Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 3 | Page 75

Drifted
Harrow International School Hong Kong, Lin, Jenny - 12
As my eyelids lifted open, darkness crept up to me. I felt as if Death had finally invited me to his burrow.
Without noticing, I felt my eyelids gradually fall once again, as a million thoughts rushed through my mind
in an
instant. Is this the end? I would ask myself every now and then. Just as my body fell into the
abyss, a storming sound could be heard.
My eyes flashed open, meeting the azure sky that greeted me. From a distance, sounds of rustling and
panting could be heard. Where was I? Who was I? What was this? Questions exploded from my head.
Slowly, I lifted the weight of my body upward, away from the ‘abyss’ that I still couldn’t make out.
Calls were heard from a distance, and I finally could put the puzzle pieces together and figure out my strange
surroundings.
I was on an island, but one that wasn’t like any other. The sand was brown and black, with little specks of
yellowish-white as well. I turned my head to see an aquatic wash of blue to my right, with no boats or any
other kind of land in sight. A cold shiver ran down my spine, but I didn’t know why. This island seemed
quite peculiar, but I didn’t know why it was giving me a dreadful feeling. To my left I saw an assemblage of
trees, mostly palms. However, the exit of the jungle couldn’t be seen at all, a few metres in and complete
darkness was all the rest that could be identified.
A flash of memories rushed back from my mind all of a sudden, and I finally remembered how I got here.
Milliseconds of images, visions of words said. What this was. Who I was. But one thing that couldn’t be
explained or remembered at all, is how I got here.
Voyaging through the South China Sea, my crew and I sailed through the magnificent waves, towards
Africa, our next destination. The day had a cool and breezy atmosphere, and it was the 53rd day on board.
The noon waves started to reach us, and the sky got grayer by the second. At first, there were just a few gray
clouds. There wasn’t particularly anything that caught our eye, so we continued voyaging into the sea. It
wasn’t until a panicked shout was heard across the ship. Everyone’s attention was then at the source, and as
if in only an instant storm clouds were right above our heads.
My heart sank, and I speedily ordered the rest of my crew to turn the sails and head the other way. But our
actions were too late. A rumbling sound could be heard, and bolts of lightning appeared right before our
eyes. A sense of panic ran down my spine, and all we could hope for right then was for the storm to clear
up.
The waves were getting stronger and more rapid, which made it difficult to escape the storm. My eyes
widened as masses of water rushed up the ship. Some us rushed to the ship’s shelter, while murky liquid
continued to splash up, into the ship.
Just when I was going to head towards the ship’s shelter with the rest of the crew, a dash of light struck the
ship and after, there was complete darkness.
…
That’s when I found myself here. More and more questions started to fill my head. Where did the ship go?
Where was my crew? I couldn’t possibly be the only one on the island, right? The sense of panic was back. I
didn’t know what to do. Is everything over for me? I still kept asking that question over and over again in
my head.