He paced back and forth at the bow stroking his unusually white mustache and beard. The captain, a wreck of anxiety, was eager to reach the mainland. Nervously, he played with his jacket. It was navy blue with gold stitching and buttons made from mother of pearl. He decided to take his mind off of his long awaited voyage by looking at the water. He looked over the boat’s edge and saw the ocean spread out in front of him like a menacing blue blanket. The waves glided up across the side of the boat as they made contact with the hull. The swaying of the waves was both peaceful and mesmerizing. With each movement of the water there came a lulling swish. He shut his eyes for a second, but when he opened them everything was foggy. The world was one giant cloud, and it seemed to be moving. He was concentrating so much on keeping his balance that he didn't look up when someone tugged on his jacket. Then they pulled again, this time harder. He looked up to find a young woman. He recognized her as the second in command.

“Captain, were taking on water!”, she said with almost no fear in her voice. “Shall we start evacuating?” He gave her a nod with a not-this-again look. He had done this sort of thing before. He calmly set the lifeboats, and herded people into them.
“Everyone into the lifeboats”, he said calmly. Everyone was starting to panic, but the captain kept the same emotionless face as he tried to console them. He counted the heads of the people and loaded the boats to the brim. Once all of the boats were full he looked around to see if anyone was left behind. He couldn't see anyone, so he decided to cast them off.

“Captain! Captain!”, shouted a woman in one of the boats. “My daughter is still on board!” He took a closer look around the enormous vessel. Wading through the now knee deep water, he saw a little girl about seven years old, shriveled up in the corner. She was frozen solid with fear. He could see it in her eyes. As he moved closer to her she pressed herself up against the wall, obviously afraid. He reached out to her, and with hands shaking from fear, she grabbed onto him. He swung her up into his arms and quickly carried her to the life boats. The water level was rising faster now, and it was already up to his waist. He gave the little girl to her mother, and she took her graciously. The boat was starting to tip now, and he knew he needed to send the lifeboats out soon. He rapidly shoved the boats away from the capsizing vessel, but he had forgotten to jump into one of the life-boats. He once again waded through the rising water in search of a life jacket. Once he finally found one he journeyed to the side of the boat and just as the boat plunged into the water he leapt off of it. The water was freezing and he tried to keep warm by treading water. He watched as his massive boat, once proud and great, slide into nothingness. At first he was shocked and floated unmoving like a deer in the headlights. He assessed his situation, and tried to find a way out of the water, but all he could see was the unforgiving, unkind ocean laid out in front of him.

He turned around to find a bright orange blow-up life boat laying on the surface like a beacon of hope. He started paddling towards it, kicking with his feet, and struggling to keep his head above the water. Don’t give up now, he thought as his every ounce of energy fell away. With each time he paddled, the boat would swim away, as if taunting him. He reached for the slippery plastic, and clambered onto the small boat. He plopped down onto the orange material, energy gone. The life-boat, slippery and strangely comforting, gave him relief from his achy muscles, and he fell into a dream.

He awoke to find himself looking out at the ocean, with his feet firmly planted on the deck of his vessel. At first he was confused, and had thoughts racing through his head at a hundred miles an hour. Then he noticed something. The fog was gone. The air was clear, and now his mind was clear. He came to the conclusion that he had been dreaming the entire time. He was slightly happy that none of it was real, but at the same time he wanted it to be true. He had enjoyed the excitement of the sea, and how it felt to be a hero. He stared out at the ocean and concentrated on the swaying of the waves, and the swishing sound that they made. As he contemplated his pleasant dream he closed his eyes and found himself once again, inside his subconscious sailing his sea of dreams.