Crossing Your Currents

Stranded

The albino man feels confused.

Why are his fight or flight instincts kicking in? He just woke up!

What happened?

The sun suddenly lights up the sky so bright that it feels like its rays are pricking his eyeballs. Every time he closes his eyes, thousands of colors swirl in his closed lids.

He hastily sits up and places his right hand over his scarlet eyes to shield them from the sun's glare.

There is sand rushing down his body from his light movements. A lifejacket embraced his body. Under it, he is wearing a plain white sleeveless shirt. His shorts are black and it ends below his knees. Both pieces of clothing stuck close to his skin like cling wrap. His flesh feels parched but also damp. An effect only achieved by jumping in the sea.

Whatever happened must have been big.

The waves roar quietly. It is being accompanied by the shrieks of birds. Every now and then, trees sway and rustle.

This place would have been awesome if he actually planned to go here.

How did he end up on this beach?!

Gilbert places down his hand and thinks hard. His eyebrows squish close together as he digs up his most recent memories leading up to this moment.

...

A boat? Cruise?

He was on a cruise ship!

There was a bag dangling on his back. It was so large that it threatened to drop to the ground.

He had planned to go on an around the world adventure!

"I am doing the same thing!"

The reply came from a loud but sweet voice.

Pshh Gilbert knew his ideas are great but he didn't expect any one of them to be so good that Erzsebet, his childhood friend(?), would think of it too.

He turned and saw Erzsebet who was in a flowy teal dress which danced in the wind. The color blended together with the summer sky nicely.

Gilbert's face was so smug that, to her, it was as irritating as nails scratching a chalkboard.

"I want to slap that grin off your face.", she joked.

Bystanders moved as far as they could from the pair. They did not want to get caught in the middle of this.

"Hahaha! No thanks!..I'll race you to the snacks table! Suck it loser!", he suddenly sprints away before Erzsebet could comprehend what he just said.

Being caught up in their rivalry made them oblivious to the eerie silence. A couple of seconds that felt like a million years to everyone else.

Something beastly is tailing the cruise. An angry body of water rising from the line where the sky meets the sea.

They were in the middle of sprinting when the haunting grumble of that colossal wave added a tremendous weight to the atmosphere. Its towering height completely blocked out the light from the boat as it approached. The color drained from everyone's faces.

Unfortunately, it does not care about the lives that could possibly be stripped from the mortals' poor helpless hands.

It is a brutal force of nature that stops for no one and feels no mercy.

It was all a blur from that point on.

Large crowds of people rushed to equip lifejackets. Some struggled because of the sweat running down their bodies. The friction stung their flesh. The cruise trembled as each individual shoved their way to the lifeboats nearest to them. Seawater thrashed violently around the cruise. A number of people were pushed dangerously close to the sides.

Gilbert and Erzsébet were in the same lifeboat. Survival was all they could think of.

They rowed and did not stop even when soreness spread throughout their arms. Their chests hurt from their labored gasps for air. They were putting in as much force as they could.

However, that wasn't enough to prevent them from being swallowed whole by the wave.

Gilbert could not recall much after he was thrown into the seemingly endless ocean aimless and lost.

The only parts he remembers are the force of the water lightly shocking his body and the seawater angrily marching in his nose cutting off his ability to breathe.

Gilbert takes deep breaths. In situations like these, it is best to relax so his plans would not be tampered by the tension he feels from desperately wanting to survive. He needs a bit of time to let all this sink in.

"Ughhh..."

Nevermind! Where— Where did that groan come from?! Oh no! No no no no no he is going to pee his pants if this is a ghost! It is one thing to be stranded on an island all alone but it is an entirely different thing to be stranded with a ghost! Working out everyday means nothing if he cannot punch the dang thing that is hurting him!

"Gilbert?"

Uh oh!

They know his name and she sounds like Erzsebet! The ghost knows the woman who makes his skin crawl and is taking advantage of this fact! This ghost knows that he secretly harbors nightmares of all those times she beat them up as children!

"PLEASE DON'T KILL ME OR HAUNT ME I PRAY EVERY NIGHT BEFORE I GO TO BED AND I DID NOT HAVE ANY IMPURE THOUGHTS TOWARDS WOMEN! I SWEAR! THAT ONE TIME WITH ERZSEBET DID NOT COUNT! I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THAT SHE IS A GIRL UNTIL THAT POINT! DON'T SEND ME TO HELL!--"

Erzsebet sucks in a deep, scratchy breath. His tone is rattling her nerves!

She grabs his pale arm tightly enough to darken it into a rosy shade.

"Gil! I am not a ghost, you idiot!"

As soon as she lets go, he looks around.

Great.

How will they go back home?

Red pupils meet light green ones.

What?

What will they do now?