Lost At Sea

This is my very first attempt at writing anything and it is most definitely a personal subject. We are never standing still, even when we think we are. Inaction is still an action.

Lost at Sea

There once was a boy who was Lost at Sea.

From a young age he had drifted on his raft and for the most part he was happy. Occasionally he would see other people on their own rafts in the distance, drifting just like him. And every now and then the currents would even cause another raft to drift right up to his own.

Sometimes, when this happened, the two rafts would just drift around each other. Close together, swirling in the currents, but never touching. Perhaps a word or two would be spoken, but often the other raft would just drift away, the boy and the other person would look at each other as they drifted apart.

Although the boy enjoyed being on his raft, secretly deep down he longed for someone to share it with. And although on rare occasions he would lash his raft together with others that drifted close, it was never for very long. Inevitably the currents would pull the rafts apart, and once more the boy would be on his own.

One day though, the sea brought the boy a gift.

She was beautiful. With eyes the colour of the deepest parts of the sea and hair the colour of night. As their rafts grew closer and closer they gazed at each other, the boy scarcely believing that in the whole vast ocean that such a creature could exist, let alone be drifting toward him. As their rafts finally drew together with a gentle bump, the boy could do nothing but stand and stare as the girl lashed their rafts securely together and gently stepped from hers to his.

The boy had never known such happiness. And although it took a little time to adjust, he was glad to share his raft with the girl and they drifted happily together for many years. They laughed a lot, danced and sang, and sometimes cried a little too. Sometimes the sun shone and sometimes the rain would pour as storms raged around them and giant waves threatened to tear the rafts apart. But the boy and girl would simply lash the rafts even tighter together until it seemed that nothing could tear then apart.

Until, one day.

The boy awoke to find that the girl had unlashed her raft from his.

The boy was confused and asked the girl why. The girl said that she couldn't remember what it was like to be on her own raft and she wanted to see what it felt like, just for a little while. Although the boy could see the danger and that the currents in this part of the sea were strong, because he loved the girl so much he told her he understood. So he sat cross legged watching the girl as she arranged her things on her own raft.

As she worked, the boy could see a tiny gap between the rafts starting to form, but the girl assured him this was ok as she could easily still jump back and forth between the rafts. She seemed to be quite happy on her own raft, moving things about and looking out at the view which, she said, was different. The boy would look out from his raft and just see the vast empty ocean, just as it had always been. But the girl seemed happy and because he loved her, he wanted her to be happy.

It was almost nothing at first, and although the girl seemed oblivious, distracted as she was by tiding her raft and looking out at the view, as the days started to pass the boy kept noticing that the rafts were softly drifting apart. The gentle but powerful currents tugging at the rafts. The girl seemed happy and assured him that she could easily still jump back and forth between the rafts at any time. The boy could see that what was a step from a few days before however, had now become a leap. But the girl seemed happy and because he loved her, he wanted her to be happy.

One morning though, the boy awoke to find that neither he nor the girl could leap the gap between the rafts. The boy thought that the girl looked a little sad too, but as she tidied her raft and looked out at the view again, she assured him that she was happy. Luckily the boy had a rope on his raft. So, tying one end firmly to his own raft he threw the rope across the gap to the girl. But rather than tying the rope firmly like the boy had, the girl just loosely wound the rope around a corner of the raft.

Sometimes the girl and boy would sit on the edges of their rafts, facing each other with their feet dangling in the water and talk for many hours into the night, like they had in the past. Whenever they did this, it was as if the currents would somehow sense it and the rafts would drift closer together. Sometimes they would even get close enough that the boy would be able to jump onto the girl's raft. And for a short time it was almost as it had always been. The boy was happy and he thought the girl was happy, and because he loved her, he wanted her to be happy.

But in the morning he would always be back on his own raft, watching the girl from a distance as busied herself, the rope beside him slowly playing further and further out at an almost imperceptible rate. The boy worried every day that the rope wasn't tied securely enough to the girl's raft. But despite his warnings the girl seemed oblivious and just carried on tidying her raft and sadly looking out at the view.

One day it became hard to hear what the girl was saying when they talked. The rafts were now so far apart that the rope was completely played out and a huge gulf of dark water now separated the rafts from each other. The boy pleaded with the girl to tie the rope tightly to her raft but she could only do as she always had and tidy her raft and look out at the view.

Finally, the girl seemed to notice the swelling ocean between them and shouted to the boy that she had wanted to come back to his raft for a long time but didn't know how to, and that she didn't know how to tie the knot to secure the rope.

By this time, it was too late.

Helpless, the boy and girl gazed at each other as the powerful currents gently pulled the rafts away from each other, and the rope slid free. The boy could only watch as the beautiful gift the sea had brought to him drifted farther and farther away.

And once more the boy was Lost At Sea.