Secret Melody of the Sea

By NS Raveneir

Arden Bay, a secluded cove with beautiful scenery, white sand, and the vast ocean view, would mesmerize many people who came to see it. A lone cottage stood still on the cliff nearby, old but gold, it kept so many stories of the people who lived inside it. One day, the rightful heir of the cottage, came to live inside it. A young boy called  Jason, nervous and shy had been living behind a closed door. He was frightened by the world,  however, since his arrival at the Arden Bay, suddenly his life had changed. He realized that the world was not as cold as it might seem. He met new people and found friends. His cold heart melted, but life was not going at a pleasant pace each time. A secret from the past haunted him every night. An old grudge and unsettled anger shadowed his new beginning. They ripped apart his peaceful life. Luckily, he was not alone, good people came and tried to help him to resolve the trouble. Jason could not escape, but he was determined. He loved Arden Bay so much and decided to solve the mystery.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookRix
• Release date: Feb 17, 2021
• ISBN: 9783748774839

Book preview

Copyright

Secret Melody of The Sea is written by NSRaveneir.

All copyrights are owned by NSRaveneir.

©2021 NSRaveneir

All Rights Reserved.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the Writer, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Chapter I:The Old Cottage

 A secluded cove called the Arden Bay, a beautiful place with a beautiful view. This place was very much known for its mystical rumors. The people who lived nearby acknowledged this place as the place that had the most mystical power source. The Arden Bay was rarely visited by the locals because most of them were afraid that they would be cursed or misfortunate would stalk them if they ever visited the cove. However Arden Bay had the best scenery in the whole area, the white-colored sand covering all over the cove. Every morning and evening each time the sun was set and rose on the horizon, the sand would glimmer each time the sunlight shed the light on the sand. The beach would glow and spark resembled a chandelier, glittered with the orange color of the sun. The view strengthened the mystical atmosphere at the Arden Bay as if everyone who stepped afoot on Arden Bay would enter the unknown and mysterious world.

Two hundred yards from the beach, tall cliffs stood high near the beach, on top of it a classic looking cottage was standing tough, the two stories structure was very old one, the white-colored blue and white cottage was facing towards the wide-open sea. The cottage itself was built 300 years ago. It was built for the newlywed couple as a gift from the groom's mother. Many flower varieties were planted in the front yard of the cottage, especially the rose, it seemed that the rose was the most dominant flower in that garden. Behind the cottage there was a quite spacious backyard, it was a garden that flourished with vegetables. Even though most people wouldn't have a gut to step afoot to Arden Bay, but there was this couple who took care and maintained the cottage. Both of them were Maryn and Henry Miller, Maryn's great-grandfather was the owner of the cottage, the place was passed down to her cousin, but her cousin decided to leave Arden Bay many years ago and decided to move to a bigger town.

Maryn and her husband were appointed as keeper for the cottage by her cousin. Maryn and her husband didn't mind at all because both of them loved Arden Bay so much. They decided to spend their life looking after the cottage, if it was not for them who remained at the cottage, the old cottage might destroy through time. For Maryn the cottage was her family legacy, she spent most of her childhood in that cottage, so many memories for her, the precious family occasions were held and celebrated inside that old cottage. For years she and Henry tried to maintain the cottage so it would stand for a hundred years or more. Henry would paint the fading paint and put brand new paint on its wall each year, Maryn would tend the garden and pulled the weed, she loved being outdoors and enjoying nature. The garden was her favorite place to spend most of her time. Each evening she would prepare two chairs and a small table, then Henry and she would have a light chat and wait for the sunset while enjoying their evening tea. They were fortunate that they witnessed the best scenery in Arden Bay over and over again, both of them were not bored to do it each evening. It was their favorite time after the long and tiring day.

When the night fell on the Arden Bay, the sound of the waves could be heard loudly, the sound of water crashing on the rock formation by the beach was echoing all night. The cottage would make a sound through its wind chimes as if it sang and answering the waves' call. Each time the moon rose at night, its light reflected on the cottage roof, when people saw it from the distance, they would see that the cottage was lightened by the moonlight as if it was a gate to the other world. The rumors of Arden Bay wrapped along with the cottage, the mystical aura also could be felt inside the cottage. One of the rumors said that the house was cursed, the old story said that the cottage was built on land that belonged to the mermaid folks.

A long time ago when the settlers came to Arden Bay, They did not know that the land they landed on belonged to the mystical creature. They built a settlement nearby and set a small port at the cove, but the port was destroyed the next day after they built it. They were filled with confusion, so the settlers tried to build a new port, once again when they checked it in the next morning the port was destroyed. Curious about the unexplained incident, they decided to guard the port the whole night long. Ten men were sent to guard the port, they stood next to it until midnight came and nothing happened. However, a few minutes later one of the men saw something strange came from the sea direction, he told his friend that he saw that the sea started to foam, and then both of them walked in the direction where the foam was spotted. It was true that the sea was covered with foam. The floating foam size became larger and larger, it floated straight to the beach. The two men were trying to check when suddenly they saw mermaid folks appeared from the sea foam. Both of them were shocked, they didn't believe that the mystical creature which they heard from folklore was real. They tried to warn the other but they didn't make it, the mermaid folks dragged and drowned them to the sea. One of the eight men left was worried because he didn't see any sign of his friends, so he decided to check on them. He was surprised that he witnessed so many mermaid folks trying to destroy the port. He screamed as loud as he could, they mermaid folks saw him but he was too far away out of their reach, meanwhile, the other men left came to check him, they were surprised also, they tried to save their friend and left the port.

The next morning the news was spread among the settlers that the cove was no longer safe, they didn't believe at first that the port was destroyed by the mermaid folks. Nevertheless, with eight eyewitnesses and two victims, they believed the news. So they decided to move the settlement to the other side of the island, and they forbade the other people to visit the cove. Therefore when the town folks heard the news about the person went missing because the person was visiting Arden Bay. They knew that mermaid folks drowned and killed that person for sure. There was an unwritten rule which was believed by the town folks who lived near the Arden Bay, which put the Arden Bay as the untouched place. The society who lived near Arden Bay learned from their ancestors that nothing good would come to them if they tried to visit Arden Bay.

The cottage itself might be an exclusion from the rumor, but actually, the cottage carried the misfortune story about the people who lived inside it. Even it was such a beautiful cottage many unfortunate events happened inside it, tears were shed over and over inside the cottage. The legal heirs of the cottage mostly would leave the place as if there was a shadow that haunted them, and made their life unsettled. Most of them would have a suffering life, they lost their precious family members, especially the male. Most of the widows would become mad and lost their minds, so no one could live a peaceful life inside the cottage. There was a time when the cottage left abandoned because no one wanted to live and look after a cottage located on a secluded cove. The cottage was almost shattered and broke down but thankfully there was someone who tried to renovate the cottage. That person was Maryn's father, he didn't want that the beautiful old cottage became a ruin, and he did it to honor his mother in law, who gave so many times to take care of the cottage by herself. One of the reasons also for Maryn and her husband to continue the hard work of her father to preserve the cottage, after her cousin, the legal heir of the cottage left the place and didn't want it. The cottage's structure hadn't changed, it was just the same as the first time it was built. Maryn and her husband did a good job to do some maintenance for the old cottage for years, they were happily lived inside the cottage. It seemed that the curse of the cottage didn't affect both of them. The passed down curse which destroyed her aunt's family, she witnessed how things went upside down for her aunt's life, how happiness was taken from her life all of sudden when her husband suddenly died. It also affected her cousin's life, she saw him struggled through his entire life, so many hardships he had to face, even in his last moment. The cottage gave him so many burdens that he couldn't handle them, so he decided to leave the cottage and never returned. He decided to live in the city which quite far away from Arden Bay with his wife.

The last time Maryn saw her cousin, he came to the cottage for his mother's funeral. He should not have come, because the curse of the cottage took him away, he never came back. The most painful thing, Maryn had to tell her cousin's wife that her husband would never return to her. She remembered that she could hear her crying. Her heart must be broken because she had lost her precious husband. Since the day of the incident Maryn felt guilty, her husband Henry realized the burden inside her heart. Luckily, she had a caring husband like Henry, at least she had someone to share her pain. Year after year passed, the cottage stayed the same, Maryn dedicated almost her whole life to take care of the cottage. The old walls inside the cottage would creak at night as if they tried to tell a story, a secret story of each person who had lived inside the cottage, above all, the secret story of a man who started the curse.

Chapter II: The Weeping Boy

The dark grim sea was stirred by the wind, while the rough ocean made the unsettling sound as the storm came to visit the secluded cove. The waves chased each other and slammed the solid rock along the beach, it was a rough night when a storm came violating the cove. One old cottage located on the cliff nearby creaked tried to stand strong against the violent wind. The cold rain poured endlessly from the sky, it seemed like millions of needles falling from the sky, cold and harsh. An antique pickup truck struggled through the pouring rain, the engine strived at its best to pull its wheels on a muddy road. Inside the truck, an old man and a young boy sat in it, the old man tried to control the steering wheel as it refused to turn. He steered the steering wheel with all his might so the truck would go up on the steep and muddy road which lead to the old cottage which waiting for them. He gave all his strength and pushed the gas pedal so the wheels could set free from the mud. After a few times he tried, the wheels were set free, the truck began to enter the old cottage yard. An old woman stood on the porch, she waved at both of them. The old man and the young boy got off from the truck, the old man fixed his old hat and the young boy lifted his luggage tried to avoid the mud. The old woman walked toward the old man and gave him a towel, then she turned to the young boy, and she gave him a big warm smile.

You already this big Jason, you were just a cute little boy a few years ago

Ten years have been passed Maryn, The old man said,

But it felt like just yesterday, Henry...oh my, it is already this late, hurry up now boy

Jason just nodded, he followed Maryn and Henry into the cottage. Henry tapped Jason's shoulder and asked him to follow his lead.

You'll love the attic Jason, I've cleaned it for you Maryn talked loudly from the kitchen.

Jason looked up at his surroundings, the cottage was very old, more than a hundred years old if he guessed correctly. As he walked on the old stair he could hear the wooden steps were creaking each time he stepped on it, he recognized the sound just like the sound of the old stairs in a horror movie. On the wall, the pictures of the people who used to live in this cottage were hanged neatly, they wore old-fashioned clothes, with gown and gentleman suit. Jason wondered if the cottage was haunted. They arrived in front of a door with a classic door handle, Henry opened the door and he entered the only room in the attic, Jason followed him. Inside the room, there was an old wooden bed which was large enough for him, an old wardrobe, a large mirror, plus a chair and a desk near the window. Jason put his luggage on the floor, the sound of the sea caught his ear, so he headed to the window. The grey colored curtain covered the window, he opened it and his eyes got wider as he saw the high wave hit and splashed on the reef. The cottage was built on top of a cliff, the highest place on that secluded cove, the best place to watch the wide-open sea.

Even though this cottage is old but you get the best view from here, especially this room, Henry told him,

Yes, you are right, Uncle Henry Jason smiled,

Maryn is preparing the dinner, you can join us after you clean up yourself

I'll get down for a few minutes

I'll leave then

Henry closed the door, he left Jason alone in that room. Jason unloaded his luggage, he put his clothes inside the old wardrobe, he turned his head, he saw a small door in the corner of the room, and then he walked toward it. He held the doorknob and opened the door, the room was a bathroom, with a white bathtub and a closet, he began to take off his clothes. He saw mud's stain dirtied his jeans so he took it off also. He washed his face on the old faucet, the water was so cold, as cold as ice, and he was shivering because of it. He took new clothes and put them on, he looked at the mirror and he tried to tidy his messy hair with his hand after everything looked neat on him, he then went downstairs to have dinner with Maryn and Henry.

Henry already sat at the dining table, while Maryn was serving the Meatloaf, Jason clumsily tried to seat himself, Maryn smiled at him and began to cut the meatloaf for him, she put a big piece of meatloaf on his plate, Jason