Castaway

Chapter 3: The ship(wreck)

The voyage was long and arduous, the winds were not in their favour, and the new Mrs Parker, having never travelled further than the coast of France before, was most indisposed. To alleviate her suffering, and remove himself from her constant groaning and moaning, her affectionate husband kindly arranged separate quarters for her and her maid. How thoughtful of him.

Sidney lay back on his bunk and closed his eyes gratefully, listening to the creaking of the ship's timbers and the gentle billowing of its sails. Peace at last. He did not know what lay ahead of him, but he hoped there would be much to occupy him in the coming weeks and months. He was certainly looking forward to returning to employment after being idle for so long. Doubtless, his time would be much occupied arranging the affairs on the estate and making sure the workers were well looked after and adequately fed. If only he did not have this millstone around his neck, the constant presence of this most unwanted wife. Perhaps he could arrange for her to travel back to England after a few months and remain in Antigua by himself. He was sure she would soon tire of the long, hot days and the lack of society. He had done his best to persuade her to stay behind in London, but she had insisted on accompanying him. He knew why. She wanted a child. He sighed aloud. How could such a happy event – fatherhood – fill him with such dread? He closed his eyes again, willing all such thoughts out of his mind.

He awoke some hours later. The temperature had dropped and the ship was swaying more forcefully than before. Indeed, the skies had darkened, the wind was howling at the portholes and a few drops of rain were beginning to spatter against the glass. Sidney quickly rose from his bunk, pulled on his greatcoat and ventured out on deck. There were men everywhere, scurrying about like ants, shimmying up the mastheads, tightening the sails, calling out urgent commands and instructions. The wind was blowing wildly and the rain was now hammering down. Sidney found the First Mate and enquired what was afoot. "Tis a tropical storm, Sir, a typhoon they call them. Coming up from the South. Could be a difficult night."

Sidney hurried below deck to find his bride, who was sitting up in bed, vomiting violently into a bucket, attended by her faithful maid. Patting her comfortingly on the back, Sidney explained to her what was happening, but she was so immersed in her own pain and misery, the news barely registered. Leaving her to her own devices, he went back outside to see if he could be of any assistance. It was a long, torturous night as the storm blew, battering the ship and ripping its sails. Sidney spent the whole of that long night working alongside the crew, attempting to mitigate the damage to the ship and keep her on course. He was glad to be of help, glad to be occupied, indeed during that dark, terrifying night he felt more alive than he had at any time over the last few months. But the ship was veering dangerously off course, and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it.

Suddenly, the worst of all possible scenarios occurred. The ship hit a rock. The rock sprang a leak in the starboard side of the ship and she began to founder. Then, inexorably, she began to sink. In a state of panic, Sidney fled below deck to find Eliza, who was whimpering and crying in the corner. Grasping her and her maid by the hand, he led them above deck where, huddled together, they awaited the inevitable. Men were already throwing themselves into the waves, many instantly engulfed by the swell.

Sidney turned to his wife of less than four months. "When she goes down, grab onto anything you can, do you hear me? Do whatever you can to stay afloat." Trembling, a terrified Eliza nodded her head. At that moment, a white-hot bolt of lightning shot out of the sky, lighting up the heavens in a deep purple haze, followed by a deafening roar of thunder, directly overhead. It split the ship in two and the air was rent with bone-chilling screams as body after body tumbled into the water. An enormous wave crashed over Sidney's head and the pull of the ocean dragged him down, still clutching onto Eliza's hand. He tried desperately to hold onto her, but the current was too strong and her grip was too slight, and he watched in despair as their hands slowly parted and a large wave washed her away, still extending her hand, beseeching him, borne downwards by the weight of her heavy dress, her long fair hair trailing after her like seaweed.

Sidney had no idea how long he was underwater, perhaps a minute or more but, as the saying goes, in that minute his life flashed before his eyes. He saw his elder brother Tom, smiling and waving goodbye, then turning back to his architectural plans, he saw his younger brother and sister, Arthur and Diana, also smiling and waving, but far too caught up in each other to pay him any attention, he saw Mary's concerned face, and then he saw his long-dead mother and father – his father's stern, patrician brow, similar to his own, and his mother's loving arms reaching out to embrace him. Smiling at him tenderly, her face was lit with an unearthly glow. "Mother," he breathed, more than ready to fall into her arms, weary of this life, but then, out of the corner of his eye, he espied another vision, a dazzling, mesmerising vision. A beautiful, naked mermaid with a long, shimmering, fishlike tail and long, dark brown hair, falling in soft tendrils around her face. She too was smiling at him, her large brown eyes trained on his face and her plump pink lips invitingly open. She beckoned him with one hand, pointing upwards, towards the surface. Making one final, valiant effort, Sidney propelled his body upwards and emerged from the depths, spluttering and gasping for air.

Fortuitously, a large plank of wood from the bow of the ship was bobbing on the water and he grabbed at it in desperation. He looked around him, blinking in confusion. There was not another soul to be seen. By some miracle, the wind had dropped and, floating on his makeshift raft, he had somehow drifted into an oasis of calm. The beautiful, enticing mermaid was nowhere to be seen but, far in the distance, he could see darkened clouds and hear the heartrending, terrified cries of drowning men and women. Weary and exhausted, in body and soul, he laid his head on the plank of wood and slowly drifted off into a dreamless sleep, bathed by the warm, tropical rays of the sun.