The Wolfspeed
The night was dark as I lay asleep in my bed. There was no one in the house to comfort me, should I become afraid. The only person I could rely on was myself. My mother had left me that one warning before she died: do not depend on anyone to do anything. That was the one thing that I could trust her on. Everything else that she told me before she died was the result of her insanity.
My father used to tell me that she was right in what she said. That my mother was really a slave for a year and she did travel through magic books that transported her through worlds that two brothers named Achenar and Sirrus made up. But that was the result of my father's insanity. The one useful thing my father gave me was a boat. It was an intricate thing, built of the finest wood and shaped to perfection. He said that it was a memorial to my mother. He wanted to give it to me, considering that I was the perfect copy of her. He always used to tell me that I was her, just in younger form. Again, there was the insanity.
I stayed in my bed until noon the next day, mourning my father's recent passing. He had moved us to the tiny island in hopes of starting a new life, but instead he faced even more ridicule and hardships than at the last island we inhabited. There was nothing for me at that island, now that my father had gone. I had no friends, no husband, no job. I was of age by that time and knew that there was something else in the world that awaited me. I wanted to find it. So at high sun that day, I made the ship ready for sail. I packed enough food to last for a week or so and I shoved off.
The days were hard to endure as I choose the worst time to leave. The storms were in full force and the winds buffeted my boat back and forth to the brink of disaster. I could see no islands anywhere. There were no other ships and no other ways of going anywhere. I began to doubt my decision to leave my island. There was nothing for me back there, but there was only death out in the open sea. Finally, my sea-weary craft gave up. Its mighty hull broke open and I was left to flounder against the merciless waves. I grabbed to a piece of my once-mighty ship and prepared myself for certain death. I could feel Death's strong grip pulling me up, up, up- onto a boat. Voices filled the air and I succumbed to welcoming sleep.
"Wake up, little one," a soothing voice whispered in my ear. I awoke, confused and frightened. There was hardly and light filtering through the single window in the corner of the room. I was lying on a cot by the wall and it was uncomfortable under my back. The room was rocking back and forth, causing me to become even more dizzy than I already was.
"Where am I?" I asked to the voice that had awakened me.
"On the Wolfspeed."
"A boat?"
"The best," he answered and I finally snapped out of my dizziness long enough to finally see who I was talking to. It was a young man, about my age, with soft green eyes and long blonde hair, bleached from the sun. Long hair? I wondered. The men and boys of my island only have long hair if they are in mourning. Then I remembered where I was. I wasn't on my island any longer.
"Who are you?" I asked, my hands shaking from the stress, "And where are we right now?"
"My name is Bayon. We are currently on our way to the mainland. There are some men that we want to pick up to add to our crew. It's a pity about your boat. We followed you for a few days before she sank. If truth be told, we were planning on robbing it and selling you on the mainland."
I stared at him in shock.
"No worries lass. I won't let them do it. I wanted to take the ship and leave you elsewhere. But now that you're with us, you might as well come to the mainland."
"I didn't know there was a mainland," I told him, my head starting to spin again.
"Oh yes, lass. Sure as the sun there's a mainland. Just not in your world."
"What?" I asked, thoroughly confused.
"You'll see. You'll see," Bayon said and left me to finish what duties he had to do. I stood up carefully and steadied myself on the wall. I could now see out of the tiny window to my right. The moon was full, and that's what was casting the minimal light into the room. There was water on both sides of the Wolfspeed and the moon cast an eerie glow on the water. The waters didn't look familiar and the constellations in the sky were foreign to me. That's what scared me the most. I could always find my way by the stars. But these were different and I had no idea what any of them were.
I followed the path that Bayon took to go outside and breathed in the sea air. All around me was the sea. No one was on deck and no one came to stop me when I leaned over the edge of the massive boat. The only person I could see was the lonely helmsman, almost asleep at his post. I decided to join him. Carefully, so not to startle him, I walked up behind him.
"Excuse me, Sir," I whispered, as if I needed the silence.
"Yes girl?" he responded without turning around. "I have seen you walking around and wondered when you would come to me."
He had a rough accent, not like any I had ever heard. It sounded like every syllable that he had to utter was painful. "Where are you from?" I asked him, not sure if I wanted to know the answer.
"Ah, a place far from here. A place that would send shivers of envy down your spine. I come from a land that was forgotten, much like yours is now. It is the place where we are headed now. You will be able to see it when the sun rises. Over there," he explained and pointed straight in front of him. "That's where you'll see Jerita. The last remaining continent that still harbors life on this planet."
His phrases were choppy and short, but I could hear the pain in his voice.
"What language is spoken there?" I asked, to take his mind off of the hurt.
"The most beautiful language in the world. Many consider it to be the language of the spirits. The ones who used to grace our land. You tongue is rough and I don't enjoy speaking it. But mine is a hard language to learn."
"I'd like to learn it," I said, hoping to make a friend in this seemingly hostile ship.
"Well, you will be with us a while," he told me and laughed. "Fine then. You will hear nothing but Jeritan from now on from me."
I laughed with him. One friend was made already and I was only conscience for less than 2 hours. I didn't yet consider Bayon to be a friend, but he was certainly not my enemy.
The night was dark as I lay asleep in my bed. There was no one in the house to comfort me, should I become afraid. The only person I could rely on was myself. My mother had left me that one warning before she died: do not depend on anyone to do anything. That was the one thing that I could trust her on. Everything else that she told me before she died was the result of her insanity.
My father used to tell me that she was right in what she said. That my mother was really a slave for a year and she did travel through magic books that transported her through worlds that two brothers named Achenar and Sirrus made up. But that was the result of my father's insanity. The one useful thing my father gave me was a boat. It was an intricate thing, built of the finest wood and shaped to perfection. He said that it was a memorial to my mother. He wanted to give it to me, considering that I was the perfect copy of her. He always used to tell me that I was her, just in younger form. Again, there was the insanity.
I stayed in my bed until noon the next day, mourning my father's recent passing. He had moved us to the tiny island in hopes of starting a new life, but instead he faced even more ridicule and hardships than at the last island we inhabited. There was nothing for me at that island, now that my father had gone. I had no friends, no husband, no job. I was of age by that time and knew that there was something else in the world that awaited me. I wanted to find it. So at high sun that day, I made the ship ready for sail. I packed enough food to last for a week or so and I shoved off.
The days were hard to endure as I choose the worst time to leave. The storms were in full force and the winds buffeted my boat back and forth to the brink of disaster. I could see no islands anywhere. There were no other ships and no other ways of going anywhere. I began to doubt my decision to leave my island. There was nothing for me back there, but there was only death out in the open sea. Finally, my sea-weary craft gave up. Its mighty hull broke open and I was left to flounder against the merciless waves. I grabbed to a piece of my once-mighty ship and prepared myself for certain death. I could feel Death's strong grip pulling me up, up, up- onto a boat. Voices filled the air and I succumbed to welcoming sleep.
"Wake up, little one," a soothing voice whispered in my ear. I awoke, confused and frightened. There was hardly and light filtering through the single window in the corner of the room. I was lying on a cot by the wall and it was uncomfortable under my back. The room was rocking back and forth, causing me to become even more dizzy than I already was.
"Where am I?" I asked to the voice that had awakened me.
"On the Wolfspeed."
"A boat?"
"The best," he answered and I finally snapped out of my dizziness long enough to finally see who I was talking to. It was a young man, about my age, with soft green eyes and long blonde hair, bleached from the sun. Long hair? I wondered. The men and boys of my island only have long hair if they are in mourning. Then I remembered where I was. I wasn't on my island any longer.
"Who are you?" I asked, my hands shaking from the stress, "And where are we right now?"
"My name is Bayon. We are currently on our way to the mainland. There are some men that we want to pick up to add to our crew. It's a pity about your boat. We followed you for a few days before she sank. If truth be told, we were planning on robbing it and selling you on the mainland."
I stared at him in shock.
"No worries lass. I won't let them do it. I wanted to take the ship and leave you elsewhere. But now that you're with us, you might as well come to the mainland."
"I didn't know there was a mainland," I told him, my head starting to spin again.
"Oh yes, lass. Sure as the sun there's a mainland. Just not in your world."
"What?" I asked, thoroughly confused.
"You'll see. You'll see," Bayon said and left me to finish what duties he had to do. I stood up carefully and steadied myself on the wall. I could now see out of the tiny window to my right. The moon was full, and that's what was casting the minimal light into the room. There was water on both sides of the Wolfspeed and the moon cast an eerie glow on the water. The waters didn't look familiar and the constellations in the sky were foreign to me. That's what scared me the most. I could always find my way by the stars. But these were different and I had no idea what any of them were.
I followed the path that Bayon took to go outside and breathed in the sea air. All around me was the sea. No one was on deck and no one came to stop me when I leaned over the edge of the massive boat. The only person I could see was the lonely helmsman, almost asleep at his post. I decided to join him. Carefully, so not to startle him, I walked up behind him.
"Excuse me, Sir," I whispered, as if I needed the silence.
"Yes girl?" he responded without turning around. "I have seen you walking around and wondered when you would come to me."
He had a rough accent, not like any I had ever heard. It sounded like every syllable that he had to utter was painful. "Where are you from?" I asked him, not sure if I wanted to know the answer.
"Ah, a place far from here. A place that would send shivers of envy down your spine. I come from a land that was forgotten, much like yours is now. It is the place where we are headed now. You will be able to see it when the sun rises. Over there," he explained and pointed straight in front of him. "That's where you'll see Jerita. The last remaining continent that still harbors life on this planet."
His phrases were choppy and short, but I could hear the pain in his voice.
"What language is spoken there?" I asked, to take his mind off of the hurt.
"The most beautiful language in the world. Many consider it to be the language of the spirits. The ones who used to grace our land. You tongue is rough and I don't enjoy speaking it. But mine is a hard language to learn."
"I'd like to learn it," I said, hoping to make a friend in this seemingly hostile ship.
"Well, you will be with us a while," he told me and laughed. "Fine then. You will hear nothing but Jeritan from now on from me."
I laughed with him. One friend was made already and I was only conscience for less than 2 hours. I didn't yet consider Bayon to be a friend, but he was certainly not my enemy.