Day 24.
I finally managed to fix the sail today. I filched some cloth from Mother's wooden box. I spent all noon at the beach, quietly trying to sew it back. The sail is now as good as new. I think it will fit the boat. I don't think I have changed it much but the previous cloth was almost too weak. I had to add many patches. Now I can just hope it works.
Then I sat back on the giant rock and gazed into the horizon. The ocean was forging its own sea song today, softly and calmly. Tufty clouds drifted along the silk sky and hid the setting sun, turning into patches of different hues of orange. I like to watch the sunset by the sea.
Father complains I waste so much time these days. He does not know about the boat. Nor am I planning to tell him. He will know when I will be gone.
Day 25.
I forgot to fix the net yesterday. All we caught today were tiny lobsters and crabs. Father was very angry. I couldn't tell him about the sail and I had no other lame excuse. He still hasn't talked to me. Mother also seems cross with me. I think she has found out about my cloth heist. But she didn't say anything. She never says anything.
I got some planks from the market earlier. I am almost out of money now. Still I am not sure if the planks will be enough. The boat is almost wrecked. It would be better if I could just make a new one altogether. But I do not know how to. Father knows. But he is busy repairing the net today himself. Even if he were free, I doubt he would have taught me anything about boats that would take me across the sea.
Day 26.
Father caught me last night. I was sketching a plan on my notebook and he saw me. He asked me about it. I lied about writing a story. He didn't believe me. He searched the boat house and found the boat. He burned the sail this morning to light fire for breakfast. I think he will burn the rest of the boat for fuel soon. I was an utter fool. How could I just map out my intentions in front of everyone?
At least now he knows I haven't been wasting my time. I still consider myself lucky. He did not find out about the bottle and the map. I had hidden the bottle in the deep sand and marked it with a small sapling. No one will know about it. No one but me.
Day 27.
I dug out the bottle today. I wanted to see the map again. I have decided to not let go of the boat. I will try again. I will try to make a boat. Maybe I should make a raft from scratch. Building a raft will be easier. But a raft is weak and feeble. I do not know if it will be able to go against the cruel sea. The bottle was very strong. It retaliated against the tyrant waves and reached me. From where it started its journey, I do not know. But I do know where it will lead me. I buried the bottle again and went back to catch fish with my father. It'll take time but I will never give up. I just need to find a way.
Day 28.
Mother confronted me today. She found my bottle. It felt strange, seeing her holding my green glass bottle in her wrinkled fair hands. She had seen me burying it in the sand earlier. She asked me about it. I told her everything.
I told her how I found the bottle on the shore last month. How it was secured with a wooden cork which I accidentally misplaced then. How it had a faded piece of a map of a place I had never even heard of. I did not tell her about how I was planning to reach the said place. Unlike Father, she did not scold me. She simply said what she always says: "you know nothing about the horrors your parents are hiding you from".
She always says this. And refuses to explain. Anyway, she returned my bottle to me. And she didn't seem angry. I think I can start working on my boat again.
Day 29.
Today the weather was stormy. I knew a storm would come. The sea was buzzing with its dormant strength for the last few days. Last evening, the waves took a harsh demeanor instead of their usual rhythmic pulse.
I didn't go to the boat house. I didn't have the heart to see what would have happened to my boat. I can hear the thundering tides crashing with the giant rock even at home. It must be a pretty strong tempest.
I stayed home all day, helping mother gut the fish and wash the vegetables. The boat is hopeless now. I must think of another way to pursue my plan. I can't cross the sea with a wretched boat. I need something strong and sturdy if I want to go beyond the ocean. If I want to see what lies beyond I need to do something.
Day 30.
I feel like I am on cloud nine today. After yesterday's storm, I went to the beach at dawn today. The sea was again kindling its own symphony. A thin veil of cold mist was suspended in the air. The tides regained their harmonious ebbing.
There near the shore was another boat. A bigger one. A better one. The sail was not in a bad condition and the ship itself was in a good shape. I even found a jar of pickles in one of the sealed compartments of the boat. I took it for a small ride and it floated like a butterfly on the rough waves. I think nature itself wants me to go explore what lies beyond this curtain of blue. This ship is a gift from nature itself.
I hid my map and my bottle in one of the compartments. And I pushed the boat into the boat house. I tried concealing it with sand and old wooden boards. I wasn't very successful.
Hopefully no one will search my boathouse again. But I will set out earlier than I thought I would. I cannot afford to lose this ship too. After all, it is my only hope to see what is out there. Beyond the tyrant tides. Towards the horizon where the sun sets.
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