The wind whipped the waves against the battered ship. Inside the ship’s cabin, its lone passenger entertained his drifting mind by remembering the 50 United States and their capitols. Soon his mind became bored, and he turned instead to remembering with pride the glory of his days as the sea’s most knowledgeable man.
It had been the loss of his final trivia quiz that had killed everyone on board. They had met the feared quizzical sea monster and upon her orders, the crew chose one man to trust their lives with.
Now the one man sat alone, soon to die of starvation for the ocean planned never to calm. Slowly he stood up while the pang of hunger struck deep into his abdomen. Hunching over, he slowly moved from the corner bed to the Captains desk, where he took a seat and found a last sheet of paper. Here he began writing about himself, reflecting on his life lived as one nearing death often does.
Memories flew back to him from the distant past, from the days when he and his mother had driven from the coast of California to the Michigan Lakes, just to see the snow. The first time he’d seen snow in his life, they were at a McDonalds, using the restroom and picking up burgers. Outside, white flakes began to fall, and he stared quietly out the window, his mouth open just slightly. His mother dropped the tray of burgers onto the table and grabbed him fiercely, screaming in a high pitch, “Robbie! It’s snowing!” She carried him outside and they spun around with their arms open, extending their tongues to catch the falling flakes.
Robbie’s face grew pale. He put down the pen and stared at the wall, his heart beat growing stronger in his chest and tears brimmed on his eyes. Suddenly he stood up, throwing the chair back, and ran out to the deck. Pummeled by the rain he raised his arms and screamed into the night, “It was a snowflake! The answer to your question was a snowflake!” His scream, although very powerful for a man, was completely lost and forgotten in the noise of the ocean. He dropped onto his knees and let the rain soak him. Then he lifted his chin and extended his tongue.
-Katie
