The End and the Beginning [A Short Story]

What it Means to Hold Hands

Silas nodded his head in agreement with Thomas and began looking around for some way to lure my friend out of the room and up to the top deck. Dale stared at the ceiling with a far-off look. "Strange how I remember so much about this ship, but nothing about myself," he said to no one in particular.

I scrambled for a way to prove my innocence. "Well, how can we get the ball--"

"Float," Silas interrupted.

"The float to this man?" I said. "I've already tried to move it, there's no way to even touch it."

"Well, how did you get it onto the ship in the first place?" Thomas asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"The whale shook it off. The whale... maybe it can feel me... I don't know. It just shook the—the float off."

"Interesting..." he said. "So how did you... 'wake up?'"

"I don't remember. Maybe I saw the float on the whale. It must be magical or something. I wonder why it makes me feel so... so real when I look at it."

"Magical," Silas looked up from my friend's bones. "You really believe in such a thing?"

"Well, it's hard not to, given our current state."

"You know," Thomas said, narrowing his eyes at me. "You talk pretty good for a stowaway—I mean, you don't know shit for ships, but you're no low class bum. So why would a person like you be hiding on the ship without a ticket?"

"I'm telling you, I'm not a stowaway! I must be new to the ship's crew, that's the only explanation!"

"If you say so..."

"I can't figure out how we're going to get this guy to leave this room," Silas said as my friend passed by him for the third time. "He's just fixated on this room."

"He's never left it," I said.

"Well, I'm getting sick of hearing him moan," Silas narrowed his eyes at my friend. "There's gotta be something more fun to do around here. Let's just leave the stowaway for now. He's not harming anything."

"I suppose he couldn't," Thomas said. "Not much left to harm... except for maybe his own feelings." He gave me a sharp smile. "How about you go talk to that lady friend of yours that doesn't know you at all. I wonder why she can't remember you. Maybe because she's never seen you before. You probably just stalked her. Followed her onto this ship, maybe? Went through her panty drawer, did you?"

Silas looked up with a big grin, but Dale didn't find the jab so funny. He shook his head at Thomas, who wasn't at all deterred by the silent disapproval.

It became apparent to me that no answer would be enough to end this harassment. Thomas had made up his mind of who I was. If I protested, it only gave him more reason to doubt me. All I could do was leave. So I rose through the ceiling to the top deck where I hoped to find the woman in red.

She was sitting by herself on a bench, looking at the growing crowd of cognizant forms with a look of resignation. When she saw me coming toward her, she shook her head. "I don't recognize anyone here," she said. "Not yet anyway. How many passengers are on this ship?"

"I'm not entirely sure," I said, sitting down next to her. "I counted up to 400 before I gave up. It's too difficult to keep count when everyone is moving around. But there are many more passengers in the lower rooms. They must have been trapped in the storm."

"The storm," she said. "That sounds familiar... But I don't remember anything else."

"I don't think anyone does," I said.

"Well, that family over there remember each other." She pointed at a group of four, dressed in drab clothes. "Did I travel alone, perhaps?"

I shook my head, "I don't know, but it's possible that your family is just somewhere else in the ship." I regretted saying it, but I couldn't stand to see her look so lonely.

If we weren't already drowning in water, I was sure I'd see her tears as she looked at the crowd. The pit of hopelessness and loneliness that I had felt was evident in her eyes. "Where would I even start to look?" She said. "400 people..."

I didn't want to tell her that the number was much higher than that. She needed a piece of hope to hold on to. "Well, if I may judge you by your lovely dress," I said, "Perhaps we should start looking in the first class cabins."

Truth be told, I had already been through all of first class, and—while I could say I was never looking for her body there—I was quite certain she wasn't among them. In fact, the first class cabins were mostly bare of bones, and—if I had to stick with honesty—I was almost sure I had seen a set of bones with her exact dress tucked away in one of the much smaller cabins down below. But the compliment on her dress made her smile and she looked at me—truly looked at me—for the very first time. Her brown eyes twinkled as a ripple of water passed through them. It was the first time they had looked so sharp and focused. And they were focused on me!

"Let's go find out who you are," I said, jumping up from the bench and holding out my hand for her. She reached out to take hold, but her hand fell through mine with a passing warm feeling—warmer than it had ever been before. The event shocked her and her face fell into sadness. "It's okay," I said and placed my hand inside hers. I couldn't hold it in the most traditional sense, but the connection was there. Her hand warmed mine and mine, hers.

She smiled again and stood up.

"This way," I said.