[Trphlthdl]

1800s - - A small fishing boat spins around the edge of a whirlpool, it's crew hanging on to the sails and manipulating them so as to stay on just outside of the vortex. Its captain is hanging onto the edge of the boat, holding the end of the chain attached to the anchor, being held by a serpent in the middle of the pool. It's only by the serpent's mercy that the boat hasn't been pulled in, and it's only by the Captain's stubbornness that the boat is even in this situation at all.

Suddenly the whirlpool calms, and the boat is left floating on a sea smooth as a mirror, and the wind has stopped entirely. The sand in the water has settled to the bottom, and the crew watches in horror as the serpent swims circles around their boat. It breaches the water on the starboard side, it's head hitting the water again on the other side of the deck. It breaches again, and the crew sees it's coils beginning to tighten on the boat. Suddenly, the serpent stops, bringing it's head up to face the captain.

"Aaa, Pontus," it laughs. "Good to see you again." The captain only glares at the beast, knowing the serpent could crush his boat if it so desired, and yet... something told him it wouldn't.

"You do not remember me?" The serpent inquired, and the crew noted it seemed almost sad. "We were the best of friends, you know." The Captain only stared blankly at the beast, and with a snort and incredulous speed it released the boat and disappeared.

The wind blew softly against the sails, and the crew returned to the jobs. The captain stood still for the next few minutes, watching the waters swirl where the serpent had disappeared.

1900s - - A freighter cruised over the oceans, and Captain Pontus dozed in his quarters. He was woken by his first mate who was speaking frantically of a serpent. Not believing his first mate's claims, though wanting to calm his fears, Pontus followed him to the boat's bow, pushing through his crew to find the head and neck of the very beast his first mate had claimed to see.

"Your boat, Pontus, it always has the same name. Perhaps that's taught you something about your past?"

"My... past?" The captain questioned the serpent.

"No?" The serpent disappeared in the water once more, blinking sorrowfully before he did so. The Captain merely remembered dreams that came to him in the night. A cove, sheltered from the seas, and an egg sitting on the rocks. A cooking pot, set over the fire, and the hands of a young boy dropping the egg in. There were no walls to shelter the boy from the cold. A small head, popping out of the pot to babble in a language he didn't know.

2000s - - Something called Pontus to the harbor, pulled him to the end of the docks past his small boat and to peer over the water. He'd had a dream, but all he could remember was a young boy in a cove, and a larger serpent. A Captain in his twenties, wrestling a serpent with the chains to his anchor. A freighter, a Captain, and the serpent. Something about boat names. He peered back to his own small boat, the name peering back at him. Sea's Dreams. The name was one he'd given it, for no reason he could pinpoint.

The sound of water shifting and dripping back into the sea caused Pontus to turn back to the ocean. This time it was him that spoke first.

"Who are you? I've seen you. In my dreams."

The serpent chuckled. "Now, now we're getting somewhere. Although, not far enough. Perhaps it's time for another hint. Those lives you see? In your dreams? They're yours, in a way." The serpent left once again, and Pontus was left on the edge of the dock staring out into the waters until the sun came up again.

Pontus left the docks after the sun had risen, going home to sleep. He dreamt of the boy again. Scenes of a feral child living on the edge of the sea, caring for a young serpent. Soon, the serpent began caring for the boy.

He dreamt of the sailboat's captain. The reflection in the mirror smooth water showing his own face, peering back at him.

He dreamt of the freighter captain. The serpent's comment about ship's names causing him to peer over the side of the ship, once the serpent had left. Sea's Dreams.

He dreamt of the serpent.

Sea's Dreams.

The boat name in italics seemed to waver on the page. A freighter in the 1900s, captained by none other than Pontus Smith, his own name. Also wavering. He found a legend, about another Pontus Smith, captain of another ship, wrestling a sea serpent. The boy he could not find, although he suspected any documents about him would have Pontus Smith and Sea's Dreams standing out from the other words on the page.

He strode to the dock again, waiting there for two days. Anticipating the arrival of the serpent. It did not come.

A week later, something drew him to the dock once more. At the end he saw the head of a serpent, it's eyes fixed on him as he walked to the edge of the dock.

"You remember me now, do you Pontus?"

Pontus nodded, settling at the edge of the dock. The serpent smiled at him.

"Good. I've missed you."