Sea of Nightmares

No one knows how they got here and neither do you…

As you lie in bed, you feel your body letting go and your mind closing up shop for the night. Your eyelids are heavy and your breath is steady. Everything from this world: stress, anxiety, work, school, hurt sorrow, grief, anger, fear, depression, and even happiness fade into the background. Head nuzzled securely onto your pillow and blankets, crisp and cool, wrap you in a familiar claiming embrace. You release one more long breath before the sandman guides you through the darkness, to a new world of creation, but… something’s different this time.

 The immortal whispers of the sleeping god fade away as a new voice creeps into your ears. The sounds of gentle waves accompany the soft alto voice of a woman, “ Just relax and let your mind drift amongst the sound of the waves. Never mind the cries, wails of despair, and screams, they’re just dreams. Sail away with me to a realm of obscurities, impossibilities, horrific, and terrific tales. This be the only seas you need no boat to sail. Close your eyes…listen… I’ll find you, a fellow traveler of the sea of nightmares…” Like tuning a radio you lock on to her voice in the darkness and concentrate. The sound of the waves grows louder.

 You notice that your mattress feels… different, harder. It feels like you’re laying on a slab of wood. Your blanket is no longer soft and cool, but hard and itchy. As you adjust yourself, trying to get comfortable again, you hear the low laughter of a woman and heavy footsteps approaching you. Someone is standing over you now, you can feel it. Even though your heart feels like it’s going to beat out of your chest, you sit up, open your eyes, and make eye contact with the figure now kneeling in front of you. You notice the figure in front of you is a woman.

 She’s wearing a hat that’s tilted enough to cover her eyes. If you didn’t know any better you’d say you were staring at a pirate, but how would that be possible? You slowly look around and ponder your new surroundings. The woman slides a shoulder-length licorice black dread loc behind her ear. The loc is adorned with gold trinkets whose shapes you don’t recognize. She slowly stands up and holds a hand out to you. Once you’ve stood up after taking her hand, she turns her back to you staring at the dark sky. She begins to speak:

‘Welcome aboard new friend I’ll be your current Captain… my name is unimportant. Just call me Captain. Current? Yes, the first Captain is taking a… rest from the helms to heal from a mysterious sickness. No one else would take this job so you’re stuck with me telling you what to do. Before I see what jobs suit you the best I must go over a few ground rules:

1. All morning duties must be done while wearing headphones. The sirens are the strongest in the mornings. In the afternoons? A rope around your waist will suit you just fine. I too am sluggish after I eat…
2. No feeding anything that comes to the boat except… well that will be a story for another time.
3. Don’t be a hero, if someone goes overboard there’s no need for both of you to be a meal. Wave your goodbyes and get back to work.
4. There is no map don’t bother asking where we are going every island, landmark, lighthouse, or grouping of jagged rocks is never in the same place. Besides, every time our cartographer tries to sketch a map the ink disappears. Before you ask yes we’ve tried different types of inks… even blood, but no luck.
5. At 6:00pm every evening all workers must report to the deck where a crew member will tell the seas a new tale (it calms them for our travels).
6. ‘We are Sailors. We are explorers. We are the weird, the deprived, the curious, the horrendous, but we are not cowards. If at any time you cannot handle being on this ship… jump off, face your demons, and may the fates take pity on you. We make stops for no one. Only the ship knows the stops.’

You nod as you watch your new fellow crewmates somberly do their work on the ship. All of a sudden you notice the captain lifting her hat and tilting her head, left ear tuning to the skies. You finally get a glance at her eyes and see how the big orbs of golden amber glaze with tears and fill with worry. “It’s time.” She whispers as she pulls a blue whistle out of her pocket and blows on it like her life depended on it. Everyone stops what they are doing and turns to the captain. She first turns to you and tells you that she’ll speak more with you later. The captain clears her throat, smirks, and then shouts confidently, “Now, who has a story?”