Ok @Spookytookims, I think your raft ride could be an episode all of it's own. But like everyone says, do it in your own time . . . in your own way.
I've written a little prelude to Turtle Island first morning, it probably doesn't go right with the story but I'll post it anyhow and hope you like it 🙂
Turtle Islands - the night before
It was a pitch black moonless night when the squall of the storm broke the great ships mast. It sounded like the crack of a giant strike of lightning, shards of wooden splinters flew like bullets in the strong swirling winds. The salt of the sea spray stung whatever skin it touched. Objects were being flung about as if to defy gravity. It was mayham.
There was no way to tell where anyone else was, full chested shouts were instantly swallowed in the din. It was a tropical paradise cruise, but the temperature dropped to artic levels. Then we become submerged, it does not feel like water but liquid ice. A few of us find ourselves clinging to the same chunk of wood, a piece of the bough perhaps.
All our eyes are drawn in the same direction, we can hear something moving in the water, we sense a fin. Numbness stops, as do our hearts, is it a shark. Without light we can not see, but we hear and feel the fin leaping from the water -but not in a attacking manner. A couple of us actually laugh when we hear the Dolphins cackle, but relief lets the chill back in.
What happens next is nothing short of a miracle, a pod of Dolphins surrounds us, gently dipping under each of us and allowing the most wonderful ride we've ever had! We see, what was so easily imagined as lights on the beachline. More relief, so much so, that the chill lessens. But it is not just the relief, the water is warming.
As we get closer to shore we see the lights are very small, party lights, fairy lights, what are these lights? The Dolphins slip away from beneath us when we are close enough for the waves to carry us to the beach, we see them swimming backwards and forwards as if watching and ensuring our safety to the shore.
We are exhausted, both physically and emotionally, is what we're seeing real? There are no lights, but glowing flowers, beautiful glowing white flowers! They have large rounded petals and bright yellow centers, they appear to be growing on vines. There are tiny orange lit fire flies buzzing busily around them. The radiating light revealing a lush, deep green rainforest.
The beach is soft and comfortable, the sand still seems to hold the warmth of the midday sun. It is strangely pleasant, considering what we've just been through; even stranger is the feeling of complete safety, just at this moment we feel like we're exactly where we are suppose to be. This place feels like home 🙂
