Ice Cube in the Sea
Synopsis: Friends meet in the unlikeliest of places.
Our house stands tall, strong, and glistens within a secluded cove with an unparalleled view of the ocean. All who come upon it marvel at its height, breadth, and power. It’s not uncommon to have visitors gawk at its majesty but our house and family stands proudly and defiantly to anybody who dares to breach us.
Behind the walls however, we’re weak, fractured, and breaking apart. It’s common to hear creaking, rumbling, and tearing associated with the family discord as if our house feels the pain we’re inflicting upon each other.
As a child, I was amused by the flare ups and fights between family members. I came to accept creaking as our families “normal”. I was always impressed by the elder family members influence when disharmony prevailed and marveled at the immediate calming effect their soft, wisdom filled comments made. Now that I’m older, it’s not amusing.
I can’t stand the constant criticism from my parents. I’m told that I’m “spoiled” and I don’t have “what it takes” to make it in the “real world”. I feel like nothing is ever good enough for my parents. I can’t take it anymore. Maybe one day, I’ll just “split”.
As I grow further apart from my parents and unhappier, the creaking grows louder. I can tell the fighting hurts the elders and it’s difficult for them to take sides but I know they understand how I feel. After a heinous argument with my parents, I curse them and shout,
“I wish you would die!”
The elders console my parents and I can hear the pain in their voices because this argument hurts them deeply. Throughout the night and into the early morning, I hear the type of weeping you can only associate with old people. Suddenly, the creaking begins and is followed by rumbling and tearing which shakes our home to its foundation. Silence follows and the calming influence of my elders is lost forever.
The house is quiet without the elders and I no longer have anybody to turn to when my parents become unbearable. They seem to be even more critical. Maybe I’ve lived a sheltered and protected existence but they never give me the chance to prove myself. I need to get away once and for all! I pound my hands against the wall. I jump up and down and hurl myself about the room. My parents scream,
“Hold it down in there!”
It’s now or never and I have to strike out on my own or suffocate to death! The creaking grows louder and the rumble intensifies. The room tears apart and opens. I’m hurled from the safety of my house and plunge into the icy cold ocean. I’m free! The sun shines upon me and is warming.
I no longer admire the sea from the safety of my home. I’m at its mercy! I bob up and down and the waves pull me further away from the safety of home.
So, this is what freedom feels like? I feel independent but lonely. How do I survive? I have no way of getting back to shore and the waves are pulling me further out to sea. I miss my parents already. I cry out,
“Help me, please help!”
Nobody responds. I hope for a wave to wash me back to shore. The sun doesn’t set this time of year and I’m growing weary from the heat. I can’t see the shore. I don’t even know which direction is home. I’ll sleep and think clearly in the morning.
I’m awakened by a voice crying out,
“Over here.
“Help me!”
I see an island on the horizon. The waves push me closer to the island and I see an elegantly dressed, short, stocky, figure frantically waving at me. It looks like the fellow just left a formal dinner party. If I can get close enough to the rocks, maybe I can help him. I scrape up against the rocky coast and it hurts. The little fellow runs towards me and leaps aboard.
“Thank you for rescuing me.
“I’m Peetie”.
What a sight he makes in his formal attire especially out here in the middle of nowhere! I’m grateful to have him aboard.
“I must have ‘tied one on’ and became separated from my party.
“I can’t find them and I don’t know where I am.”
“I’m also lost, Peetie.”
“From whom, my friend?”
“I ran away from home and miss my parents.”
As Peetie walks about, I can tell that his eyesight isn’t very good. Despite Peetie’s own predicament, he provides a calming influence reminding me of my elders.
“Let’s exercise teamwork.
“If we trust our extinct, keep cool, and move forward through the chaos, we’ll find home.
“Let’s shove off.”
Peetie leaps into the water and I can tell Peetie’s eyesight is sharper in the water. Peetie maneuvers himself just behind me and the jagged rocks. With one big push, he thrusts us back out to sea and a large wave launches us back on our journey. Peetie leaps aboard elegantly and exhausted.
The sea is warming and I’m becoming weaker. It’s not healthy for me to spend too much time in the sun. Maybe my parents were right when they said I couldn’t “make it in the real world”. The evenings are cool and magical. The moon is full and provides a natural candlelight. We pass the night by telling stories.
Peetie had quite a social life. His many friends, lavish affairs, and travels are fascinating. After finishing one particular story, Peetie becomes melancholy. He cocks his head towards the moon and says,
“I wasn’t separated from my party.
“I was ditched.”
I can tell Peetie was hurt by the abandonment and like myself, is lonely. Peetie thrives within society and to be abandoned by those he called “friends” is devastating for him. We’re lucky to have found each other and press on!
The sea is black reminding us that it takes “no prisoners”. We see a strip of bright lights approaching. As the lights grow closer, we hear music, laughter, and conversation. As the luxurious ship passes, a large floodlight fixes upon us.
Peetie can’t tolerate the bright light and dives into the water to escape it. The music, laughter, and conversation are silenced by a blaring horn. The decks are lined with passengers staring and pointing at us as if we we’re carnival freaks.
As the ship passes, the flood light is extinguished. The music, laughter and conversation dim as the ship moves further away. Peetie climbs aboard shaking the water from his elegant “suit”. Peetie sadly refrains,
“It’s as if we’re nothing to them.”
I can tell the party atmosphere on board the ship caused Peetie to miss his society friends. Maybe Peetie dove into the water to avoid the ugly reality of his social abandonment? It caused me to miss my family but witnessing Peetie’s pain really saddens me. We retire for the evening and hope for a better day to come.
We’re lost and drifting. The sea is warm and I feel nauseous and weak. My insides feel like their beginning to “crack open”.
“I don’t feel well, Peetie.
“I miss the cold.”
I can see the concern in Peetie’s face but he won’t let on that he too is worried. Peetie consoles me,
“Don’t worry my friend, there is definite order even in chaos.”
Peetie cocks his head up and side to side like a radar antenna.
“I hear something.
“I’ll find it!”
Pettie dives into the ocean leaving me alone.
“Come back Peetie!”
If Peetie doesn’t return, I’m doomed!
Peetie is small and traversing the large waves is difficult for him. Peetie swims in the direction of the “signal” with determination. He stops midstride and raises his head up out of the water.”
DING, DING.
Peetie finds the signal and swims towards it. He arrives at a buoy bobbing up and down in the sea. Grasping the buoy with all his might is a fat, toothy, snoring behemoth. Peetie carefully swims up to the buoy and with his characteristic charm and poise, proclaims,
“Ahoy, friend.
“Permission to come aboard?”
The sleeping giant wakes surprised to have a visitor.
“Stay away.
“I don’t want any trouble!”
Peetie senses that he is frightened and attempts to calm him with his customary elegant politeness.
“I’m Peetie.
“I mean you no harm.
“What’s your name?”
The big toothy guy is much larger than Peetie and can hurt Peetie if he wants to. Peetie senses that he is a “gentle giant” and is only frightened. Peetie jumps aboard the buoy but keeps his distance.
“Please help me, Peetie.
“I’ve been hanging on to this buoy for months.
“The sharks are trying to eat me.
“I’m Wally.”
“How did you get here, Wally?”
“I climbed aboard this buoy back home and a storm tore me away.
“I’ve been drifting ever since”.
Although Peetie wants to hear the rest of Wally’s story, he knows that he must return to me and Wally can help.
“Wally, I have a friend who is waiting for me to return.
“He isn’t from these parts and isn’t feeling well in warm waters.
“If we work as a team, we can find home.
“Will you help?”
Wally looks out to sea and is nervous.
“It looks scary out there.
“If I leave this buoy, I’ll have nothing to hold onto to.
“I better stay”.
Peetie knows Wally is frightened.
“Wally, if you stay on this buoy, you won’t survive.
“Furthermore, if I swim back to my friend without you, he and I won’t survive.
“You’re strong and if the three of us work together, we’ll make it.
“Follow me, please, Wally.”
Wally takes a deep breath and exclaims,
“All right, Peetie.
“I’ll follow you.”
I’m so happy to see Peetie again! Peetie jumps aboard and exhaustedly says,
“Let me introduce, Wally.”
Wally struggles to climb aboard because he is so big. I can tell from the scars all over his body that he has seen his share of fights and the other guy always won.
We drift for days.
Wally’s life back home was lonely. Wally recounts the many times he was picked on and called names because of his appearance. He was an outcast.
The days are long and hot. I’m weak and ready to give up. My parents are right. I can’t “make it on my own”. Peetie and Wally remain steadfast in their resolve to find home. Peetie exclaims,
“Stay strong, friend.
“It’s always chaotic before a breakthrough.”
Peetie and Wally feverously propel us through the sea. I wish Wally’s tormenters and Peetie’s society “friends” could witness their heroism as they push us through the sea.
For weeks, a fog bank frustrates our travel. For all I know, we are moving in circles. I trust Peetie and Wally’s navigational skills to keep us on course. Today, the fog lifts. Out in the distance, peeking just above the surface, we see a fellow “traveler”.
Peetie and Wally shout but the stranger doesn’t notice. We are quickly catching up to the traveler who is trying to escape but can’t move quickly enough. I shout,
“Please stop.
“We won’t hurt you.
“We just want to talk!”
The traveler is frightened as we came along side. Peetie steps forward and say’s,
“Hello, I’m Peetie.
“The big fellow is Wally and…”
The stranger interrupts Peetie and cries in a frightened, feminine, voice,
“I’m in a hurry.
“I’m not well.
“I just want to be on my way.”
Wally responds,
“We want to help you.”
Wally’s sincerity and the humanity emanating from his large, coarse exterior, disarms and calms the traveler.
“I’m Bridgett.”
Bridgett is shapely and very fair skinned. Her exterior is radiant and glistens in the sunlight. Being next to Bridget, feels like home. She calms and cools me and I feel stronger.
Bridgett edges closer to me and I can see that I have the same effect on her. We all set off together hoping to find home.
The days are getting hotter. Peetie and Wally are weary. Although Bridgett and I are feeling stronger, we’re encouraged to press on by the strength and resolve demonstrated by Peetie and Willy. Despite their own emotional suffering and physical exhaustion, they remain upbeat and determined.
Bridgett is not only beautiful but enigmatic. She is struggling to find her way through life. Her beauty and poise mask the torment and pain she suffers. Without recanting the details, I know that Bridgett’s horrendous home life makes my life at home seem like a “picnic”.
Bridgett’s scars are mental and are the scars women spend a lifetime trying to bury. Bridgett’s sleep is frequently punctuated by cries for help seeping out from deep caverns within her subconscious. The moon pays homage to her beauty. Most of Bridgett’s beauty and substance, however, lie below the surface and out of sight.
Peetie is furiously diving in and out of the water as if surveying Bridgett. Peetie surfaces and suggests that if Bridgett and I “join” together, we’ll be stronger. Bridgett is beginning to feel “cracked up” inside and growing weaker. Bridgett remains resolved. She has guts and is determined to move forward.
We are an assembly of misfits consisting of a society outcast, giant bullied loner, troubled woman and rebellious young man. We share one thing in common. We are aimlessly drifting and looking for home. The sky is turning grey and I know a storm is approaching.
The waves grow taller and throw us about like a roller coaster. The rain pours. Bridgett and I fight to remain close. The large waves continue to roll under us and the rain is relentless. The tallest wave I can recall is soon upon us raising us up, up, and into the sky. Peetie and Wally struggle to hold on but are washed overboard. They are lost.
The wave continues to rise and begins to drop. Bridgett and I hold each other closely while we fall and when we hit bottom, we’re thrown together and joined. We ride out the storm linked and recognize a new sense of vitality, strength, and hope having joined together.
Bridgett is me and I am Bridgett. I’ve never known anybody so intimately before. It’s wonderful! We’re exhausted and drift to sleep in our new embrace.
We wake to calm seas and a crystal-clear horizon. We can see the outline of land in the distance. Bridgett and I know the worst is over and that we may finally have reached home. My heart is heavy because Peetie and Wally are lost.
As evening draws upon us, the large, full, incandescent moon “smiles” and illuminates the sea around us. My thoughts turn to Peetie and Wally. I weep.
I hear a splash followed by an elegant landing. To my surprise, Peetie proclaims,
“We’re in for quite a show tonight”.
Wally shouts,
“It’s some kind of carnival on shore”.
“Where were you two?
“I thought you were lost forever!”
Peetie consoles us,
“We never left you.”
Wally explains,
“It’s easier for us to follow you under the surface but we always had your back.”
I’m relieved my two friends have returned! A million stars twinkle in rhythm to colorful flashing lights on the beach. We hear the conversations, laughter, music, dancing, and savor the wonderful aromas on shore.
We’re joined by new friends including sea lions, dolphins, swordfish, turtles, and gulls, all who stare at the beautiful evening coastline like patrons at an opera. I notice the wonder in Peetie and Wally’s eyes. They long to be ashore and I know we will soon part company forever. I love them and will miss them dearly.
If I ask them to stay, they will agree because they are my friends but it would be selfish for me to do so. The greatest act of friendship is to let them go.
Tonight, we’re family.
We’re happy.
We are “home”!
The next day the headlines read,
“Iceberg spotted off the Coast of Rio!”