Maelstrom: A Short Story

Maelstrom: A powerful whirlpool in the sea or the river. (Wikipedia)

Whirlpool: A quickly rotating mass of water in a river or a sea into which objects may be drawn, typically caused by the meeting of conflicting currents. (Oxford Dictionary)

He never thought it would come to this.

The sea was dark blue. The sun was bright orange. The sky was clear. The clouds were beautifully collected above him.

Nothing to his right.

Nothing to his left.

Nothing behind.

NOTHINGNESS is in front of him as his eyes faced the impending doom, welcoming him aboard .

A monstrous whirlpool. Magnificent in its width and depth. Enormously amazing if you see it from atop, immensely devastating to whoever is witnessing and experiencing it. Mankind has never seen such great and grave force of nature. Mankind in all of its fallen civilisations has never beheld such dangerous and yet magical power.

But he saw it.. He is beholding it..

He was not naïve enough to call for help, certainly not for a human-like creature’s one. Who would help him; if ever there was anybody to help him in the first place? Maybe ask for God’s help? Why, he thought, would God put me in such abandoned position? He never suspected his faith, only doubted his sometimes unanswered requests and questions in his already passing lifetime. He concluded, rather quickly, that God would not have put him in this abandoned position unless there is something larger than what he had expected; even if it required his mortality. He firmly believed that. He had to.

He was not naïve enough to depend upon his swimming skills either, expert as they may be, but relatively helpless in his dire situation. His legs, arms and body gave in to the sucking force of the whirlpool. He had no control over them. He had no command over his physical body. He figured it was a fair trade from the sea. A bargain even. The sea only took away his fading body and left him with two main and everlasting instruments; his mind and soul. People can live without external limbs. People can go on with their lives without the need of mortal entities. It is their hearts. It is their minds. It is them that could carry on people’s legacy forever.

“Mother,” he cried out loud to no response but the sound of the rustling water surrounding him. Tears dropping down his face, not being able to identify them from the already salty water embracing him. “Please forgive me for not saying goodbye to you,” he mumbled and spewed the words while some water entered his mouth. They say that when people are on their deathbeds, they often think of their mothers who bore them. He was not different. In the past couple of years he has had a rife relationship with his family; his mother in particular. As he was going into this unspeakable black hole, he imagined; what if I did not do what I did to her? She did not deserve it.  He guessed it was too late for him to connect with her again. Maybe on the other side he might. He only wished.

He could not fathom the idea of being distant from his life and arriving into another one. Change is inevitable perhaps, he assumed. But that is not change. That is something else, something inexplicable and daunting to even think about.

As he commanded his mind, his body was in another place. Cold and damp. His shirt was glued to his skin as if they were one. His shoes, which he already took off to give himself less water resistance, were floating beside him as if they were telling him “Hey, at least it is not smelly here.” His already tired legs were struggling to keep his head above the water. It soon will be under. Very soon.

As his life will shortly be changing, the weather caught up with him. The sky is now growing darker as clouds are narrowing closer above him, bright colours playing through them. Lightning he believed. He is now closer to the center of the whirlpool. He can see it. He can see through the sea as if it is parted down the middle. It was a live model of a big vortex. As he is now within the force field of the whirlpool, he found himself going in circles. Obviously he couldn’t fully use his muscles to fight it. It was stronger than him. He ultimately gave in to it and realized that he has to accept his fate.

The whirlpool’s radius was large as it grew in size, taking all the water surrounding it and pouring it down into the abyss. He was still midway between the farthest point of the whirlpool and its center. He still had time. He still had time.

Thunderstorms began to crush the sky, sounding electrified fear into his heart. He usually was not afraid of them, looking at them from his room’s window at his family home. When he looked at them when he was a kid, he was amazed by their beauty. He was astonished by their presence. His mother used to come to his bedside trying to comfort and ease him, only to be surprised to see him refusing her hug. Not because he hated it, on the contrary, but he wanted to watch the thunder glow and liven up the sky. He loved it. His mother would smile and join him, never leaving his side.

Black rain started to drop on his face. He can clearly see into the sea now. He thought of it as a portal that is going to take him into another dimension. A more beautiful one. A more hopeful one.

He started to descend gracefully into the void. His head is facing upwards to the gloomy sky. Maybe he was praying to God, but most definitely he was trying to breathe in a lungful of air to aid him into the abyss. The sea is a harsh mistress, he thought. He had to be prepared.

He felt relaxed while he was going under. This way, he assumed, his fall would be easy and without pain. “It is only water,” he thought to himself.

The maelstrom’s magnificence finally pulled him in to its embrace. He was still looking upwards towards the surface, only now to say his goodbyes to the world he left behind.

His mind and soul gave in too. However, they did not wither as his body did. They only were transported into the other unworldly life while he was falling away graciously into his blissful demise.

“To her, the one and only. Mother.

 I promise when I see you, first I will smile to you a most recognizable smile that you would instantly know it is me. Then I would run at you as if I am haunted by a demon, only to be rescued by your sweet and shielding embrace. We would look at each other. I would be lost in your warm eyes, trying to hold on to you for dear life. I would never think of what happened between us. I would only think of this moment in which I can live forever and ever.

I Am Sorry.”

The Late Truth: A Short Story

5 years make the difference between their ages. He was 20 and she was 15. He has just graduated from university, while she was still in high school. Although they loved each other so much, they did not express their affection in the same way. Like any brother and sister, they argued constantly. But, they shared something in common. They have always looked after each other.

Their relationship when they were young was not very good. They used to quarrel and fight all the time. They did not care for each other and did not share anything except that they lived in the same home. He wanted to live his life on his own without any responsibilities towards his sister. She needed her brother’s attention. Yet when she did, they fought on very simple things.

When they grew up, they saw each other differently. They began to understand and consider the importance of having a brother or a sister. They have also understood the responsibility that they had towards each other. They were flexible in their relationship with each other. He saw that he is the bigger brother, so he had to protect and take care of his younger sister. She looked to her brother as someone who is caring and loving to her.

One day, he was getting married. The wedding party was amazing and beautiful. Everyone was there. His friends, family and close ones. He was busy entertaining the crowd who came to see him getting married. However, his sister came close to him. She was wearing an attractive silver dress which he bought for her a day before the wedding party. She said “I want to talk to you.” He responded “Is there something wrong, my dear?” She said “No, but it is something important and we need to discuss it now, please.” He looked confused. Yet, he said “Ok dear,” and he followed her into a nearby room.

He was very curious. He was interested in what she was about to say to him. It was not of her nature to discuss anything with him. She felt very shy and confused. She said “Brother, I want to tell you something, something that I have been hesitant to say to you.” “What dear?” He was worried when he asked her. She said “I would like to apologise to you.” He asked again “For what?” She said “On not being a good sister to you, or at least not to your expectations.” He felt surprising and sudden relief taking him over and finally exclaimed “So am I my dear.”

She was puzzled. She was the one to make the confession. She was the one to apologise without any response back. On the other hand, he felt an obligation to say that he was sorry too. They were both willing in expressing their feelings. She said “Why are you apologising? You did nothing wrong.” He responded back by saying “No! There were things that I could have done better towards you as my sister.” She said “So tell me then.”

He continued “Well for example, I was not there when you wanted to talk to me when we were young. I know you needed me as a big brother, but I was too selfish and self-involved. All I ever wanted was to play around and have fun. But I should have taken care of you, dear.”

She looked shocked, but then said “Well.. You are right. I needed your help when we were young. But that is the past and it cannot be changed. Besides, when we grew up you have been beside me all the time giving me advice.” He responded by saying “I had to my dear. Our father had passed away when I was 16. So I felt committed to be your role model, especially that our mother could not help us due to her illness.” She said “So what you are saying is that you felt obligated to help me? That you were forced to?” He rapidly said “You do not understand. I...” She quickly interrupted him and said “Well that is what you are saying right now. Had our father been alive, you would still be distant from me without any relationship combining us. But as we are siblings, you were forced to."

He finally sighed and said “What did you expect? I was a professional football player playing in the greatest clubs of the country. I was going to be a star. But when my father died, all of my dreams were gone. I had to take care of you and our mother” She looked amazed when she exclaimed “What do you mean? You preferred to stay in your career rather than looking after your own family? I cannot believe what you have just said”. Before she began this conversation with her brother, she thought it would end in a different manner. A moment of silence had passed before he continued “Look dear. All I wanted was for everything to be normal. But I could not do that.”

They kept staring at each other for a long time.  He then said “Are you calmed down now?” She answered back, rather loudly “After all these years you come and say that protecting your family was not your first choice, and you expect me to calm down?” She felt dizzy and weakened after what she had heard from him. She sat on a nearby couch to regain her strength.

He said “My dear, do not be angry. We are brother and sister now like you had hoped. Besides, your final exams are coming soon. It is important for you to be focused.” She then said “How am I supposed to focus on anything after what you have just said? How am I supposed to trust you after what just happened?” He followed by saying “Can’t we just postpone this talk after the wedding party so we can talk freely?” She screamed at him “You prefer to go to your wedding party over solving your responsibility problems towards your sister?” He said “Do not take it this way”. At the precise moment he said those words, she fainted. She fell on the floor. He was shocked by what just happened. He rushed out of the room to bring in a multitude of his guest friends who work as doctors. He hoped that it would not be serious. He then, with the help of his friends, took his sister to the nearest hospital.

He waited outside her room. He was worried about her. His relationship with his sister is not good at all right now. Moreover, her illness might cause difficulty for them to get along well again. He kept waiting for countless hours outside the room, waiting for her to wake up. But he did not know what was wrong with her. After a while, a doctor approached him. The doctor asked him “Are you a relative?” He responded “Yes. I am her brother.” The doctor said “Well, do not worry. She is fine. She was just very weak and ill and this caused her to faint. Nothing serious.”

He then asked the doctor “When will she be able to get out?” The doctor said “She can go out in one week. She has to take certain medications that are necessary for her recovery.” He then said “Thank you, doctor”. He sat down, thinking about what had happened. It all began when his sister wanted to apologise. But then, he found himself apologising to her. He now feels responsible for what his sister is currently in. His sister did not have to suffer like that. Now it is up to him to make things right again. It was his responsibility to straighten things out between them.

He entered her room slowly so as not to wake her up. He was hurried in his steps yet very quiet. He approached her bed and planted a kiss on her forehead. She then very slowly and tiredly lifted up her eyelids. She looked very sick and weak. He looked at her with brotherly affection and love. She smiled when she saw him next to her. They kept looking at each other for what seemed like forever. He was getting out of the room to let her have some sleep. But then she said “Brother?” He turned around and faced her and said “Yes, dear?” She said “I am sorry for ruining your wedding party”. He came next to her and looked deep in her eyes and said “My love... It would not have been a party without you.” They both smiled.