Edited for 400 to 600 words, only. |
As a small child, I couldn't wait until I was old enough to go to sea. My dream was to travel the world and have the adventure of my life; while making a living as the captain of a magnificent sailing ship. After years of preparation, I was aboard a fine sailing ship with a captain, my hero and mentor; who had many years of experience, knew how to choose his crew wisely, and could rule with a firm and fair hand. Sailing to a new land I had never visited before, a trip which takes weeks to complete is perfect. Full of excitement and being elated about what treasures would we find, I felt like I had died and gone to heaven. Typical for sailors with superstitions, our own high hopes for a safe and exciting adventure, and for some of us, Prayer; (mixed With good luck), experience, and the weather on our side; we expected to have the best time of our lives. The voyage started out with the usual duties and everyone knew how to do all the jobs on board, just in case someone was hurt. It didn't take long for everything to become humdrum and The tediousness of the trip to cause the crew to get restless and complacent. Because of perfect weather we were going to arrive at our destination ahead of schedule causing my disappointment, I wanted to enjoy a much longer seafaring trip. You know that old saying: " Be careful what you wish fore." On this wonderful evening, Our captain retired to his cabin, the First Mate was in charge, a skeleton crew on watch; while everyone relaxed and enjoyed the trip, and carefree routine. Sometime after midnight, many people had gone to bed. All of our chores were completed and everything was perfect, or so we thought. We became dull in our watchfulness for danger. No one noticed the change in the weather. The ship started to rock more than usual, but not enough to raise an alarm. Suddenly, to everyone's startled surprise there was an ear shattering clap of thunder, which sounded like hundreds of cannons; and a very huge bright flash of light: a blinding light of 100 suns. The storm appeared seemingly out of nowhere. The lookouts hadn't alerted us to the approaching storm before it hit with all of its fury. Panic and chaos replaced the clam serene dream voyage which I so cherished. Our dream trip was now a nightmare: we had to work hard and at a furious pace to try to get back on course. In sheer desperation all hands manned the sails being torn from the masts by the vicious storm. The pilot desperately wrestled the wheel to keep the ship heading into the wind, so we would not capsize. Everything was happening so fast I cannot remember all of the details. My next memory is of the someone yelling "Waterfall!". This magnificent ship was on a collision course with tons of raging water which would swallow everyone's dreams and their lives. I was disoriented and utterly helpless in a blur of excited activity. The ship went over the falls and was dashed into splinters. I survived being able to ride the racing water fall inside a well built; heavy duty barrel able to sustain careening into the boulders at the bottom: a terrifying trip. I was rescued the next day. The rest of my life has been torture and torment. Day and night the horrific scenes come and go: I have never gone near the ocean again. Word Count: 597 |