Remembrance
1930 Words
It was a dark and stormy night. Out at sea, a large ship sailed through the dangerous waters, with its many passengers taking shelter from the rain, and the staff members doing everything they could to keep the people calm.
“Everyone, remain calm! The storm will pass momentarily!“ a staff member- a waiter, to be exact- tried to assure.
“You do realize that’s going to make them panic even more when you say it that way, right?” his colleague- she a waitress- told him.
“Well, then how do you suggest we calm them down?”
Before the girl could say anything to respond, the vessel shook quite violently just then, causing those standing to either fall or take a knee, and those already on the floor to panic even more.
“Okay… That shake was strong,” the waiter said.
“A bit too strong…” the waitress stated, noticing how frightened the passengers were getting.
Everyone was enjoying themselves just earlier today on this cruise ship, when the clouds suddenly started to form overhead, and poured rain down on them. The downpour wasn't bad at the start, but then it got heavier, and there was a strong wind blowing, not to mention the way the waves started rocking the vessel... What started out as an enjoyable night on the fun cruise slowly turned into a nightmare for the passengers. And try as they might, the staff members and the entertainment crew were not able to help calm the people. Well... the former group tried to; the latter were also busy trying to calm themselves first before caring about the others.
"'Nothing but clear skies', that weatherman claimed. Yeah, right," the waitress muttered, silently cursing the weatherman for getting the forecast wrong.
As if the situation could not get any worse, they heard a feminine voice crying out. “Please! You have to let me go back out there! My son is still missing!”
They turned to the voice, where the pair could see a tear-stained female passenger pleading to one of their colleagues, who was also their superior in this job.
“Even if you say that, I can’t risk your safety, especially given how bad this storm is,” the guy calmly explained.
“How can you talk about safety when my little boy is still out there?! My husband and I have searched everywhere in this room for him, but he is not here! Mason has to be out there! I need to find him!”
Unfortunately, the staff member did not budge. “Ma’am, I understand you’re worried, but for you sake, I really cannot let you leave.”
Both the waiter and waitress looked to each other for a brief moment before approaching the pair, unable to let this conversation go on.
“Excuse me, ma’am,” the waitress spoke first. “If you like, we can go search for your son for you.”
The offer caught their superior and the passenger’s attention.
“W-Will you really?!” the woman asked in a hopeful tone.
"Hold on. While it is true that as staff members, we should prioritize our passengers' safety, that doesn't mean we should risk our lives for them. As the storm is now, it is too dangerous for anyone to leave," the superior told them.
"And it's safe for a kid to be out there?!" the waiter questioned.
"We're not saying it's only dangerous if we're at the perimeters, but at the very least, so long as we stay indoors, we'll be fine," the waitress attempted to reason.
"No way. Out of question," the older staff member denied.
"So you would rather risk letting a kid die out there?!" the younger male questioned.
Having enough of the argument, the staff member huffed and said, "All right, you two, let me put it this way. Either you both stay put and keep everyone in line, or say goodbye to your future. Be it by the storm or I report your action to the higher ups. Including you, Liza. You may be a temporary help vouched by your boss, but that doesn't mean whatever action you take here will not be reported to him."
The younger staff members, the worried mother, and even the people watching could not believe the threat the older staff member was making.
"You can't be serious!" the waiter gasped out.
"Try me, Rockwell. Now if you both understand, get back to work. We have passengers to keep watch on."
"Then you might as well consider me fired," Liza said, grabbing her superior's shocked attention. "Wait, not 'fired', 'quit'. I much rather lose my own future over living with the guilt of not even trying to save an innocent life! If you want to live with that guilt, fine. Don't drag me into it." Without another word, the waitress practically plowed through the older staff member and left the room.
"What the-?! Hey, stop!"
Rather than even a glance back from the waitress, Rockwell, as well as a couple others, went after her.
"We'll be right back with the kid!" he called.
******
Some time had passed since the search party went out to find the missing boy. Unfortunately, even with four people searching, they found no sign of the child. The group thoroughly searched everywhere, checked every room, opened every door and looked under every possible hiding spots a boy could hide under. They even tried to call out to him through the storm. Sadly, all they got in turn was nothing at all.
"Did you find him?" Liza asked Rockwell, meeting up with the guy in one of the halls.
"No, not even a sign of him," he answered. "Damn it... Where could that kid have gone to?"
The ship shook just then from another strong wave, causing the pair to buck their knees, managing to keep their balance and remain on their feet.
Liza looked out the window, and noticed how much harder the rain was pouring down compared to before. "This storm is getting worse, too."
"Yeah, no kidding..." Rockwell agreed. "Really hope that kid is okay. Wherever he is." Rather than any sort of worded response, a gasp was heard from the girl's lips, catching his attention. "What's wrong?"
"Outside!"
Just that one word alone, combined with the worried expression on her face, was more than enough to have him on guard, as he looked out the same window as her. There, hanging on tightly to the rails, was a little boy, frightened out of his mind.
"s**t, you're kidding me! He really is outside?!" Rockwell gasped in shock.
"We have to get him inside!" Liza said, looking around the hall for something- anything at all- that could help save the frightened boy.
"How?! Even if we toss him a rope, there is no way it will reach! And I am not going to bet on the waves helping in any way!"
Liza's eyes caught sight of a lifebuoy hanging on the rails right out the door. One sight of it, and an idea came to her mind. "Who said we have to throw him a thing?"
Her question confused Rockwell, until she dashed out to the ring and grabbed it from the hook.
"Liza, stop! Get back here!" Rockwell shouted, only to be left unheard, as Liza made a mad dash towards the boy.
As she rushed towards the child, the ship continued to rock in the harsh waves, making it that much harder for her to run. The storm was so bad, Liza slipped on the wet deck and slid to the rails. Fear slowly crept up her very being as she saw how close she was to falling overboard. She felt a tug from the lifebuoy's connection line, a tug that was starting to make her second guess her idea, and consider returning to the hall. Looking up, however, the girl saw the frightened boy still holding on to the rails for his life, scared out of his mind.
One look was all the motivation she needed, as Liza got a grip of herself and gave the line a harsh tug back, rushing towards the boy once more. As soon as she got to the boy, she held on to the rails.
"It's okay! You'll be fine, now!" she shouted through the storm.
Just as she was about to toss the lifebuoy over his head, however, it seems the weather had other ideas, as another strong wave hit the ship, causing it to shake and tilt to one side, causing the boy to lose his grip on practically fly off the ship. Liza widened her eyes at this and jumped after him. She managed to grab him by his collar and tossed him and the ring back onto the ship, where she saw the pair both caught in Rockwell's arms, before hitting the waters.
The moment Liza was in the sea, the water suddenly calmed down around her. Despite this- despite how the ocean water does not even feel remotely cold around her body- the girl could not move a muscle. She felt herself sinking further down the ocean, if she could even call it that, but it was not as though she was drowning in it. Her body turned, making it so that she was facing the bottom.
To her fright, a pair of glowing pupil-less blue eyes looked up at her. 'One day... One day, you will...' A glowing blue line then formed in the shadows and expanded vertically, revealing it to be a mouth as the figure let out what sounded like a roar.
Even though the mouth had opened up quite wide, enough to possibly swallow her whole, especially as she continued to descend to this figure, for some reason, Liza was not frightened by the sight. Not even as the figure shot up at her, attempting to swallow her whole.
******
"Lady Levi!" A large and soft wing smacked me in the face, giving me quite the wakeup call.
A groan escaped my lips as I rubbed sleep out of my eyes. "Oh... Good morning, Mindy," I greeted my harpy friend.
"Good morning yourself. You looked like you were having quite a dream, like you were having a nightmare that then subsided. Is something wrong?"
I raised a brow when she said this, thinking back to the dream I had before I woke. A dream... that was more of a distant memory. For the most part, at least.
"Was I? I don't feel bothered. I don't even remember what I dreamt about," I told her.
I could tell Mindy was not completely convinced when I said that. And yet, she still decided to take my word for it. "If you say so."
I only nodded to her with a small smile and looked out the window to the sunset. Well, that and... "Did those guys really party all night last night?"
I heard a weak laugh escape her lips at my question. "Surprisingly, they did," Mindy then said.
Down below the treehouse, many of our classmates lied on the ground, deep asleep. Around them were wooden mugs and some skewers, and even some bits of food. Our homeroom professor, Terranium, has already left the party around the same time I did last night, due to having some work to do for today.
"Remind me to set up some ground rules the next time we have a barbecue," I said, in which Mindy nodded to.
"That would be wise."
- Writer
