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"The numbers lie but the ocean lies too. The ocean LIED." he thought aloud with a whisper and with a tinge of pain.

He had come here for more then just Oubliette's wishes though he consciously didn't know it at the time. The bizarre thought quickly escaped as it was lost in a confused oblivion. Bastian lost focus but collected himself. His thoughts had to do with the sea. And the absolute darkness. The hotel was no where near the sea. . .why did he know about its dishonest intentions? When did the ocean have intentions? He had to think. . .clearly. But his atrophied muscles were not the only victim of his declining activity. His brain was tired too. The defined notions of pain and pleasure became blurred; the abstract and the physical as well. His being felt pulled and distorted. The water dripping from his fingers felt like wood splinters inside his hand while the floorboards beneath him felt as soggy as wet mud. But it was hot mud and his shoes almost seemed to have burned off him. His toes embraced the mud with a fierce grip. He looked up but he appeared to still be on the deck of the ship. No one paid him any attention.

Bastian felt the loss of self. He felt insanity at his mind's door. Did this happen with the jawbone? Or was he just old? In his constant daydreams he and Patrice were simply reckless youths. Suddenly he felt 100 years away from that wonderful summer. He looked out at that endless horizon of grey salt water. It seemed every world had another world inside it fighting for exposure. The sea! That had to be it. . .somehow. In someway he felt the loss of Patrice. But where? How? When? He looked down at the wretchedly dark water and felt the pangs of death. He gripped his recent trade from Patrice as if it was her dying gift to him. He closed his eyes. Then he turned to Patrice.

'What's in the water?' he asked in all seriousness with just a hint of fear.

'Everyone has their own interpretation,' she said matter-of-factly.

Bastian had to find the answer. He rolled up his sleeve and stuck his hand in the increasingly dark ocean.

4 comments:

Will said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Will said...

Perhaps I went a little crazy on this one but it's my first post and I have a lot of work to do with you amazing writers creating such great stuff! Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Did I go too far off the map that's being set-up?

Drey said...

You may have meandered a bit as you were feeling things out, but I think you got focused at the end there and gave us all something to work with.

Jake said...

Sorry for missing my turn. Jen and I made an offeron a house, so our evenings have been hectic for the past week or so. The story is going great! Love the direction.