Forsaken By The Ships
The first time I saw the ships, they were sailing out of sight over a distant horizon. They had been there for years—I was sure of it—but now their sails hung limp and empty in the windless sky like so many dead flags. Their masts stood straight up from the water as if pointing to some faraway place where no one could ever go again.
It didn’t make sense at all: how did such things come into being? How did they stay afloat when there wasn’t even enough air left on this planet to breathe? And why would anyone want them here anyway?
There must have been something about these strange vessels that made people feel safe or hopeful; otherwise, why leave them behind after abandoning everything else? But what good promises you can never keep? What use is hope without any way to fulfill it?
For months I watched those ships sail away until finally, they disappeared completely. Then I went looking for others who might know more than me but found only fishermen with nothing better to do. “They’re gone,” said one old man whose name I don’t remember anymore.
He nodded toward the sea and added, “But we’ll see ’em again.” His eyes glazed over as he stared beyond my shoulder. “Sooner you think.”
And then another day came when I woke up feeling different somehow. It took me a while to understand exactly what was happening because I couldn’t quite believe it myself. My skin felt too tight against my bones, as though someone had wrapped me in layers of cotton wool.
When I breathed deeply, the world seemed to expand around me, filling every space between my lungs and my ears. Everything looked bigger, brighter, and clearer. Even the sound of the waves crashing onto the shore sounded louder, deeper, richer.
For just an instant, I thought I heard voices calling out from inside the ocean itself, but then I realized it was only my own voice echoing back at me.
“Oh, shit!” I shouted, jumping off the cliff and splashing down into the water below. A wave washed over me, soaking through my clothes and leaving me shivering. As soon as I caught hold of a rock, I started climbing back up the slope. There’s no point taking chances when you’ve got nothing to lose.
When I reached the top, I sat down to catch my breath. All along the beach, couples were lying together under blankets, talking quietly or sleeping side by side. Some kids were playing ball games right next to their parents.
Others dug holes in the sand, building castles that slowly sank beneath the incoming tide. No matter which direction I turned, everyone seemed happy and carefree. Not a single person looked worried or sad.
That alone told me something very important: whatever it was that had changed me, it hadn’t happened overnight. Whatever this new thing was, it wouldn’t last forever. Eventually, the sun will set on our lives once again. Sooner or later, we’ll be forced to face reality and accept the truth. Maybe that’s what makes us human after all…
After watching the ships disappear, I’d spent months wandering aimlessly across the island. I kept hoping I might find some clue, anything that might help explain what had really happened. But there was nothing but endless emptiness everywhere I went.
After a while, I stopped trying altogether. Instead, I decided to stop thinking about it entirely. I figured maybe that would let me get used to the idea, and eventually, it worked… but not nearly fast enough! Now I’m standing on a beach full of smiling faces, wondering how long I can keep pretending before I start believing it myself.
There’s still plenty of time left today, so I decide to take a walk. I head north along the coast and discover a small village nestled among the rocks. Most of the houses look abandoned, but a few families are living here in relative peace.
They seem to have accepted the fact that their days are numbered. At least they haven’t given up yet. I wonder if they realize they’re doomed, or whether they’ve simply chosen to ignore the inevitable. Either way, I guess it doesn’t much matter. In the end, none of us gets out alive.
As I wander past one house, I hear a woman shouting angrily. “You’re always complaining about your wife, but you never say anything nice about her yourself! Why should she put up with you?”
A young boy answers calmly. “She loves me, Mama. She knows I love her too.”
“That’s not true! You never tell me you appreciate what I do for you. If you loved me at all, you’d try harder to make me happy. Otherwise…”
I turn away quickly, afraid I might burst into tears.
***
By the time evening comes around, I’ve seen almost everything there is to see. The beaches stretch endlessly in both directions, and the forests are filled with trees that reach higher than the clouds.
Every now and then I come across a lone fisherman sitting beside his boat, staring out to sea. Occasionally I even spot a family of deer grazing peacefully in the forest. And although most people live in the villages scattered throughout the countryside, I also meet travelers like myself.
One couple has been walking for three weeks straight without stopping. Another group of four men seems to be heading somewhere specific, carrying heavy packs on their backs. I ask them where they’re going, but nobody wants to talk. They hurry past me, disappearing into the distance.
It takes me two hours to climb back up to the cliffs above the beach. By the time I arrive, the sky is darkening, and the first stars appear overhead. I sit down to watch the sunset, letting the warm breeze blow through my hair. Then suddenly, I notice something strange. Something’s wrong. This isn’t supposed to happen.
The sun sets behind the horizon, turning the entire world into a deep red color. Stars begin twinkling in the night sky, brightening until finally, a dazzling white light shines directly above me. It looks just like the sun, only brighter.
When I look closer, I realize it’s actually made up of millions upon millions of tiny lights. Each one represents an individual star, burning brightly far beyond the reaches of the solar system.
This must be what happens when the sun dies.
All those billions of brilliant stars shining so brilliantly in the darkness remind me of another day, many years ago. Back then, I woke up early every morning to go fishing. My father taught me how to use a net, and he showed me the best spots to cast my line.
He said I could catch more fish if I waited patiently, rather than rushing off to check my bait every five minutes. As I grew older, Father became less and less involved with my life. We hardly ever spoke anymore. I suppose I didn’t want him to get too close to me, because I knew someday I would leave home.
Still, I missed having someone to share my thoughts with. So whenever I felt lonely, I came here to the lake and watched the sunrise over the water. Sometimes I cried, sometimes I laughed—but mostly, I just enjoyed being alone.
One particular morning, I sat by the shore as usual. A gentle wind blew gently against my face, filling the air with the sweet smell of flowers. Birds chirped happily from nearby bushes, and the sound of running water echoed softly in the distance.
Everything seemed peaceful, except for the rumbling in the sky. I looked up, expecting to see a storm brewing, but instead, I saw a beautiful sight: a rainbow stretching across the heavens.
Then, for no reason whatsoever, I began crying.
I don’t know why I was sad. Perhaps I had lost some important person in my life. Or maybe I was just missing my parents. Whatever the case, I couldn’t stop the tears streaming down my cheeks. After several minutes, however, I noticed something odd happening below me.
There were dozens of birds flying high up in the sky, each one looking very similar to the others. But as I stared at them, I realized something wasn’t quite right. Their feathers weren’t colorful enough; they lacked the vibrant hues I remembered seeing before. In fact, they reminded me of nothing so much as dried-out leaves.
Suddenly, I heard a voice calling out to me. “Hey, kid!”
Startled, I turned in the direction of the sound. Standing on the edge of the cliff stood a young man wearing a blue tunic and pants. His skin was tanned brown, and his eyes glittered like sapphires. Although he appeared to be in his twenties, he carried himself with such confidence that he gave the impression of being much older.
For a moment, I thought he might be a traveler passing through town. But the way he smiled at me told me otherwise.
“Are you okay?” he asked. “You seem upset about something. Is there anything I can help with? Maybe I’ll buy your favorite sweets or take you to a fancy restaurant.”
He sounded friendly enough, but I still hesitated. What did this stranger really want from me? Was he trying to trick me somehow? All sorts of questions ran through my mind, but before I could say a word, the man continued speaking.
“Oh, come now! Don’t tell me you’re afraid to talk to me. You’ve been staring at me all morning, haven’t you? And besides, I’m not going to hurt you. Not today, anyway,” he added with a wink.
That last part caught me completely off guard. The man seemed nice enough, and yet I couldn’t shake the feeling that he was hiding something. I decided to play along, though, and replied, “Yes, I am fine. Thank you. I was just thinking about…something else.”
The man nodded knowingly. “Well, that’s good. That means we have something in common. Let me guess—you miss your parents, don’t you? Am I right?”
My heart skipped a beat. Did he really know who I was talking about? No, surely not. How could anyone possibly know? Yet the man kept smiling, saying things like, “Don’t worry! They’re probably watching us from somewhere up there in the clouds,” and, “They’d love to hear about everything that’s happened since they left.”
As soon as I started to feel uncomfortable, the man grabbed hold of my hand and pulled me into the forest. When I tried to resist, he simply held me tighter until I stopped struggling. Then he led me deeper and deeper inside the woods, finally stopping beside an old oak tree.
It was covered in moss, and its branches reached far above our heads. Even from where I stood, I could see tiny white butterflies fluttering around it.
“This is where I used to hide when I was little,” the man explained. “It reminds me of home, which makes me happy. Now let’s go back to the beach together, shall we?”
Before I knew what had hit me, the man lifted me up onto his shoulders. He then took off running through the trees, laughing merrily the whole time. We passed over streams and climbed steep hills. At times, I felt like I would fall off his back, but the man never slowed down even once.
Instead, he laughed louder than ever, and every now and again he pointed behind him as if to show me how fast we were moving. I didn’t understand any of it, but I found myself enjoying the ride nonetheless. As the sun rose higher overhead, I eventually fell asleep.
When I woke up, I discovered that the man had placed me on top of a hill overlooking the ocean. From here, I could see the entire village spread out beneath me. The people were busy doing their chores, tending the fields, and fishing in the sea. A few waved at me as I watched from afar.
“I wonder where everyone went after I fell asleep,” I mused aloud.
Then I saw something strange: a large flock of birds flying across the horizon. Every single one of them looked exactly the same as the ones I had seen earlier that day. They flew in perfect formation, and although they moved quickly, I could easily follow their progress.
Suddenly, I understood why the man had brought me here. This was the place where I first met my friends. The spot where we played games and made memories for years to come.
Although I wanted to stay longer, the man gently shook me awake. “Come on, kid. Time to head back to the beach. Your mom will be worried sick by now.”
“Okay…”
After bidding farewell to the man, I headed back to the village. On the way, I noticed several more groups of birds soaring high above the ground. Some of them were larger than others, and some were traveling alone while others formed huge flocks. I wondered whether these were the same kinds of creatures I had seen yesterday, but before long, my curiosity faded away. I was too excited to think about anything else.
Once I arrived back at the beach, I realized that the tide had already begun to rise. I hurriedly threw my belongings into the water so that nothing would get wet, then raced toward the shoreline. By the time I got there, the waves had nearly washed everything away.
My clothes, shoes, and bag were nowhere to be seen. In fact, almost all of my possessions had been carried out to sea.
But that wasn’t the worst part. Just as I was starting to panic, I spotted something floating near the surface of the water. I ran closer, only to find that it was my backpack. But the contents of the pack weren’t quite what I expected. There were no books or pencils inside. Instead, there were two small wooden boxes, each filled with seeds.
***
A week later, I returned to school. Although I hadn’t slept much during the past seven days, I still managed to make it through most of my classes without falling asleep. However, this particular morning proved to be different. After finishing my math lesson, I decided to take a short break outside.
I sat down on the grassy lawn and closed my eyes, hoping that maybe I might catch forty winks. Before I knew what was happening, someone was standing directly in front of me.
“Good afternoon!” said a cheerful voice. “How are you today?”
At first, I couldn’t tell who it belonged to. All I could see was a pair of bright blue eyes staring straight into mine. Then the boy stepped forward and introduced himself. His name was Liam, and he was the son of one of my father’s business partners.
For reasons unknown, he always seemed to have a smile on his face whenever we spoke.
“Hi, Liam,” I replied. “I’m fine, thank you very much.”
Liam smiled and nodded. “That’s good to hear! Have fun playing outdoors, okay? Don’t forget to bring your lunch box.”
He turned around and walked away, leaving me wondering what just happened. Was he talking to me or not? Did he really say my name, or did I imagine it? It was impossible to know for sure. And yet, somehow, I felt certain that Liam had spoken to me.
The next thing I remembered, I was sitting on the floor surrounded by scattered papers and textbooks. I tried to stand up, but my legs wouldn’t move. Instead, I heard a familiar voice calling my name from somewhere nearby.
“Mia… Mia…”
My vision began to blur, and I struggled to keep my balance. When I finally opened my eyes again, I found myself lying on an unfamiliar bed. As I lay there trying to figure things out, a woman entered the room carrying a tray full of food. She set it down on the table beside me and started preparing tea.
“Are you feeling better, dear?” she asked.
“Yes, ma’am…”
“You’ve been sleeping for three whole weeks, haven’t you? You must be exhausted.”
It took a moment for her words to sink in. Three whole weeks?! That meant I’d spent over half of summer vacation unconscious! How many hours had I wasted dreaming about Liam’s blue eyes? What kind of nonsense had I written in my journal?
Had anyone even checked on me during those lonely days? Why didn’t anybody wake me when I fell asleep?
As questions swirled through my mind, I gradually regained consciousness. At last, I realized that I was actually home. I was safe and sound in my own bedroom, which looked exactly like it used to—except for one important detail: the window.
The glass pane was gone, replaced by a large piece of wood. Someone had cut it out using a chainsaw.
When I glanced at the clock on the wall, I saw that it was almost noon. I quickly grabbed my phone off the nightstand and dialed my mother’s number.
“Hello?”
“Mommy, it’s me. Are you there?”
“Oh, hi honey. Yes, I’m here.”
My heart skipped a beat as I listened to her reply. Her voice sounded so distant, almost robotic. A chill ran down my spine, and I suddenly felt afraid. Something terrible had happened while I was asleep. I needed to ask Mommy if she was alright. But before I could speak, another voice interrupted us.
“Sorry to interrupt, Mrs. Turner, but I think Mia is awake now.”
This time, I recognized the man’s voice. He was the same doctor who had examined me after my accident.
“Thank goodness,” my mom replied. “We’ll be right there.”
She hung up the phone and hurried downstairs. I followed close behind, anxious to hear what she would say.
“What’s wrong, sweetie?” she whispered. “Why are you crying?”
“Nothing, Mommy. Everything’s fine. Really.”
Her expression softened, and she reached out to touch my cheek. “Of course, everything’s going to be all right. We’re both here together, aren’t we?”
“Y-yes.”
“And Daddy will come back soon too, won’t he? So don’t cry anymore. Okay?”
“Okay, Mommy.”
After saying goodbye to Dr. McAllister, we went to our favorite restaurant for lunch. My appetite was nonexistent, though. Even the smell of food made me feel nauseous. Thankfully, I wasn’t expected to eat anything more than a few bites anyway. Once we were finished eating, Mommy drove me home and helped me get ready for bed.
The End