Sea

One can say life is a gift...

'Ah, I'm starting to feel numb the deeper I sink. It feels nice but at the same time it hurts...'

Memories came rushing in his mind and there was no escaping it. Instead of trying to get rid of them, he just let them be.

'I remember... This was one of the moments I thought I'd never forget and hold dear. Seems like I never did, huh.'

That day, he was a fully fledged man awaiting his very first departure. From where he came from, turning eighteen was celebrated thoroughly and wasn't to be ignored in his culture. It was something very special - something one should've not forgotten.

Looking at the gigantic ship and its crew waiting for their captain he was nervous and full of joy. "I can't believe I am going to be captain of this enormous craft!" He said, running across the bridge closing the gap between him and his now comrades.

All the villagers were watching him, some he held close even shed tears of joy. It really felt like a dream you'd want to be stuck in forever. A dream you'd want to consume you. But it shouldn't be that way, it's just the rules of nature itself. There's no point in trying to make it obey.

Karma is a real thing after all.

Continuing to lose himself he now felt his lungs starting to burn. He could feel it, it hurt. Yet he didn't feel uncomfortable. It felt like he was being hugged. At least that's what he perceived.

One can say life is a curse...

It was time for a new fragment of his life to replace the old. Although this time it wasn't as joyful and pleasent as the first one. 'Don't tell me - this only happened two weeks after we sat foot onto the ocean!'

He remembered.

The moon was rising and its reflection was to be seen all over the sea. Everyone was asleep except for him. He wasn't able to sleep as something kept him up. Not knowing what it was he had to bear with this strange feeling. Slowly, but surely, his eyes started closing and his consciousness was about to be sent dreaming. At that very moment he could hear a noise. However, as he was half asleep it was not clear enough. Yet again something he couldn't comprehend in his state. Only as the ship was vibrating he came back to his senses, being alarmed. "What's happening?!" He shouted. All of his men were awake and causing a ruckus. Someone had to get a hold of the situation. Trying to calm everyone down was useless so he climbed the ladder to get to the very top, turned on all the light they had in possession and inspected his surroundings. Nothing.

Absolutely nothing was to be seen. Then what was it? A few moments later it striked him. "The ocean is crying! That's what causes our ship to shake! Everyone calm down and set out, we need to get out of here quickly! We're all going to die if we don't!"

It was a rare phenomenon but it occasionally happened. The ocean cried. Although the causes were unknown tales describe it as a message to all living beings. Either a great catastrophe is about to happen, or...

Another thing that happened was the disappearance of the moon's reflection in the water. Something unusual and unnatural. Humans believed that the very day the moon was rising god would appear and help them walk down the correct path.

Of course that never happened.

Him and his crew made it out safely and everything went back to normal not too long after the sea's crying. One thing was sure though: Nothing was to remain the same anymore.

Or one could say that life is neither of those...

Another remnant of that human's life appeared. 'Haha, I always thought he was a funny guy. It's embarrassing to realize I've forgotten about so much in my life.'

Numerous fragments of his life appeared and disappeared rapidly and so he only had time to comprehene some of those. Strangely, none of those events were good or bad in particular. It's as if he was shown memories that didn't mean anything to him at all. 'If you really think about it, then life would be meaningless without those memories you'd call good or bad.'

And it certainly was true. If humans, or any other living beings didn't feel emotions and wouldn't be different individually then life would have no meaning to it at all. What gave meaning to life was memories, people and experiences. It doesn't matter if good or bad. All those things surrounding us only have meaning because we felt like they had meaning.

Although one thing was certain...

'Wait, this is-'

What he saw was the most important thing in his life. Something so valuable he'd give his own life for it. Nothing else could compete to it in human history, no matter how you look at it. Without it, life wouldn't be the way it turns out to be.

'She still looks as beautiful as ever even though it only is a memory.. This is how I view her then?' Almost having reached the bottom he smiled. Certainly, not much time was left anymore.

"Hey, do you remember when you promised to protect me until the very end?" In his memory, she giggled. "Turns out I was the one having to save you... But you know, I don't think it was a bad thing. You're all I ever wanted and I got to live with you by my side until my very last breath. I love you."

Just like that, she was gone once again and he felt a ache in his heart. Not only was it emotional pain - but physical too. His body was almost at its end. His surroundings got darker each second too. Now he wasn't able to perceive anything with his eyes anymore.

Life was given for a reason...

"Aww, would you look at our cute little baby!" He heard a woman's voice though he wasn't sure who it was as his hearing started to worsen too. "Honey, could you please take him? I need to go away for a minute or two. Make sure our beloved son is still whole when I come back!" Laughter. "Yeah, yeah. I'll be careful so don't worry about it."

'Of course.. Those are my parents. They always took care of me and made sure my childhood was perfect. I... I never thanked them, did I? Without their son even properly thanking them, they left... I'm sorry...!'

But we all have to realize...

"Why are you apologizing, silly? We took care of you because we loved you and still do. Stop worrying about never having thanked us with words. Your actions were enough to make us proud."

'Huh...?' He didn't know what was going on.

"Your mother is right. How could we ever be mad at you? You're all we ever wanted and you made us proud. It seems like you were quite popular with the ladies too, huh?" The man laughed but let out a growl just after. "Ow, what was that for, honey?!"

"You know what that was for! Our son has accomplished far more than getting ladies! Pfft." - "Haha, you're right."

"Is something wrong? Why aren't you looking at us, nor talking to us?"

Having reached the bottom he didn't feel his body anymore. None of his senses were working and his mind was fading to darkness too.

"Hello??? You can't just ignore your poor mother like that!"

Opening his eyes he saw a bright light. It took time for his eyes to adjust. In front of him were not only his parents, but all his friends and loved ones.

All life comes to an end at one point.