USS Apocalypse

Sea Day

Change gives, but change takes. 

"Three cheers for Mitch!"

His friends surprised him with a special lunch in the galley. Captain Zechariah was even there. It was served on a silver table, with dining room chairs, chefs and waiters clamoring over themselves to serve Mitch his last supper. To be completely honest.... Mitch would have preferred to eat his lunch up on the Lido Deck.

One may say that change is a gift, and we receive its benefits eventually. But in the end... do we really?

Mitch walked through the hall on his way to the main elevators. Tanned tourists sporting margaritas and colorful shirts walked by on both sides. The men yelled his name; The women crooned it. Mitch did not hear it either time. None of them knew exactly who they were talking to. No one knew that it was his last day.

Change can be good. 

The sea was beautiful that day.  No ships came within their sights, and no planes flew above. The waves were not rough as was typical of a day, lacking the usual whitecaps and harsh currents. Instead, they were like blue, rolling hills. When Mitch went to stand out on the observation deck again, he could almost feel how deep the water was here. How heavy nearly a mile of pressure would feel.

Change can give us new family members, new reasons to exist... new lives.

Andy did not appear that day at all. Mitch did not search for her. He did not expect to see her again.

But what if we don't want a new life?

His pen flew across the crappy Ocean Cruise Line note pad that was in every cabin, the ink flowing as freely as the ocean waves.

 Life can be perfect just the way it is.

Oh, to feel the embrace of the sea, crushing, crashing... holding you tenderly, rocking you to sleep, as it did countless nights as you slept in your crappy cruise ship bed.

Sometimes, 

"BACKSTREET BOYS, NIRVANA, PEARL JAM, BABY GOT BAAAAAAAACK!" Trivia night, one last time.

you are good at only one thing, 

Barry Manilow was singing one last song, as Mitch left the party. The big Finale, the '80s show, was about to start on the main stage.

and change can take that one thing away forever.

She fell in love, she lost her love, don't fall in love.

Change can take away that reason to exist.

Beneath his two feet, Mitch could feel the wooden planks, the encrusted salt, the calm, rolling waves, the miles of water beneath, and even the Earth itself. Every move he made was, for the first time in his life, under his exclusive control.

Change TAKES.

Don't fall in love.

All I know, is that

He fell in love with the sea, and the sea would take him, one last time.

it is better to die at sea rather than live a life alone on land. 

Copa Cabana rang in his mind, the drums beating faster and faster

She lost her youth and she lost her Tony, and now she's lost her mind!!!!!

The salt was encrusting him, too, liek the boat on the beach, reclaiming him.

The water hugged him, pulling him closer.

Don't fall in love

"Mitch?"

Mitch looked around slowly and saw Andy standing there again, watching him with concern.

"The show is about to start," She told him, giving him a smile. A smile that said that it was going to be okay. To just... relax. He would see her again.

Mitch let go of the railing.

"Yeah, I'm coming."

He walked towards her, reaching out. She took his hand in her much smaller one. She was wearing a black dress tonight.

Together, they reentered the ship, leaving that crusty, cold deck to be whipped by the wind. Feeling nothing but a thin spray from the sea.