"Is that a sail on the horizon, Sean?" asked Annabeth hopefully.
"Let me check." replied her older brother, grabbing the binoculars from his pack.
"It has to be!" she said, jumping up and down, despite the deep sand under her feet. "Daddy said he would come back with help, when he put us in the lifeboat with those two nice ladies, and the other kids." Annabeth continued, becoming sober as she thought about the fate of the lifeboat, and the rest of its passengers.
"It's not a sail. Just another shark fin..." he told her, unable to suppress a shudder. Sean was also haunted by the fate of his fellow passengers. But he tried to hide it. For his sister's sake.
"Then let's go pick more fruit." she suggested, not wanting to look at the ocean any more. Just knowing that a shark was so close made her stomach churn.
"We have plenty of food and water. Let's go collect some stuff to make our shelter better instead." said Sean, as he gently took her hand, and led her inland.
"What is that?" asked Annabeth, pointing towards a particularly overgrown part of the jungle.
"It looks like a lot of dry sticks and rotten wood. Let's get some for tonight's fire." he said, striding towards the dark place.
Annabeth ran ahead, curious. "It's not just dry stuff. It's an old house! she exclaimed.
"Wait up! Let's go in together." said Sean, rushing to catch up.
"Cool! The roof looks pretty solid. Maybe we can fix the holes, and live in it until Dad comes. Let's look around, there might be stuff we can use." he said, thrilled that they had a place which must have weathered many storms.
"There's a pot, pan, kettle, and even silverware!" exclaimed Annabeth, as she happily explored the small kitchen. Which Sean noted before turning his attention elsewhere, was completed by a tin can pipe, and a stove made from a huge metal hardtack container.
"Wow... A journal." whispered Sean. He began to look through it, when he heard a loud thud. Turning around, he saw his sister wrestling with a large box, which she had dragged off of the lower shelf of the pantry.
"I think it's some sort of blanket." she said, panting.
"Let's see." suggested Sean, also curious.
"It sure is big. And heavy." said Annabeth.
"I think it's a sail! I can't be sure unless we take it to the beach and unfold it, but I really think it is." he said, hope surging. "Now if Dad can't come find us, we might have a way out of here." he thought to himself.
"I'm not going to carry that heavy old thing anywhere." Annabeth said matter of factly.
"All right. Let's see what else we have." he suggested. Once his sister was busily searching the small but mostly sturdy shack, he went back to the journal.
"First entry, January 15th, 1919
My name is Paul Lordsonville. I am stranded on a small island. As far as I know, I am the only survivor of the wreck of the H.M.S. Carlottaso. She was a mighty ship, but the sea is almighty. Her mainsail washed ashore undamaged. I have dried and folded it, in hopes of using it for escape. Driftwood is plentiful, it will be easy to build a raft large enough to hold many months worth of food and water.
However, I will stay here as long as I can bear, before I begin such a perilous journey. Perhaps a ship will come within sight of the island, and I will be saved. The sea has left deep scars upon my heart, I am not ready to face her again. Perhaps I never will be..."
"I wonder if he ever got rescued..." mused Sean, as he turned to the last page.
"June's 14th, 1923
I'm going down to the beach to look for a couple of good, buoyant logs to use catamaran style on the raft. Another week or two, and it should be ready to sail. I have made peace that this is the only hope of escape."
"Interesting..." Sean said aloud.
"What?" asked Annabeth, as she walked over to see.
"This guy, he was really close to having built a raft. Then suddenly, he stopped writing. And he made at least a short entry every day, for years. Plus the sail is still here." said Sean.
"Oh. Maybe he got rescued, or finished the raft. He was probably just too tired to write after working on it a lot." she said.
Sean smiled. "Annabeth always wanted happy endings. Any stories with an uncertain or sad ending always landed in the bottom of the toy chest..." he remembered fondly.
One week later:
"Let's build a raft, like the one in the journal. We have everything we need to do it, even a tool box with a full set of tools. And he left his design and launching plans too." suggested Sean.
"No. I'm not going out on that ocean again, unless it's on a great big ship!" she declared, fear entering her eyes.
"But this raft would be huge, no way it could flip like the lifeboat. And we'll take weapons. Sharp spears. We can poke the shark's eyes out, if they try to come close." he insisted.
"I don't want to go out there." Annabeth replied, her eyes beginning to brim with tears.
"Alright, will stay here and wait..." he soothed. "But could we build it? For emergencies, I mean. You never know when it might come in handy. And it will be a fun project, like what I used to do at home."
"I was never allowed to help..." she remembered, with a little pout. I think you just want to do it because Mr. Lordsonville was doing it. You're even keeping a journal now, and you always hated to write anything." she teased, feeling better.
"So you'll help? It might even be fun to build a little one next, to use really close to shore. To make fishing easier." he suggested.
"Maybe..." she said uncertainly. "But let's do the big one first, so we can see what it looks like." suggested Annabeth, wanting to postpone either of them going out on the water.
Six months later:
"I can't believe it's done!" exclaimed Sean, exultant.
"I helped!" said Annabeth, proudly.
"You did great!" he assured her, and she beamed.
"Let's camp on her tonight. We can watch the stars, and enjoy the breeze." suggested Sean, hoping that his little sister might one day be ready to set sail.
The next morning, he awoke to shouting. "Sean! Sean! I see a ship, a big one!"
Sure enough, there was the unmistakable outline of a ship. "But it's not close enough to see us, or our flags." he mourned.
"Annabeth! We have to set the raft on fire, it's the only way they'll see us." he said, gathering the hot coals from the supper fire.
"Oh no! We worked so hard to make it." she said, crying.
"I know, but it's the only way to get home. And if they don't see it, we will make another one." he told her.
"Alright, just do it." Annabeth said, turning away from the scene, and focusing on the ship.
About an hour later:
"You've had quite the adventure, Sailor. Miss, I can see that you took good care of your man." said a kindly older man. He was wearing a captain's hat, and smiling.
"He's not my man, he's just my brother." Annabeth told him.
"Right, Miss. I should have remembered that. You see, I've heard all about you two. There's someone else aboard who is very anxious to see you." he said, bright blue eyes twinkling merrily.
"Dad!" yelled both children at once.
"Yes, I had him wait in the galley. He's supervising Cook in making your first meal aboard the Victory the best one possible, with all your favorites."
Later that night:
"Sean, I really wish you had brought both journals. Maybe we will go back for them one day." said Dad.
"Maybe... But could we leave something in their place telling the story if we do? The journal helped a lot. And now, mine is almost exactly like Mr. Lordsonville's! My last entry was that the raft was almost ready, just like his!" he suddenly realized.
Cover image made in Canva using their gallery