|
Without A Trace
Gwen slowly slipped into her surroundings and opened her eyes to the sound of birds and trees and the ocean. Her arm ached from sleeping on it all night. She stood up and stretched. The chilly wind felt good, cooling down her aching body. Hesitantly, she stepped out of the pile of wood and looked around. She put her hand on her neck to check if the locket was there. It was. She sighed and starting poking around with the pieces of wood. She had put something together in no time. A warm breeze made her skirt and her long, wavy hair flow out the wrong way so that her hair flew into her face like tiny whips. She slowly stepped onto her rickety boat she had made out of the wood. It felt unsteady, like it would give away any moment, but she knew it would have to do. She had to get off this island and go wherever the ocean took her. She sat down and started rowing. The breeze blew firmly, making her boat move faster out towards the empty ocean. So far, all she could see down there was ocean, ocean and more ocean. It seemed like the water rolled on forever and never stopped. She felt less confident every time she looked towards the ocean because she could never see anything living, or breathing down there. She had never felt more lonely in her life. It seemed as though she were the only person on Earth with an ocean of what seemed like no depths surrounding her on all four sides. She realized she could no long see her island. Was she imagining? She blinked and looked again, half expecting it to be there. Nevertheless, it was not. She thought she should still be able to see it. It was a pretty big island with tall trees and she hadn't been rowing for all that long. It had just disappeared. Without a trace. What happened? It just disappeared like that island wasn't meant to be there at all. She turned her head and looked back out towards the way she thought was opposite of where her old island had been. She had absolutely no idea where she was or which way she was facing. She did not have a compass or a map. She figured she had probably been blown off course. Not that she actually had an original, planned out course. She just sat there, drifting, waiting for her wobbly, sad excuse for a raft to fall apart and for her to drown. She was starting to regret ever stepping off her island. It would never have disappeared if it weren't for her. She could've lived there. But then again, she would have to be lonely for the rest of her life and she could not bear that. If she tried, she would at least have a chance of finding something, or someone. But there was also a huge chance for her to not survive. She knew she wouldn't make it but at least she had died trying and she would feel proud of herself. She lay down, closed her eyes and waited for the boat to collapse and for the cold, black water to engulf her.
|
