Turtle
A humming tune fills your senses, the gentle swaying of you falling continues to push you farther into your sleep. You can’t help but focus on the humming tune, which conversely begins to jolt you awake. “What happened?” you think to yourself, head throbbing, you bring up your hand to touch your cold clammy forehead. In a moment your experience floods back into your memory like a wave. You sit bolt upright in a quick panic, you gasp for air.
“Hold up there son!” You feel another wet clammy hand press down on your chest, trying to restrain you, the rocking intensifies. You begin to calm down before realizing that you’re no longer in the bathroom you were standing in a moment before. “Calm down now, o’else ya tip the boat.”
“Boat?” you repeat quietly, placing your webbed hands solidly on the wood frame of the boat. You look around to see yourself sitting in a small swaying boat on a thick river. The olive green water is covered with a more saturated bright green color of algae spread thinly on for miles. Farther than you can see, you look to the stranger in this boat with you. His long wrinkly neck extending towards you, eyes squinting to meet you. You immediately realize that you’re in a boat on a river, with a turtle. He slowly extends his hand.
“I’m Carter.” The old turtle’s hands shake as he waits for you to grasp his bony fingers.
“Nice to meet you.” You reply suspiciously.
“I found ye here floatin in the river, so’s I pick ye up, an I’ll be takin ye to my lil village.” you look him over once again.
“Village?” You ask questioningly.
“Wow a wordy one aren’t ye? Like askin questions yes? Well hold tight an you’ll be gettin
an answer fa all’ye questions.
“Talkative?” you think to yourself this time, taken aback by the fact that you’ve only said a handful of words. You take another moment to examine your surroundings and relax, the boat’s rocking now beginning to cease. Your hands reach for the side of the boat as you peer over the edge of it, looking at your slinky salamander face, eyes blinking in surprise. “I’m a lizard?” You continue to yourself.
“Hey there, yer actin kinda odd son. You gonna be okay?” Your distraction and awe cut short by the slow monotoned inquiry from your fellow creature.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” You almost stumble as you reply, “Just excited to see your house.
“Well I’ll be damned!” He says while wrapping a wrinkly arm around you. “Been a long time since we had visitors, much less one as excited as y’all!” You feel slightly discomforted by his hospitality. Where is he really taking you? Why is he being so nice?
“He could have let me die there, what about me is so special to him.” your mind almost
completely thinking for you. You sit in silence and listen to the wind rustling through the trees as the two of you slowly make your way down the winding river. Never knowing what lurks just below this murky swamp water.
Written by Driftingdragon on 26 November 2019
