Noma

“Exu!” Noma called out into the black depth around her. “Exu, I need your guidance!” The heart-broken Iara was sitting on a mushroom at the most desolate spot of her swampy lake.

Camouflaging her appearance to match the fungi on which she rested, Noma had wanted to be invisible to the world around her. Her green hair, light skin, and fish-like tail formed spots in perfect comparison to the mushroom’s. Only her red eyes had been visible to passersby, but even those had been buried in her hands for most of the time.

After a while of wallowing in her unfortunes, Noma decided that she needed to be cheered up.

“Exu!” She cried. “Why won’t you come? A mortal has run off with my heart, and he has no intention of tending to it or giving it back. I fear it will never be happy again. Why won’t you help?”

Like a spotlight, Noma used her bright eyes to scan the pools around her. The corner in which she rested was especially dark. Most of the fish stayed away from the area. Not even the frogs ventured into the lifeless zone. Seaweed was scarce, and only spotted, poisonous mushrooms littered the sandy floor. Even now, Noma could only see a few caps here and there in the few feet of vision the blackness allowed.

A faint gurgling noise surrounded her.

Noma looked to her right. At the base of her perch stood three forms as black as the void they crawled out of. They were very small and resembled  young little children that the humans carried around with them in the dry world. Much like Noma, they also had glowing eyes, although theirs were green and empty. A sickly green liquid poured from their gaping mouths and coilded like seaweed into the water around them.

Noma watched the three demonic creatures walk towards the mushroom, hands outstretched, grasping the air. She withdrew her tail, moving it up onto the mushroom and away from their grasp. Their heads barely reached the top of the cap.

'Noma' - created and posted on DeviantArt by Thistly

One of the creatures belched and a large gush of the green goo expelled from its mouth. “Mother!” It said.

“Mother?” questioned Noma. “I’m sorry, little ones, but I am not your mother. I am nobody’s mother, nor do I intend to be.”

“Mother!” the other’s repeated. They inched a little closer.

“Please stay away!” Noma exclaimed, shocked and confused. Part of her tail had slipped off the side of the mushroom cap, and the child closest to it got a hold of it. Noma gasped. “Get away! Let go of me!” She now scolded the child.

More green liquid gushed out and landed on Noma’s tail. A long drawn out “EXU!” pierced the darkness.

The three children’s skin started bubbling, and within moments their frames had collapsed into three large piles of mud. Noma stared blankly at the mounds.

“How do you expect a man to love you if you treat younglings so poorly?” A deep, rumbling voice nearby vibrated the waters.  A pair of red eyes similar to Noma’s appeared a short way in the distance. The black water concealed the figure, giving the illusion that the eyes were floating.

“Exu!” Noma sighed in relief.

“You called?” Exu blinked. For a moment Noma felt alone again. “What reason would a mortal have not to love an Iara?”

“I don’t want to talk about it Exu. What is done is done, and there is nothing I can do about it. Won’t you play a game with me to cheer up my sorrow?”

Exu silently looked Noma in the eye before he spoke. “It was your tail again, I suppose?”

“Exu!” Noma broke down into tears.

“Careful now,” Exu warned. “Or you’ll contaminate your freshwater home.”

Noma took in a few large breaths in an attempt to calm herself down. “Of course it was the tail,” she said. “It’s always the tail! I’ve never been like any of the other spirits in the lakes nearby. All of them can hide their tails and walk on land to find their mates. Why can’t I do that, Exu?”

“Don’t you like being different?” he asked. “I can tell you now that the fish anywhere else aren’t happier than the ones in your lake.”

“That’s because I can’t leave! I’m always with them. I spoil them with my company. There hasn’t been a man at my shores in years, Exu! Finally one came, and before he completely fell in love with me, he spotted my tail and ran away. I’ll never have someone to share my home with.”

Exu thought about this for a while. “Come,” he said. His eyes turned, and soon the two of them were swimming out of the dark corner and into the bright, bustling community. Noma took another look at Exu. She always forgot how intimidating he looked in the light. His body was that of a young mortal man, and he covered himself in ritualistic red and black cloth that was always swirling around in the water. He wore a simplistic mask that concealed his true face, and bore a cane in his left hand.

“Where did you see this man?” he asked. Noma pointed to the east. “Lead the way.” Exu was always slightly behind her as they swam to the eastern shore.

“It was right here that I first spotted him,” she said as the two of them poked their heads out of the water near a fallen tree.

“Where was he?”

“Over there,” Noma said, pointing to a clearing through the trees.

“Show me.”

Noma didn’t know what he meant by this. “You know I can’t walk, how could I show you?”

“Go over to the land’s edge and try, won’t you?” Exu motioned towards the clearing with his cane. Noma battled with the idea for a while; there was no way she could do this, but maybe there was, no there wasn’t, yes, no, yes, no. “Where’s the harm in trying?” Exu said.

Finally, Noma decided he was right, and she swam to a spot along the coast where the land dropped off into the water. She placed her hands on the grass now level with her eyes, and paused once more in doubt.

Swiftly, with the tip of his cane, Exu scooped Noma up and tossed her onto the land.

“EXU!” She screamed. She got onto her back, and held her torso up with her arms behind her, as her tail flapped around uncontrollably. “I can’t leave the water without transforming first, you know that!”

“But you just did,” he retorted.

“Look at me!” She yelled, “I can’t control my tail! It’s not supposed to be out of the water in this form!”

“Then change!” Exu was inappropriately enjoying the Iara’s unpleasant and embarassing scene. “All of your sister spirits did it. Now you have to too if you want to survive.”

Noma struggled to keep her body upright. It was nearly impossible to steady herself or her tail.

“Concentrate!” Exu yelled.

“I can’t!” she cried out.

“You better! Or I’ll cut it in two!” Exu’s body rose out of the water and he gently placed himself in a standing position next to Noma. He raised his staff in a threatening gesture.

With all of her might, Noma closed her eyes and concentrated. She imagined her tail slowing down to a halt, and like a bird molts its feathers, she envisioned each scale falling off, one by one. The true skin was slowly being revealed to be of a light peach color, and as more of the scales plucked themselves from the girl, Noma could see a gap forming down the middle. Soon, the lower half of her body was entirely exposed, and where there had once been a large tail, now lay two slender and beautiful legs.

In all of her concentration, Noma realised her tail had stopped thrashing. She opened her eyes, and noticed that her imaginary transformation had become a reality.

“EXU! I DID IT!” She exclaimed. There was no response. Noma looked around, but he was no longer there. Instead, a bodiless voice rang through the air.

“How do you think the others managed to do it?” It rang through the trees. “Not alone, I can tell you that.” The voice laughed. “You always could do this, you know. The more you told yourself you couldn’t, the more you believed it. Sometimes, you need a big push by those you trust before you are able to take the leap alone.”

And with that, Noma could no longer feel Exu’s presence. She was now laying near the water alone.

Somewhere in the woods behind her, Noma heard a branch break. She quickly turned towards the sound. Peeking behind a tree was the mystery man who had run away in fear earlier. He must have been curious enough to come back for a second glance.

Noma’s heart skipped a beat in excitement. She smiled. “It’s ok, you can come out now,” she said. “I see you.”

The man stepped out from his hiding spot, took one look at Noma’s completely transformed appearance, and there was nothing he wouldn’t do to be with her. He would live under the water with her, as was custom, and although he would grow older while Noma stayed youthful, he didn’t care. He would be hers forever; hook, line, and sinker.

Noma– Inspired by ‘Noma’ created and posted on DeviantArt by Thistly

~ by Robbie on July 30, 2009.