what had happened or even who he was. I asked him to wait while I went to find help, but he begged me not to tell anyone. He looked like he was in some kind of trouble.”

“What kind of trouble?” Sophie asked.

“I didn’t know. But it looked serious. Oh, he was so handsome! And such power in his voice. How could I resist? I obeyed his every word. Instead of telling anyone, I dragged him to a nearby cave on the beach and stayed until nightfall, nursing his wounds. I visited every evening in secret—sneaking him meals, reading him stories, teaching him all about God and the Book. He taught me about the world beyond the sea, science and strange new music. We fell in love that summer. By the end, he was fully healed and had rebuilt his ship to leave. But we couldn’t part! I brought him back to our village, introduced him, and taught him our ways here. Charles saw right away how I felt. He understood why I’d been acting so silly all summer. He forgave me and bestowed his blessing on us. Soon after that, your father and I were married.”

Sophie loved hearing the tale of her parents meeting. It had always been her favorite. But now that she was getting older and closer to that age herself, it sometimes made her feel worried. Especially the part about marriage, for one day she would be married, too. What if the man she married wanted her to leave her house? What if he lived on the other side of the village? What if it happened early like it did for her mother? Sophie was only ten. That was just a few years away! And, most worrying of all, what if she married someone who discovered her powers and didn’t like them? Maybe they would think she was some kind of— Well, she didn’t like to think about it.

“Mother,” Sophie asked then, solemnly. “Where did father come from?”

She already knew what her mother was going to say, but couldn’t help asking.

“Well, that’s the great mystery,” Julie sighed. “No one knows . . .”

Sophie sighed too.

But then our heroine suddenly got an idea. Maybe she inherited her powers from her father! Yes—he was very strange, after all. Come to think of it, some of the strange things that happened around her sometimes seemed to happen around him. Or did they? It was hard to tell. Maybe he was good at hiding them too. He was also the only one in the village her powers never seemed to work on. If only she could find out where he came from, then maybe she could discover the answer. Her mother noticed how worried she was and tried to cheer her up.

“But we can guess where he’s from . . .” she said.

“Hmm?”

Sophie looked up curiously.

“I think your father was a pirate!” said Julie. She drew up her mixing spoon like a sword. “Maybe he was in a great battle with a monster—a kraken!—and was flung overboard! Pow, like that!” More batter flew through the air. Samson was very happy. “He hit his head and forgot!”

Sophie liked this game. But what an awful suggestion! A pirate?

“No!” she answered, defending his honor. Sophie loathed pirates. Sometimes, she saw them around the village border. They were dirty, smelly and rude. “No, if that were true, he’d have bad teeth!”

“Well, what do you think, then?” Julie asked, challenging her.

Sophie thought about it.

“I think . . . I think he might have been a knight,” she said, grabbing the roller. Now, she had a sword too. “Or maybe a musketeer. He was in the middle of rescuing a princess, but had a spell cast on him by the evil sorcerer, Kalthazar.” Our heroine was a very talented actress: “‘On guard, yee fool’ said he. ‘I should have known t’was you. You are the man who killed my brother! And now, I am the man who is going to kill you!’”

Julie was quite the actress also. They often starred together in the plays Sophie wrote for the village festival. “So, you think! But you are deceived! I am not Kalthazar, but his twin sister. And my power is even greater. Hazza!”

Sophie and her mother chased each other around, giggling, making swishing sounds and an even greater mess of the kitchen. Neither of them noticed that Sophie’s father had been standing in the doorway watching the whole time. When they finally did, they both froze and turned bright red.

Sophie’s father was a tall and powerful looking man. He had broad shoulders and a perfectly straight posture, like an army commander. His eyes were deep blue, like Sophie’s, and his gaze was piercing. But the expression on his face was soft and gentle. Even gentler, was his voice.

“Good morning,” he said plainly.

Was he upset? Was he angry? Did he even notice the mess they’d made? With him, it was so hard to tell. He always looked so calm and steady. Sophie curtsied and greeted him.

“Good morning, Father.”

She bowed her head extra low and for a much longer time than usual. Then her father started to smile. The man didn’t smile much, reader, but when he did, it was a grand, kingly smile. But he couldn’t hold back any longer—and broke into laugher. What a mess they’d made, indeed! Sophie laughed too and charged into his arms. He picked her up and hugged her tightly.