The Creature

Helayna Hoffman

9/29/17

                             The Creature

The rain started at 12 am. At that moment in time,I was on watch sitting in the center of the sailboat in the cockpit. Our crossing was 14 hours that night and we were 8 hours in. The he bubbling sea was an alluring dark blue. The  rays of the bright moon struck it with force, almost causing it to shake and splash. My eyes widened as the cold drops of pure and utterly beautiful rain fell from the dark sky. My shoulders were bare and I could feel each drop as it hit me with vitality. My body told me to take cover but I stayed, betraying myself. I was content. I was already soaked from the long day's  treacherous sail. The salt from the warm ocean waves that sprung up the side of the boat was now in a thick layer on my skin, the cold rain slowly and steadily brushed the salt from my arms and legs. My surroundings became very clear to me. The bright sail flapping in the unforgiving wind was in front of me. Beside me sat the round wheel that I turned every so often to point us in the correct direction. Above me was a star, it was being launched across the shadow-filled  sky. I stared at this amusement for what had felt like hours but had, in reality, only been seconds. Those seconds were lit up by that bright creature soaring across the sky. This creature had wings, I thought to myself, to be able to exist in flight. My thoughts went wild as I  explored the characteristics of the ball of bright lights. A stream of luminescence gleamed behind it like children following their mother. The object was gone in seconds but the memory of it is almost as vivid as the moment.

My father sat beside after the rain stopped and handed me a warm blanket. He talked with me about the island that we were headed to that morning and the sights we would be exploring. His words brushed my ears but never fully dissolved into my mind. The thought of the bright creature still filled my thoughts with questions begging for answers. His voice was calming and warm. My feet were numb but I stayed by  my father's side until we reached our destination.

The island was small and not one person lived there. Asi  walked along the unbeaten path through bushes and under tree branches I started to think about that creature. I wondered if it was a warm creature or if the presence of it was warm but if you reached out to touch it, it would punish you with pain, that is cold. This thought soon drifted off to be with the forgotten thoughts and my legs carried me elsewhere. The sky was bright and clear with no evidence that a storm had once passed through.

My feet sunk into the light sand and crushed beneath my heels, the water brushed over my right foot and I felt a chill go up my leg. The wind was still a repetitive motion through my hair, it pushed it back behind my shoulders and slowly but gently started to tangle it, a task for when I arrived back on the boat. I loved the fresh smell of the ocean, the sound of the waves crashing continuously on the shore. I did not want to leave this sacred place, but just like the islands before, I was forced to go. I took a deep breath and leaped  into the chilling water to swim to the boat. Climbing up the ladder  i  was greeted with a splash of clean rainwater from my father.  ¨Get that salt off you and dry off before we set sail.¨

I did as I  was told and we were off. The creature. It was all that swept through my mind that cloudy night, and the few nights to follow. The brightness followed by complete darkness amused me and drew me in closer to the object. The thought of seeing it all over again thrilled me and gave me hope for the next one I see, if there is a next one.

The first and only time I've seen a shooting star was on a cold and stormy night in the middle of the ocean on a 33-foot  sailboat.