The Ferry

The sound of fog horn vibrated loudly upon the open sea air, a Ferry, as white as ivory was seen docking at the harbor that
young Ethan was in, the ferry was average for its size, Ethan looked at the ferry apathetically and went inside,

Ethan looked no more than twenty five, his dark green jacket covered his black shirt and denim pants, his ebony locks
seemed to sway in the soft and gentle breeze of the sea.

'The sooner I get to leave, the better.' thought the young man

As he made his way upstairs, he saw fewer and fewer people were occupying their seats, so he settled for the top floor,
near the captains deck, were barely a few people sat. He went for the farthest seat possible, he sat down and looked
outside to the open sea.

It was a beautiful sight to behold, the clear blue waters rippling and waving outside, the gray and white clouds over the
horizon that seemed to support the blue sky above with seagulls that seemed to dance in midair as if something was
beneath such a shallow ocean floor. Breathtaking as it is, Ethan did not seem very fond of it much.
He then looked at the busy people on the docks, running and squirming around the busy harbor, taking care of the
oncoming and outgoing ships, one of the crewmen with the hard hat, untied the big ropes and waved signaling that he had
finished the job,

CLICK, CLICK, CLICK

Ethan could hear the sound of the chains being rolled up signifying that the anchor was hauled up, he had seen the boat
slowly move out of the dock making its way to the vast ocean. Ethan could only place his chin on the palm of his right hand near the handle bars. He looked out to where the boat was heading, the sound of the seawater crashing on to the ship's side.

"Breathtaking isn't it?" Asked a voice, Ethan turned around and saw one man, that looked like in his thirties, an unkempt eard was his special feature, along with a black camera, whose lens were the size of closed fist, the man held his camera with his right hand.

"I've seen better sceneries." Was Ethan's only reply

"Well, it's still pretty marvelous, for nature to display such a wondrous thing... I can't see why you can't appreciate it for
even a little." Said the man, Ethan only raised his eyebrow, how could this man criticize his thinking? It was only an opinion!

So he retorted, as sarcastic as possible, "And I don't see why you should be happy in such a little thing."

The man laughed simply at that and took the picture, "You're right! How silly of me, but for me, things like this are what makes you feel so... Alive, you know?"

"And how do you say that?" Asked Ethan

"Well, you heard of the phrase that 'A picture paints a thousand words' right?" To this, Ethan nodded

"When I look at that scenery, it makes me realize, how I'm lucky to be alive and part of the grand scheme of things." Said the man

"The grand scheme of things?" Ethan asked

"Yeah, as in the great story, you know? It's hard to explain, but I guess you could say that every human has a role in this
great play you call life." Said the man

Ethan scoffed at the idea and said, "If life is a play, then what is your role? What is my role?"

The boat let its foghorn sound again loudly, as it drifted into the seemingly endless body of water.

The man smiled and said, "Nothing!"

Ethan laughed at that answer, it was probably the most ridiculous answer he has ever heard throughout his life.

"Nothing? Then by saying that then that means you have no role in life!"

The man defended, "No, I said nothing because, basically, your role is a blank slate, you choose who you want to be, how
you ought to be unlike those plays you see in Broadway, were you don't get to pick your role. Either as the Protagonist, or
a side character. In this play, everyone has a part."

Ethan then stood up and leaned against the railings, looking out and letting the cool sea air caress his face

"Even if that's true, then no matter what you do, a side character will always be a side character." He said, a melancholic
smile began to etch on his face

"But that's like saying all of us people just watching the news everyday as the world turns are insignificant!" Said the man,
Ethan nodded

"Yeah, utterly insignificant, the roles that we play, do not affect the story or the protagonist at all." Said Ethan

"Says you, I like to think that the smaller characters like us are the ones that make a difference in how good the impact of
the story will be." Said the man as he yet again pictured the scenery, this time, the dull grey clouds covered the clear blue
sky, but still, everything around the ship's view was stunning

"Picture life, being moved by big cogwheels where, everyday, if there isn't a maintenance check, it would rust, break down
and collapse." Said the man, and then continued,

"This play, is not a play were there is one person dictating on how the story will end." He said, as he then sat down and
continued

"There's no script, no premeditated dialouge, no choreography and certainly no spit flying director to bark around orders and
berate us, there's just... Us. People that shape the world differently."

"We shape the world from the ground up, it's a privilege to work, to go up, to start from the little things then get to the top."
The man then looked at Ethan who was looking outside intently

"When people start to bring you down, you usually try to ignore it, right?" Asked Ethan, the man simply smiled and nodded

"I told my friends, my family, and my relatives about my dream to be a teacher." Said Ethan, as he looked out to the sea,
the man nodded,

"They didn't seem to approve of it, seeing as it was a waste of my talents as an artist." Said Ethan grabbing his dufflebag
and grabbed his sketchpad, he sat down by one of the benches and started drawing his scenery.

"But I always, always wanted to teach, about everything that I could give, literature, science, foreign languages, arts,
anything!" Said Ethan the man remained silent

"Seeing as my abilities would be of better use and more profitable for me, they didn't want me become some teacher at a
local school. They say they won't immortalize me like that." Said Ethan who was laughing silently,

"I just can't seem to understand them, why would they stop me from going after what I want?" Ethan's tears then began to fall from his eyes, his sketch was starting to form,

"Their answer was that it wasn't significant enough in the world today. Teachers would always be under appreciated." Said Ethan, the man smirked,

"So what are you doing here?" Asked the man, Ethan replied,

"I wanted to get away for a while, think about my problems, think about what I am to do about them. How could I stop this stupidity of mine?"

The man then stood up and leaned on the siderails as well,

"Well, I am sure that running away isn't an option if that's what you are about to do."

Ethan continued to sketch, the darkened outlines were now visible, the picture coming to life

"But like I said, it's the little things that counts and make up the most grand of all things. Within it, life circulates... So what if people were shooting you down? Should you care? No."

Ethan already knew that,

"People follow what they desire in life, it's what makes each man so unique. Their souls are their imprints and their desires
are their tracks. People follow it. No matter how, humans find a way because it's what they love and it's what they chose. Sure, every road has a bump on the way, some more than others, but it's still there. Clear for a man to walk on."

Ethan looked out to sea, a beautiful ray of sunlight seemed to pierce the grey clouds, the young artist sketched the scenery his heart slowly starting to heal.

"Don't force yourself to something you don't want, I made you better than that." Said the man, and with that, he walked away, Ethan was surprised at first, he looked out to the corner and saw that the man was already gone, on the seat that the man sat on, there was a clear and beautiful photo of the open sea, the ray of sunshine piercing the dull grey skies, it looked identical to his sketch.

"H-How..." Ethan was baffled, the picture that the man made it was him, leaning on to the siderails and looking out with the sunrays making a sillouhouete of him, how did it develop so quickly? He looked at the back and there was a note.

'Do not fret, for I am here by your side, when people doubt you, I won't, you are my child, and I shall be your beacon.
You do not tread alone, I am here, and always will be.

A smile crept upon his face, and tears were falling from his face once again, this time of happiness, as he looked out to the
harbor, he couldn't help but smile.