Prosaic.

Clear Waters

Felicity was filled with many emotions. For one, she was incredibly excited at the prospect of all scavenging buildings, finding survivors, and getting to higher ground away from so much water. She was also, however, overcome with an odd sense of sadness upon seeing the abandoned, water-logged houses, and she couldn't help but wonder about the persons who had lived there, and whether or not they had survived. Enough time had passed since the initial flooding that carcasses in the water had been picked clean and their bones sank to the abandoned town below, however Felicity knew, despite the lack of exposed or floating bodies, that there was plenty of death in these waters.

The water was eerily calm now, reflecting the blue sky with absolutely no imperfections. But, it wasn't long before gentle ripples from the boat broke that picture-perfect mirroring as it lightly bumped into what appeared to be the corner of a roof, waking up the few that half-slept while clinging to the boat.

They had been in the water long enough.

Zephyr was actually the one to gently suggest, "We need to flip this boat around." Huan was the first to agree. The hefty man let go of his grip of the boat, leaving Felicity to cling to it herself, and then he heaved himself atop the exposed roof. The roof was shallow, but slanted up in a pyramid shape, with greyish-brownish shingles layering the top. Even the guttering was exposed, and underneath the surface of the murky water, the house could be recognisable as white. Now, however, the textured exterior walls of the home were thick with green, spotty algae.

Huan heaved a sigh of relief and freedom, stretching out his back, pulling one foot up and then the other to stretch out his calves and thighs. Then, he helped the rest of them onto the sloped roof. Felicity took his hand, and allowed herself to be pulled out of the water and onto the rather slick roof. Despite the slope, it was solid, and comfortable to stand on compared to the boat. She stretched herself out, laid down, and then stood back up again. Then, she did a short little dance, hoping from one large foot to the other, admiring the way the solid, completely still roof felt beneath her sore feet and legs. Her body seemed unbalanced, wobbling as she walked on dry land, her hands stiff and her limbs swollen.

Once the entire crew was safely on the roof of the house, the men pulled the boat up and onto the slant of the roof as best as they could. The small boat floated halfway in the water, and halfway on the roof. Felicity was not eager to jump back into the water, although it was obvious by Huan and Zephyr's grunts that they were struggling to flip the boat over. Felicity slid herself back into the cold water, and pushed the rear side of the boat. It didn't take long for Tati to jump in and help her, while Kiui and Marina helped to pull at the hull. Once the boat was completely on the roof above the water, Huan and Zephyr were able to push it over right-side-up, and then let it slide back into the water with a plop.

There was a newfound issue that the crew then needed to discuss: their little supplies, food, and oars had all disappeared during the storm. With no net to catch fish, it would be impossible to survive for very long.

"One of us could push the boat from behind while swimming," Felicity had suggested, sitting on the edge of the house's roof, her feet in the cold water and the sun on her back. "Take turns, you know?"

"But we'd burn so much energy, and we don't have food," Huan pointed out, "How would we push the boat without energy?"

Zephyr sat down beside Felicity and sighed, "We just travel as far as we can without it. Maybe try fishing a different way. The water is shallower here, maybe we could scavenge from these houses?"

Felicity spoke, "Getting trapped underneath the water is way too risky. And remember what kinds of things are in this water?"

"How will we even get fresh water without our pans?" Kiui asked worriedly. Huan attempted to comfort her with soft words, although to no avail.