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Table of Contents
By William & Malinda Van Zyl
- Novella (103 pages/20,500 words)
EXCERPT 1
Authenticity
TREASURE
A blue ripple with tones of grey crisscrosses the dune-like ocean floor. The wavy pattern of the sea surface reflects down onto the bottom with artistic flair. Shades of blue and grey float mysteriously over the scuba divers as they move slowly, flipping now and then, with their large black amphibian-shaped flippers. The water is diamond-clear. Schools of bright-hued fish and exotic sea flowers decorate the sandy floor and small reef. The ocean floor is littered with large dark, sinister coffins – the shapes are very distinct. Warplanes and warships lay strewn for hundreds of meters on the bottom of the harbour. The visibility is excellent. Strange looking sea flowers stare from the jagged black reef. A small, friendly white and grey shark moves closer to the divers and bumps into one of the oxygen tanks. With a quick dart, the shark takes off into the grey unknown. The rhythmic release of carbon dioxide bubbles sends a message to the surface, ‘There is something very mysterious and beautiful down here,’ one of the divers thought. The bright searchlights of the divers scan meticulously to the left and right. They are looking for clues and treasure. In the white beam of the second diver’s headlight dances thousands of micro sea creatures and plankton. They represent every known shape and form.
The divers stop momentarily. One of them takes his hand and tries to scoop some of the tiny creatures into his hand – the micro creatures escape in streams of translucent biological-beauty. The diver is fascinated by the amazing little critters. The direct sunlight exposes their tiny, white skeletal frames. One of the divers can see the alphabet in the curvatures. There is the letter ‘H’; there is an ‘A’, he thinks to himself.
A large dark-red rising sun appears. Half of the reddish sun is covered in a variety of shellfish, and green seaweed. It is a mosaic of tombstone art. The sea plants move slowly back and forth – waving to the diver to come closer – as the strong ocean currents move everything in its path. A couple of nosy crustaceans scatter for safety under the large plane wreckage when the searchlight falls on them. They kick up a small cloud of sand and ‘dust’ in their wake. The tiny cloud of sand granules spirals for a second and then falls lazily back into its original position on the ocean floor. The graveyard is disturbed.
On the jagged rocks, just under the wreckage, the coral is dusky pink with cream module clusters of White Sea Plants. The white floral sea plants wave their flags in honour of the deserted dark grey World War 2 wrecks of the past – it silently pays tribute to the fallen admirals, officers, seamen, gunners, soldiers, sailors and pilots. At first, it seems like the wreckages are deserted, but the searchlight reveals a warplane cockpit still intact.
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EXCERPT 2
Finding Treasure
Large concentric waves bobbed away leaving no sign of the plane. It vanished. The fish in the harbour were confused. ‘What were these large hot smoking birds doing in our territory?’, they seemed to ask. The engine of the Japanese plane cooled off in seconds. It left an oil stain on the surface with thousands of tiny bubbles following it down to the ocean floor. The air’s bubbles were escaping from the plane – forcing their way to the surface – as if they were gasping for air.
There was smoke on the water. It smelt like gasoline.
Inside the cockpit, there was a deafening silence. The warplane, with its pilot still in the cockpit, sank quickly. A shark in the vicinity quickly turned around to inspect the plane, as it blotted out the sun.
Large and tiny air bubbles confused the lazy Sunday-morning-fish. They were unaware of the chaos and mayhem that was happening on the surface. The vibration in the water signalled to the fish and sea creatures that something was wrong – very wrong. A brown crab tried to plug his ears with its big calipers. It had no effect. The low-pitched thunder and vibration delivered a painful sting to its ears. He lifted his legs – to escape the horrid shock and vibration. A sudden tremor rocked the ocean floor. The silt of hundreds of years was disturbed – the particles threw their ‘arms’ up into the salty water. They surrendered.
EXCERPT 3
The moon is full, white, and round. The dark, fleeting silhouettes of bats greet Haruto and Yuuta. While staring at the moon, Haruto imagines a large red dragon-serpent flying in front of the moon. He sees the large translucent wings flapping against the white canvas. Fire embers and sparks fly out of the dragon’s mouth. Smoke billows out on the sides of the dragon’s large open mouth. He can almost smell the breath of the dragon. The smell reminds him of his granddad’s blacksmith sword kiln. Reo, his granddad, used to take the red glowing metal rod out of the fire with his long tongs. The hot, glowing, smell of Samurai sword-making excites his senses. In his mind, he sees the finished Samurai sword – it shines and flashes as it flourishes and swooshes through the air. He imagines himself flying up to the large dragon; he then thrusts the sword into the dragon-serpents neck. The dragon twists and turns violently as the sword enters its neck. There is blood on the moon.
Oni
Publishing Details & Credits
Copyright © 2018 William Van Zyl & Malinda Van Zyl
All rights reserved.
THE ENCODED PEN
First Publishing 2018
Five House Publishing
New Zealand
No parts of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Under no circumstances may any part of this book be photocopied for resale.
ISBN:
978-0-473-44632-1 Epub
CREDITS:
Book Covers: William Van Zyl
Watercolours & Sketching (Tayasui Sketches App): William van Zyl
Storytelling: William & Malinda Van Zyl
Editing & proofreading: Chris Hill
Divider Graphics: Created by Alvaro_cabrera – Freepik.com
Pictures: Some images taken from pixabay.com
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1. Page 8
Authenticity.
CHAPTER 2. Page 10
Pearl Harbour.
CHAPTER 3. P 14
School
CHAPTER 4.P 18
Finding Treasure.
CHAPTER 5. P23
The Laboratory.
CHAPTER 6. P32
The Search.
CHAPTER 7. P35
The Chest.
CHAPTER 8. P43
The Dream…
CHAPTER 9. P46
The Conquest.
CHAPTER 10. P52
Demons & Onis.
CHAPTER 11. P60
The Fight.
CHAPTER 12. P67
The Dream continues: The Key.
CHAPTER 13. P69
The Independent Pen.
CHAPTER 14. P73
Scriptures.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE FIRST MISSIONARIES TO JAPAN. Page 79
This story has been inspired by the Christian Missionaries that dedicated their lives spreading the Gospel in Japan. When one looks at a Kamakazi pilot we would hardly imagine a Christian Kamikaze pilot. This story portrays just that. A Christian warplane pilot that lays down his life for his country and his family. P79
Here is a short summary of the history. Page 79
History of introducing Christianity to Japan by Father Xavier – Nagasaki (Port), Japan: Page 79
MESMERISING WOODEN JAPANESE LOCKING JOINTS. P81
ABOUT KAMIKAZE PILOTS. P83
MEANING OF THE NAMES OF THE JAPANESE CHARACTERS IN THE BOOK (EXTENDED FAMILY). P86
HARUTO’S FAVOURITE STORY AS A YOUNG CHILD: ‘MOMOTARO’ (‘THE PEACH BOY’). P90
NOTES TO PARENTS AND CAREGIVERS. Page 92
ABOUT THE AUTHORS: Page 93
ABOUT THE STORY: Page 95
About the Authors
William Van Zyl
The author had an interesting and unique childhood. Not travelling abroad – as you would expect – but venturing through the fields, bushes, tools sheds and mysterious underground tunnels around his neighborhood. His happy place was – and still is – tinkering with ideas, science, and new possibilities. Many times while cycling he will get new ideas; he brings the unexpected, the unique, the creative in a flurry on a page or in a sketch. To this day he dreams of vicious wars and sophisticated weaponry in an innocent child’s scout cave. He loves diagrams, timelines, cross sections, sketches, and details of sinister and hidden concepts and ideas; always looking for a new mystery to decode and to encode. He investigates and explores extravagant thoughts which he includes in children’s books and stories; he loves to include philosophers perspectives, articles, intriguing stories, and poetry. Academic and research work are also his forte. He always offers a simple but practical explanation within an engaging context. Not your ordinary thinker! A lifelong scholar and teacher.
Malinda Van Zyl
Malinda loves gardening, interior design, arts & crafts, and cooking. She also loves reading books on spirituality (Christianity). She enjoys everything that involves a healthy lifestyle. Healthy lifestyle cookbooks have a special place on her bookshelves. As an avid reader and book collector, she has built up a very large collection of books at home. Malinda loves dressing up. Her clothing cupboard confirms her love for being well dressed. Malinda loves visiting her grandchildren and spending quality time with them. She loves playing the piano when at home or to entertain children and adults. She sometimes plays jazz music, classical music, those golden oldies, and Christian hymns and choruses.
Five House Publishing
Five House Publishing was established to make e-books available at very reasonable prices. Some downloads are free. The authors William & Malinda Van Zyl cover a vast range of genres which include:
Children’s Books
Christianity and Spirituality
Design and Visual Communication
Academic Work
Animation Architecture
Biographies
Interior Design
Peer-to-Peer Collaboration
Sustainable Architecture
Lessons for High School Teachers
Maori – Lessons and resources, etc.
Novels
Papermaking
Pop-up Card Circuitry
Recipes: Free downloads
STEM Project-based Education
Afrikaans – Gedigte en Stories
