Call Of The Sea

• Lily Scrimgeour, Grade 6, Geraldton Grammar School -
• Short Story
• 2019

Excellence Award in the 'Just Keep Writing 2019' competition

Philippa awoke with a start, she heard it, she heard their call. The moon was high in the pitch black sky, full and bright. Waking up to the crawling vines on her window, and the eerie glare of moonlight was not the most calming way to wake from her dreams. Mother had said before to not listen to the voices, she only believed them to be Philippa’s imagination. But Philippa felt they were real, though they spoke faintly, she understood them as clear as day. Still staring in the distance, she heard yet another voice. It grew louder by the second, calling her, beckoning her to follow. She tried to shut out her temptation, but the urge was too strong. She crept along the dark, broken floorboards, and onto the soft sand outside.
The cold breeze blew her dusty blonde hair, and the sand beneath her swallowed her delicate feet. She felt relief brush over her, the voice had now ceased. Though all was quiet, Philippa still heard the waves crashing on the shore. They grew larger and larger, crashing louder on the sand. Mesmerised by the sight, she hardly noticed the black water now rising high above her. There was nothing she could do. Before she knew it, she had been pulled beneath the water and was now being dragged out to sea.
She travelled deeper underneath the furious ocean, it dragged fiercely and savagely. The more she struggled the deeper she was pulled. Just as she thought she could not fight anymore, she was released out to the depths of the sea. She watched as her home was destroyed, as the Sea Maiden pulled it apart piece by piece. Her father had told her about the Sea Maiden, a spirit of the water, who dragged those whom she thought were not worthy to the bottom of the sea. It was all true, now she had been dragged to the depths of the ocean, along with her mother and father.
Many days passed, and Philippa was still trapped in the distant ocean. She had now lost everything, her house and her family were gone forever, and she was lost in the sea. Though these things were unchangeable, she felt like this was her home more than any other place in the whole world. The calls she had heard all her life were the calls of the ocean, her true place in the earth. She was finally free.
For years she travelled through oceans so vast and fought beasts so great. She was never alone, the sea was her friend, and their calls guided her. After many decades of adventure, she had grown old and weak. She was now willing to give herself to Sea maiden, to be dragged away to endless depths. As she took her last breath and closed her eyes, she heard the calls of the people she loved, the last call she ever heard, “We’re so proud of you Philippa,” they whispered, “our strong, brave girl.”