In a Sky Full of Stars

Such a heavenly view, that thought was what filled my mind in what was undoubtedly my earliest morning in ages, as I peered out the door separating me from the depths of the ship, and the skies above.

It was a cold morning, and in a lot of ways my body wasn’t quite ready for what my guard shift had to say. Not quite sure what to expect, I dragged my sleep deprived body out of bed, and getting dressed I soon found myself exiting the cozy interior of the ship.

Looking up, I quickly forgot the sorrows of getting up at 3:45, and instead marveled at the diamonds above and below. The sky, and ocean, were full of stars, one being brought forth by luminious algae, and the other by a pure, unpolluted sky. The sky was absolutely covered with them, forming layer after layer of shining specks above. Varying levels of brightness added more details to the marvel, a marvel which I felt I was seeing for the first time. With not a cloud in site, it was an untampered view into the heavens above. It’s not a sight I’ll soon forget, with the stars above filling me with wonder, and giving me the strength to overcome both the biting cold, and a usually unstable stomach. Much of that shift was spent staring upwards, as the sun began it’s slow and steady rise. As the clock ticked onward, the scones we had all been waiting for were soon done. With the horizon glowing a light yellow we began to head indoors, a school of dolphins giving us, and the night, a fitting send off. The scones were worth the wait, and combined with a piece of bread made a worthy first breakfast, because just like a certain group of fictional halflings we still had a second, official, breakfast on the horizon, waiting just beyond the end of our shift. That would have to wait though, as the scone had reminded my stomach of it’s somewhat rebellious instincts, and it took offense to the rather tight harness I was wearing. The resulting ache ate away at what gusto I had left for the shift, and by the time we were scrubbing the deck I was just doing my best to keep up. I soon found solace from my harness and vest, as another one of our “Kitcheneers” (not a real word but certainly an apt one) had fallen prey to seasickness, and they needed a replacement. Even though my stomach wasn’t exactly in the best of places, I was hoping the chance to get the harness off would give me some peace. Even if it wasn’t meant too be, taking breakfast orders from the soon to be guard shift was fun, and gave me high hopes for my approaching meal. Shortly after we passed on the torch to the next group, and we all returned inside for our official breakfast, egg and bacon being a welcome warm meal after the mostly cold shift. After eating I returned to my cabin, with only 7 hours of sleep behind me I was greedy for more, and I quickly returned to the land of dreams, only waking up in time for lunch. I headed back upstairs, relatively hungry after my nap, and soon finished my meal, an enjoyably chili stew. I quickly returned below deck, knowing the next few hours would be the only chance I’d have to do school work before my next shift, which would consume the rest of my active day.

Alexander