History:
Planning finished January 15th.
First draft started January 15th.
Prologue:
Seagulls dive and soar under us and I lean far over the railing trying to catch a glimpse of the sea underneath. I’m so short my feet are dangling free in the air as I lie on my stomach on the varnished wood that should stop kids like us from falling overboard. Unfortunately kids like us always disregard things like that. Gavin laugh as he sides up alongside me and offer me a slush.
“They say the sea is even bigger down there.” He says as we both lean over the reiling and spy down.
“But it’s big even from up here!” I protest as I slurp the strawberry slush, the icy bits cooling down my throat on it’s way down to my stomach.
“Yeah, but it’s even bigger down there.” He points at some white stuff that looks like clouds which raids the ocean in stripes. “Those are the tips of gigantic waves that could hide this ship from the horizon!”
I stare down at the small white fluff on the waves. They look too small to be able to hide a ship this big from the horizon.
“I don’t believe you!” I tell him. “They don’t look that big.”
He leans further over the reiling with the slush in his hand and smiles. “When I become a captain over the biggest ship there is I will fly so low I can lean over and touch the water!” He reaches his hand out and demonstrate how he would touch the water.
“Yeah yeah.” I tell him and jump down on the deck. He always talks about what he will do when he becomes captain over his own skyship. He jumps swiftly down and follow me.
“Yeah, you say.” He nudges me and frowns. “It will be a totally different story when I am the captain over my own ship. Conquering the skies.” He jumps down the stairs to the lower deck
I say nothing but slurp my slush as I follow him to the lower decks where we actually are supposed to be instead of here at the higher decks which were only meant for higher officers and the captain. Gavin jumps up at the rail and takes a few wiggly steps.
“Careful so you don’t fall.” I tell him as I walk at his side, almost a meter shorter than him.
“I won’t. “ He says and smirks at me. “Who would then look after you?”
I playfully punch his knee and almost faint when he wobbles.
“Gavin!” I drop my slush and move to grab him.
He regains his balance and just laughs at me. I’m about to push him for real this time. I can’t count all the times he has tricked me, ever since we learned to stand on our feet. I feign hurt and turn my face away.
“Oh, come on, missy!” He yells at me and laughs his maniac laugh and throws his slush overboard then does a wheelie on the rail.
“Stop that, or you’ll really fall overboard!” I tell him. He just laughs and wheels until he reaches the next stairs, where he stumbles. He lashes out with his arms, trying to regain his balance, but I watch as he in slowmotion topples over, and fall. As he fall my heart falls too.
“Gavin!” I scream and rush to grab him, but I’m too short to reach. I manage to grasp the leg of his trousers, but not enough to prevent him from falling. As he screams my name I watch as my best friend falls into oblivion. I lean over the rail as far as I can and scream his name until someone brutally grabs me from behind and puts me down. My father.
“Let that be a lesson for you never to go too close to the edge, ever!”
Tears are streaming down my cheeks and I barely hear what my father tells me as he ushers me through the now gathered crowd and into our saloon. He forces me down in a chair and then leaves the room. I don’t move. I just sit like that, staring down at my interlaced hands in my lap, with tears streaming down my face. I can barely breathe and my heart aches. Gavin had been my best friend since we were small kids. We had decided if we didn’t marry each other, we would at least invite the other to our wedding. Now there wouldn’t be any wedding. There would be nothing. It felt as if a giant hole was gnawing through my heart. If it didn’t stop soon I wouldn’t have a heart left.
