Ankyra Sound rāpa

Haunt’s loss deeply wounded Njord. Fresh with grief, the seafarer descended the cliffs to seek emotional refuge. His body felt hot, expression caught between sadness and rage as if it could not decide between the two.

The sound of waves breaking on the pitted sea caves drowned out the hurt. The smell of the sea refreshed him. Without hesitation Njord cast himself into the frigid water. He swam for a bit, and then merely let the sea take him like flotsam, pulled along the shore by a rip current. His mind fell silent as he drifted into a blank, but meditative state.

The sun dipped lower and lower until it touched the horizon. Liquid rays of yellow, red, and pink flashed until the color faded into darkness.

Njord’s toes began to hurt, and then his limbs grew numb… with a spattering huff (like water out a blowhole), Njord churned his legs and made his way back to shore. Sopping wet and shivering, he dragged himself past the stone grotto into the woods where he spied a figure of brilliant white curled up beneath a tree.

The redtail gasped as if lightening hit him. “Haunt??” he shouted, convinced it was his friend’s ghost resting peacefully in the autumn twilight.