Tag: loneliness

• September 24, 2025

  Chapter 22: Cairo

  Part 72: Where All Journeys Grow Chapter 22: Cairo V2.0 – 10/09/2025 I’ve heard my whole life practically about the effects of captivity on people, what they call ‘Stockholm syndrome’, but to experience it for oneself seems wholly different. During the weeks I had spent aboard this ship as a prisoner, I had been treated…
• September 22, 2025

  Chapter 21: Sold

  Part 72: Where All Journeys Grow Chapter 21: Sold V2.0 – 10/09/2025 Marcus introduced me to all fourteen of my fellow prisoners. They were all from various countries in both North and South America; two were Canadian, a husband and his wife, three were from the U.S.A. like myself, they were college students taken while…
• September 20, 2025

  Chapter 20: Osiris

  Part 72: Where All Journeys Grow Chapter 20: Osiris V2.0 – 10/08/2025 I drifted in darkness, bobbing up and down on the rolling waves of the ocean. The only sound I heard was the lapping of the waves against the scattered floating debris that surrounded me. Strangely, though being drenched from head to foot, I…
• September 19, 2025

  Chapter 19: Shipwreck

  Part 72: Where All Journeys Grow Chapter 19: Shipwreck V2.0 – 10/08/2025 I had a distinct sensation of floating. I opened my eyes slowly and saw nothing but stars against a pitch-black sky. My entire body erupted in pain. I felt as if I had been slammed against a wall. Dizziness threatened me and I…
• September 18, 2025

  Chapter 18: Assault

  Part 72: Where All Journeys Grow Chapter 18: Assault V2.0 – 10/08/2025 Over the next few days, most of the crew regarded me with suspicion and kept their distance from me. No one, save Juan, spoke to me. I felt more alone than I had ever felt before in my life. The spiritual world around…
• September 17, 2025

  Chapter 17: Healing

  Part 72: Where All Journeys Grow Chapter 17: Healing V2.0 – 10/07/2025 I woke the next morning ready for the day’s work. I ate in the mess hall and then went about my morning cleaning duties. I soon found myself scrubbing the aft deck near the main bridge of the huge ship. I splashed the…
• September 16, 2025

  Chapter 16: Deckhand

  Part 72: Where All Journeys Grow Chapter 16: Deckhand V2.0 – 10/07/2025 I woke into darkness from a deep sleep. I reached for my phone and found it. Activating the phone illuminated the small room that swayed back and forth, creaking eerily. My phone told me that it was ten minutes until 4am. I lay…
• September 15, 2025

  Chapter 15: Selections

  Part 72: Where All Journeys Grow Chapter 15: Selections V2.0 – 10/07/2025 The door to the main office swung open and a grumpy old woman with a lit cigarette hanging from one side of her mouth peered out at us. She looked us both up and down and waved us in with a grunt. My…
• September 13, 2025

  Chapter 14: Port

  Part 72: Where All Journeys Grow Chapter 14: Port V2.0 – 10/06/2025 I opened my eyes again and blinked them against the bright sunlight pouring through the cracks of the window curtains. I pushed back the covers and sat up in the hotel bed. Another day had found me. I took a deep breath and…
• September 12, 2025

  Chapter 13: Confrontations

  Part 72: Where All Journeys Grow Chapter 13: Confrontations V2.0 – 10/06/2025 I awoke to the dim light of the streetlamps outside filtering past the curtains that draped the windows of the hotel room. I lay still listening to the sounds of the hotel around me. Everything was quiet. I glanced at the digital clock…