Stories in the series "A View From Above"
# : A View From Above: The Island
Simon woke because there was a foot in his face. It was a small foot, and placed without malice, for the owner thereof was still asleep himself, tucked under Simon's left side. It was Bighair, one of the village boys. He had managed to get himself flipped end over end, and one of his feet was under Simon's nose. This was not an unusual way for Simon to wake up on the island. He gently pushed the foot away. Bighair ... [ Read More ]
# : A View From Above: Fishing
"Kami." Kami woke and opened his eyes, his slight movement causing his hammock to sway. It was dark inside the hut, and from all around he could hear the sound of his family sleeping. No light of dawn intruded through the doorway, but Kami knew it was time to start the day. He paused just a moment, wondering whose voice had awakened him. There was no one near, no one else awake yet. Kami did not believe in spirits, so it ... [ Read More ]
# 3: A View From Above: The Natives
Simon had been a simple deckhand when he first set sail from home. That ship, the Lilith, never sailed far out of sight of land, plying the local trade routes. After a while, Simon moved to a larger ship that sailed far out to sea, navigating by the stars. That ship had been chartered for a trading run to the tropics. The voyage took months and ended badly with the ship foundering and the crew in small boats. The ... [ Read More ]
# 4: A View From Above: The Ocean
Simon awoke with a shock, then lay in his hammock for a long moment wondering what had awakened him. The warm island air smelled like smoke, sweat, and sea. Then it struck him ... he was alone. Ever since he had been marooned on the island days and days ago, there had always been at least one of the village children hanging about, day and night. Now he was alone in his hammock in the poor section of the great ... [ Read More ]
# 5: A View From Above: The Sky Above
Simon's feet slapped on the sand in a rough multiple of the waves that washed the beach. The thin bundle on his bare shoulder bounced in time, and the water that erased his footprints splashed over his equally bare loins. He thought he could hear the sounds of the village behind him still, but he did not look back. There was no reason for anyone to be following him as he had not told anyone that after living ... [ Read More ]
# 6: A View From Above: The Underground
Simon awoke at first light to the sound of someone moving through the brush not far away. Instinctively he lay still as the person first came closer, then moved off. As Simon lay there his memories reassembled themselves; memories of his sennights marooned on this forsaken island populated with incomprehensible naked natives; memories of his flight from the village, driven away by accusations of adultery and by terrifying apparitions of sea-spirits; memories of his work building a strange, airborne ... [ Read More ]
# 7: A View From Above: The Pier
Summer 1002: The Far South [Editorial Note: This story takes place years before the story "The Sea Hag’s Daughter" by Jim Owens.] The morning sun had barely appeared above the trees across the lagoon but the air was already thick with heat. The water of the lagoon lazily lapped at the sand and there was no wind. Skreegulls soared overhead, small black marks against the blue, but none of their calls reached the village. Small sounds of everyday life came from the ... [ Read More ]