Exploring New Horizons

A big feathery seagull, weighing a pound looked upon the uncharted territory. The blue water made a roaring noise as it touched the coast. Deep waters are full of danger as the old men say, but no one knows what is beyond those glittery sparkling waters. Needless, the thirst for a quest is enough to overcome the fear of discovering new things. Adrenaline rushed inside those silver feathers and it launched itself off the rocks to take a flight of endless possibilities. The bird flew long and long distance, only to discover a few like it, and made a screech as it sat on the mast of the sailing vessel.?

'Bad weather', cried a sailor as he saw the dark clouds gathering past the bird. The clouds moved left as they cut across the winds blowing in the opposite direction. The gull screeched twice before moving swiftly from the fore topmast into the captain's cabin and huddled itself.?

'Prepare for reefing, lower the sails fast', shouted the captain to a crew. One pulled the reefing line as another crewman lowered the sail.?The midnight beauty stirred to a head-on to the winds. The captain, a young sailor lacked the expertise. A man in his twenties, left home to discover new lands in order to get a reward from the Queen. He sold his land to fix his uncle's wrecked ship. He dreamt to sail to the end of the world, to explore new horizons and to mark his name in history. However, he knew little about how to act in adverse weather conditions. He remembered the weather lore and the warnings old men gave him for sailing North. The northern winds hit the ship making a howling sound and slapping hard on the faces of the crew, giving them a chill. The glass was low on ship and the crew embraced themselves for the worst. The commotion in the clouds fought the winds, hitting them North, and South and East and West. The captain lost control of the ship as it surrendered to the mercy of the strong winds. The sea prepared to kiss the midnight beauty, opening its arm to engulf her. The midnight beauty was fading away in the darkness of the clouds. Rain soon poured, drop by drop making the sea stronger. The crew felt helpless and caught hold of anything they found to prevent themselves from dragging as the sky broke into thunder.?

His heart pounded with the frightful scene. Bewildered, he walked back to the corner of his cabin and fell on his knees. All his aspirations and dreams were coming to an end. He would be known in history as a failed captain. There was no one to look after his family. He sold the only land where his family used to grow crops for his own dreams. He had everything at risk. He thought how foolish he is and should have known how to act in a situation like this. His arms folded over his knees and his face down. He was dying to these thoughts.?

The rain made a drumming noise as it hit the roof of the cabin.?A man or two managed to go inside the hold from the deck. A screech came as the drumming went louder. The captain lifted his head to see a gull gazing at him. The little eyes flashed in the light of a flickering lamp. The bird and the man looked at each other as a hope, to live and to fight for their dreams. To explore one needs not to be an expert. It takes gallons of courage to take a risk and follow a path which is different. When trials and tribulations of life destroy oneself and make them weak, a little hope or motivation is enough to?fight against all odds and rise above and start working on solutions. The captain saw his own reflection in the eye of the gull. He remembered how strong he was and how he managed to build the ship and how he named the ship Midnight beauty as it was the most good-looking ship in his town.?He remembered how his crew supported him in his journeys which helped him to become a captain. He caught hold of himself and rose with determination. He pushed the door and shouted at his crew to raise and get the ship back in control.?

The crewmen hummed as they divided their work and started fixing things. The rain eased the winds but enough damage was done to the ship. The seagull flew out from the cabin across a man standing on the maintop castle towards the moon's halo.?