A Storm

The ship's sails billowed wildly, and the captain struggles to stabilize the ship. The sailors ran helter-skelter, and I sat cowering in the cabin, with my mother and sister, hoping and praying that Father could bring us back to safety. 

I remember that day very vividly, the scene forever etched in my mind. The sea was calm, and the wind a pleasant breeze. The air fresh with new hopes of adventure, the seagulls' shrieks in the distance... My family boarded the Maiden, on her first voyage. My father, fully adorned in his glorious uniform, swaggered towards the steering wheel, and the sailors saluted him. Smiling at our bright and beaming faces, Father yelled at the king that he could set the boat free from the rope, off the pier, and into the horizon, towards Africa from our Great Britain. It was a bright afternoon, the sun shining brilliantly, on the dreadful day of 12 June 1456.

My sister called me towards the cabin of the large cargo ship.the one specially reserved for us. Just as we heard the click of the lock of the wooden door, omnimous clouds gathered; the window betrayed it all. The door was flung open, and the captain with his wife stepped in. "Julianna," my father said urgently to my mother, "Take good care of Lisa and Mischa... I have never encounted such a ferocious one before... In case I perish, I want you to know that I love you..." He embraced my mother, tears trickling down his face, and as I watched, he came toawrds Lisa and I, giving us a big bear hug. He walked out of the door, shutting it tight as he went.

The ship rocked wildly, and the sailors yelled at the top of their lungs, frightened out of their wits. We could see everything through the cabin's window, the one nearest the door. Father commanded his soldiers of the sea to control the billowing sails. Not wanting to defy the experienced captain, they rushed up the poles to close the heavy cloth. But, they were flung off into the deep blue, never to be seen again. Others escaped by using the lifeboats, betraying their loyalty to the great captain.

The ships billowed wildly and Father fought to steer the ship to safety. The rest that had stayed behind pulled the mast and shut it, but when they did not watch their surroundings, a colossal wave knocked them into the gaping mouth of the sea, and the beast ate them without mercy. Soon, my father was tearing in his eyes, the salty sprays stinging them. The storm was then directly overhead, and lightning struck the boat in half, throwing us into the sea. We took a few floating boards with us, but Mother wanted to let go when she saw her beloved husband go in a flash of light. The burnt corpse twitched everywhere, and she let the blue beast take one more in its deathly grip.

We made it to shore, eventually, back to Great Britain. They fished us out, and we had to relive the painful experience when we told the king what had happened. We were scared, and our lives turned out for the worst.

Lisa had long been killed by the overload of slavery work, but here I bequeath my most painful loss, the pillar of my life vanquished, and I watch without much emotion as the clouds gather in the sky out in the azure, as I am now only a slave without the rights to relax... My master always calls me awake with the others from our sleepless slumber in the night...

I miss my family badly.

I did this a few months ago for an exam paper. I got 25/30 and a class teacher photocopied it to give her class an example of a "model essay". That's nonsense. This isn't anywhere near "model essay" material. It isn't that good.