Looking over the blue horizon, I saw nothing but water. Clear skies and deep blue water surrounded me. This was my perfect paradise. But it can effortlessly change. The dark water grew grimmer and eerie as the murky clouds drifted overhead. With no land in sight, this would become the truly ultimate nightmare. But in this terrifying world, you either bravely fight or cowardly run.

I tied my sail onto the faded metallic hook and pushed off from the shore. My goal for this expedition was to survey the shore. I didn’t know much about this lake except the area around our dock, so I wanted to explore around.

Slicing through the waves, I quickly sailed my boat into deeper waters. I had a vigorous feeling, and I was ready to sail into anything the waves threw at me. The wind on Warner Lake was almost nonexistent while standing on the shore, but once I was forty or so feet out there was a consistent breeze floating my way.

I wanted to stay close to the shore to give me a better impression of the lake I grew up on. The shores I had whizzed by on our tube were now revealed to me. The sail slowly tugged my boat along the shore, passing docks after docks and house after house, and each one was as peaceful as the last.

The true beachline on the northern shore had muddy and rocky sand. It was the only place that wasn’t all rocks and smelly seaweed. To the south near the dam, it was very shallow and somewhat sandy, but it was full of seaweed. The eastern shoreline was rocky and seaweedy, and the western shore was similar. To the northwest, it was dark and uninhabited. From where I was I saw a small wooden dock, but that was it.

As I approached I saw that small wooden dock protruding from the forest’s shadow in more detail. It looked very worn and old, but why was it here in the middle of an uninhabited, dark, grim forest? I continued farther along the murky coast towards the edge of this place when the wind shifted.  All of a sudden, instead of going forward, I went nowhere. When I realigned with the wind to sail across the waves, I was pulled towards the shore. I was hopelessly stuck in this bog.

I didn’t know what to do as I crept closer and closer to the shore. The waves pushed me closer to the shore, and the water was dark brown. I was nervous; no, I was scared for my boat and my life. Fighting bravely against the wind was my only escape, but it was nearly impossible. If I went into the wind then I wouldn’t move, but If I went with the wind then I would be marooned. I only had one painfully slow option, using the rudder as if it were a fish’s tail; I slowly pushed forward. Left, right, left, right was all I thought. Left, right, left, right. My arm was tired, and I just wanted to give in. I still pushed on. Left, right, left, right.

 Hours passed, and I was still stuck in unknown territories. I slowly made more progress away from the grim forest, pushing back out into the open lake. The water slowly turned back into its deep, dark blue once again, and I felt a wave of relief now that I was winning in an unlikely war.

As I got back out into the open water, the wind no longer pulled me towards the shore and now was helping me push forward, but by this time it was getting late, and I needed to return to our old dock. I cut through the middle of the lake instead of following my original route and quickly carved through the water towards the rock I had pushed off hours ago. The journey back was uneventful, which was a good thing after the battle back at the unknown shore. Every now and then a small gust of wind pushed me along.

Bravery aided my safe return from my expedition like how it aided Leonidas's three hundred or the French at Dunkirk. Bravery is one of the most important traits to have in life. Problems that need to be solved or faced won’t wait forever, for if you don’t face them then they’ll face you.

 

 

 

-Walker J.