The ocean’s waves were shaped like mountains. They curled over, crashing back into the monstrous sea. Then came back up again, rocking the boat like a rollercoaster, but this my friend was not a rollercoaster that people would pay for. If this roller coaster had a name it would be “Death”.
Javier was being thrown off his bed. The clock next to him showed 1:30, the only source of light in his room. He was now laying on the ground, holding on to the frame of his bed. All around him were his belongings, that he carefully selected to bring with him on the trip. You see, Javier was from Sacramento, California, and he had always wanted to go from Miami to Genoa, Italy. It was early September and he took a year off in between highschool and college, a gap year. He found a company, to take him on the trip, Meldine Shipping Co. And at home, he prepared for the trip of a lifetime. But little did he know then that the trip really would change his life, forever.
In Miami, a city new to him, he arrived just a day before he left on his trip. He was excited, his first time travelling alone, away from his family. On the day of his departure, he woke up early, and went to where he had been instructed to go. The cargo ship that he was going to sail across the Atlantic in, for a planned 14 days, was huge. A beast of a boat, sitting in its temporary home, the port of Miami, was to Javier’s eyes, the largest thing, much less ship that he had ever seen. He boarded the monster, and was led to his sleeping quarters. The blank room, looked like a canvas that needed an artist's touch. In his mind, he reasoned that he would only be spending 14 nights in the room. The rest of the ship that he would learn to know had the same blank feel. For dinner, Javier ate with the crew. The food was surprising edible. Not exactly exquisite, but definitely tolerable. At that dinner, Javier met Jeff or Jeff N.
“Enjoying dinner?” Jeff asked just as curious as wanting to start a conversation.
“It’s better than I expected!” Javier replied mildly enthusiastically.
“Been working on this ship for 4 years, and let me tell you the cook takes pride in the
kitchen” Jeff said proudly.
“Wow, that’s quite some time! Where’re you from?” Javier asked.
“Me? Miami, you?” Jeff replied.
“I’m from California, but I flew out here for this trip.” Javier said.
“Wow, quite far from home.” said Jeff. The conversation continued on until the end
of dinner.
That night, falling asleep somewhere on the Atlantic ocean, Javier thought first of his
family, not quite missing them, but almost feeling like he wanted to see them, or atleast tell them he was enjoying his first day onboard. Then, he thought of his future. What Italy and his gap year exploring Europe would hold for him. He was excited, nervous a bit, but mainly excited. Scared was another emotion in that swirl. He fell asleep that night, on the Atlantic Ocean, day 1 of his journey at sea.
Javier woke up the next morning, washed his face with running water in the communal bathroom, and made his way to the dining hall for breakfast. The breakfast was equally good as the following night’s dinner. Javier found himself talking to Jeff again.
“Morning Jeff!” said Javier.
“Good morning, how’d you sleep first night at sea?” Jeff asked kindly. Jeff looked to be mid 20s, an athletic body type, with dark eyes accompanied by dark hair. He had a Miami tan, and was taller than normal.
“Not too bad actually” Javier replied. Javier was 19, a little shorter than normal, and was considered by many as attractive. His hair and his eyes made many fall for him. Javier enjoyed his conversations with Jeff. Javier felt that he connected to him for some odd reason.
Javier spent the day at sea, doing activities to keep him from boredom. In the time in between breakfast and lunch, Javier spent time journaling, reading and attempting to complete a mind challenge book that his mom had given him for his free time on the trip. This routine of his continued for the rest of the day. By dinner, he was bored out of his mind. He had almost completed the book of mind games and, after looking out at sea, it became just as familiar as the ground. But, he didn’t have to worry. Soon, everything would change. Let’s just say it wouldn’t be boring much longer.
The next morning, he woke up from the rocking of the boat. It was early in the morning, and he got to breakfast a bit before the food was ready.
Javier saw Jeff, and asked,”Seems a bit rocky, a storm coming in?”
“Yeah, the captain warned that a we might be going through the edge of one. It’s not expected to be a big one, though. Quite routine.” Jeff replied.
“That’s reassuring. A bit” Javier said.
“Is this trip the first time that you’ve been out of the US?” asked Jeff
“Yes, I’ve never travelled much. My parents always stayed in California.” Javier said
looking back at his childhood. Javier spent his day very similar to yesterday’s. But today, he mostly journaled, doodled a bit, and looked out at sea. He again as always talked to Jeff and learned more about him. He learned that Jeff was born and raised in Ohio, but when he turned 19, moved alone to Miami, and became completely self independant.
He went to sleep that night missing his friends and family more than anything, even missing his routine in Sacramento.
He didn’t sleep long before waking up to the rocking and rolling of the sea. But unlike the morning, the sea seemed angry this time. It rocked the boat to the point where Javier was on the ground holding on to the frame of his bed. His clock showed 1:30 in red, thin numbers. Those numbers were the only thing that gave his room light. His belongings were scattered on the floor. He could feel the handle of his camera at his feet. Whenever he tried to stand up, within seconds he would be back on the floor. The rocking of the ship became more intense. Javier was being thrown from wall to wall. As it got stronger, so did the hits. He would hold onto a piece of furniture in the room, only to be forced to let go. The last thing that he remembered was going towards the bed head first.
Javier woke up and looked up. He saw Jeff over him.
“Wha­at happened?” Javier asked Jeff.
“Let’s just say, the storm was stronger than everyone expected. You banged your
head on something and you were unconscious. I took you and jumped in a lifeboat. I don’t know who else or if anyone else is alive”
“You saved my life”
“Well, I saw you, and I wasn’t going to let you die” said Jeff honestly. “I don’t know how to thank you” said Javier
“Don’t worry about it” replied Jeff. Javier had no idea what to say or even what to think. Someone that he had only know for a matter of days had saved his life. But he knew that the luck that he needed to live wasn’t behind him. The only way for him to live now would be to find a passing ship, or come along the coast of a country.
“Where do you think that we are?” asked Javier
Jeff laughed,“Your guess is as good as mine. We are closer to Miami than we are to Europe, I can tell you that much”
“What should we do?” worried Javier.
“I’m not quite sure to be honest. We have water rations in here for, well long enough. For food, we might have to go a bit easy on ‘em. I’m definitely going to miss the cook’s food.”
Javier laughed,”I think that we should save as much as the food as we can. I would rather eat a little less now than having none later.” They could already feel the effects of being lost at sea. Javier growingly missed his family. He knew inside, or at least guessed that he would never see them again. But he still had one thing in him, and really all you need to live, will. Days passed, rations lowered, and hope grew slimmer with their bodies. Javier only wanted now to see his family and tell them that he was alive. He lost count of how many days it had been since the trip began. Jeff said that there was a ship planned to follow the same path as the one they were on, but they both knew that they had drifted too far from the crash spot. There were or at least should have been people searching by now. It was one of their last threads of hope. One of the few things that gave them the will to survive, to try and live, to make an effort.
The next morning, both Javier and Jeff were awoken by the sound of an engine. They jumped up, excitement overwhelming their body, and they looked around them. In the distance, they saw an airplane. Immediately, there hopes jumped. The airplane flew, and kept flying. It continued to fly, almost directly above them, until out of sight.
“One of two things happened” Jeff explained. “Either the pilots saw us and are telling others to rescue us, or they didn’t see us at all. If they didn’t see us, then they probably checked off where we are as searched and then won’t check here again. So, basically, it’s either super good or super bad”
Javier said,”We’ll just have to wait and see I guess”
“Only time will tell” Jeff mumbled sadly. The days continued to pass by.
“If no one has come yet, I must say the chance of them seeing us is almost none”
Jeff said with let down honesty.
“Not only that, our rations are becoming scarce” Javier said knowing the time might
be coming. A day, without any hope, passed. But on the next the next day, the two men were given a reason to live.
Javier woke up first, and realized what had happened. The boat was still. The rocking that the Javier had grown used to feeling was gone. He looked out, and saw the sand. Immediately, he woke up Jeff. Jeff was amazed. The chances of running into an island, in the Atlantic, were beyond small. Javier ran out into the sand. He jumped in it, threw it, and rolled around in it. The lifeboat must have somehow ran up onto an island and gone ashore. A true miracle. They could not see the other side of the island which was a good sign. It meant that they were on a big island. They were both hoping that they were on civilized land, but they quickly dropped that hope. It was the morning when they discovered the island, and they spent the whole day exploring it. They found that there were trees, with
what seemed to be coconuts. They climbed up and used the coconuts as a water source. For food, they found wild animals, mostly hogs. They built a shelter out of sticks that they found throughout the island. They managed to find a a way to live. Not necessarily comfortably, but living. They turned the island into their own. They came to know it like it was their home, which it did become. But, ahead of them, they had decisions to make, either to stay on the island and die, with each other or somehow scheme how to get of the island. But the one thing that they had, Javier and Jeff, was each other, and to them, that was all that they needed.