Castaway Sailor

The wind whipped around. I watch as the sails are torn to shreds.” Captain!" My first mate shouted as lightning struck the deck. fire erupted and spread. The smoke made it hard to breathe and my eyes burned. I gripped the wheel tighter. I need to sail us out of this storm. The ship pitched violently and I almost lost my grip. The shouts of my crew were barely audible over the sounds of cracking wood and the howling wind. I jerked on the wheel again with all my might. Crew members scattered about frantically trying to put out the flames. Then the lighting struck the wheel I was tossed back into the frigid water. The waves crashed above me as I tried to swim up for air. The current keeps pulling me further into the depths. My vision starts to blur and my chest is on fire. This is hopeless, this is how I die. Suddenly, I felt large hands grab me by my torso. My vision continued to fade and I passed out. The sun warms my soaked body. I feel sand beneath me. I sat up quickly and looked around. I'm on a beach and it must be midday. I saw a strange looking man watching me from the shallow waters. I try to move but my whole body aches. The man tilts his head. “Can I help you?" My voice came out more harshly than I intended. He moves closer to the shore. “You are the one in need of help. Not me." His voice was silky and when he spoke it was almost like he was singing. “Have you got a ship nearby?" He shook his head at me. “No ship. Your ship is at the bottom of the sea." He keeps studying me. I lost my ship? I feel panic well up in my chest. “What of my crew?!" He frowned at me. "They did not make it. I am sorry. I could only save one." "Why me?" "Why not?" and with that a large fish's tail flicked behind him. He saw me watching and smiled and turned to show me the rest of his body. A merman! His blue tail glistened in the sunlight. That's why he had no ship. I had only heard tails of the merfolk kind and this is my first seeing one in person. I always felt they were a myth told by drunken pirates at port looking to make their adventures seem more impressive. He then got up on the beach and laid on his stomach and rested his head in his hands as he stared at me. "You amuse me." He said. "I'm not for anyone's amusement." I said, annoyed. His big doe-like eyes widened.< "I didn't mean to offend. I just think you are nice... to uh look at." His pale face turned red. "What?" I asked and he seemed frightened and dove back into the water. I waited a few minutes for him to come back but he didn't. I let out a deep sigh and started exploring my surroundings. The island was small, so I could walk the whole coastline in a day or two. There was one small fresh water spring and a handful of wildlife. I don't remember this island being on any of my maps. I need to find a way off and to the nearest port. Maybe that merman will come back and I can ask where we were. I gathered large palm fronds and made myself a shelter near the water where I last saw him. Hours had gone by and the sun was starting to set. My stomach growled. I need a fire and food. I sat down and started a fire. "Eep!" I turned and saw the merman walking wobbly on legs carrying fish. "I brought you food..." He said quietly. "You have legs." was the only thing I could say. He nods sheepishly and sits next to me and hands me the fish. His face lit up as he watched me skewer the fish and put them on the fire. I smiled as I looked at his reaction. I didn't notice how cute he was till now. He looked at me. "What?" he asked. I had been caught looking. I felt my face get warm. "uh nothing. Just thank you for the fish." "oh no problem. Fish are easy to catch. I happen to be an excellent swimmer." He then went into detail about how he caught the fish. his voice excited as he went over the details. "I appreciate you saving me life and all, but can you tell me where I am and what's the plan for getting me home?" I interrupted him. "Home?" He looked at me confused. "Yes home. Where the other people are. I'll need to put together a new crew and find another ship." I tried to explain but it seemed to only confuse him more. "Why can't this be home?" He asked. "Because there is nothing here." "I am here..." he said meekly. “I didn’t mean anything by that. I just meant there are no other humans here. Besides I like to travel.” For some reason it bothered me to think I offended him. The sun had set and the moon was high in the sky. I yawned. “Are you tired?” He inquired. I nodded as I yawned again. “Will you be here when I wake up?” “Do you want me to be?” I nod again and he smiles. I couldn’t help but smile too. His grin is just infectious. I crawled my tired body into my shelter and it didn’t take long before I passed out.