LJIdol, Topic 8: "A Traveling Travesty"
By the twelfth day, Jacob knew that the search parties would be beginning to cease their fruitless efforts to find him. A small tingle of guilt buzzed around his ears, but he waved it off with an absent minded flick of his fingers. This was probably the thirtieth time it had crossed his mind since beginning this voyage and, as such, it was beginning to lose its sting.
To bury these thoughts, he plucked his only novel from its meticulously weather-proofed wrapping and allowed his brandy-brown eyes to linger on the cover and binding. How many times had he scoured the prose, now? How many hours- no, days- spent searching for the smallest of clues? And, a matter of personal pride, how many people before him had failed to see even these?
When an impish spritz of water vomited up from a wave crashing against the side of his little boat, Jacob carefully put the Odyssey away once more and returned to straining his gaze against the blazing horizon. His goal; his hope; the longing that had consumed him for the past ten years had to be close now. Yet he had been thinking that, too, for the past five days. Could he be lost? Could his studies have lead him astray?
No. He had come too far and researched too long for such doubts to gain a foothold in his nerve.
Reassured by the fair weather, Jacob sprawled out on his back in the middle of his little boat, always mindful of how his limbs caused it to rock to and fro in combat with the waves that urged movement in opposition. In this position, warmed and nuzzled by the sun's fading rays, he slipped from consciousness.
***
"Jacob..."
Her voice warmed him in a way the cooling waves sloshing over the sides could not.
"Jacob..."
A damp fog wrapped itself around the young man and his boat, leaving soft, teasing kisses on his burnt brow and fingers. From somewhere to the West - was it West? - he could hear other voices lifting to gently wake him from his dreamless, dizzy sleep.
"Come here," they sang, a lilting tune that slithered over the waves with outstretched, silky arms. "Clever Jacob, honour to the Hebrew name, and listen to our three voices. No one, save Odysseus, sailed past us without staying to hear the enchanting sweetness of our song - and he who listens will go on his way not only charmed, but wiser..."
Nestled in the buoyant orange neon of his life vest, Jacob rolled dreamily from the edge of the boat, which was now capsizing under his shifting weight. Salt water spat in his eyes, sputtering and splashing over his sun-bleached hair, as he swam forward, lethargic limbs ploughing through the ocean that swelled in his way.
He could not yet see them, but their sweet voices rose clearly, even above water's cacophonous embrace and the thrumming of his heart in his ears - and though he might have imagined it, Jacob thought that perhaps he could smell the strange flowers carpeting the island on which his muses were held.
"Clever Jacob," He heard them croon. "Sweet, clever Jacob..."
The Miami Herald: Obituaries
INGRAM, JACOB, 28, was declared legally dead on June 22, 2011, after having been missing at sea for seventeen days. Jacob was born in Miami, Florida on December 13, 1983. Jacob was known as an enthusiastic and hard-working man to all who knew him. He is survived and will forever be missed by his sister, Amanda Barker.
This fictional entry was written as part of the 8th topic of LJ Idol's 8th season, which is "A Traveling Travesty."
To bury these thoughts, he plucked his only novel from its meticulously weather-proofed wrapping and allowed his brandy-brown eyes to linger on the cover and binding. How many times had he scoured the prose, now? How many hours- no, days- spent searching for the smallest of clues? And, a matter of personal pride, how many people before him had failed to see even these?
When an impish spritz of water vomited up from a wave crashing against the side of his little boat, Jacob carefully put the Odyssey away once more and returned to straining his gaze against the blazing horizon. His goal; his hope; the longing that had consumed him for the past ten years had to be close now. Yet he had been thinking that, too, for the past five days. Could he be lost? Could his studies have lead him astray?
No. He had come too far and researched too long for such doubts to gain a foothold in his nerve.
Reassured by the fair weather, Jacob sprawled out on his back in the middle of his little boat, always mindful of how his limbs caused it to rock to and fro in combat with the waves that urged movement in opposition. In this position, warmed and nuzzled by the sun's fading rays, he slipped from consciousness.
***
"Jacob..."
Her voice warmed him in a way the cooling waves sloshing over the sides could not.
"Jacob..."
A damp fog wrapped itself around the young man and his boat, leaving soft, teasing kisses on his burnt brow and fingers. From somewhere to the West - was it West? - he could hear other voices lifting to gently wake him from his dreamless, dizzy sleep.
"Come here," they sang, a lilting tune that slithered over the waves with outstretched, silky arms. "Clever Jacob, honour to the Hebrew name, and listen to our three voices. No one, save Odysseus, sailed past us without staying to hear the enchanting sweetness of our song - and he who listens will go on his way not only charmed, but wiser..."
Nestled in the buoyant orange neon of his life vest, Jacob rolled dreamily from the edge of the boat, which was now capsizing under his shifting weight. Salt water spat in his eyes, sputtering and splashing over his sun-bleached hair, as he swam forward, lethargic limbs ploughing through the ocean that swelled in his way.
He could not yet see them, but their sweet voices rose clearly, even above water's cacophonous embrace and the thrumming of his heart in his ears - and though he might have imagined it, Jacob thought that perhaps he could smell the strange flowers carpeting the island on which his muses were held.
"Clever Jacob," He heard them croon. "Sweet, clever Jacob..."
The Miami Herald: Obituaries
INGRAM, JACOB, 28, was declared legally dead on June 22, 2011, after having been missing at sea for seventeen days. Jacob was born in Miami, Florida on December 13, 1983. Jacob was known as an enthusiastic and hard-working man to all who knew him. He is survived and will forever be missed by his sister, Amanda Barker.
This fictional entry was written as part of the 8th topic of LJ Idol's 8th season, which is "A Traveling Travesty."