Tam laced her shoes, put the last bottle of water in her backpack, and gathered her little personal belongings. She had traveled a long way to come to the Omu. She looked through the window of her hotel room. Tam had not visited the little town in over fifteen years. She felt nostalgic. The town remained the same. She could see a huge part of the small city from where she stood. The magnificent palms waving their evergreen branches, the clear and alluring beach water, and the smell of wild nature in the air. Tam could even see the crevices of the Omu rock. The mere sight of it made her Shudder. It sat at the edge of the town like a watcher overlooking the little city that was once of beauty and color.
The city had become a shadow of itself. Like one of those places time forgets. Tam had been having these dreams where her great-grandmother would always take her on walks through the crevices of the rock. “You are the light and soul. The link to it all. Never lose connection and if you do, you must always find your way home”. Tam was originally from Omu but her lineage had left the town decades before she was born to start a new life. Although Tam barely visited, she felt a very strong connection to the Omu.
Tam told herself she was there to see the rock but deep down, her late great-grandma's words were the true calling. She wanted to feel at home again. Omu, home to the magnificent mysterious rock. It had become one of the world's most famous tourist attractions. People from far and wide visited Omu rock to bask in its glory. Its top view revealed the shape of a hand. The people called it ‘the hand of the gods’.
The legend of the Omu had it that hundreds of years ago, Omu was only a little village that flourished. The rock was the source of the village’s wealth. They said that the rock produced a secret liquid substance that was used for many purposes. The people relished it, sold it, and even used it on their skin. It was the source of energy, beauty, and rejuvenation for the people. The rock also had a keeper. One that tended to it and passed the torch from generation to generation. But something happened. The generational line became broken and so the rock ceased to be the good charm of the town. Ever since prosperity had come to a halt.
Tam arrived at the foot of the rock at almost sundown. The size of the rock intimidated her. Looking up, she felt small and wobbly as though the ground was vibrating. A few tourists strolled around marveling and taking pictures. Tam put her bare palms on the rock. She felt the same shudder she had felt as a child. This time, with a pull she could not explain. Tapping the wall, she found her way through one of the crevices that led to an opening inside the rock.
She began to feel woozy. Then sounds followed. Faint drumming and chanting echoed from a distance. In a state of trance, Tam followed echoes. She soon came to a group of women chanting words she did not understand. They stood arm in arm in a single file. The first woman held a torch. They began passing the torch until it got to the last woman. Tam recognized the last woman. It was her great-grandmother. She then passed the torch to Tam.
Tam began to look around her. There were several burning fire pots. On the walls were carvings and imprints of people and structures. They were telling a story. Tam deciphered the story. It was of a flourishing village and the rock as its source. She saw a family tree and the torch being passed down from generation to generation until there was a missing link and the bounties of the town ceased. To the side of the imprints was a pot with wood in it.
Tam looked in the direction of the women and they all nodded in unison. Still, in a state of trance, Tam lit the pot and it began to burn. She looked at the carvings on the rocks again. The missing link to the burning pot had been replaced with yet another imprint. She looked at the women again. They were smiling this time. “You are the light and soul, the link to it all”. They all chorused. Tam smiled. She felt a surge of peace inside of her.
A growling rumble that jolted Tam followed. She opened her eyes and looked around her. There was nothing but rocks and ash. The rock began to tremble. Tam felt tremors beneath her feet. In no time, the tremors spread across the entire town. Thick dark brown liquid began to erupt from the crevices.
“It's an eruption” some yelled. Panic filled the town.
“No. Look at that stuff, it is something else.”
Soon, like a flood, the eruption gushed out of the rock with a force nature had never seen. It swept the entire city covering it in brown warm liquid. Just like the natives of the town and tourists, Tam floated on the thick brown liquid that smelled heavenly.
They all began to taste it. It was the best coffee in the world that nature had brewed right there in the heart of Omu. Right there, Tam knew she was where she was meant to be-home. She would keep the torch burning until the next generation and the prosperity of the town would return. It felt surreal and for what seemed like forever, they bathed in the euphoria of the moment.