"What a pleasant breeze..." Sighing, I whispered to myself, releasing my accumulated stress and tiredness from weeks of hard work, that I have been doing.
Standing at the edge of the deck, leaning over the ship's railing, I embraced the peace and silence offered by the endless expanse of the vast blue ocean—the Pacific.
The ship carved its path through the water, sailing as the wind steered it across the limitless horizon.
Amidst this beautiful moment, free from the weight of responsibilities, a voice from a distance called out, breaking my thoughts.
"Hey Ed, help me with the boxes."
My name... Edward Laurance, known as Ed or Eddy by my friends and family.
If one were to see me, they'd encounter a middle-heighted man which is a decent height. A slender figure with short, brown hair, a neatly trimmed beard, and dark, piercing eyes that sharply contrasted with my seemingly fair complexion, with long chin.
"Yeah… coming in a moment," I responded, diverting my attention back to the scene.
The one who called me was one of my old friends 'Harry'. We were currently a part of A ship's crew, working in transporting goods and materials to our country.
There wasn't much stuff on board, just a few large boxes. Which we were keeping inside due to an arriving small storm.
Only seven people, including myself, were on board.
As Harry joined me to appreciate the view, he leaned on the railing beside me, asking in a calm voice, "So how's your life going?"
"Hah! My life, I don't even get the time to sleep," I replied jokingly.
He continued, "Yesterday was your daughter's birthday. Did you manage to call her?"
"I was... but I couldn't contact her," I replied with a touch of sadness in my tone. The past few days have been really demanding, making it challenging to stay connected with my family.
"You can do it after we pass through that storm. You will probably get the network there, I'm going inside to rest," Harry declared, stretching his arms as if completing some big task before heading to sleep.
"Complete your work and get inside soon," he added, waving his hand as he walked towards the door to go inside.
We were about to face a small storm, not a big deal, but still, we made sure to bring all the important stuff inside for safety. So Harry had left some of the boxes for me to keep inside as everyone had already settled inside and I was the only one out.
"Oh yeah… it has started to look like it," I mumbled to myself, acknowledging the subtle signs of the coming storm.
And... Well, I literally messed up and rushed inside because my brain was on vacation.
I entered one of the rooms in the ship, I discovered that five of us had gathered in one room. The crew comprised three females and four males. Two of the men were in the control room, managing and we were supposed to be seated here until further orders.
As the storm began to unfold, we found ourselves engaged in discussions about our lives. The dim lighting and the constant waving of the ship added an atmospheric backdrop to our shared experiences.
"Hey Harry, found yourself a girl?" I asked, injecting humour into our conversation.
"Nah, ain't got any luck" he responded, letting out a sigh.
"With your irritating behaviour I think you would remain single your whole life." The guy beside me laughed.
I didn't knew that guy much since he was just a new member. I was 31 at that time and Harry was just 2 years younger than me, he was still single and looking at his personality, I doubt he will be married soon.
"Ahh… after delivering these boxes, I will go on a long vacation and just relax," Harry spoke in a refreshing tone.
In the midst of the storm, a sudden realisation came to me, as if my soul momentarily left my body.
I jumped up in a panic. I stood frozen in place until Harry's concerned voice penetrated my ears.
"Hey bro, what's the matter?" he asked.
"The boxes…" I stammered, immediately being remembered about the things we left outside.
"Ahh, shit!!" Harry exclaimed, his tense voice mirroring the gravity of the situation.
The once lively atmosphere converted into silence.
"I'm going out," I declared, determination reflected in my eyes, I knew I had to fix the mistake I made.
"Hey hey bro, calm down! The storm is small but risky. The things are the least important ones, and losing stuff during storm is common. Its not worth the risk!"
Harry kept trying to reason, shouting and attempting to calm me down.
"I know it, but this was my mistake, and it's my responsibility to fix it. Running away is not an option."
"It's has not been much time since we have entered this storm, we can still those go out." I declared, wearing a thick safety jacket hanging behind the closed door of the room.
"If that's what you want, I'll come with you," Harry insisted grabbing another jacket. I knew I couldn't argue so I allowed.
"There's still a risk, we'll manage, stay here." I directed the other three members, who nodded in unison, their faces having a serious expression.
With that, I rushed to the ship's deck. Upon opening the door, it was as i had expected, I was greeted by the ocean, completely transformed from what it was before, it was no longer calm.
The waves roared with rage, sending the ship reeling from side to side. It was challenging to even maintain balance, when standing on the floor. Even after that, I had a resolve, I moved forward.
Five grey boxes were kept there, closely held together. Each box was almost the same size, on assumption it would be barely three fourths the size of my body.
As I Battled against the unbalancing of the ship, I slowly and with a lot of difficulty, neared the first box.
'Woosh!!‛
A wave struck the ship, making it shrudder. Barely maintaining balance, I clutched the box for stability.
Another wave forced through! But I was prepared and held the box tightly. The box was in support of a pole, which helped it to not move away with the force.
But I was not lucky with the other boxes, which had moved at random places. Posing a problem.
With some struggle, I adjusted back and began the task of pushing the box toward the door. Though not heavy for me, the box still gave me a challenging time in the chaos.
As I struggled with the first box, Harry, who was standing at the door, emerged to help. Wordlessly, he joined forces, pushing the box through the door. The box was almost the same width as the door, but luckily moved in.
Determined, I hurried to retrieve the remaining boxes, successfully bringing back two more.
With only two boxes remaining, one was sent sliding out even farther. When I went for the fourth box, an unexpected wave crashed over the deck, sending me sprawling.
"Argh!..., my leg" Pain emerged through my leg as I fell, it felt like my bone had cracked. Ignoring the agony, I clutched the box, attempting to rise, but another powerful wave struck.
The railing prevented a complete fall into the water, but not without a consequence, I collided with that railing and my hand beared the impact.
"Argh!!", I groaned.
Injured, the pain in my leg and hand made it difficult to move in the storm-tossed ship. I pressed forward, shouting in defiance.
"Ah! This pain!"
"Hold on! I am coming to help!" Harry's voice cut through the storm, he was trying to rush towards me.
Despite the agony, I forged ahead, holding the box which was a bit heavier than others with my injured hand, to take support as the storm intensified. The wind howled, whipping around us with increased fury.
Harry reached out a helping hand, urging me to hold on.
He stood at the pole, where the first box was held holding it with one hand and passing one hand to me. I extended my other hand, as I tried to leave the grip of the box and trying to grab his hand with my other hand, the two of us strained ourselves to bridge the gap.
The gap grew smaller.
"Just hold on a bit..."
My hand almost reached his.
"Just a bit mooooooore!!"
We had almost succeeded when the unthinkable happened...
What a cruel twist of fate... My luck had stopped supporting me.
A colossal wave surged from an unexpected direction, shattering our connection. Unable to maintain my grip and a few more waves hitting the ship, I was forcefully expelled from the ship, dropping into the waters below.
"Edwaaaaaard!!!" Harry's desperate cry echoed in the storm, the last sound I heard before being swallowed by the infinite dark waters.
The moment I dropped into the water everything got calm immediately.
"Did my life jacket failed? How's that possible? Have I drowned? How can the water be so calm instantly? Was I even in the storm?" I asked myself in my mind.
"Did I just die instantly?"
"Is this afterlife?"
PS: Starting off next chapter. All things will be third person.