Otherworldly Sights: A Short Story Collection

The Sky Boat

Alena stood thoughtfully on the ground, looking up at the boat, and contemplating whether to abandon her life in reckless hopes of finding adventure on it, or to stay at home.

There wasn't much for Alena at home. She had no family except a distant uncle or great-uncle somewhere, and she'd been spending her days washing, drying and ironing clothes with other broken-spirited girls from the village.

She hadn't thought her spirit was broken just yet, but her days had taken on a uniform regularity that had certainly threatened to do so.

Until she'd met Kim.

He was an alluring pair of eyes attached to a dangerous presence. Magic and mischief danced together on his face, and the girls beside Alena had all been staring at him with loosely masked awe.

Alena had been washing a dress with a deep, stubborn wine stain at the time. She didn't know that he'd come to their washing-house many times before, and she hadn't seen him until he was looming over her, holding a few linen garments, and smiling at her in a manner she was sure anyone else would find irresistible.

She'd defiantly stared back instead of smiling, and he'd simply handed over the clothes.

But later, after the wine stain and many more were removed, when Alena was sorting through the pockets, she'd found a note.

Join me. By the alder. At sunset tonight.

Alena had dismissed the note at first, thinking it for someone else, or from someone else, quietly handed over and stuffed into a pocket to be kept for later. But eventually, her curiosity had overcome any sense she'd had on the matter. She'd decided to go, to meet the boy or, at the very least, spy on him and whoever he was seeing.

She'd waited by the alder tree, situated on a field in the dips and swells of the countryside where the elders conducted meetings, when work was over and golden light was beginning to drain from the air. At last he'd shown up, alone, confirming her suspicions that it'd been her he'd wanted to meet.

He'd told her tales of a great ship navigating stormy skies, voyaging through clouds, journeying across the heavens, seeing and finding the most amazing things and having extraordinary adventures with the great beasts roaming heaven's realm. She'd listened, enchanted, mind filling with clouds, ships, and great adventures.

He'd invited her to join his crew, and it was like something out of a dream - whisked off by a boy to see the world. But she hadn't been sure, and she still wasn't. What if life on a boat was awful? What if she got seasick- skysick? What if there was nothing waiting for her, no matter where she roamed? And what if Kim truly wasn't all that he seemed?

He would seem untrustworthy to a girl raised for a simple life in the country. But then again, Alena saw a spark in him that truly ignited when he talked about his ship. She saw dreams of the skies in his eyes. She saw restless energy and wanderlust beneath his seemingly unaffected exterior.

Alena looked further up and saw him on the rigging, eyes shining as he stared ahead toward a life of dreams, journeys, and adventures.

A life she could share in, if she chose. And all she had to do was climb onto the boat.

She took the first step up the gangplank, marking the beginning of a new story in which she was the main character.

The story of adventuring, azure skies and one enormous ship.

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A/N:

Should I actually turn this into a story? Because I think it would be fun to write. Let me know what you think.

Sorry if it was so long, or not, not if you enjoyed it (and please vote if you did)

See you in the heavens,

Tori ⛵