Daily Flash Fiction Entries

Paradise Lost

Prompt: Write me a story about being stranded out in the middle of the ocean. How do you re-act. Are you alone. . .?
Word Count: 300

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The Islands – Paradise on Earth! We guarantee you’ll have the time of your life!

What a load of crap.

It’s been almost twelve hours since we’ve seen any other human let alone an island. The boatman at the Cove had assured us it would be safe to go on our own, and yet here we are miles from civilization, our engine having quit hours ago. I didn’t want to go on this trip, but Mary, my wife, had begged me to take it. How could I refuse?

The first hour went by without a hitch, but things got ugly very fast. The tide rolled in, and to cut a long story short, I lost my way. As typical of women, Mary began to complain and although I told her countless times that we weren’t lost, I knew I was only kidding myself.

We have no means of communication to the island- since we had only planned a short trip - and the little lunch we had packed is long gone. I am cold, tired and hungry and to make matters worse, Mary is no longer speaking to me. I had assumed that our situation would bring us closer together, but it’s only done more to bring out the uglier side of our relationship. I steal another glance at her as she shivers in her little corner of the boat, knowing that with her last cold words, it was the beginning of the end.

I sigh and lift my gaze to the heavens, idly listening to the faint sounds of a rescue boat in the distance and yet I am immensely grateful for the sea’s sprays which splash against my cheeks to mask the silent tears that slide down my cheeks.

For somehow, our little paradise has become our personal hell.