(Reader's) POV:
I woke up the next morning to the sun rising in the sky, in what I can only assume is the East. Looking down I see the blanket is no longer on me, I must have thrown it off during the Night. The ocean was calm with a few gentle waves rocking the boat. I reached for the fishing line I had tied yesterday, and tossed it overboard. Hopefully I could catch a fish then leave it to dry in the boiling heat of the sun. the line seemed to drift away the boat, I leaned up against the railing holding onto the string. The line would occasionally wiggle before falling still. My mind began to wander, I was brought back to reality by a tug on the line. Yes! I must have caught someone, slowly I began to pull back, feeling for tension. Suddenly something pulled me forward, in a strong yank. Whatever I caught must be huge! Not wanting to lose the battle, I pulled harder, dragging the line in, inch-by-inch. Splash! I saw the tip of a fish tail break the surface before disappearing under the water. 'Oh I got you now' I thought. Continuing to pull, I must be close, the fish was probably right underneath me. I squinted, seeing a black mass come closer to the surface. A surge of determination struck me, with a harder pull, I threw my head and arms back!
"Ow!"
My eyes open wide, did I just hear what I thought I heard?
"That hurts ya know!", slowly I pulled myself to the edge, only to come face to face with a boy. He had shaggy black hair, and a scar under his left eye. We locked eyes, staring at each other for what felt like an eternity, until he broke the silence.
"Hello" he said with a bright smile. Bringing me out of my trance, I screamed.
"Ahhhh!" I feel back to the center of the boat. He laughed at my clumsiness, finally he calmed down and asked "are you okay?". I crawled back to the edge and looked at him with eyes the size of dinner plates.
"Y-yes, I'm o-okay" I stutter out. Taking in more detail, I'm hit with the blatant fact that he's in the water.
"What are you doing in the water?" I ask,
"what are you doing out of the water?" he responds.
"I-I I am drifting in this lifeboat. What are you doing? There's no land for miles." I say bluntly. He tilts his head in confusion.
"Huh? What are you talking about, you're the weird one here, and what's a 'lifeoat'?". I stared in disbelief, how can I be the weird one? He's the one swimming in the middle of nowhere! I blink my eyes a few times, trying to grasp what was happening.
"Okay, firstly this is a lifeboat, not 'lifeoat'. It's an emergency boat",
"what's a boat?" he asks. Am I the first person he's ever talked to? How could he not know what a boat is?
"Is this the first boat you've ever seen?" I question him.
"Yup! Never seen anything like it before, how do you make the rock float?" I go blank for a second before giggling.
"Like I said, this is a boat. It's made of plastic and metal, not rock". I can't help but smile at his confused face.
"Weird , don't have anything like that where I am from", he says grinning. Then it hits me, where was he from? And why is he in the open ocean? "uumm... where are you from exactly?" I ask nervously.
He stops smiling and examines my face, "what do you mean 'where'? The ocean of course!" he says triumphantly.
Did he just say the ocean? "But, HOW? No one lives in the ocean!".
"What?! Everyone lives in the ocean!" he replies.
"Not me!" I push back, "that's because you're different!" wait, what did he just say. Different, how am I different? We're both quiet now, only waves break the silence.
YOU ARE READING
Claiming Waters
Fanfiction(reader) is a lover of the ocean, she has always dreamed of going with her father on his research vessel. Tragedy strikes when (reader) is separated from her father in a storm. Drifting in a lifeboat (reader) must survive in mysterious waters, unkno...
