Collection of Narrative and descriptive writing

My Journey

A/N:The following response has been written by Khyrul Anam Khan.

"Can life get any better?" I asked myself as the gusty breeze hoisted my hair and the icy night dew kissed my lips.

Finally, I was alone with him- the man of my life- and that too on a luxury voyage on a lovely cruise ship. The view from the balcony was simply mesmerizing. As far as my eyes stretched, there was only water all the way and the distant horizon was vaguely obscured by a hazy barrier of dense fog which mystified the night environment and made the sea seem so charming, so very gorgeous.

I was, as I believed to be, the only soul awake at the dead of night, extracting precious joy in watching the blue, wavy waters of the sea, sparkling and glittering in the silvery rays of the crescent moon. The night was ominously dark except for the moon which lit up the sky like a small candle spreading its luminescence across a big, dark room. As I looked up, I saw the tall towering chimneys with their heads high up at the pinnacle of the ship, rhythmically emitting plumes of smoke into the sky. I was also enjoying the murmuring of the sea water as it collided against the metallic body of the ship. I felt so happy. I clutched the railing of the balcony and protruded my upper half out of the ship to feel the rushing breeze. I had been treasuring each moment of this lovely voyage and today was my last night at the deck.

Suddenly a shrill, inhuman cry shattered the silence of the night and sent a chill down my spine. It seemed to be coming from the front yard of the ship. I was shocked as I did not expect anyone to stay up at this late hour. However, out of mere curiosity, I approached the fount of that noise and what I saw left me frozen on the spot.

I saw three men in black overcoats, holding another man who was bleeding vigorously. One of the men held a bloody dagger in his hand and with all his might pounded it into the stomach of the man who was held captive by the other two comrades. Blood oozed out from his splt abdomen and with a cry of agony he fell to the floor. Then one of the men, like a ravenous demon, gouged out the left eye of the dead men and hammered his head till his brains dashed out. I was completely terrified by this heinous spectacle and a gasp of terror escaped my mouth, well heard by the murderers. As soon as they turned towards me with their bloodshot eyes, I took to my heels with all my energy. I dashed downstairs with the murderers chasing after me and shouting me to stop. I wanted to scream but my vocal cords betrayed me. I soon ran into a dark room and shut the door. But after a while, I heard some metal blades clank into life and the temperature suddenly dropped steeply. In the teeming red light that flickered in the corner of the room, I saw a "danger" sign and discovered that I was in the freezing compartment of the ship where fishes were kept. The murderers must have switched on the activation button to freeze me to death. I could not go out, neither could I endure the biting cold. I felt so helpless. I sat down, head in between my knees and started crying. Just then, I heard some sounds of grabbing and pounding on the other side of the door. In a moment, the door opened and I saw Phil, my boyfriend, standing at the doorstep. As if I had seen an Angel, I rushed towards him and hugged him, sobbing. He enveloped me with his hands and I realized the danger was over.

The next day, I learnt the violent act of murder was preceded by a fiery altercation between crew members involving personal affairs. Whatever the reason was, the incident was enough to leave me mentally exhausted and the journey which ought to be a special one turned out to be one which would keep haunting me for a lifetime!