The Sea and the Sailor

The sea and the sailor - essay

The sea was immense; it was so boundless that there was no end to it. People claimed there was no edge, that you couldn't sail beyond it. Even If you embarked on a journey with a ship stocked with dried fish, water, medicine and other essentials to survive, for months and years, still you would not reach the edge of the sea and would eventually have to turn back or perish in the vastness. The sea was so vast that such a ship is like an ant trying to conquer Sahara Desert, on bare foot, still the ant would not be able reach complete the journey it in its lifetime. A human with canteens of water filled on a back of a camel might barely be able to survive but the ant would scorch just a few feet from start of its journey, by the relentless sun and its sand melting heat. No one has ever made a map of the vast mighty sea.

The sailor

The sea was deep, so deep that even if a hundred British ships were stacked vertically, they wouldn't reach halfway to the bottom. No one knew its true depth. If you dropped a stone tied to a rope, it would never hit the bottom, and the weight might even drag the ship down. It's in these deep waters that the sea appeared calm on the surface, much like people deeply lost in thought who seem calm outwardly. It's like a focused athlete breathing slowly before delivering a powerful punch to a noisy opponent. These deep waters were the most turbulent when unleashing their power. When storms disturbed the surface, it was these depths that raised the highest waves, rivaling the Himalayas in size.

The sea was lively and colorful, like a rose garden in the royal palace of a Roman emperor who conquered half the world to bring home the most vibrant and delicate roses, cared for by the best botanists, planted in their native soil, and nurtured to bloom in an unfamiliar setting for the prince's pleasure. The sea was teeming with schools of fish of various shapes and sizes, crustaceans, sea snakes, aquatic birds, reptiles, whales, dolphins, seals, penguins, seahorses, turtles, and octopuses. It was filled with plants, corals, rugged beaches, and smooth ones, with dangerous lion's mane jellyfish lurking to capture fish with their venomous tentacles.

The sailor was wise; beyond his youth, he had a beard and curly grey hair. His forehead and cheeks were lined with wrinkles from the wind and toil of countless voyages. His hands were rough, his muscles as firm as bronze statues in a Greek city. His grip was strong and unwavering, able to hold on for hours without a twitch. He wasn't born this way; he was a gentle child shaped by the harsh paths he had traveled. His heart was heavy with regrets and the harsh punishments he endured for his life's actions and inactions. He loved the sea, evident from the faint smile that appeared around his eyes when the sea breeze touched his weathered cheeks.

But the sailor was blind. His eyes, once fixed on the horizon he loved to watch, could no longer see the sun setting in the sky, and he had no hope of seeing it again. His days were filled with darkness, which only heightened his love for the sea in his mind, as there were no distractions from the sky. He could only envision the sea in his mind's eye. He knew its vastness, its depth, its vividness, not just from others' accounts but from years of experience. He could feel the breeze carrying the touch of its surface. He could hear the splashing water inviting him to swim. But he was on a ship, stranded in the middle of nowhere, yet it provided shelter. He knew he couldn't survive in the sea, even with sight, and now he was blind.

The sailor was last seen on the upper deck, leaning against the railing one afternoon in the cold October dusk. A cold wind blew, and a thundering storm followed that night. He was never seen again, and he was forgotten within a week. People were content that he was gone.