Mokadomi

My family was lost many years ago. My country, even with its awe-inspiring scenery and wondrous history, merely serves as the backdrop in this story. The story of the greatest undertaking of my life.
For three weeks, rain storms had pounded the straw-topped huts of my village, Mokadomi.  Tidal surges and monsoons were common in this part of the world, so for generations my people built their houses on wooden stilts, clusters of mish-mashed homes sticking out of the coastal mudflats, nestled between mangroves where the jungle met the sea. Usually, any residual water from storms would recede after a day or two, soaking away from the village and into the vast ocean.
This time though, something felt different. Wind was coursing through the forest, bending trees and beating them into the sides of our huts. The rain had utterly soaked the straw roofs, causing them to disintegrate and leak. The wooden boardwalks that crisscrossed Mokadomi had been almost completely submerged by pockets of growing tidal pools. Only a small strip of raised beach now separated the ocean from a newly formed lagoon which was slowly but surely swallowing our homes.
The first thunderstorm of the season was the breaking point for many residents. A deafening crash pierced through the relentless drumbeat of rain, as a towering tree was struck by a bolt of lightning. Its twisted, charred skeleton was left smoking long into the night, the incessant rain stifling the flames just enough to halt their spread.
By morning, many of the villagers had left. The few who remained were either too stubborn to accept they were in danger or too afraid to leave the familiarity of their homes. I fell squarely into the latter category. I’d lived in Mokadomi my entire life. My parents had lived here their entire lives, until their untimely deaths. A storm had swept in without warning, capsizing their wooden fishing raft and leaving them lost in the unforgiving depths of the ocean, along with three other villagers.
I was staring into the swelling lagoon, the lapping edges of which were creeping closer to my hut, when a voice made me jump.
“So, you’re still here? Thought you’d be halfway through the jungle by now, running away from all this water!” 
It was Tanji, my eccentric old neighbor. He was as wrinkled as a walrus and about as agile as one these days. He shuffled his ancient, wobbling frame across two narrow wooden boards that formed a bridge between the platforms on which our houses stood.
“Haven’t seen a flood like this for decades. Last time a lot of the villagers left as well, but they all came back eventually. Of course, Mokadomi would have been long lost if I hadn’t saved us…”
He paused and looked at me, hoping I would ask him to continue. Tanji was known for his stories of wild fantasy, how he rescued Mokadomi from disaster by journeying along the coast, capturing the mythical giant hound Taarank and making him dig a trench to drain the flood water from the village before it was submerged and lost forever. He was the oldest villager by far, so out of respect nobody challenged his fables. 
The silence had become uncomfortable and I finally caved. Sighing, I asked him, “How did you save Mokadomi, Tanji?”.
He smiled at me, his small dark eyes twinkling even in the gloom of another day of rain. He looked around, checking if anyone else was in earshot before whispering, “I’ll show you”. 
He waddled back across the rickety bridge, ducked into his house and disappeared from sight. A minute or so later he re-emerged, grasping something wrapped in a giant palm leaf. He excitedly gestured for me to come and see his mysterious object. I stuttered across the planks to join him just as he was finishing unwrapping his treasure. It was a huge, white, curved fang the size of my forearm. My jaw hit the floor. What sort of creature could possibly have a tooth that size? Sensing my bewilderment, Tanji simply whispered, “Taarank”.
I looked at him with eyes wider than the lagoon which was engulfing our village. A crooked smile snuck out from between his wrinkles.  
“Years ago, there was only one way to help Mokadomi. I had to be brave, I had to find Taarank and save our home. Now, you must do the same. I’m too old, I’m too tired, I can’t do it this time” he grabbed me by the shoulders, “but you are young and strong. You are brave and courageous. And most importantly, you are our only hope”.
I looked at Tanji. He had fixed my stare with his twinkling eyes. I glanced at the humungous fang which I was now holding. I knew what I had to do.
I promptly fainted.
Tanji was crouching over me as I came to, gently tapping my cheek. “Ok,” he said, “maybe you’re not brave and courageous”. He let out a chuckle - the first time I’d heard him laugh in all the years I’d known him. He yanked me to my feet, his arms still strong despite his advanced years and rotund belly. He looked me dead in the eyes and his smile faded, his closed mouth now hiding his missing tooth.  
“But you are our only hope. The fate of our home depends on you finding Taarank. Travel along the coast, find the three ocean jewels and he will appear.”
With a final nod, he took me by the arm, pointed me towards the ocean and gave me a gentle shove.  
That’s how I found myself plodding through unrelenting rain, in search of unspecified jewels, to capture a mystical giant hound, all based on evidence provided by a chubby old man who was more than likely completely crazy. I’d thought about turning back many times. But by now, Mokadomi would almost certainly be submerged in the rising waters. I didn’t know if I would have a home to return to. So, I kept on moving forwards. I hugged the edge of the beach, where the jungle met the sand. To my left, the waves were swelling, crashing and roaring. To my right the wind was howling through the trees, whipping them violently as they were pelted with rain from every angle. The world felt like it was ending around me, but I knew I had to keep going for the good of my village. For the good of my friends and neighbors. To honor the memory of my parents.
   After days of struggling through the wind and rain, staring at an unchanging, flat expanse of sand and water, a shape rose in the gloom. As I moved closer, I realized I was looking at a huge rock, towering above the beach and ocean below. Waves were thundering into its emerald green base, crashing with an almighty roar every time their watery advance was repelled by the unrelenting monolith.
As I cautiously continued across the beach, I became aware of another stone mass, shorter but wider than the first. This one was a vibrant shade of blue; on a bright day it would have looked like a giant whale breaching the surface of the crystal-clear waters. I squinted into the darkness, wiped my eyes momentarily clear of spraying salt water and made out a third colossal rock. This was the largest by far, looming ominously beyond the first two. Its jet-black surface was slick from the rain, and even in the ongoing storm it was reflecting the miniscule amounts of starlight and shining like a sapphire.
“The three ocean jewels…” I said aloud. Tanji’s instructions had led me right to them. I let out a triumphant roar and ran across the remaining stretch of beach towards the sea. I came to a halt by the water’s edge and stared at the three shapes, intimidating in the darkness.  They stood in a triangular formation; the jet-black jewel the tip of a pyramid, the blue and green rocks forming a base that ran parallel to the shore.
I took a deep breath and looked around me. No sign of life. Taarank must be here; Tanji had been so clear with his instructions. I stood there for hours, but there was nothing. Nothing but the crashing of the waves and relentless churn of rainfall.  I must be crazy, was I really expecting to find a giant mythical hound who could save my village? The stupidity of the situation hit me. This was a fool’s errand, there was no hope for Mokadomi.  Defeated, I turned and started to trudge away from the Ocean Jewels. That’s when I heard it. A wild howl. I span around, expecting to see a fanged beast pounding across the beach towards me. What I saw was altogether more amazing.
Three beams of multicolored light were connecting the rocks; pulsating, glowing streams, bright against the dark of night. The light seemed to be emanating from the very rocks themselves, forming a huge triangle of flowing, moving energy. A sound accompanied the magical display, the same howl I’d heard moments before, now growing louder and louder by the second.  Without warning, the lights flashed, changed direction and arrowed straight towards me. They struck my chest with such a force that I was thrown off my feet. Everything went black.
I opened my eyes slowly, squinting against the first flickers of early morning sunshine trying to breach the clouds.  I must have been out cold all night. I started to stand, but something was wrong. I felt like I was floating high above the ground, as if I was being held aloft by a powerful wind. I tried to look around me to get my bearings, but struggled to turn my head. I took a dizzy step and felt the sensation of sand and water between my toes. Except, they weren’t my toes. I looked down towards my feet and found myself staring at huge, jet-black paws. I stumbled and found myself staring at the Ocean Jewels, the dazzling light display of last night now nowhere to be seen. I peered down at the water and was stunned by my reflection: a long snout covered in dark fur, piercing golden eyes and gigantic, curved, white fangs. I had found Taarank.
Tanji had been telling the truth this whole time. Not only had he reached the ocean jewels, he’d transformed into Taarank and saved the village. Now it was my turn. I started to stumble along the beach. I was clumsy at first, struggling to take control of my new form. But I soon broke into huge strides, running with long powerful legs which carried me as fast as the wind. In what seemed like mere hours, I saw the huts of Mokadomi, now almost completely engulfed by the encroaching water.  I hurried into action, using my paws like huge shovels, scraping mounds of sand clear to make a trench to let the water drain from the lagoon to the ocean. I dug with as much strength as I could muster, clearing swathes of sand with a manic fury, hoping and praying that this effort would be enough. As I toiled, I felt a force taking hold of me. I was no longer towering above the ground, my paws were becoming smaller and smaller, my body no longer the powerful canine form it had been moments ago. I was still hacking away at the sandy edge of the lagoon, desperately scratching and clawing with all my might to help save my home. Within a matter of minutes, Taarank was gone.
I sank to my knees, unable to dig any more. I looked across the lagoon at Mokadomi, hoping for a sign that my efforts had made a difference. The change was almost imperceptible at first, but then I saw it. Thankfully, mercifully, undeniably… the water was receding.