The Tempest

  My eyes fluttered open. The sound of thunder and lightning clashing together rang in my ear. I lifted myself up from the bunk bed and stumbled. I placed my hand on the wall and lifted myself up again. I stumbled, tumbled and toppled even more as I made my way through the hallway to the orlop.

  I tripped and fell to my knees. The skirt of my silk blue gown tore a bit. A hand reached out to lift me up. I took the hand and smiled at the face I saw. It was Tommy, the first mate. We tumbled together out onto the deck.

  Tommy and I hurried out to the mast. I firmly held one of the ropes that were tied to the mast. I looked up at Captain William and his daughter, Dawn, arguing. Captain William glanced at me and shot a quick grin. Then he returned to arguing with his daughter.

  The salty ocean water splattered on to the deck, flooding the place. As an attempt to stop Captain William and his daughter from arguing, I shouted, “Captain William, is there anything I can do?”

  Right now the only thing I wanted to do was help. The Captain’s crew was hiding fearfully in their cabins. Captain William let out a thunderous and deafening chortle. I felt so mortified, disgraced and demeaned.

  I let go of the rope I was holding onto and scurried to the companionway. I fell down and instead of standing I crawled up to the quarter deck. I held onto the rail and stood up.

  “Miss, the only way you can help me is by staying alive.” He laughed. I was bewildered and insulted.

  I tumbled to the helm and grasped it firmly. “Just because I’m a woman, doesn’t mean I can’t do anything.” I shot back at him.

  Captain William’s eyes widened but not necessarily in surprise. “Fine. You can go get my crew and when you come back, I want you to hoist the sails with Tommy. Savvy?” Captain William ordered, in his commanding-captain-like voice.

  I frowned but didn’t complain. The job he had given me was far from hard but at least he let me do something. “Thank you, Captain,” I said and scampered down the companionway.

  When I’d got inside the hallway, I found my to the crew’s cabin. The men stood up as I entered and looked at me like I was an alien.

  I held onto the pole and steadied myself. “The Captain wants you out on the deck, immediately!” I demanded, trying to sound as confident as possible.

  They all glanced at each other, cowardly. I shook my head with disbelief.

  “You’re men for heaven’s sake. Muster up some courage. It’s just a storm!” I commanded. This time, it really hit them. Then all of a sudden, there were shouts of courage and bravery. I grinned, this was more like it.

  All the men passed me and went to the deck. When I got back to the deck, all the men were at their stations. I tumbled again. I scurried over to Tommy, who was standing near the mainmast. He heaved the course of it. I grabbed the same rope he held onto and pulled it with him.

  Tommy climbed up on the mast. He gave me his hand and lifted me up. We clutched the ropes and climbed up to the main topmast. We frap the main topmast and climbed up to the main topgallant mast. I could see everything much clearer from up here.

  Captain William was still at the helm, steering the ship. Dawn was next to him, praying to God. I looked up at the sky. There were violet clouds that left no part of the sky uncovered. When the lightning bolt struck, it felt like the sky was torn apart into two.

  When the ship shook, I almost fell off the main topgallant mast. Tommy grabbed my arm and helped me steady myself on to the topgallant. We slid down the mast. Tommy took out a pocket knife and stabbed it to the mast.

  “Wait here, I’ll be right back,” he told me and went away.

 I shivered. It was freezing cold and with the rain that was pouring heavily, it was even colder. The rain was frosty and water from the ocean that splashed every time the ship tilted was chillier.

  “Hold tight!” Captain William warned us, his voice was alarmed.

  Abruptly, the ship tilted to the left. I held onto Tommy’s pocket knife securely. I almost lost my balance. My wet hand was slipping from the metal handle. I shrieked as loud as I could. There was fear running through every fiber of my body.

  The ship stabled again. I was trembling. I shuddered and turned to Tommy who appeared out of no where.

  “We need to hoist the storm jib,” he told me and I nodded. The storm jib was on the top of the foremast.

  My arm jerked as I fell down and rolled myself to the foremast. I grabbed the mast and stood up. I clambered up and hoisted the storm jib. I slid down to the deck.

  When I turned around, Dawn was standing next to me. We continued to hoist the courses, pull the ropes and topple on the ship. Dawn climbed up the crow’s nest and sent someone else down. He hurried to the orlop.

  I took a good look at the rest of the ship. Everyone worked hard. They took buckets and got rid of the water on the deck. They fastened the ropes to the mast and they took care of the rest of the passengers.

  I stumbled and toppled up to the quarter deck. “How are we going Captain?” I asked, taking the railing.

  “We’ve stabled. We’ve become one with the storm,” he yelled and everyone on the ship rejoiced. “Just one thing, you should learn to control your stumbling and toppling.” He whispered with a chortle.

  I tossed my head back and laughed along with him. I was very relieved. Captain William was right; we would get out of the storm, safe and sound.