Elena

Stephen couldn’t believe it. Yeah. He had REALLY messed up this time. And the worst part? They wouldn’t shut up about it.

“JESUS STEPHEN, you can’t do anything right, can you?” The teenager shook his massive sandy curls, never looking up, his hands shoved in the pockets of his board shorts.

Stephen growled “SHUT UP STEVIE BEFORE I PUNCH YOU IN YOUR FACE!!!”

Stevie just glared at him. Then sat down on the floor in the transom area of the boat.

“STEPHEN!! PLEASE don’t yell at your little brother!!” his mother admonished. Despite the firm tone of her voice, Stephen could tell by the look on her face that she totally empathized with her first-born son. He knew she really loved him more, but because Stevie was the baby she was expected to defend him. “Joey, please don’t let the boys fight…”

They all looked at Joey, the patriarch of the family. Norma already had tears welling up in her eyes. Stevie looked smug, totally expecting to be vindicated. Steven couldn’t bear to look directly at his father, but he could see him from the corner of his eyes. Joey was sitting on the massive cooler in white knee length Sportifs, a short sleeved white polo, and white baseball cap. His tanned arms were crossed in front of his intimidating frame, and the white hair on his arms glistened with sweat and stood out against his deepening tan. For a man in his 60s, he still had a strong frame. He had a stern look on his face, but didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to. At least not to Stephen. As the oldest son, he had had plenty of opportunities to interpret that face. This time, it assured him that he continued to measure up to the bar of failure Joeseph Garollo had set. After what seemed like an eternity, he sighed, uncrossed his arms, took off his sunglasses, and leaned forward slightly.

“Stephen. I raised you on the water. I taught you the importance of safety and diligence at sea. I demonstrated to you how the sea could be your most bountiful provider or cruelest enemy. Now, I know that I failed you as a father. And that, is a lesson we are all going to have to learn right now for the last time.” He put his sunglasses back on, crossed his arms, and leaned back.

The boat was silent for what seemed like hours. “At least they’re not talking” Stephen reasoned to himself. They all sat staring in different directions off into the sea on their 18 ft Grady White. The boat had a hardtop that barely cast any shade on the hot white paint. It was midday, the sun was high in a cloudless sky, and the only sounds were of the lapping of water against the boat. The boat was the only interruption on the landscape of the vast expanse of ocean.

The engine was silent. The cooler was empty. The radio was dead. In Stephen’s excitement, he forgot to bring the EPIRB. How long had they been out here? A day? Or two? It was only supposed to be a quick offshore trip to celebrate his 1 year out of the institution. The reports said that the marlin were running, and flat calm seas were the order of the day from his research. He was so PROUD of himself, when he realized he was almost a year out, without an episode, and he couldn’t wait to show them.

He was going to hug his mom and tell his dad about his plans to open a bbq truck with his friend Beau and they wouldn’t have to worry about him anymore. Because no one knew. No one knew that the reason he DID the drugs and drinking in the first place was because they quieted the voices. He wasn’t just a spoiled party boy who liked to make a scene. He tried telling his dad when he was younger about the people talking to him…and his dad called him a sissy and advised him that the best way to handle a problem was to DEAL with it. Though he never went into detail exactly how one would DEAL with it. And his mom? Well, she was so sweet and frail that any mention that something SHE created was destructive... well that would send her into a ritual of self-flagellation and martyred wailing that it was worse than the voices. The voices telling him to do terrible things. To himself. To others. Seeing awful things happening that weren’t really happening. He never knew when an episode would happen, so it was better to just stay numb all the time. And so, he did.

But that was old Stephen. After too many sleepless nights, trips to rehab, hypnotists, herbalists, yogis, street pharmacists, (hell, you name it, he tried it), Stephen found something he was quite sure put him in the right direction. He tried meditating. He met a girl named Eleana. Though he did not want her stranded in this predicament with them, he sure wished she was there. Her wavy, long brown hair. Soft, caring brown eyes. Her light touches. Snuggles.

“HELLOOOO!?!!? HOW ARE WE GOING TO GET BACK TO LAND!?!!?” Stevie interrupted his self-soothing efforts.

“PLEASE STEVIE YOU’RE NOT HELPING” Norma pleaded.

“DAMNIT! I NEVER SHOULD HAVE TRUSTED YOU. YOU’LL NEVER BE A REAL MAN, AND NOW, THE PEOPLE I ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT HAVE TO SUFFER YOUR STUPIDITY!” Joeseph barked.

“DUDE, YOU PUT ALL OUR ELECTRONICS IN A WATERTIGHT CASE AND THEN LEFT THE CASE ON THE DOCK. YOU ARE THE DUMBEST BIG BROTHER ON THE PLANET”

“I don’t want to die out here.” Norma finally whimpered. Joeseph stood up and walked to where she sat on the captain’s bench. He wrapped his arms around her tiny frame. She sobbed into his chest.

“Look, everyone, it’s not like we’re in the middle of nowhere. We’re in the Atlantic Ocean…somewhere?!!” Stephen tried to console everyone. “This is a major trade route. There must be a tanker, a cruise ship, a fishing boat…something that comes this way?!?”

“Yeah, sure there is, genius, except it’s been 2-days and we haven’t seen so much as a seagull.” His dad still had his sunglasses on, but Steven could feel his gaze piercing through the polarized lenses.

“I’m sorry.” Stephen said, softly.

“You damn right you are.” Joeseph snapped back.

How did they even GET out here? Stephen couldn’t remember where things went wrong. He didn’t even think 2 days had passed. Yet his mother’s skin was obviously sunburned, and the cooler was dry and empty. He looked down at his own hands. The hands of someone who could only destroy. He held them up to his face and passed out.

When he awoke, it was silent. The boat was empty. The sky blue and without answers. The sun looked down at him accusingly. His mouth was parched. His lips cracked. How long had he been out? What happened to everyone? He panicked. Called out. “MOM!!! DAD!!! STEVIE!!!.” GOD he would have given anything to hear that annoying voice of Steven's. He called out for what must have been hours, until the sun set in the sky and the moon took its place high in judgement. Running from one end of the boat to the next. He wanted to cry but it felt like there was no liquid left in his body. He stood on the bow of the boat. Slumped. And a sweet, cool darkness overtook him.

EPILOG:

The search was finally called off after the tiny center console (called “M’Lady”) was found deserted, at sea, approximately 200 miles off the coast of Cape Hatteras. It had been missing for almost a week after departing Jacksonville, Florida. At the press conference, Norma stood between Joeseph and Stevie. She had been crying since Stephen stormed out of the house, delusional, and cursing at everyone. She had asked Joeseph to stop him. Joeseph said he was done chasing Stephen, he would have to get himself out of this one.

The Coast Guard investigation concluded that he had sped off, as far and as fast and as long as he could, in a straight line, until the engine ran out of gas. His phone was found in his car at the dock. There were no notes. No signs of foul play. Also, there was no fishing or boating gear.

The last activity on the phone was a message to the family dog, Eleana, and it simply said “Dear Elena. I’ve got to get away. I’m sorry. I tried.”