“What are the chances?!”

“Isn’t this nice Tobe?” The phrase echoed through his mind. A teen boy stood, leaning over a cruise ship's railing, rolling his eyes at the thought. He chuckled, only hours earlier he had been hauling around her luggage as she insisted she couldn’t walk another step in her heels. Now she’s run off without a word, probably off to talk up some wealthy looking man. He pictured her twirling her strawberry blond hair batting her eyelashes. He scoffed, looking at the horizon, “What a joke.”

He reached to loosen his cravat. He’d have to remember to tighten it again later but he could hardly find any sense in the constant suffocation. While tugging at the stiff fabric something crashed into him just as the ship hit a rogue wave. Before he could really process what had happened he was meters under water. He frantically swam to the surface, taking a sharp inhale just before being smacked down by another wave. He thrashed about a bit longer, being tossed around like a ragdoll, before realizing how ineffective it was. “What are the chances?!” He scoffed once more, “I can see the headlines now, «Son of aristocrat, lost at sea».” What would become of him. Would he be rescued? Would he die here alone? “Death by drowning, how pathetic.” The boy couldn’t feel anything. He guessed it to be the cold, though he wouldn’t know. He could hardly tell he was submerged in water nonetheless if it was a bit chilly. He wasn’t even sure his eyes were open. “Maybe I’ll wake up in some merfolk land and be appointed as their new ruler. They’d all fall for my charm” he thought sarcastically, poking fun at the idea. Being swept away in the middle of the ocean, one wouldn’t think this to be his train of thought. Though really, what else was there to think about? He was going to die here. Plain and simple. This idea didn’t appeal to him, but what was there to do? The boy guessed he had four more minutes max. He was now sure, his eyes were in fact open as he squinted at a blurry figure in the distance. As it came closer into focus, the boy had not a second to react before a huge jaw twice his size lined with baleen plates started to close in on him.

“Oh where on earth is that boy?” A voice muttered through inherent noise. A lean woman stood, clutching her handbag. On the other side of the cruise, a crowd had started to form. People were bustling with excitement. An eyebrow raised, she curiously made her way over. She looked to the water confused. There was a big splash and from it emerged a beautiful humpback whale about 20 meters long. She gasped, grabbing her bright pink disposable camera. While taking some shots, she murmured to herself “Good heavens where is that boy? He must see this!” She took a look at her last shot, smiling.