OCEAN WAVES

The Atlantic

Chapter Five 

(The Atlantic) 

"... The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest ocean of the world’s five oceans after Pacific Ocean. It is larger than Indian, Southern and Arctic Ocean. It’s located between Africa, Europe, the southern ocean and the western hemisphere. It has a geographical coordinate of 0 00N, 25 00 W. It has a total area of approximately 77 million square kilometres which includes the Baltic Sea, Davis Strait, Caribbean Sea, Denmark strait, gulf of Mexico, Labrador Sea, Mediterranean Sea, and North Sea..." the lecture continued by the professor. We took off from the seaport around 9 30am, and then, it was 7 00pm. We gathered at the table for dinner. Miss Lora served the table and professor shared the grace. At the table, I noticed a look on professor’s face as he had a fixed gaze on Miss Lora. It was a romantic look that should covey a message to be decoded by her. I thought they must be having an affair. 

Few minutes later, Miss Lora and the professor were nowhere to be found. I took my dinner out of the table to meet Mr Kosoko at the control room to have a chat with him. He was at the navigating wheel. Mr Kosoko was dark in complexion. He was from the same town with my father. He was very happy to meet me though we really don’t have much similarity. He was extremely dark in complexion and accented. He took interest in me and later promised to take me round the ferry later. He said, "maybe before we got to the final destination". I had a nice time with him as he narrated his experiences on the Atlantic Ocean with tides, storms and violence attack from some dangerous sea life like sharks since he became a professional sailor. 

The ferry had four well-furnished cabins; one for the captain and his assistance, another for the two crew members, one for Miss Lora and Tattinny Olga, and the last was large enough to accommodate the rest of us. The last cabin was supposed to be a store but converted into a cabin. There were four double-bunks and one single in that cabin. I was fast enough to settle on the single bunk. At about 9.00 pm, I slept off and not quiet long, I could not get a good sleep because of the chats and movements made by my colleagues. I tried as much as I could to get a good sleep by focusing my mind on my childhood experiences. My desire as a child to become a marine engineer and the systematic processes involved in becoming one. I was grateful to the spirits for the dream was gradually becoming a reality. After few minutes of deep thought of my past and the reality of my presence, I got out of the bed to witness the beauty of the Atlantic Ocean at night. As I went up from the cabin, I observed a feminine figure on the deck. I moved close and it was Tattinny Olga. "Hey Josh, why are you up at this time of the night?" she asked with concern. "I couldn’t sleep; I have so much on my mind. Asides, my room-mates are still very much awake, chatting and you know how difficult it is to fall asleep in a noisy area. I can only sleep in a very quiet environment," I replied. "So what are you doing here? Why are you not asleep by this time?", I asked with concern. "I couldn’t sleep too. I have always been afraid of sleeping alone especially in a new place. Miss Lora is not in the cabin", she replied with a gaze. "Oh, I see, poor you". "Where do you think she could be?" She asked, "she should be somewhere on the ferry", I replied with a smile. "Of course, on the ferry," she interrupted. We both fixed our gaze at the shiny stars up in the sky. It was a beautiful sight to behold. After a few minutes of silence, I said, now gazing at her. "You have to go to bed now. All you need to do is to envision these twinkling stars in your mind you will definitely fall asleep". She nodded and left for her room immediately. I could hear her say, as she walked away, "thank you Josh. Go to bed too and have a sweet dream. I’ll see you tomorrow Josh."