CommonWealth Essay 1.

Blue

Fear coursed through my body as I found myself in a situation where only death awaited me. I was like a bird in the mouth of a dragon. There was just no escape, it was certain doom. My own home, the sea, was now trying to kill me. As each wave impacted the ship ruthlessly, I drifted deeper into the storm, closer to my death.

As if deliberately aimed at me, lightning shot out of the clouds, missing the ship by no more than a few inches. The waves broke through the flimsy and blemished wood, leaving the ship in an atrocious state. If I could not relieve the ship of all these impact, the ship would soon be dilapidated, becoming no more than debris at the bottom of the sea.

With our lives at stake, our minds wandered from our initial motive. I remembered my father telling me methods to escape a storm, but it eluded my grasp. There was not much time left to slowly indulge in reminisce to recall the methods. I could only hope that my sub-conscious mind would be able to uncover this mystery before it was too late.

We were simply going out to sea for an ordinary fishing trip. Despite being cautioned by a traditional lady about a terrible storm approaching before we departed, the sky was spotless, and thus we discredited her forecast.

Who did she think she was? A goddess? Of course we did not believe her. We had no reason to. It was a perfect day to go for fishing, and we were not ready to give up a day’s worth of fish for some phony prediction.

The old lady saw us ignore her warning and at once, grief overwhelmed her at the anguish of the loss of more lives to the ruthlessness of the deep blue sea as tears rolled down her wrinkled cheeks. “May the seas and sky have mercy on your lives.” Sight of the old lady eluded us as she had become invisible to our eyes, our minds focused on our goal as we set off to sea.

Never did we expect the old lady prediction to be true. The storm took us by surprise. We were having a great catch at sea and suddenly, storm clouds started accumulating in the skies and we were staring death in its face. I could not believe that what I had thought to be my second home, such beauty, could be hiding such endangerment below its alluring exterior.

As a child, I had always loved the seas as my father used to take me for fishing, snorkeling and diving. The sea was astonishing, the corals, the fish, how the sunlight peered through the water surface and reflected off the shiny surfaces of rocks and corals, it was simply phenomenal. But now, witnessing the sea’s ferocious and perilous self, it aroused fear deep into my heart, but there was something more, a sense of disappointment and grief.

The sound of wood breaking shot through the air, over the loud pattering sound of the heavy rain, awaking me from my flashbacks. I watched in astonishment and fear as the main pole of the ship collapsed, crushing several of my men in an instant. With the main pole down, the ship started to swerve uncontrollably, sending men flying off the deck.

A white flash smeared across the sky, followed by a red, strong glow emanated from the ship. Impervious even to the strong rain, the conflagration started setting more of the ship ablaze. Men started to abandon their post and fled from the fire, jumping off the ship. They had hoped that the sea would have been merciful on their lives but how wrong they were; being engulfed by waves and swallowed by the deadly blue, never to be seen again.

It was too late. Without the crew to help, ship could go no further as it started to capsize. I had always loved the sea, believing it was the safest and most beautiful place in the world. I finally witness the sea baring its fangs at me and the calamity that it unleashed upon me.

Head towards the eye of the storm

My eyes widened at the sudden pain. It was similar to a heated blade being embedded into my back. Realization was drawn to me; I was hit square in the back by a piece of wood that had fragmented from the main pole. The sound of death wavered in my ear as a dreamy lassitude overtook my senses. A petrifying darkness enshrouded my world and at once I knew.

It was over.

THE END