Poppies and Rosemaries

Blown Off Course

Waves crashed against the sides of the boat. Rain pitter-pattered on the glass above the cabin. Lightning struck in the distance as if to warn Rosemary and Saffi about the impending storm. It was nighttime, which made it harder for the girls to see where they were going. The ocean was pulling the boat in the wrong direction, and Rosemary tried her best to maneuver it, but it was stuck in the jaws of the sea, waves towering over them. 

"ROSIE, DO SOMETHING!" Saffi shrieked as water poured into the boat. 

"WHAT'S IT LOOK LIKE I'M DOING?" Rosemary yelled over the sound of the wild, ferocious waves crashing. 

"PLEASE! I DON'T WANT TO DIE WITHOUT SEEING TSUKI!" she started sobbing, turning into an emotional mess. 

"SAFFI!" Rosemary continued shouting, "IF YOU DON'T WANT TO DIE, HELP ME! WE HAVE TO GET ALL THE WATER OUT OF THE BOAT, SO TRY NOT TO FLOOD THE BOAT WITH YOUR CRYING!"

Saffi nodded slightly, but her lower lip was still quivering. Rosemary put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. Saffi got up and flung open the cabin door, carrying a bucket and frantically running to the front of the boat. Rosemary followed suit, and together they worked to rid the boat of water. 

Little did they know, an obstacle much harder to overcome would be hurdled their way. And they would know, soon enough.

"ROSIE! THAT WAVE!" Saffi screamed.

"What-" Rosemary paused, confused, then saw what Saffi was referring to. 

"Oh my gosh, we're gonna die, we're gonna die, we're gonna die!" Saffi ran around the boat like a headless chicken. 

Rosemary wanted to tell her to calm down. But how could she give advice she couldn't take herself? If she did, she would be a hypocrite. So she did the second most logical thing one would do when they had to face a situation like this: she screamed and braced herself for impact while gripping onto some part of the boat 

The wave crashed down, swallowing the boat, and they went under. Unfortunately, their oxygen supply was limited, and both girls blacked out. 

Rosemary opened her eyes and was greeted by the morning sun and the relentless cawing of a seagull. She smiled at it sleepily, then tasted the salty grains of sand. She spit it out, free from her delirious state, and wondered how she had ended up here. 

It suddenly hit her like a 50-pound weight: everything that had happened the night before. Her eyes widened, Saffi, she thought. She swiftly got up, shaking the sand from her hair and clothes. 

Rosemary looked around her and put two and two together, and realized that she was on a beach. No, an island. Somehow, she was alive, and that piece of information stunned her. She just needed to see if Saffi was alright. 

Rosemary was about to call her name but decided against it. What if there were other people or animals on this island? What if they were a threat? She didn't need to debate what to do for long anyway...

Echoes of Rosemary's name resounded from not too far away. It's Saffi, she realized. She bounded through the sand to where the sound was coming from. 

Rosemary kept running until she saw a group of people, their backs to her. It appeared as if they were soldiers; they all had matching uniforms and caps, and each was armed with a sword. 

The sound of Saffi screaming her name had gotten louder, but she was nowhere in sight. As Rosemary slowly stalked away in the opposite direction, she caught a glimpse of Saffi, amid the soldiers. Rosemary's eyes widened in fear. 

The men appeared to be laughing at Saffi and they were touching her. She let out a scream of pure terror and tried to fight them off, but they overpowered her. Saffi didn't need strength to fight them; that would be useless. She needed brains, wit, and intelligence. And what better source of those three qualities were there than Rosemary?

The soldiers were now sobered up and dragging Saffi somewhere. She noticed Rosemary standing behind a palm tree and subtly signaled to Rosemary in sign language. 

Hi! Can you save me? Please? she conveyed with a sheepish smile on her face.

Okay. I'm going to distract them. Once they're distracted, make a run for it. Got it? Rosemary signaled back and Saffi nodded. 

Rosemary took a deep breath in and ran a few feet forward, standing at an unapproachable distance from the soldiers. 

"HEY!" she shouted, as loud as possible, while frantically waving her hands above her head. 

It worked. The soldiers turned around to see what was going on, and Saffi elbowed the two holding her in place. 

But that was when things went wrong: the soldiers split up. Half of them ran to where Rosemary was standing and the other half went to recapture Saffi. 

As they were running toward her, she swore under her breath. She ran as fast as her legs would take her. Eventually, the adrenaline wore off and she was exhausted, so she took a break, panting hard. When the soldiers were starting to catch up to her, she realized she'd made the wrong decision and tried to run further. She had underestimated the soldiers and they caught up to her before she had the chance to escape. 

"Got you now, girlie," one of the men sneered.