To prepare for this years #nanowrimo I will do prompts by @the.plottery for September and October.
Todays prompt was: Write a short story titled purple waves
I first heard the story in the old pub at the harbor. Some ancient sailor was raving. Like he always was. He could have drunk all of the seven seas if they were liquor. Ever since his retirement, two decades ago he never set foot on a boat. His last trip ended in disaster and there are whispers that he retired to escape the sea. There are also whispers that he drinks to forget, but when the old sailor is drunk enough he would begin to tell the tale of his last voyage. Some group of young ones gathered around the man and they were buttering him up while filling him with whiskey.
I was sitting at the table next to it and got my amusement from the careful interrogation of the old man. They had planned this. They did not mention the last voyage, they were asking about the ports he used to visit. They told him that the old bar where he met the love of his life, at least for that tour, was still standing. They were gathered around him like schoolboys, always asking, “and what happened after that?”
It was late when they finally got him to tell the story of his last voyage. I must admit by that time I had already turned my chair around to listen better. The old man leaned back, his glass of whiskey clutched close to his chest. In a deep monotone he told the story. The whole pub went silent and listened intently.
Back then I was done with the big ships and the long trips around the world. So me and two friends got hired on a smaller freight boat. Going to smaller harbors and transporting their goods to the large one, where they could get shipped further. We were cheaper than trucks you see.
So one trip, my last one was supposed to take six days, three there and three back. Normal enough. It was autumn but the weather forecast looked like smooth sailing. One night on the trip back I went out for a smoke. It was dark, no light in front, nothing in the wheelhouse. I only later noticed the lack of stars in the sky.
The ship was still moving so I hurried to the wheelhouse. It was empty. Jonathan should have been there. I turned on all the lights.
No sign of Jonathan or Mike. I wanted to check our course but the compass was spinning around. I looked over the deck when I noticed that the water had a strange color. The waves were purple. I was perplexed but I concentrated on finding my crewmates. Their rooms were empty. Same as the galley and the bathrooms. The hold and the machine rooms were deserted.
I hurried up and stopped the machines. I believed they went overboard. I tried the radio but all I got was static. No one responded. Then I heard a voice. Not from the radio but from outside. It was a woman’s voice. I looked all over the deck and I couldn’t see anything. I heard it again and it came from the water.
The purple waves now glowed softly around the boat. A woman floated just underneath the surface. Her hair and robes flowed in the mauve water. The sounds that she was speaking sounded nothing like a language I knew, but I understood that she wanted me to come. She wanted me to be safe with her. No air left her mouth when she spoke. In her eyes was a glimmer of anticipation. A hunger. I knew that my friends were lost and I was going to be next.
I was afraid and I fled to the wheel house. I hid there for five days. all the while I heard the siren in my head. She lured me. She threatened me. I just kept going and the door locked. I screamed to drown out the allure of her words.
I must have proven to be difficult a mark, but I do not dare to go back out there. I do not know if I could resist the sirens’ song again and I will join here underneath the purple waves.