Where Sea Meets Sky

        This was the day the sky began to cry, when my life had turned completely inverted, when the sky became my soil and the earth became my clouds.  I will never forget the day my parents and I returned from our trip to find nothing to return to.  We flew across the Pacific in one of my father's masterpieces – a small plane that could carry a dozen people around the world in one trip.  He told me how it worked while mentioning what little fuel it needed with the help of energy from the sun.  The world saw him as Vincent Dae, the brilliant chief engineer and designer of aircrafts for a global corporation.  A man who created things that would succeed his previous works.  They were more of a work of art than efficient machines.  My mother, Marina Dae, worked as his assistant.  They would tell me stories of how they first met, working together on new proposals and designs for the company.  Their feelings for each other grew till he proposed to her with The Marina – his latest design – an elegant seaplane capable of flying across an entire continent and return without refueling.  This was five years before I was born, and another eight years before the world turned upside-down.

        "Marina!  Nikko!  We're almost there!" my father shouted in the cockpit as we looked out the window.  My mother and I looked down past the clouds to see the small island getting bigger.  The cities cleared from the clouds as the plane descended closer to the island.  Isle de Bella, our hometown, glimmered from the topical sunlight.

        "It's been a while since we've seen our home" said my mother with excitement.  My father asked my mother to help with the landing as I sat there staring out the window.  It was almost a month since we left home for our vacation around the world.  North America, China, Japan.  All of the countries were special in their own way, but nothing can beat the comfortable feeling of our small island home.  I could hardly wait to see everyone again.  Christopher and Bartholomew, the family butlers and friends of my father.  Minerva, my closest friend and part-time maid of our household, planned to wait for us at the airport terminal to welcome our return.  With all of her duties taking care of the household, she still found time for me and made certain I didn't get into trouble when my parents were preoccupied with their work.  It was Minerva who taught me things about the island.  She would take me with her to go grocery shopping at the local markets while I learned about her people's culture.  Even though we were miles away from England, the citizens were very friendly and hospitable to our family.

"What's wrong, dear?" said my mother as the plane began to tremble.  I looked down the rows of seats.

"I'm not sure.  Anything from the radio tower?" my father said while he struggled with the controls.  "Nothing.  Just some interference."

"What's going on, father?"  My mother turned her head.  The headphones pressed against her ear with a daunting look on her face.

"It's okay, Nikko.  Just put your seatbelt on and everything will be okay."  My stomach began to shake as fast as the plane.  A bright flash from the window caught my eye.  Bright spheres fell from the sky.  There were hundreds, thousands, millions of them.  I watched as the island became engulfed with shards of fire and the trembling ocean current illuminated in sync with the daylight.  A huge flash blinded me for a second.

        "We're hit!" exclaimed my father wrestling with the controls.  The feeling in my gut began to plunge faster than the plane.  I looked out the window again.  The right wing of my father's plane was gone.  "Marina, get the parachutes!"  My mother climbed out of the cockpit.  Another bright flash of light blinded me.  It followed with the sound of metals clashing together and a strong breeze blowing through my hair.  All I could see was the blue sky covered with fiery stars blanketing me.  Dark.  Cold.  Why couldn't I breathe?  I could hear voices around me screaming blood and limbs.  What was that loud noise?

        "Nikko!  Nikko!"  That sounded like Minerva.