Stepping Stones - Multigenre Mashup SmackDown Contest

Te Tapa - Qualifying Round Submission

A/N: Hello! This is my entry for the Qualifying Round of the Multigenre Mashup SmackDown contest, for which the prompt was: Write a story inspired by the concept of flat earth. Hope you enjoy!

Word count: 597

When Henry David Thoreau said, "All good things are wild and free," he certainly knew what he was talking about.

I inhale deeply, savoring the fresh smell of the ocean. A light wind whips my face playfully, blowing strands of hair into my eyes. Out here, I can feel all of the stress of my last semester draining away.

It is Akona's chuckle, followed by her lightly-accented English, that breaks me out of my reverie. "You look like you're enjoying yourself."

Tearing my eyes away from the gorgeous sight in front of me is a struggle, but, somehow, I manage it. "Āe." I test out the Māori word for yes. Judging by the way Akona outright laughs at me, I'm guessing I butchered it.

"You still have a long way to go." My tour guide shakes her head at me in faux annoyance.

"I think I'll stick to Spanish from now on."

"Your loss." She shoots back, not even pausing in her rowing.

Checking the depth finder attached to the back of the boat, I'm pleased to see the little machine is actually holding up quite well. Although it's pretty high quality, I had my doubts about how well it would record the deep depths of the Hikurangi Trench.

I'm glad to have been proven wrong. The more data I can gather these next few weeks, the more detailed I can make my dissertation for my doctorate in Geology.

I lift my head from the depth finder, opening my mouth to ask Akona a question, and that's when I see it.

I freeze in place. My mouth hangs open, the words I wanted to say stolen from my tongue.

I don't know how long I stare. My mind jumps around frantically as it tries to figure out what's in front of me.

At some point, Akona, probably noticing my uncharacteristic silence, glances at me and asks, "Diane?"

It's the concern in her voice that finally forces my throat open. "What- What is that?"

Ahead of us, where the blue expanse of water should continue, there's nothing. It's like the world just... ends.

"Ah." Akona smiles, completely unperturbed by the sight. "Te tapa. The edge of the world. You haven't seen it before, no?"

"I- but- how?"

My companion frowns at me. "What how? The Earth is flat. It must end somewhere."

My first instinct is to laugh at her. The Earth isn't flat. So many scientists have disproved that theory. I did not study geology for years just to get told that everything I know is a lie.

"But what about Eratosthenes?"

Somehow, Akona's frown grows deeper. "Who?"

"Eratosthenes!" I wave my arms in the air, trying to get her to understand. "The Greek mathematician! He proved the Earth was round, like, two thousand years ago!"

I want to get up, to pace around. That always helps me think better. But, not willing to risk capsizing the boat, I continue ranting from my seat. "And what about the Magellan-Elcano Expedition? They became the first Europeans to circumnavigate the globe! Again, it proved that the Earth was round!"

Akona shakes her head, cutting me off before I can continue. "You choose to believe the words of ancient people over what you can see with your own eyes?"

"Lots of modern research has proved the spherical form of Earth, too, such as-"

"Again, you choose to believe that your eyes are deceiving you?" She gestures at the drop-off. "The Earth is flat. I see it. You see it. No matter how many old scientists whose research you quote, that fact won't change. The world may not believe it, but the Māori do. I believe it. When will you?"

A/N: Well, any thoughts?

I have to say, this was fun to write - as soon as I started thinking about how a geologist would react to the concept of a flat earth, I just couldn't let it go. And believe me, if the word limit wasn't 600 words, I would have let Diane rant for even longer. :)

The Hikurangi trench actually exists! It's just off the coast of New Zealand, where the Pacific plate is being subducted under the Australian plate.

I'm sure you guys figured this out, but te tapa is Maori for "the edge". Keep in mind, I'm not an expert in Maori - this may be wrong. Please let me know if it is!
Also, I'm not implying anything about the Maori people here. Saying the Maori believe in flat earth is just for the purposes of this story.

Also, a small note - for the last SmackDown, I was using the word counter in Google Docs for my word counts. This time around, I'll be using the Wattpad word counter. For one, it'll probably be more consistent. I didn't realize how wildly word counts between platforms could differ until just a little while ago, and I know not everyone uses Google Docs to write, but everyone posting on Wattpad will obviously use the Wattpad software. And two, Wattpad word counts are actually less than word counts on Google Docs, allowing me to write a bit more. 

Finally, this short story is dedicated to my friend, Deedee, who always manages to brighten my day. Thank you!

See you next time!