Prologue
The water is dark
It is filling my nose
My mouth
And it is swirling.
Swirling dangerously,
As if it will suck me down
Into the depths,
And never return me.
My adrenaline kicks in
My legs pump and
My arms propel me in the
Direction that I
Hope is up.
But why then does
The water grow
Darker?
Why then does it
Feel as if
I have been swimming for hours?
I ask these things to myself
And then I black-out.
The last thing I see
Is someone swimming towards me.
The last thing I feel is
Someone taking me in their arms
And then swimming
Back to the surface.
******************************************************************
Midmorning
I am on the ship
That sailed in just yesterday.
It seems so long ago.
I am waving to my people,
Until my arm feels as if it will fall off.
Will I ever see them again?
What will become of me?
What is the world like beyond my island?
I long to ask someone these questions.
I long to jump off this ship
And swim back to my island
But my desire for the golden ship
Keeps me anchored to the deck.
It is almost the afternoon
And the sky is growing dark.
The waves are beginning to roughen
But the captain says
That we will just have to
Keep going on
Because going back would be a delay.
So we keep on sailing
Until the island is
No longer visible
And the sky is ash-gray.
The sails are lowered
And we just move with the waves.
Suddenly there is a cry of
“Land ho!”
And the sailors cheer.
We are almost there,
Just a quarter mile off,
And then lightning
Strikes near the ship,
And we can feel the force,
The power.
Then lightning strikes again,
But this time it strikes
The ship and
I am thrown overboard
Into the foaming,
Swirling,
Salty ocean.
My head hits the side of
The ship but
The icy cold water keeps me from
Slipping into unconsciousness.
I am forced under the water
By the waves
And then I resurface,
Gulping in air.
It is raining now
So I can not see the ship,
And then a wave pushes me back under,
Back into the swirling depths.
*********************************************************************
I wake up to sunshine
Coughing up salty water
That burns my nose and throat.
“Where am I?”
I ask the ocean,
As if it will answer me.
I am soaked and my hair
Is snarled and limp,
My dress is ripped
And my teeth chatter.
“Where am I?”
I ask the sky,
As if it will answer me.
My eyes sting and
My head hurts.
My ears are ringing
And my body is shaking.
“Where am I?”
I ask the birds,
As if they will answer me.
I shiver in the fiery sun
The hot golden sand
Burns my skin without hurting me
Because I’m too cold to feel any heat.
“Where am I?”
I ask the sun and the sand,
As though they might answer me.
“You are on ka Mokupuni o lana ka mana`o a me ka Maluhia.”
I am startled and confused.
I look at the sun,
But it looks normal.
I look at the sand,
But it looks the same.
I hear laughter
And then I look behind me.
There is an old man there
With white hair and
Suntanned skin.
He has a gentle, soft voice
And wise, kind eyes.
He waits for me to
Recover from my surprise
And then he speaks again.
“A young man, about your age
Carried you to shore,
Where he laid you on the sand
And then collapsed next
To you, weak and exhausted.”
He points down the beach
Where a crowd of people is gathered
Around someone and then
I see that it is the young man
Who offered me the
Gold ship in exchange
For a new life.
He catches my eye and smiles,
A wondrous smile,
Full of warmth
And for the first time,
I am not consumed
In a coldness that seeps into my soul.
I smile back
A shaky smile,
And his smile widens,
It penetrates the cold
And fights it back.
“Do you wish to speak to him?”
The old man asks,
Amused.
“Yes, please,”
I reply, coloring slightly.
Then I walk over,
Wobbling on my
Weak legs like a
Child just learning to walk,
And the crowd parts,
Making a path for me.
He embraces me
And I hug him back,
Thanking him for saving me,
And then I ask him
About the ship.
Not the gold one,
For I have no desire for it,
But the one that we sailed on,
The one that was struck.
He shakes his head
Softly and sadly,
And whispers,
“Gone.”
A gasp escapes my lips
And I my knees give out,
But he is still holding me
Holding me tight,
Not letting go.
His embrace is comforting,
It is warm,
Like his smile
And his eyes,
Which gaze into mine with newfound love,
A reflection of what I’m sure my eyes show him.
“Come, let us go with the villagers.
They have offered us a place to stay,
Where we will be warm
And where we will be safe,”
He murmurs,
But I shake my head.
“No, I will not sleep in a hut,
On a cot. I will
Sleep outside tonight.”
He nods, then speaks.
“Then so will I.”
Then we follow the villagers back to
Their village where
Others greet us
The same way my people
Greeted the sailors
Just yesterday.
The thought of my people
Causes a pain in my heart,
But I brush it away,
And put on a smile.
The villagers are friendly,
Speaking quietly
And smiling often.
They give us clean, dry clothes
And a mother washes my hair,
Then sings a soft song
As she brushes it
And braids it into a thick, long braid.
After we are dressed and washed,
We are led to a fire,
Where we are given warm bread,
And fresh eggs,
And hot roasted chicken.
After we eat,
The young man and I
Walk along the beach.
Evening comes quickly,
Bringing a full moon
And bright stars.
“What is your name?”
I ask him.
“Kilo. What is yours?”
“Moana,” I say.
He smiles, and then says,
“Your name means ocean.
I guess that’s fitting.”
Then we laugh,
And he slips his hand
Into mine.
We stop,
And gaze at each other,
With love in our eyes,
And under the stars…
We kiss.
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47 comments
❤️🧡💛💚💙💜YOU ARE AN AWESOME AUTHOR ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜❤️🧡💛💚💙💜YOU ARE AN AWESOME AUTHOR ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜❤️🧡💛💚💙💜YOU ARE AN AWESOME AUTHOR ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜❤️🧡💛💚💙💜YOU ARE AN AWESOME AUTHOR ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜❤️🧡💛💚💙💜YOU ARE AN AWESOME AUTHOR ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜❤️🧡💛💚💙💜YOU ARE AN AWESOME AUTHOR ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜❤️🧡💛💚💙💜YOU ARE AN AWESOME AUTHOR ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜❤️🧡💛💚💙💜YOU ARE AN AWESOME AUTHOR ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜❤️🧡💛💚💙💜YOU ARE AN AWESOME AUTHOR ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜❤️🧡💛💚💙💜YOU ARE AN AWESOME AUTHOR ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜❤️🧡💛💚💙💜YOU ARE AN AWESOME AUTHOR ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜❤️🧡💛💚💙💜YOU ARE AN AWESOME AUTHOR ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜❤️🧡💛💚💙💜YOU ARE AN AWESOME AUTHOR ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜❤️🧡💛💚💙💜YOU ARE AN AWESOME A...
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Thank you so much, Ivy, for giving me a Shoutout!! :DDD And I realize I hadn't liked your story, only commented on it, so I'll do that now!! :)))
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😴 Woah there thats a lot of people who did that!
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This is the first story of yours I've read, and I'm realizing how much I've been missing. This was poetic and beautiful. You told a fascinating story with just a few words in each paragraph. I'm loving this style as well. The Minor Error Police didn't have to stop by your house. 👏🏾 Love this story!! Great job! :))
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talking to yourself is oh such fun! I highly recommend!
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I ask the sky, As if it will answer me Funny sentence, you are simply the best writer in the world, I am learning a lot from your style technique of writing
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MOANAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA lol XD The poetic format and the rOmAncE iS bUiLdInG XD I love the poem formattttt and you are so good at it too ;) Your descriptions are specTACULAR! keep up the grate work 🧀🧀🧀 XD I say that too much, I'll try to reduce my intake of 'grateness' 🧀 oh dear I'm doing it again XDDDDDD ~ Amethyst
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someone said me here "You are the most negative person here, and I made a mistake to think you as a good person. It's better if you go away rather than spreading hate." Ihc So this is not hated. Hypocrite "So you are talking about me. No, you only talk about me, I know that. Brain cell." Ai So, accusing someone of something they haven't done, then irritating that person every second. If that person gets angry because don't know their life, so if that person outbursts. They go on spreading hate about them to everyone, call for sympathy. This ...
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I understand. But just know that for all the mean people on Reedsy spreading hate, there are those who are kind, and fight back the hate, and spread love and kindness.
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Lol Ivy the first thing in your bio isn't exactly true lolllllllllll I mean you're constantly touching your brain, plus your brain is the only part of you that you know to be true because you can definitively prove yourself to be conscious... no hate :)
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haha your profile pic is pretty funny
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GIVING YOU THE DOT
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i'll give you a notification, and it will be like magic, watch, *magic dust flies in air* Poof! A golden dot for you! ;)
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hehehehe
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Hiiiiiii!! Just wanted to let you know that my newest TSD featuring you is out today!
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✝️ "Praise Jesus" ✝️ "Praise Jesus" ✝️ PRAISE JESUS✝️ PRAISE JESUS✝️ PRAISE JESUS✝️ PRAISE JESUS✝️ PRAISE JESUS✝️ PRAISE JESUS✝️ PRAISE JESUS✝️ PRAISE JESUS✝️ PRAISE JESUS✝️ PRAISE JESUS✝️ PRAISE JESUS✝️ PRAISE JESUS✝️ PRAISE JESUS✝️ PRAISE JESUS✝️ PRAISE JESUS✝️ PRAISE JESUS✝️ PRAISE JESUS✝️ PRAISE JESUS✝️ PRAISE JESUS✝️ PRAISE JESUS✝️ PRAISE JESUS✝️ PRAISE JESUS✝️ PRAISE JESUS✝️ PRAISE JESUS✝️ PRAISE JESUS✝️ PRAISE JESUS✝️ PRAISE JESUS✝️ PRAISE JESUS✝️ PRAISE JESUS✝️ PRAISE JESUS✝️ PRAISE JESUS✝️ PRAISE JESUS✝️ PRAISE JESUS✝️ PRAISE JESUS✝...
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😴 When you had 50k plus I was shocked and was liked *woahhhh* but then I realized you counted the 😴 Emoji people put. HOW?!?!?!?!
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Praise Jesus!! Do you mind if I copy that message onto my bio? I will give you credit. ❤
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Hey Ivy, just wanted to say something about the form you filled out in my bio! If you could do me a favor and fill out the form underneath the first one, read your character description, and give me feedback based on it! :) I want to make sure your character is what you want! (I may have to change some stuff later on depending on the story)
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