Narrator:
At the crack of the sunlit day, alone in the vast ocean, the two young adventurer slumped on a noontide ramble.
Ali looked at the rippling image of himself on the water while the prince plopped on his back, watching at the sky with cumulous clouds.
"How do you know where you'll be going?" asked Hero.
Ali turned to him. "I'm only planning of drifting away," he simply said.
"What?!" Hero exclaimed, looking in disbelief at the captain. "How are we going to survive in the ocean?" he mumbled and plopped back on the hard bunk of the boat, mouthing a silent prayer to the nameless gods and spirits.
"There's nothing to worry about. Fate will be our navigator," Ali said and gave a grin.
"I'm beginning to regret my decision." Hero puffed his cheeks.
"Come on! After we pass that horizon, there will be an island greeting us. Cheer up! We're on an adventure!" Ali chirped, pointing far to the apparent junction of the sky and sea.
"Where do you get that confidence of yours?" Hero asked, enervated. He closed his eyes, feeling the warmth of the sunlight.
While the two continued their journey towards the point Ali was pointing, the clouds grew and rose, forming an enormous tower of clouds from a distance.
The sail picked up speed towards northeast, and the boat started to surf on the rising waves of the sea. An imminent warning only grew suspicions to Hero's thoughts.
Hero opened his eyes, discerned the shifting of the weather. His eyes grew wide, and he sat upright, looking wildly to the direction of the wind. "Oh, this is bad," he choked.
On the contrary, Ali seemed clueless of the situation while rummaging his supplies and grabbed a boiled potato.
"How can you be eating at a time like this?!" Hero yelled, almost popping his eyes at Ali who only took a single bite.
"What? I'm hungry!" he reasoned.
"Look at that!" Hero pointed to the sky, where thunderclouds were forming. "We're gonna capsize!"
Ali, who immediately understood the problem screamed in desperate, "Raise the sail!"
While Hero took his time with the sail, Ali grabbed the long wooden pole and paddled away from the strong current that started propelling them in towards a giant whirlpool.
When Hero was done, he helped Ali with the other pole while chanting a desperate plea.
"This is bad!" Hero called.
"I know!" Ali replied when a great wave thrusted on the starboard.
The two young boys overbalanced.
Hero clung a tenacious grip on the side of the boat but Ali fell overboard. "Ali!" Hero yelled.
When the boat leveled, which took an immense amount of time, Hero scrambled to the side of the boat, but he saw no signs of Ali. The boat was sucked under the dark clouds so it was impossible to see Ali in the water.
"Captain!" he called again when a hand shot up to the air.
Hero helped Ali mount the boat back. Ali thought he'd be done when he was under the sea, it was so fortunate for him to resurface. But—"My food!"—when Ali saw some of the supplies missing on the boat.
"How can you be thinking of food this time?!" Hero yelled, but Hero felt his heart ached when he saw the captain coughed some water. He'd never call it an adventure if the captain was gone. He felt relieved.
Soon after, both of them with no sign of despair, faced an extreme thunderstorm and a giant whirlpool, marked with a new determination. Their eyes fixed on the thunderclouds looming overhead.
Nothing could defeat those little crew, not even a bunch of lightning that started raining down on them. Not when the impending uproars of the sea, blasted them with tremendous threat.
Could it be bravery and courage, or just a mere phantom of luck playing its trick. The story would only unravel the adventure of the crew.
〰☸〰
When we passed that extreme thunderclouds and the giant whirlpool, luckily for us, we manage to live just fine, but the boat is in complete distress, floating on the second day since our departure from Tonin Island.
〰☸The wind was fierce and strong. Rain started to pour on us, and there was the lightning that almost blasted us to smithereens. Hero lowered the sail, using the wind to propel us out to the clearing. But there was also the giant whirlpool.
"This will be a bad way to die!" I yelled. I haven't find the lost town and write the greatest book. This would only be a start of more dangerous adventure.
"Ali! I'll lean the boat to starboard! Since the wind is revolving counterclockwise around the enormous cloud, use the paddle to steer us to the right and out of here!" Hero called. I nodded my head.
We went to work our way out of this mess when I felt my arms pricked and stood on end.
I looked at Hero and he stared right back at me, reflecting the fear in my eyes. "Uh-oh," I mumbled before a huge blast of lightning hit the sails.☸〰
"I'm hungry," I say, rubbing my stomach. We already had our last food last night and our supplies spent without finding a single island.
Hero is slumped on the port side of the boat, playing with the water, while I sit on the extension of the bow, dangling my feet on the sea.
The sea is clear and sparkling in the morning light. There are some school of fish swimming below and some huge fish I can't name. I have a crazy idea when I pick up my copy of the Book of Creatures and Whatnots. Hero only gazes at me in wonder, scurrying back to the bow.
"Hero!" I call. "Let's catch some fish for lunch!" I say, flipping the pages of the book for the aquatic section.
"We don't have fishing rods," he said.
"We don't need that! Let's see," I trail off. My eyes scanning to the edible fish and looking back under the sea. There! Without thinking, I jump to the water and swim towards a group of spotted fish.
The sea is an ornate world to travel about. The wonders of the sea only surpasses my expectations. While there are beautiful creatures gliding in the blue water, the corals glistens in different colors. There are also some monstrous size sea creatures swimming imperceptibly deep below.
I reach my hand and grab a blue type of fish with orange splotches, big enough for my grip to tighten around its smooth tail. It tries to wriggle itself free but I give a toothy grin before surfacing back to the boat.
Hero and his blue wide eyes stares at me in complete disbelief. I shake him off and mount the side of the boat. "You swim?!" he exclaims.
"Nope. I only float," I reply, showing him the fish I caught. "Let's prepare this for our meal!"
"What if it's a poison fish?" Hero asks.
"Don't worry, that book tells no lies." I point to the open book lying beside the bow.
Hero and I clean the fish before splitting it in two. The flesh of the fish is surprisingly wettish, it slightly helps quench our thirst. After that, we continue to ramble the east sea until I grow weary looking at the landlessness of the vast ocean when my stomach grumbles a painful beat.
Hero looked at me with the same expression. He squiggles on his seat and breathe a steadying breath. I think it is because of the heat of the sun but I can see Hero's forehead perspires and give me a toothy smile.
"I'm sorry," I mumble.
Hero shakes his head. "No, it's okay." He try to sound cheerful but his face contorts otherwise.
I huff a loud breath. It will be a long day. And that book is lying again! Arg, my stomach hurts!