Survivors of the Sea

s i d e s t o r y

00:00 | the main crew

          "My dream?" Silver smirked. "One day, I'm going to conquer the sea. That's my dream. To escape this hopeless land and explore beyond the horizon. As ridiculous as that sounds."

          Dia stared at the way his eyes glimmered as he talked about his future so ambitiously. She giggled.

          "That's ridiculous," Coal butt in.

          "But not impossible," Dia quickly added. "I'm going to be right by your side when that day comes."

          Silver turned his gaze away from the colorful sky and fixated on her, a little surprised by her statement. "You really mean that?"

          She rolled her eyes with a faint, lingering smile on her face. "We all will."

          "Ditching this place sounds like a great idea," Coal commented, raising his arms behind his head.

          "Your dream is our dream, Captain," Flint teased, bumping Silver on the shoulder. The title brought a smile to his face.

          "Captain, I like the sound of that," said Mica, who was laying on Flint's lap.

          "Even if it means we're going to be eating fish for the rest of our lives?"

          There was a momentary pause in the air. "Even if it means that," Dia finally spoke. The rest nodded in agreement.

          "You guys hesitated," Silver eyed.

          "No, we didn't," Mica denied almost instantly, sitting straight up.

          "Just your imagination."

          Everyone set their goals that day. They were going to build their very own ship and sail across the ocean. That was the dream.

〰️

          "Do you think it's a boy or a girl?" Twenty-year-old Mica asked her fiancé, Flint, who rubbed his palms around her bloated stomach.

          "I don't know. I don't care. I'll cherish our child no matter what," he said. "If it's a girl, we're naming her Daisy."

          "A flower?" she smiled, sadly.

          He reflected the same expression. "They'll never know what a flower is."

She looked up to meet his regretful blue eyes and twirled his sandy blond strands around her fingers. He was cut off by Coal rushing into the room, soaking wet.

          Coal froze and stared at the two with glassy eyes before clearing his throat. "It's not looking good outside," he said in a low voice, glancing at her stretched skin.

          The three exited the shelter and focused their gazes on Silver and Dia, who were hustling on the helm. Darkness prevailed as the clouds thickened, blotting out the moonlight and stars. The waves danced with the harsh wind that gusted from the stricken skies, causing the ship to rock back and forth. These were all signs of an approaching storm.

          "Guys!" Silver yelled. "Something's not right."

          The wind slammed the rain into their faces like tiny stones. Mica panicked, trying to get to the perimeter. "Don't push yourself, Mic," Coal muttered and helped pull on the ropes to secure balance.

          "I'll check underneath. It's probably the anchor again!" Flint dove straight into the water before anyone could say anything. Even with his exceptional build and experience on sea, diving straight in with the waves seemed insane.

           "Wait, Flint!" A demented explosion of thunder cracked through the air.

           That day, he never came back onto the surface. They lost a friend to the sea and for the first time, they thought that life on land was easier. Coal followed after him a while later but by then, he was already swept away. They all shared the same thoughts of regret after the storm passed.

          And a few months later, North was born.