Prince of Banyan: Island X

PRINCE OF BANYAN

− Island X −

No matter the darkness, the light shineth the dawn after

Written by

Irene Kueh

Edited by

Veronica Kueh & Don Mueller

Cover by

Cora Graphics

Copyright © 2014 Irene Kueh

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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Prince of Banyan is dedicated to:

Veronica Kueh

(My first source of inspiration to be a writer)

&

Immanuel Shelden Kueh Dennis

(This story was born exactly ten years before you entered into my life.

This one's for you, Mama's Little Shadow)

&

My Forever Friend, Lane

You crossed the Rainbow Bridge exactly six years ago today.

Thank you for the memory, my dearest friend.

You'll forever be in my heart!

PRINCE OF BANYAN

…Mermaids and Mermen…

…Keepers and Guardians…

…Supernatural Beings and Humans…

It takes the heart of a child to accept this magical existence

ONE

Madness! Alex Landon cursed under his breath as he read the headline on the front page of the newspaper.

Simon, the owner of the newsstand chuckled. I think I know which one you're talking about, he said. It's been the talk of the town.

Alex pointed at the article. Don't you think that's madness, Simon? he asked.

Sure is, Alex, said Simon. Sure is. I don't know what this world is coming to. Madness indeed. Yet it sells like hotcakes.

Alex grabbed one and handed Simon a few dollars. Have a good one. said Alex.

He shook his head and headed toward the O'Shaunessy Tower a block away. He took the elevator to the second floor and marched toward the last room. It was open. He entered without a word and closed the door with a loud bang. A woman sitting on the desk jumped. She sighed after seeing who it was.

Look at this! Alex yelled as he held the paper in front of her face.

The woman read out loud. Young Boy Saw Mermaids At Sea.

Alex watched his friend's face darken. She sat back and snatched the paper.

You don't believe this trash, do you? he asked.

Why not? she asked, without looking at him.

Kate, it's madness! said Alex. That's why. His blood boiled. He pulled a chair closer to the desk and sat down. There's no such thing as mermaids. You know that.

It can exist, she insisted.

Alex smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand. Omigosh, don't tell me you buy that! he said. He leaned back and added, Then again, I can't blame you. Miss Die Hard Lover of Fairy Tales, you!

Kate narrowed her brows. What do you mean by that? she asked.

Alex rolled his eyes. You love to read fairy tales and you so easily believe in the world of fantasy, he said.

Kate folded her hands on top of the desk. They do exist, she said before reading the headline again. Her forehead wrinkled.

Something was spinning in her head, he could tell. What? he asked.

What what? she asked.

I know that look. What is it? Alex repeated the question.

Kate held up the paper. This! She pointed at the picture of a young boy. This boy who claimed he saw mermaids in the Atlantic Ocean while sailing with his father. He saw as many as five with his naked eyes.

Alex grabbed the paper and scanned through the page. After a few seconds, he said, Listen to this! He read, We consulted with the marine biologists, the oceanographers, and Dr. Clement Steinberg, the well-known expert of the aquatic world. None of them believed in the existence of mermaids. They relied mostly on the theory of someone suffering from seasickness. According to Dr. Steinberg, when someone suffers a major seasickness, he or she can have illusions of seeing things beyond imagination, such as the case of someone dying of thirst seeing a mirage of water in the desert. Alex surmised, What Young Timmy thought he saw was simply an illusion, a trick of the eye. There's no such thing as mermaids. Alex laid the paper down. Or mermen. Case closed.

Mermen... you know what comes to mind? asked Kate. The image of Neptune, the Roman God of the Sea, holding a golden Trident in his hand.

Alex glared at her.

She went on. And Dr. Steinberg doesn't sound like an expert. A kook, more like it.

Alex threw his head back and laughed.

She scrunched up her face. What's so funny? she asked.

Alex pointed his index finger at her. You, he said and laughed again.

Kate shook her head and leaned back in her chair. When Alex stopped laughing, big tears rolled down his face. He wiped them with the back of his hands.

You're too funny, he added. You called the expert a kook. How about you? Believing in strange stuff. In unfounded tales. He shook his head wildly. No offense, but I'd rather listen to him any day.

Kate eyed a pen on her desk. He knew she fought the urge to throw it at him.

Why are you so mad, Alex? she asked. Before Alex could answer, she snapped her fingers. It's because it happened in our own backyard and you didn't get this great news yourself, isn't it?

He made a sour face. The Atlantic Ocean is not in our backyard, he said.

Kate tapped on the paper. You know what I mean, she said. This happened in Nantucket. Not in other oceans or on other continents. Kate sighed. We're both researchers, Alex. We've come across weirder things...

He sighed. But nothing like this, he said. I've traveled many rivers, seas, and oceans. But I've never once seen a strange creature. And this boy… He poked at young Timmy's face on the paper. This snot nose boy saw not one, but five! He held up five fingers. Five mermaids. He must have been on some kind of goofy medication.

She shook her head. Alex, be nice, she said as she eyeballed the pen again.

Seriously, though, Kate, no human being can see a mermaid because there's no such thing as mermaids, he said. Or mermen, for that matter.

Just like UFOs, mermaids could exist, she said.

He snorted. Yeah, sure! he said. I can believe in UFOs, but mermaids…

She sighed. You know better than to close your mind, Alex, she said. Your mind can see things that your naked eyes can't possibly see. Remember all you need is a heart of a child.

Alex took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Yeah, yeah, he said.

Do you remember who said that? she asked.

Alex kept his eyes closed and didn't answer.

To refresh your memory, one Alex Landon told me that once upon a time when he was not such a cynic, she said. I think you've lost that heart of a child, Alex.

Alex opened his eyes and ignored her comment. Tell me honestly, Kate, he said. Have you experienced anything like this before? Before Kate could answer, he went on. I'm not talking about mermaids, per se. What's the wildest thing you've ever seen? For me, the strangest thing is the haunted house we visited a few years ago.

I remember, she said. And how about the hunchback creature you saw a few years back? Kate rubbed the gooseflesh on her arms. Alex made a face. Anyway, to quench your curiosity, the answer is yes.

Alex felt as if someone punched him in the gut. How come you never told me about this? he asked and pointed at his chest. I'm your best friend.

Kate smiled. Some things are best left unsaid, she said.

Come on, tell me, he begged. There's no secret between us, remember?

Kate rolled her eyes again. Don't get me started on that one, she said.

Alex pretended not to hear her. Come on, tell me, he said.

Why must I? she asked.

To make me a believer, he said.

You are a believer, she said.

He poked at the paper a little too hard and punched a hole in it. I don't believe in this, he said.

You believe in ghosts, Alex, she said. And UFOs.

Alex moved his head from side to side, debating on what to say to that. He finally agreed. Okay, I believe in those, but I want to believe in more, he said. Come on, tell me your story.

Kate got up from her seat and looked out the window, positioning her back to Alex.

What's the story, Kate? he asked.

You won't believe me, she said.

Why not? he asked.

She leaned against the window and faced him. You don't believe in mermaids, she said.

What does that have to do with your story? asked Alex. Omigosh! He leapt to his feet. You've seen mermaids! he added incredulously. When? Where?

Kate held out her hand. Calm down, she said. I've never seen mermaids. It's just that if you don't believe in mermaids, you'll never believe in my story.

Alex sat back down. Okay, you're right, he said. I'm more jealous of Archie Kent than the content of the article. I wish it was me who wrote that big news. Alex stared at his hands. I can believe in mermaids… and fairy tales.

Kate finally snatched the pen from the desk and threw it at him. I'm not a freak! she said.

Alex caught it before it hit his face. I never said you are, he said. You're my best friend, Kate. Even if you are a freak, I still love you. He spun the pen between his fingers.

Kate chuckled. Very funny, she said.

Now, tell me your story, will you? pleaded Alex.

TWO

Kate watched for a little while. It mesmerized her watching Alex spinning the pen between his fingers and he never once dropped it. He tried to teach her but she failed miserably. Pens were not cheap either. She broke many of them.

Alex dropped the pen on the table. Kate, spill it! he said.

Kate raised her hand in the air. Fine! she said. Without looking at Alex, she added, When I was five or so, Dad taught me how to swim. Then one day, like any other hot, summer day, he brought me and my younger sister to the river. As soon as the river was in sight, I sprinted and dove in. The current was way too strong for me. I panicked and I went under.

That's scary, said Alex. Were you okay?

Kate shifted uneasily in her seat. I swallowed so much water; my throat was about to burst, she said. I began seeing white light.

The bright... white... light? asked Alex.

Kate nodded. Yes, that white light, she said.

You obviously survived it, so what happened? he asked Did your dad come and save you?

Kate closed her eyes. She could visualize the mysterious girl's serene face. She quickly opened her eyes. Something strange happened… The most beautiful girl appeared before me, she said.

How did she know you were drowning? he asked.

Kate shrugged. I don't know, she said. But she appeared before me. She smiled and swam toward me. The next thing I remembered was Dad calling my name. He applauded and cheered for me. I was floating in the water.

So what happened to the girl who saved your life? he asked.

She was gone, she said.

Gone where? he asked.

No idea, she said. She was just gone. Kate snapped her fingers. POOF. Disappeared.

Alex made a face. What do you mean disappeared? he asked. People don't just disappear.

When I realized I was floating, I swam back to the shore and looked for the girl, said Kate. She was nowhere to be found. I asked Dad where the girl went. He said there wasn't anybody else around. And we never broached the subject again.

Are you saying this girl was… Alex didn't continue.

What? Kate asked. She wanted to hear him finish his sentence.

You know what, said Alex.

I want to hear it, she said.

She was not human, was she? he asked.

Kate cringed. She did have that belief, but hearing the absurdity of it when spoken from someone she trusted turned her stomach inside out.

When I first lay my eyes on her, she was underwater with me, she said and touched her hair. She had this golden hair. Her skin was a mixture of brown and orange.

Brown-orange? he asked.

Kate spotted the hint of doubt in Alex's voice. A tiny disappointment seeped through her body. She shrugged and forced a smile.

Well, maybe the water clouded my eyes, she said. As you know, the water there is not the cleanest.

Kate leaned forward and touched the Norfolk pine tree she bought for herself last Christmas, slowly regretting talking about the mysterious girl.

Was she naked? Alex whispered, although they