The breeze felt nice as it drifted softly over me. The ocean faintly
shifted from the many currents, rocking me gently in my old boat. I
breathed in deep and smiled. This was the life. Today was like no other
for fishing to my heart’s content! Clear skies, lovely weather, and a
calm ocean; now all I needed was for some fish to bite… I looked
sarcastically at where the ocean met with my bobber. Ahem, some fish to bite…
With an intense stare, I looked at my pole and bobber expectantly,
willing it to show a sign that there was some activity below. Seconds
passed, then minutes, and I finally exploded with exasperation, “This is
supposed to be the perfect day for fishing! Why is it that the only
thing missing are the fish! Argh!” I hit the surface of the ocean before
I started reeling in my line. Looking around as I was reeling in, I saw
a flock of birds flying low nearby. Smirking, I laid my pole down, and
gently rowed myself towards the birds. When I was close, yet far enough
to not scare the birds or the fish away, I pulled my oars in and picked
up my fishing pole. There was a satisfying swish, whir, click, click, click, plop
as I cast and my bobber landed in the water. From then on I had a
satisfying amount of teasing, biting, and catching of fish as I relaxed
with the soothing motion of my boat. I was so consumed by this that I
neglected to notice the gradual change in my perfect fishing day. By the
time I realized it, the sky was full of dark thunderous clouds, the
wind had picked up, the temperature had dropped, and the ocean had
started to become dangerously choppy for my boat.
I quickly reeled in my line and stowed everything securely away. I got out the oars and started to row with the current as much as possible while still heading towards the mainland. The waves were getting bigger, the clouds darker, and a fierce wind replaced the sudden gusts of a few moments before. Out of nowhere, I watched a monstrous wave open its giant maw to swallow me whole and bring me to the depths of its sadistic belly. The next second I was in a confusing swirl of salt water and bubbles. After being spun and tossed in many different directions, I finally broke the surface, gasping for air. I was still disoriented, and the dangerously jubilant waves refused to relinquish me from their deadly flirtatious game. Throughout that entire storm I was hurled, shoved, dunked, and flung about. Somewhere in that chaos I started to figure myself dead and making a mental will. It was short and sweet. Everything goes to my one and only family member, Mrs. Mimi Assarda, my Mother. I wish I didn’t have to leave her alone like this though, and then I blacked out.
Soft ocean waves washed over me. The first thing I was aware of was the nasty gritty feeling in my mouth and eyes. I pushed myself up and tried to get as much moisture in my mouth to spit all the sand out as possible. It was like trying to squeeze some liquid out of a dried piece of fruit. I slowly opened my eyes to slits and started blinking, hoping that it would help get most of the sand out. I felt crusty, damp, sore, and there was a stinging sensation on my right arm. As soon as I could open my eyes with most of the gritty feeling gone, I looked myself over. I seemed to be just fine except for a hideously long, ragged slash on the arm that was perpetually stinging. Great… I looked around and, after tending to the wound as best I could, decided to explore the area. It didn’t take me long considering the shape I was in, but it was still very taxing.
The island was small and uninhabited, with uneven terrain and what looked to be a small mountain on the other side. Tropical plants made thick vegetation all over the island. I found a small spring somewhere towards the center; I took a long drink to satisfy my nagging thirst and washed as much of the saltwater off as possible. I’ll just have to endure this tacky feeling until later. There was also a nice cove protected from any of the temperamental elements of the ocean and island. That would be a good place to fish and gather fresh, edible sea life to keep me going for however long I was to inhabit this place. Once I made it to the mountain, I discovered a cave that would be good to use for shelter. The mouth was around what I thought to be six feet tall and four feet wide. I quickly called a fireball into existence, so I could actually see where I was going when I entered. Once I was past the entrance it suddenly widened and opened up. The ceiling was high enough that I couldn’t see it and the room was round enough to house a hundred or more people comfortably. The fire ball hovering over my left hand went out. I never was a great magic user... I sighed. In fact, the only thing I could ever really do as a magician was start fires and locate hidden water. The ability to summon water to the surface was, in fact, an evolution to my talent to sense where to locate pure water. I looked around where I was, not really seeing anything in the all consuming darkness. With my current situation, I was really thankful for those admittedly pathetic skills.
After I found the cave, I fixed it with a bed made of leaves, a circle of rocks for a fire, and a make-shift door to keep any unwanted drafts and creatures out during the night. I then went in search of food. I found some nuts, tropical fruit, and the almighty coconut. I really couldn’t stand coconut. Something about it just kicked my gag reflex in, but it would be one of the best sources of food I would have. After storing my goods in the cave, I went to the spring of water I had found previously. Before I did anything more I took another deep drink. When I was through, I found the source of the spring’s water and quickly started to draw it up towards the cave. By the time I was done, there was a nice fresh spring and a bigger pool of water to use for washing myself within the cave. There was a constant fresh flow from the reservoirs deep within, that kept the water fresh and level so as to not flood the cave. I was completely spent from exerting so much energy. I lethargically collected as much dry wood as possible, making a big pile of tinder by the entrance, and started a fire in my ring of rocks. I brought out some of the herbs that I had found, one of the coconuts, and started to make a paste-like substance to cover my wound to keep infection at bay. I rubbed some of the coconut’s flesh over my skin to sooth it and keep any further affliction at bay. After I was done I went over to the larger pool of fresh water, washed the pieces of coconut flesh that I had used and forced them down, along with the leftover coconut milk from making my herbal concoction.
The sun had already set by the time I was done. I was exhausted, enjoying a nice soak in the spring pool, and thoroughly rinsing the saltwater completely off of me. It felt nice and somewhat refreshing. To dry off faster I sat by the fire with outstretched hands. It was warm, so much so that it made me feel drowsy.
Tomorrow I would go out to fish and hunt for food. I didn’t know if anyone would ever find me, but I was prepared to wait it out for as long as necessary and, if I had to, make a raft to get myself off of this no man’s land. That was unless I caught some weird disease or the cut on my arm got infected and killed me before it healed. I stuffed those morbid thoughts deep into the recesses of my mind and looked at the fire with a determined frown. I, Violet Assarda, age nineteen, of the Nerthardic people, wasn’t going to let this defeat me.
I quickly reeled in my line and stowed everything securely away. I got out the oars and started to row with the current as much as possible while still heading towards the mainland. The waves were getting bigger, the clouds darker, and a fierce wind replaced the sudden gusts of a few moments before. Out of nowhere, I watched a monstrous wave open its giant maw to swallow me whole and bring me to the depths of its sadistic belly. The next second I was in a confusing swirl of salt water and bubbles. After being spun and tossed in many different directions, I finally broke the surface, gasping for air. I was still disoriented, and the dangerously jubilant waves refused to relinquish me from their deadly flirtatious game. Throughout that entire storm I was hurled, shoved, dunked, and flung about. Somewhere in that chaos I started to figure myself dead and making a mental will. It was short and sweet. Everything goes to my one and only family member, Mrs. Mimi Assarda, my Mother. I wish I didn’t have to leave her alone like this though, and then I blacked out.
Soft ocean waves washed over me. The first thing I was aware of was the nasty gritty feeling in my mouth and eyes. I pushed myself up and tried to get as much moisture in my mouth to spit all the sand out as possible. It was like trying to squeeze some liquid out of a dried piece of fruit. I slowly opened my eyes to slits and started blinking, hoping that it would help get most of the sand out. I felt crusty, damp, sore, and there was a stinging sensation on my right arm. As soon as I could open my eyes with most of the gritty feeling gone, I looked myself over. I seemed to be just fine except for a hideously long, ragged slash on the arm that was perpetually stinging. Great… I looked around and, after tending to the wound as best I could, decided to explore the area. It didn’t take me long considering the shape I was in, but it was still very taxing.
The island was small and uninhabited, with uneven terrain and what looked to be a small mountain on the other side. Tropical plants made thick vegetation all over the island. I found a small spring somewhere towards the center; I took a long drink to satisfy my nagging thirst and washed as much of the saltwater off as possible. I’ll just have to endure this tacky feeling until later. There was also a nice cove protected from any of the temperamental elements of the ocean and island. That would be a good place to fish and gather fresh, edible sea life to keep me going for however long I was to inhabit this place. Once I made it to the mountain, I discovered a cave that would be good to use for shelter. The mouth was around what I thought to be six feet tall and four feet wide. I quickly called a fireball into existence, so I could actually see where I was going when I entered. Once I was past the entrance it suddenly widened and opened up. The ceiling was high enough that I couldn’t see it and the room was round enough to house a hundred or more people comfortably. The fire ball hovering over my left hand went out. I never was a great magic user... I sighed. In fact, the only thing I could ever really do as a magician was start fires and locate hidden water. The ability to summon water to the surface was, in fact, an evolution to my talent to sense where to locate pure water. I looked around where I was, not really seeing anything in the all consuming darkness. With my current situation, I was really thankful for those admittedly pathetic skills.
After I found the cave, I fixed it with a bed made of leaves, a circle of rocks for a fire, and a make-shift door to keep any unwanted drafts and creatures out during the night. I then went in search of food. I found some nuts, tropical fruit, and the almighty coconut. I really couldn’t stand coconut. Something about it just kicked my gag reflex in, but it would be one of the best sources of food I would have. After storing my goods in the cave, I went to the spring of water I had found previously. Before I did anything more I took another deep drink. When I was through, I found the source of the spring’s water and quickly started to draw it up towards the cave. By the time I was done, there was a nice fresh spring and a bigger pool of water to use for washing myself within the cave. There was a constant fresh flow from the reservoirs deep within, that kept the water fresh and level so as to not flood the cave. I was completely spent from exerting so much energy. I lethargically collected as much dry wood as possible, making a big pile of tinder by the entrance, and started a fire in my ring of rocks. I brought out some of the herbs that I had found, one of the coconuts, and started to make a paste-like substance to cover my wound to keep infection at bay. I rubbed some of the coconut’s flesh over my skin to sooth it and keep any further affliction at bay. After I was done I went over to the larger pool of fresh water, washed the pieces of coconut flesh that I had used and forced them down, along with the leftover coconut milk from making my herbal concoction.
The sun had already set by the time I was done. I was exhausted, enjoying a nice soak in the spring pool, and thoroughly rinsing the saltwater completely off of me. It felt nice and somewhat refreshing. To dry off faster I sat by the fire with outstretched hands. It was warm, so much so that it made me feel drowsy.
Tomorrow I would go out to fish and hunt for food. I didn’t know if anyone would ever find me, but I was prepared to wait it out for as long as necessary and, if I had to, make a raft to get myself off of this no man’s land. That was unless I caught some weird disease or the cut on my arm got infected and killed me before it healed. I stuffed those morbid thoughts deep into the recesses of my mind and looked at the fire with a determined frown. I, Violet Assarda, age nineteen, of the Nerthardic people, wasn’t going to let this defeat me.
No comments:
Post a Comment