Writing Competition 141: "The shipwreck, am I alone here?"

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One of the highlights of my evenings as a kid were moonlight tales. The fascinating twists and eventual moral ending always made me want to do more for the society and be a good person. This sure and promising prompts were what made me look up to them. My grandfather on one visit told me and my siblings a tale of despair. It left me thinking for a long period of time and as a result I had a phobia for large bodies of water. Whenever I was on one, I felt helpless as though I couldn't save myself and worse still, no one could save me. My Dad even told me once when I was little that whenever it was raining heavily, his parents would wake him up and together they would pray for those still at sea because I come from a long line of fishermen and they had experienced it at certain points.

At the center of the story was Dan. Dan was a well meaning citizen who did his best no matter thhe cost to provide for his family. The system however didn't favor Dan and at some point after much ponderings he decided to participate in some illegal dealings. There was so many options but most of them were monitored and kept within a close circle, there seemed to be no way to properly indulge without guidance and so Dan saught one. He met up with a friend who was an accountant and worked in the Tax department. His name was John. John had oftentimes been his go-to person whenever he felt stranded. He couldn't quite tell if John was straight or had his hands dirty but at this point, he was ready for any form of compromise.

John soon confirmed his suspicions and told him how wealthy he was and that the little endowment he parades is just a front. Dan's eyes were lit and doctoring papers seemed more probable than selling harmful drugs or kidnapping. Dan's friend soon help him get an appointment and also sped up his promotion. Because of the urgency of Dan's need, his sudden stability was noticed. Plainly put, he got greedy. The Government officials soon started investigating secretly and once he got wind of this, he sent his family away on the guise that it was a needed vacation. He knew plainly that there was no way out for him so he arranged to be shipped in a cargo box with the little money he could carry without raising suspicion.

His aim was to arrive at the nearest country and then strategically find a way to get his family and plot an escape. Fate is sometimes cruel and once she grips you, she shakes till there's nothing left. As it happened, there was some leakage in the ship and they transferred the cargo to another and in no time it took off. Though suspicious the movement Dan experienced from the crater was his thought was that there was some turbulence.

The Captain of the ship was an adventurous fellow and decided almost then since they had more cargo that people to try a different route knowing fully well there would be no protest. Sadly, while they were at sea, the atmosphere changed just as it did during the time of Jonah and there was a tempest. The sea roared against the ship and they were soon drafted into open waters. The winds were strong and there was commotion on the ship; it came to their notice that some explosives that were not properly bound because of their focus on bringing in new cargo were on the ship. As the core crew members made their way down the deck, there was a loud bang. It repeated itself and tore through most parts of the ship.

The explosion broke Dan's crate for sure and left him unconscious drifted on wood in the open waters. I failed to mention earlier that Dan wasn't a good swimmer, not in the least. Many hours later he woke to the smell of salt water and the crashing sound of waves upon the rickety plank he was lieing on. He tried to find balance slowly and steadily, looking in the distance east, west, north and southward if there was a horizon he could easily paddle to. To his detriment, there was none.

It took about three days (and he was parched, the main problem he faced was the unquenchable thirst that had gripped his throat these past few days) before he saw an island and hastily guided his parchment to it. While on shore, he ran in and tried digging for water. He soon found some small body that looked clean and drinkable. He delved in and was filled. He then looked around for food. After he had cured himself of these inevitable plagues he then recalled he was a passenger on a ship and that survivors should at least have encountered him. The thought that the Island might as well be populated ran through and he asked; "Am I alone here? "

You could say that Dan's fate was sealed when he tried to doctor documents and steal from the masses. He was sure to end up alone, isolated and forever out of reach. I do hope on my part that I am not a victim of such accident, drifting asea.

The part where I said my Dad was woken up and asked to intercede for people at sea is true. Every other part of the story is fictional.