A Baby Adventure

Polka-dot stripes and a ring at the base
a long thin handle and a bow made of lace.
Little Baby sat in his room, fidgeting with a rattle, his favorite toy
He looked at a year-old, deflated balloon that said, “It’s a boy!”
Building blocks spilt in the corner, a motionless cradle,
a stuffed animal bear and a misplaced ladle.
A half-empty milk bottle, a plate of plastic confections,
until a peculiar buzzing noise caught his attention.

A mosquito? He wondered, as far as he could see.
An airplane flying in the clear sky above, a passerby’s telephone, a bumbling bee?
Baby crawled towards the wall, titling his eyes over the window’s frame,
only to see a dragonfly, wings fluttering so fast they were buzzing his name.
The insect was all shades of blue, blue as Baby’s eyes,
Upon his back, a dark trench coat and on his neck, a nondescript tie.

Behind the dragonfly’s small size, an unusual thing
Of wood carvings, twisted wire, a recoiled spring
a retractable hood, two long reins,
a ticking clock, not one detail mundane
A chariot of sorts, a buggy, you might say,
adorned with swirls and a flower bouquet.

“Baby,” the dragonfly said, “My name is Adelbert the Traveling Fly.
We are to set off on an adventure. Be sure to tell your nursery goodbye!”
Baby’s eyes shifted back to his belongings for some time,
To wallpaper patterns, a row of shoes, books filled with rhyme
Then he looked outside to the expansive view below
Pavement, green grass, climbing roses, all set aglow
the scent of elderflowers, trees spilling over with leaves,
blackbirds singing, bicycles, sparrows and only short sleeves.
Without another thought but a little assistance,
he climbed right aboard with not a hint of resistance.

They flew over neighborhoods, wide and narrow streets,
rooftop gardens, swing sets, vast fields of wheat,
alleyways, wrap around porches, open parasols
concentrated forests, bottomless lakes and muraled walls.
There were buildings of all sizes, road signs and more,
until they made a sharp turn to reveal a ragged shore.
They landed on the beach, making an entrance so grand,
surrounded by craggy rocks and soft, untrodden sand.

Sea glass shone green and white in the sun’s reflection,
as Baby covered his squinting eyes for protection.
“At last,” said Adelbert, “we have arrived.
All you must do now is take a little dive.”
Baby looked straight to the rushing waves,
cold with salt and eerie, darkened caves.
“Yes, that’s right, jump in the water,
It is time you meet the MerKing’s daughter.”

He crawled through wet sand, as Adelbert flew off
But in his periphery, saw something caught in a troph
He looked closer and saw none other than a seastar!
Reaching for it, he marveled, How very bizarre.
“Bizarre indeed!” The shrill seastar exclaimed.
“Help me, for I already know your name.”
She was of a deep red hue, slender and oddly prosaic,
white spread to her arms, like that of a broken tile mosaic.
Baby’s eyes widened at the sound of this reply.
“Throw me back in! I am growing quite dry!”
With both hands, Baby gently snatched his new friend,
throwing her with a push past the water’s end.

And with that impulsive extension of his infant arms,
Baby rolled into the sea, filled with panic and alarm.
Another hand soon grabbed his small, little frame
and pulled him down further to where not a thing was the same.
He could breathe, what a wonder! He thought to himself.
For around him, water was surely the only thing felt.
“Once I have touched you,” echoed the young voice by which he was caught,
“You can breathe, see clearly and speak with your thoughts!”
“What is your name?” thought Baby, as they swam down low.
“Zephirina,” She thought back. “If you must know.”
“Now, we are in a hurry. Take hold of my hand!
Everything, and I mean everything, must go as planned!”

They slowed down and now he could see the young girl
leading him towards a grand castle with an accelerated twirl.
Her purple fish tail and long, violet tresses led the way.
To where they were going, Baby had no say.
“This is my father’s castle. He is the MerKing.”
Who knew what adventures this new place would bring?
Towers, curved windows, a rope bridge lowered!
Flag poles with dark blue flags and hanging swords!
Through the doors sat a throne, encrusted with shells
Upon it, a king sporting long, fading dark hair and a barnacle bell
His crown seemed a jagged, heavy weight resting on his skull
Upon closer inspection, Baby could see it was made out of coral

The king swam up from his seat and after a pause, said
“We are in need of your help, our people have fled!
Our city is in ruins, we have yet to discover why
Trap the monster that did this, and bring him back dead or alive
We will reward you greatly, with any gifts we possess
If you, my dear Baby, are able to clean up this big mess!”
His eyes lowered down as he fingered his many rings
“But to go on, you will need these three magical things”

A cluster of tiny merpeople appeared from a bubble vortex,
Extra fins waved green, like wings on their backs.
“Sea sprites, we call them. They will provide all that you need.”
An elixir bottle, a bundle of string and a strange and rare seed
“But how will I use them?” Baby thought out loud.
“That is for me to know,” said the king, “and for you to find out.
Now go on without us, there is much to get done,
Salvage our fine city, but don’t forget to have fun!”
“Oh, and there’s one thing we forgot,” Zephirina chimed in,
“How can you swim without a sturdy tail fin?”

Baby swam left, baby swam right,
Baby swam at such speeds he could almost take flight!
He ventured around a corner, only to see
a shadow creeping in a wide crevice, as dark as could be
The shadow sank so deep, there was not a sound to be heard,
but the echoing of the emptiness and – wait, that would be absurd.
“A snore?” Baby wondered. “Under the ocean?”
Something nearby must be causing that commotion.

He peeked his head in and when his eyes adjusted
Baby could see the walls cracked and see them crusted.
But on a large plank of rock, sticking out from the side,
a big, round silhouette, slept and sighed.
“What is it?” He moved closer. “A sea monster? They’re real?”
And then covered his mouth to stifle a terrified squeal.
He saw it’s crinkled eyelids move with dreaming,
but suddenly, he didn’t feel so much like screaming.

“Excuse me?” Baby cleared his thoughts. “Could you…”
The tremendous thing abruptly grumbled into view.
A harmless grumble soon turned into a roar,
Shaking the walls, the seaweed and the sea floor.
Just as the rock formation looked as it would crumble to ruin,
Baby looked around and stopped whatever he was doing.
“Seastar!” He recognized his friend at first sight.
She might have the knowledge to help him set things right!
“I see you are in need of help, and I will assist,” said she.
“But only because of the fact that you first helped me.
Throw the string and see what happens.
Aim it at the monster, don’t ask any questions.”

Baby did just as he was told
And watched the ball of string in midair, unfold
It spread quickly into a thick net, prepared to lock
And trapped the writhing monster to the sea rock
The monster stopped moving, heaved and then cried,
“Ouch! I’ve a terrible, terrible pain on my side!”
“Who are you and why are you here?” Baby demanded.
“Last I remember, I was in a city, but now I am stranded.”
“You! You destroyed the King’s city!” Baby strongly reacted.
“I did? Because the merpeople were the ones who attacked me.
I was minding my own business, just passing through
And then…what happened next, I haven’t a clue.”

“The elixer,” whispered Seastar, hinting like before.
“Offer it to him and he’ll remember much more.”
“A drink?” extended Baby. “You must be parched, no?”
“A kind gesture, young friend.” The monster said quite slow.
One sip and his face brightened with a smile,
his eyes wandered about as if he were finding something worthwhile.
His fin fumbled over his face in thought, “The people realized the king was not there,
So one of them lead the mob to throw sharp things through the air.
They threw weapons at me, bringing me down
I must have broken some things while trying not to drown.”

Baby responded, “You’ll be alright if you follow me.”
“If you do, you can tell the MerKing your story!”
“But will he believe me?” His giant voice was rather small.
“If he does not,” said Baby, “We owe him nothing at all.”
This time, with Baby leading the way to be kind,
a starfish in his left hand, a sea monster a few feet behind.
The MerKing called his guards as he caught a glimpse of what was on its way,
but Baby made sure that he knew that there was no reason to be afraid.
“I found the culprit not too far off,
but there’s more to the story,” so the sea monster began his tale with a cough.

The MerKing lowered his eyes when the story was done.
“And what shall I call you, my innocent one?”
The sea monster’s timid eyed turned away.
“Jomo is my name. I am the only one of my kind who is entirely gray.”
“Jomo is a fine name, and we’ll call you just that.
But how, oh how will I get my city back?”
Seastar’s eyes looked up from Baby’s palm
“The seed! The seed!” She whispered. “Then all will be calm.”

“I may have a way to return your city to you,” said Baby aloud.
“If you put your trust in me now, you are sure to be proud.”
The MerKing straightened his back. “You’ve not given me a reason to question you, my dear boy.
So carry on, as you were, do as you see fit to fix what is now destroyed.”
Baby cast his arm back and with a sudden boost of strength,
Threw the magical seed out to the city’s heart, watching it travel a great length.
All looked on, as Baby only thought of what the city should look like.
He may have added a few things to remind him of home,
but mostly just imagined the rest of the half-things already shown.

When the seed hit the ground, the sea floor began to tremble,
as rooftops emerged from the ground and buildings assembled.
A new city grew in, just like a tooth or like a tree,
just as it had been before, with a few of Baby’s minor additions added in seamlessly.
All of the merpeople, confused, swam out from their hiding places.
“What is going on?” many shouted to each other’s faces.
Their eyes widened at the sight of the city complete.
No more crumbling walls, broken statues or need to retreat.
A celebration broke out as the MerKing announced to his people,
“Thank Baby here for making our great city once again whole!”
Baby whispered, “And Seastar and Jomo, don’t forget them!”
“And Seastar and Jomo!” The MerKing announced again.

“Congratulations, Baby. You did it, you saved our home!” Zephirina said.
“You were quite brave, but don’t you think it’s about time for bed?”
“Bed?” Baby pondered, he wanted to stay here forever!
“It’s time to go home, but how could we let you go without something to remember?”
Zephirina reached into the small messenger bag slung across her torso
and pulled out an object that was not very noticeable.
She put it in his hand. “Don’t look at it until you get back in your room.
If you do, it will only be ugly, plain and ordinary, like a sweeping broom.”

Then she began to swim in circles around him
and amassed clouds of bubbles closed in on his every limb.
His view obscured, his sense of direction blurred,
he couldn’t tell if he was moving, or just imagining the absurd.
Once he closed his eyes and the nausea was beginning to settle in,
he was no longer under water and without a fish-like tail fin.
He looked at the rattle, balloons and blocks,
wallpaper, shoes, and ticking clocks.
Everything now seemed ever so bland
But then he thought back, and opened his hand
Inside, Zephirina had left him with a magical seed of his own
With which to grow him self a new adventure, even if he is merely at home.