Sonder: a Miscellany

A Roar in the Sea Submission - Calm Waters

I looked out into the ocean, where Collin, Amy, and I, still wearing our swim suits from the dip we'd taken in the water, decided to go sailing on the new boat we'd bought together. Collin steered while Amy and I held some rope that I didn't think served any particular purpose. The sails were down and we were just cruising, talking about literally nothing. I sighed, taking in the salty aroma of the water, and sat back, closing my eyes and putting my arms over the edge of the boat.

     Suddenly, something pushed my stomach and sent me plunging backwards into the water with a large sploosh. The frigid liquid went into my nose and flooded my mouth with an unpleasant, sour saltiness, but I breathed out, resurfacing myself with a shiver from the waves. I opened my eyes and looked up at Amy, who was leaning over the side of the boat in blunt disapproval.

     "If you're going to sail, then sail, Erika. The Shark Fin doesn't need fat, lazy bums to sully its sails."

     The Shark Fin was what we'd agreed upon as a name when we bought the sailboat. Collin painted the letters scrappily with red spray paint, and even though this was her first time on the water, the letters were already chipping off, making them look even worse against the blue hull. I let out a shaky breath, making my way to the back of the boat to get back on, and with every stroke I made, my darned life jacket bobbed into my face like a title wave of styrofoam. I grasped the edge of the boat and spat the remaining water out, making sure Amy noticed the irritation in my movement as I climbed my way back on.

     "So how's the water?" She asked, pulling her swimsuit down from her throat.

     I unbuckled my life jacket, now sopping wet, and flung it at her. It sprayed water off it like a wet dog as it hit her in the stomach, and I huffed. "Just splendid. You should try it."

     "Cut it out." Collin yelled from behind the sail. "Idiots."

     I suppressed a smile, turning back to Amy as she threw my life jacket back at me. I caught it and sat back down, but as my bones touched the seats, I had the sudden feeling of foreboding, as if the waters were trying to deliver me a message. I turned around, touching the edge of the railing and looking into the deep ocean. Its depths darkened until they were pitch black—but it wasn't the depths, it was a dark spot in the water. I felt the seat under me move just the tiniest bit, but I knew, somehow, that it wasn't the waves, and an almost inaudible hum reached the lap of water against the hull, echoing in my ears like a death gong that only I could hear. The humming got louder, deeper, then I heard Amy rustle in her seat, and a dark, resonating unease filled the air.

      I stared at the black dot, and my eyes widened as I watched it grow larger into a darker hole of oblivion that, I felt in my bones, could not be just the ocean waves. I opened my mouth to tell Collin, but my throat ran dry and my lungs lost their air as I saw the black splotch grow a hundredfold in a split second, taking the whole ocean into its depths.

     I heard Collin gasp and Amy scream as the Shark Fin lurched to the side, coming way too close to tipping over. Dread flooded my conscience. I was paralyzed, stuck motionless in my terror as, inches from my face, a wall of surging water erupted, covering me and Amy and Collin in its merciless grasp, throwing us into its abyss of darkness and crushing force. Every inch of my body burned from the heat of its impact, and I felt my life slip from my hands before I grasped it with desperate talons of fear and dawning realization.

     I would never feel the touch of a warm breeze against my wet skin again. I would never feel the heat of the sand. I would never—