By ARIYANA ASH
Staff Writer
The boy was stationed on the deck of the ship, gazing off blankly into the waves. He was exhausted of seeing the same body of water, repetitively churning away and splashing against the side of the boat. He had grown up by the sea, a lone survivor on the same ship for eleven years now. It had all started when he was five years old. His parents had been funded by the king and queen to go explore uncharted islands in the depths of the sea. The boy had no other family nearby to take care of him, so, without a second thought, his parents took him along. Fantasies of mermaids, sharks, and mythical sea creatures kept the boy enthralled for the upcoming voyage. He was the only other child on the ship, and he was received with kindness  by the other explorers aboard. He had learned a lot on the few months of the trip, useful things such a how to steer and take care of the machinery running the ship. When he thought back before the wreck, he remembered those times fondly. He had images of his mind of the past late nights awake of the festive dancing and singing, the delicious meals that were prepared, his father showing him the different parts of the ship. He had recollections of his mother tucking him into bed, softly kissing him on the head and whispering bedtime stories about brave warriors into his ear. But now all of that just seemed like a distant memory. Now, all he had left were days of solitude on the splintered ship that was slowly disintegrating. He found it impossible to call for help, because of lack of knowledge regarding his location and the means to call for help. All of his resources were provided for him, and he knew the handling and mechanisms of the ship well enough to stay alive. The potable water contraption was luckily still salvageable. He had made a livable life for himself, but he had absolutely nothing to do and he felt purposeless. The boy dreamed about the day when he would find a familiar face or just any other human, or for when he would find refuge on some real land that wasn’t made of sand. He spent his days dreaming and dreaming.