Engulfed
The boat sways from side to side. It is a boat I have built with my own hands, which, although it had its good years, is now worn out and damaged, but it is the only place I can call home. This weathered wood won’t withstand another storm, at least not a large one, and that wouldn’t concern me much if it weren’t for what is approaching us right now in the middle of the sea, a sea I have known all my life. It is something we know we won’t survive. Dark, towering clouds that block out the light… they move independently from the way the wind does. I can only admire their strength and wonder: What are they?
They cannot be from this world, not with the way I see them making the vessels of some familiar sailors disappear, those from the port I frequent. Some seem to have jumped into the sea and try to swim in my direction, sadly in vain. But why would they do that, beyond the most deranged terror? What do they expect me to do? The engine of this wreck couldn’t even get us close to the shore at the speed these clouds are advancing; we wouldn’t be able to dodge them either, as they move unpredictably. And I am no bold sailor or talented adventurer capable of getting us out of this predicament. I am sure I wouldn’t even be able to help them climb aboard because, in reality, I want to be alone, accepting that fate in front of my eyes… the end of my world.
One of the clouds starts to cover me, in that moment I understand how everything disappeared. I feel it in the air, dense, as if there’s less oxygen every second; then I notice that the smell of the sea is different, at times giving me the sensation of being in another place, perhaps a cave, but then the smell changes and I find myself on a frozen mountain, at its highest peak. Until finally, I suddenly lose balance due to one of those waves, with an unearthly force. I look at the water and see a whirlpool forming and growing at an inexplicable, simply mesmerizing speed. Lightning now falls all around me, and I wonder if this is indeed a divine punishment, but what could I have done so wrong to end up in this situation, seeing my safe haven, all my memories, shattered and burned by an electric discharge? Now everything I once saw, felt, thought, believed, turns to ashes. And from where else will I have such a perspective, if not while I fall into the water, which completely envelops me? I will simply close my eyes and wait for it all to pass. I can no longer move, I can’t breathe, I am helpless and vulnerable to this being that pushes me into the depths.
Indeed, dear reader, I am and will never be a hero in this story.