"EYY, Anton!" a large voice called, a peculiarity in my serene dream world.
"EYY, Anton, hop out of the sleeping chamber!" a cacophony seemed to say. Then, amid my haziness of consciousness, I realized that the sound was real, not a fantastic creation of my dream. I open my eyes wide with sudden alertness. The voyage for which I have been waiting for all my life is set to embark today. Of course, it is very intimidating with the stories of endless fall at the end of the world, which is precisely where our ship is headed. Santa Maria, the flagship of the three, will be my ship. For at least a few years or possibly a few decades, if the earth is larger than we suppose. It can culminate in a few days. If the earth is flat as it seems. People called me crazy for being in the ship at all. I think I'm crazy, too. But life here, plagued by disease and poverty, is miserable. Many felt they would rather die. So they did so. My dear mother consider me dead as well. If you ask her, she would say her son died because he killed himself in a stupid fantasy. That's probably what I'm putting myself into right now. But, like I said, I don't care. I want an adventure. For as long as the day, I helped my fellow crazy men to fill the three ships. When the blazing sun was finally set, we were ready to go. Weird start for a ship it is. When we die doesn't matter, I guess. We embarked at midnight, when a messenger bird arrived from Queen Isabella of Castille, encouraging us to be courageous. We saluted the crowd before us, and off we went. The creaking woods of the ship haunted the night, but nobody was really trying to sleep on the first night on voyage. Excited and afraid at the same time, most crews were staring at nothing. Some muffled whispers were heard, but otherwise it was as peaceful as a corpse. Chilly autumn wind carried us forward, but cooled our bodies, weak from distress and fatigue from the previous day's work. I did some talking with fellow crews who were in charge of keeping the attendance. His name was Mario Maria. What a funny name, I thought. "So you know what we are doing?" I asked him, half-joking. "I do know, indeed. We are nearing our tombs," replied he, who didn't really seem to be joking.
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Jin Woo WonI am an amateur writer. English is not my first language, but I like writing in English from time to time. Archives
May 2016
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