The Vessel

“Death smiles at us all, but all a man can do is smile back.”

–Marcus Aurelius

The wooden ship was nothing but a capsule of timber floating on certain death. It was now a vessel but could easily be made a coffin.  The vessel heaved upwards and downwards in the midnight darkness, being rocked and trounced by a battering barrage of poisonous water, salty and ice cold. The ocean deep and black, a symbol of power, a symbol of reality. The sea is judge, jury and executioner to all who traverse it, but still men dare. 

There aboard the midsized galleon flying a flag of skulls and blood, the crew stirred, everyone with a job, everyone fevered and delirious, it had been months since land, months since fresh food and water. The rations were gone, and so too were the machinations within the minds of the destitute crew that allowed them to reason as men should. 

Despite the thunderous violence the ocean wrought, the men, the crew, still carried on. In an instant however , the ocean posed a test. A wave the size of a mountain bore down on the ship, the spotter in the crows nest bellowed to his mates below, solemnly pointing at the the monster vengefully clawing towards them, the wave was a mad titan, a titan that was hunting them and it had them right where it wanted them. The men, already weakened and demoralized, all went limp, seemingly accepting their fate as they saw it. 

As the wave approached however, the door leading below deck smashed open, the crew startled and hopeless, all now stared at the pitch black void left by the open door. They all stared into the open doorway like it was a dark portal ready to loose the dogs of hell upon their withering frames. 

Then , as the smaller waves crashed around and the monstrous wave continued to get closer, the ships crew no longer feared it, they were all now focused on the doorway. 

Slowly, a figures silhouette creeped from the darknesses of the doorway. The figure crept out slowly, seemingly unfettered by the fear of the monster looming over them.  The figure now stood at the threshold of the above deck violence and the cold dark underbelly of the ships lower deck, shrouded in shadow still, the figure stepped forward, the bluish moonlight shone down on the top deck through the storm clouds , as if it were summoned to illuminate the figure as he slowly limped out of the shadows. 

The crew was at a standstill, the figure stood tall yet hunched to one side , putting all his weight on a dark wooden cane that he grasped with his right hand. His hand decorated with diamond and ruby rings , clenched the wooden cane with white knuckled anger, though the figures exterior expression bore a slight smirk, despite his grip of anger. The figure stood rugged and looming, it wore a black captains coat , with stitching of gold and red, around its shoulders , the sleeves were unused, the figures arms free with the coat just draped on its shoulders like a cloak. It’s black Tricorne hat, stitched with black and gold, decorated with the filth of a life at sea, it’s tattered white shirt , and filthy dark purple trousers , were noticeably spattered with the blood of transgressions passed….this was the captain, this was the master and commander of this vessel that was set for judgement of the sea. 

The men looked at their captain expectantly and cautiously, like children awaiting a parents permission to continue. 

The captain looked up and around at his men, they were hungry, cold, wet, diseased, exhausted and malnourished, but, he cared not. He tapped his cane on the ground one forceful time and spoke, in a harsh tone that would even make the sea tremble, and said,

“Ayyyggh Now look at what the sons of man become. Shameful and impotent at the site of a little storm in the sea. I hate to tell you mateys but what the dread emperor wrought is what the dread emperor wrought, they’ll be no quarter for shivering dogs afloat a timber coffin. So if ye be wanting to live to suckle another breast or taste the liquors of the lands beyond, ye best be gettin to the work you lot boarded this damned vessel for in the first place! The choice is yers mateys, I for one am going to walk to the bow of this fine lady and greet Poseidon….he’s an old friend…” 

The captain limped with his cane towards the ships bow, the crew watched for a few seconds, then erupted to a frenzy, everyone doing their job at maximum efficiency, it’s as if the fear of God had been struck in them and their only mission was to preserve their God given lives.

The captain, stood at the bow and stared the monster wave down, like a gambler daring the dealer to deal him a bad card! 

The men worked hard and frenzied, men screamed, shouted and gasped out to one another, everyone doing whatever they could within their job or assisting others to maneuver the ship out of harms way. They all sensed their effort was futile, but the sight of the “Capin’” at the front of the ship, “Staring down the ocean god itself” , fueled their work ethic.

Not long into their frenzy, the wave was finally upon them, it sounded like thousands upon thousands of hungry tigers bellowing monstrous roars over and over, the sound was deafening and had a paralyzing effect. However, the men pushed through the fear, pushed through the dread, and continued to work, they steered the ship diagonal trying to catch the edge before it was too late…. 

As the titanic wave blacked out the sky, covering the moons light completely, it was pitch black, the cold piercing rain stung their skin like thousands of needles being stabbed into their flesh, the cold sea water splashed over onto them, the salt of the water burning their open wounds like boiling water against their skin, activating instant early hypothermia.

Despite this hell, the men continued to move, despite being unable to see, the men still operated the ship perfectly, they sailed diagonal as hard as they could , until a thunderous smash cracked down somewhere on the back end of the ships stern. The massive impact rattled the crew to their core, and moments after the crash ended , a massive bolt of lightning smashed into the center of the ship and set it ablaze… The fire in the darkness made it look like the men had died and were now in hell…The men were fear struck but heard something even more terrifying than what they saw, a bellowing laugh from the ships bow echoed out and they heard a raspy demented voice shout aloud 

“Ayyyggh hahaha!!! Dear old Sea King outfoxed again by an old bag of bones!! Ahaahaha, Ye may be power incarnate but I be the devil and the devil rules this plain by mercy of god himself!!!”

After hearing this maniacal outburst the crew feverishly scrambled around trying to put out the fire. 

After 40 minutes or so the fire was tamed. The darkness still heavy but the sea was now calm. 

Suddenly the clouds began to part and a bright blue sky started to be visible through dark clouds. In the horizon , a giant golden sun was rising , peaking up over a calmed sea like a mother coming to comfort its child in the morning. 

The crew looked around the deck as it became more and more visible, there were dead bodies, eviscerated men, men dying, others weeping, others cheering with joy. The ship was damaged and splintered, portions of it charred from the fire. 

Amidst this, the sound of a wooden cane thudding slowly and rhythmically across the deck of the ship overpowered all other sounds. The captain was slowly walking back towards the below deck door from the bow of the ship. The men all watched intently, awaiting any orders at all…

The captain kept walking , slowly and surely, and as he reached the black portal that led below deck, he stopped, with his back turned to his crew and said aloud….

”That sun in the horizon….pretty ain’t she?….Well let me tell ye something about beauty, lads…beauty is nice to admire from afar, but rest assured you get too close it’ll melt your everlasting soul…so I suggest ye quit yer parading around and get to work, we’re sailing for destiny, not treasure, and unlike treasure, destiny ain’t on no man made map! We’ve got to find it our own !”….

The captain disappeared below deck the door slamming behind him almost as if it slammed on its own…

The men worked feverishly to get the ship back right, fueled by fear and respect , because there is only one thing that struck fear in their hearts more than the sea , and that one thing was the devil that ran their ship from below deck!

Your body is a vessel, it will endure hardship and grief, it will be battered by the ocean called life.

The ocean is indeed life, it can be peaceful and beautiful or treacherous and imposing at the drop of a hat! 

Sometimes in order to get through your greatest moments of fear, anxiety and doubt, you need to reach below deck into the darkest parts of your vessel and draw out your darkest inner strength. That inner strength that snarls and claws at whatever trouble on the outside is trying to destroy you. 

Only then, will you have the wherewithal to look death in the face and smile as Aurelius suggests. 

Thank you for taking time to read this.

Written By: Marcos Lopez 2/3/2021