This story uses the song “From Finner” by Of Monsters And Men. The song used in this story is not mine, please support the official release.

 

From Finner

We came here on his back and we caught your eye.

The world is so vast and beautiful, and I was secluded in my small house on a cliff. Why didn’t I travel before that time? I don’t know. I had always worried about what could go wrong. My head was filled with so many what-ifs, so I had stayed in my small cabin on top of the cliff.

That’s why I became a sailor… okay, maybe I wasn’t a sailor. My definition of sailor is probably different from any other definition. I’m pretty sure a few others wouldn’t exactly call traveling the ocean on a giant turtle with a house mounted on his back “sailing.”

I don’t exactly know how I ended up on that turtle. I had seen a flyer of a man looking for crew-members. I had thought it would be a perfect chance to travel to new places, and escape from my small secluded cabin on the top of the hill.

When I looked the man in the eye, I had thought I made a mistake. The large turtle behind him should’ve been a sign to high-tail it on outta there.

The salty ocean wind made the seagulls cry.

The glare in his eye wasn’t exactly welcoming, but it wasn’t unwelcome either. I had boarded the turtle with no suspicions. Suspicions that I now ask myself like: “Could the man have illegally brought the turtle here?” And of course, the other question that had to come up at some point: “Why was the turtle that big in the first place?”

I had learned to ignore those questions and travel as the seagulls freely flew above me.

“Maybe I should’ve flown instead.”

I mumbled under my breath.

The rocking of his house had me holding on.

The man pulled his so called “anchor” from the bottom of the sea (It was really just a big rock attached to some fishing string), and we were off.

Oh did you think I was alone? No, I was with another bunch of people who had fallen into the same trap I had. The same idiotic delusion of “safe”

As the turtle left, the house rocked. I panicked for a second, and started yelling orders to the other members. Orders that of course wouldn’t keep the house up, but would help it stay up a bit longer. I yelled as if I had power on a giant turtle.

The old man laughed, showing a gold tooth. He gave me a smile, and pointed at the house.

“The turtle will take care of it.”

But I knew that I was safe from there on out.

After the brief moment of panic, knowing that I had left the comfort of my home, the ocean wind got to me. I was doing something nobody else would even dream of doing. I could tell the other crew members thought the same thing. As much as I hated leaving home, the atmosphere around me was amazing.

The old man with the gold tooth explained how he was simply a delivery service. He would deliver for money and items. Our only job was to make sure items got to their destinations on time. The turtle didn’t require any care. He did whatever he wanted according to the man with the gold tooth.

One of the crew members asked. “Will the turtle go underwater?”

And the waves that hit his face marked the past and the furrows on his skin, oh, how time goes fast.

The old man smiled once again as the waves hit the sides of the turtle. His gold tooth showed almost proudly.

“What do ya think that house is for?”

At that point we thought that the man was mad. He was a simple chaotic person. We were all going to die on a turtle that was “adopted” (I still wasn’t sure if the turtle was legal),  by an old man with a gold tooth.

 

The first time the turtle went underwater, the man had pushed us all into the house. We slammed the door shut in hopes that the house would hold up.

I held my breath as the turtle dived, taking the house along with it.  

And we are far far from home but we’re so happy

far from home

all alone but we’re so happy.

The house stayed intact. I looked around to see the bubbles of the ocean outside the window. The house not only stayed up, but had all the oxygen needed. We all stood in shock for a second, and tried to regain ourselves. We were all mesmerized for a mere second of silence, but that went away quickly.

One of the members laughed in what seemed like a quick burst of happiness,  and started looking out all the windows. We all soon joined. I was amazed. Other than a few moved items in the house, nothing was out of place.

I was happy we were on the turtle’s back. Sure, there were better ways to travel, but we had a heck of a story to tell. Stories give a simple sense of happiness. A simple sense that you have done something that nobody else would even dream to do.

 

After every sunny day, came a stormy night. That’s when Finner would say “Keep your heads held high.”

There was preparation for the storm. The storm itself became more than we needed on our first week traveling, but we made it. Thanks to everyone there, we made it. I would travel like this for as long as I could. Enjoying the wind, enjoying meeting new people and hearing new stories.

 

And we are far, far from home, but we’re so happy, far from home, all alone, but we’re so happy.

Far from home, all alone, but we’re so

Happy.

-Kali Herbst