“I may not be as stong as I think, but I know many tricks and I have resolution.”

― Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea

A storm was brewing. One the size of which I had never seen before. I wasn’t very far from shore. But nonetheless, I was still frightened. I fought. I fought long and hard against the billowing wind, and the raging waves. I fought until I couldn't lift my hands anymore. I fought, yet I was still swept away. Swept away by this force of nature, a force that I was foolish enough to fight.

I spent some time unconscious. I'm not quite sure of the exact cause. It may have been the water I inhaled, or I could have gotten knocked on the head. I don't know. I don't believe I'll find out anytime soon. For now I must focus. I came to consciousness in a strange place. It was an ocean. An ocean made of red water. It was unsettling. The calmness felt unnatural, with a slight chill coming from the water itself. Floating along the ocean, I realized I was surrounded.

Surrounded by desolate buildings, architectures I had never seen before. Some from the Victorian style, to a more modern, until finally I could see a futuristic style. I was tempted of course, to disembark from my grandfathers kayak, but the feelings that came washing off of the buildings dissuaded me. A deep dark cold feeling. A feeling I was not familiar with, but every cell in my body screamed the name of it. Death. A mixture of different feelings of death. From brutal to soft. Hot to cold. Resentful and peaceful. It was full of contradictions. All of it was difficult to process.

Looking up I saw no stars, just an empty black void. A void that seemed to get bigger as I looked at it. The same way the blue sky on Earth would expand from my vision when I looked closely. Shivering suddenly, I decided to continue forward. I still had my paddle. It was enough. I started paddling. The water was unusually thick. It had a viscosity to it that I was unfamiliar with. I threw that thought to the back of my head and proceeded to paddle.

I paddled for a period of time, of which I am unsure of the number. With no sun or moon to guide me, I was no longer sure what direction I was going in. I had eaten the food I brought, and drank all of my water. I had no more left. Yet with nowhere to go I continued forward.

Forward.

Forward.

Forward.

Until finally a change fell upon me.

A bright blue light exploded, and with it, my vision. I sat there rubbing my eyes and groaning from the sudden brightness. I took a deep breath in, exhaled, and then opened my eyes. I was not ready for the sight that greeted me.