Ride the Waves

I hear the lights flicker off and the door shut. I count to one hundred and then slowly sit up. My bed creaks, and I freeze for a second. Then I continue to get up and tip-toe over to my window. I slowly open it while attempting to be as quiet as possible. I push the screen out and take a deep breath. I step out the window onto the roof. I get out and climb up to the top of my house, and lay down. 

For a moment, I close my eyes. I feel the breeze and take a deep breath to smell the salty air. I hear the waves crashing against the shore. I open my eyes and look up at the night sky. A clear sky is ominous yet beautiful. And the north star is shining brighter than ever. As I look around the sky I see Aquarius staring at me. It’s called me out, begging me to take a trip.

I peel my eyes away from Aquarius, and my eyes fall on my boat. My parents don’t know about it, but I have been working on her for a long time. I’ve taken her out a few times, but now she looks good too. She has her name painted on the side. “Blue Moon.” I look up at the large white sail and back down to the blue boat. She’s ready. In the morning, I’m going to take my family out on her. I just don’t know how they’ll react.

It’s been around 200 years since boats were no longer used. There were enough planes and transportation tubes that people just stopped using them. But when I think of the simple system that is so beautifully crafted , I can’t help but think, “I want to go out in the sea.” It’s a thought that I’ve had for a long time, but now I get to share it with my family.

I lay my head back down and look back up at Aquarius. Slowly, my eyes get heavier and heavier. Eventually, they shut.

Blinking, I raise my hand in front of my face. Slowly I try to open my eyes, and when I do, I don’t regret it. The sun is rising, and the view is beautiful. “Mom! Dad! Bro! Come on! Come on!”

I jump back into my room through the window and run to my parent’s room. I slam the door open. “I have a surprise for you! Get dressed quickly. I’m going to go get Jax.”

“Emily, wait! What are you doing this early in the morning?”

“Did you not hear me?” I chuckle as I swing my head back into their room. “It’s a surprise!” I give a cheeky grin and then run off to Jax’s room.

“Hey, sleepy-head,” I say gently.

“Tch, what do you want?” He groans and turns to slam his head into his pillow.

“Remember when I told you about Blue Moon?”

His head spins back slightly to look at me.

“She’s ready.”

“Mom, grab that rope there. Pull it tight.” I walk over to Dad. “Come on, pull! We can’t go anywhere if the anchor is in!”

“I’m trying, kiddo.” He groans slightly but pulls hard, and the anchor comes up.

“You ready, Jax?” I walk over to him.

“Definitely.” He says, leaning over the boat looking into the water. He spins around and accidentally wacks into my fishing pole. “Ouch!”

“Careful, idiot!” I say and try to protect the rod. “It could hurt you! And more importantly, you could hurt it!”

“What even is it?” He flops down on the chair nearby.

“It’s for catching fish. Do you never pay attention in history class?” I fold the rod and put it in the safety compartment. “But it’s not used anymore cause most fish are almost extinct. It’s illegal to use it.”

“Weird.” He rolls his eyes. “It’s just a stick with some string.”

“Alright, we’re headed out!” I look out at the shore and put my fingers up. Already noon? Are you kidding me? My family is so slow. I take the oar and push off from the shore. I reach up and untie the sail. It flaps out and almost hits my mom in the head!

“Oh, jeez, let me take that.” I take the rope from her hands and tie it in a knot.

I spin the sail a bit and use the heavy wooden oars to steer. Suddenly, we pick up some good speed and start moving fast.

“WOOOO!” Jax shouts while he leans his head out of the boat. It starts to tilt a bit.

“Did I not tell you to be careful?” I shake my head and sigh. “Typical Jax,” I mutter.

“I heard that.” He growls.

“Hey, no complaining. I’m the captain of this ship. You keep talking back to me, and I’m gonna throw you overboard, and you’ll have to swim back!”

“What?!” He shouts. “Mom, don’t let her do that to me.”

Mom comes and stands by me, completely ignoring Jax. “This thing is amazing, Em.”

“It’s called a boat, mom. Her name is Blue Moon.”

“Her?” Dad asks as he sits on the other side of me.

“Yeah. It’s how you refer to a boat. She’s my good girl.” I pat the side of the boat.

“Well… ‘she’ is amazing.” Mom leans back, closes her eyes, and takes a deep breath. I’ve never seen her relax like that. It’s so… strange.

“You made this yourself?” My dad asks me.

“I had some help from Jax at the beginning with the simple stuff. But other than that, yeah.”

“Man, my daughter is impressive.” He chuckles. His hat flies off and luckily lands back in the boat. “The wind is really picking up.”

“Yeah…” I sigh. I feel the water a bit. The sun... it’s been two hours out here. The wind almost pushes me over. “We need to turn around,” I say suddenly. “Now.”

“Honey?” My mom comes over to console me. “What’s wrong?”

“Mom, Dad, get the oars. NOW!” I run over and fix the sail. The boat spins around and starts heading back to shore. I turn around and see my parent slowly getting the oars.

“Come on! This is no time to be lazy! We have to get back, NOW!”

“What’s going on?” Dad says with a deep, serious tone.

“Are we gonna be okay?” I hear Jax whine. 

“I hope so.” I dig through the storage and find two more oars. I hand one to Jax, and he starts paddling. I check the emergency motor.

“I think this is gonna work!” I mutter under my breath. I turn the key. BRRRRRrRRrrRrrr. It stops. “Crap!” I turn it again. BRRrrRrrr. “Come on, come on!”

I turn it again. BRrr. Again. Nothing. Again. Nothing. “AAAAAH!” I scream.

I turn around and grab the oar in my hand. I start to paddle as hard as possible. Suddenly a wave comes crashing down from behind.

“AAH!” We all scream. I see Jax sliding down the boat. He’s clutching onto his paddle with a wild fear in his eyes. I start to slide down after him, but his paddle whacks me in the face.

“JAX!” I scream with slight anger and extreme fear. I yank onto his paddle and pull with all my might. “GRAB THE SIDE!” I shout. He takes his free hand and grasps onto the side of the boat. He lets go of the paddle and grabs the ship with both hands. I jump and hug the side of the ship.

“Mom! Dad!” I shout back. “Are you guys oh-” my voice shuts off as I get a mouth full of saltwater. I spit it out. “Mom! Dad!”

“We’re okay!” I hear Dad’s voice. “What do we do?”

“We hold on,” I say sternly. “And wait.” As if on cue, another wave splashes from behind us. I close my eyes and hold my breath as it washes over me. I turn back to look at my parents again.

“Let go of the paddles; it’s fine! Hold onto the boat! Don’t let go!” I shout. I turn back to Jax. “You okay, bud?”

“Mhmm.” He sounds scared. I’m scared too.

I turn back again to check on my parents, but I see a massive wave with two wooden oars moving around.

“Oh no.” I jump over to protect Jax. Then a moment later I feel splash, then one heavy oar hit my back and another my head, then nothing.

“Emily? Em, can you hear me?” I hear a voice croak out. My eyes blink open slowly. It’s dark. As I finally fully open my eyes, I see the clouds part way. Aquarius. I turn my head to see my Mom.

“I promise, it’s not usually like this.” I chuckle and then wince in pain.

“It better not be.” Dad sighs.

“I’m so glad you’re okay.” Jax hugs me tight. He’s never hugged me this close before. It feels nice… and painful. I hug him back and sigh. I look back up again and see Aquarius. “Thank you,” I whisper.