By Yashwant Mishra

Word Count: 650

Rating: G

Summary: A cruise turns into something completely unexpected.

     I got a ticket to a very exotic cruise. The day finally arrived and I boarded with so many hopes of adventure and fun, and excitement about all of the different things I planned to do.

     The journey was just as I’d hoped. Each day, I would go up onto the deck to enjoy the scenery. I loved experiencing the heavy rain out in the middle of the ocean. I would watch in awe as the waves swelled up and down, and stare in wonder at the big fish jumping out of the sea and then diving back into it. I was enjoying every second of my trip.

     One morning, I was admiring the view from the deck when I saw a beautiful, big, grey fish jumping out of the sea, before diving head-first back beneath the waves.
Suddenly, I felt a terrible jerk. It was followed by a loud crash. Scared, I looked down to see what had happened and saw that the ship was broken. I was shocked. After a closer look, my past studies told me that the ship must have been broken all along!

     I was afraid. I bolted from deck to the inside of the ship to warn people, to tell them that the ship was broken. I ran into the hall but found that there was no one there. Then I went to the bar, but no attendant was there either. My heart skipped a beat because I’d already guessed what was coming next.

     I rushed towards the closest room and knocked, but there was no response. With my heart hammering, I turned the door knob. There was no one. I even checked the bathroom, my heart sinking even deeper when I again found no one. But I didn’t lose hope. I kept on searching every room. I couldn’t find a single person. I thought back to the scene on the dock, of hundreds of people boarding the ship. I wanted to shout, to call out their names, but I didn’t. I was too afraid. What if I got no response? What if there was really no one left aboard to help me?

     I sat on the floor, all my hope gone. The ship jerked more violently now and the terrible shaking became more frequent, each time becoming more and more violent. All the while, the fear inside me was turning instead into numbness, for I had lost all hope of being saved. The ship broke into two. Sparks flying everywhere from the bare ends of the torn electrical wires. I clung to the edge of the ship, waiting to drown and die at any moment.

     But it didn’t happen! The floor on which I was sitting broke away from the sides of the wrecked ship. I found myself sitting on a section of planks floating just below the level of the water. I stared around me, but as far as I could see, there were no other humans or any sign at all of lifeboats.

     Days past and I drifted alone. I found that I didn’t need food or water anymore. I could not die. I had been cursed with immortality. As you are reading this note, please know that I am still here. The waves soak me, breaking over me, trying to crush me…but I’m still alive. I don’t die. In the beginning it was tough. I desperately wanted to die. But as time passed I came to realise that it’s ok. The waves are my friends. The breeze brings me news from other places. The planks keep me afloat. The only thing I truly grieve, is that, in this world full of people, I have no one to talk to. As I write this note I still haven’t seen any sign of a ship to take me back to the shore. I’m just floating, on the open ocean…eternally alone.