The Sea Cave

Lysander awoke feeling well rested, like he had had a good night’s rest. Perhaps it had all been a dream. The slavery, the battle, the drifting on the sea under the hot sun, the drowning and the mermaids. And instead he was still a teenager, ready to help his mother with her daily chores and play with his brother and sister. But as he looked at his hands, that were callused and bruised, he knew that it was not so.

Lysander sat up, and through tired he began to look around. He was in a large sea cave, carved out by centuries of the sea wearing the rock down. He lay besides the edge of the water, that stretched out into the sea. Lysander could feel the cool sea breeze, it was gentle and cool, and the morning sun gave out a warm glow as it shone into the cave.

After a moment of contemplation, Lysander got to his feet and began to explore the cave. He was alone, and there was little else but rock and water inside the cave.

‘Hello?!’ Lysander shouted, his voice echoing throughout the cave.

Lysander stood and waited for a moment, but no reply came. So, he began to look around again, trying to find a way out. But after a half an hour of searching, Lysander could not find anything. He returned to where he had slept the night before and sat down to rest.

‘Well, what am I going to do now?’ Lysander asked himself. He could not find the way out, and he had no desire to risk swimming out after what had happened on the raft.

Lysander sat their idly for a few moments, pondering what he was going to do. When suddenly, something struck him.

‘Wait, how the hell did I get here?’ he did not remember much of what had happened, and what he could remember Lysander thought to be too fantastical to be true. Though, as Lysander would soon discover, was the true.