The journey had just begun but he was already starting to feel seasick.
What Marcus didn't understand was the fact that his twin brother who resided in England challenged him to cross the Atlantic Ocean just for one meeting. It was ten years to the day since a family tragedy had separated the two on opposite ends of the Ocean.
Marcus even had the correct surname for the occasion: Ocean.
He felt a form of sticky sweat on the back of his neck and on the top of his scalp that made him itch uncontrollably. That morning had been hectic from the get go, having to say goodbye to his dearest American friends including the woman that enchanted him really put a damper on his mood. After all, the reason that he moved to America was simple. To get away from the ghosts and shadows of his past. The boat wasn't brand new, it belonged to one of his American friend's parents who loaned the boat to him with glee. Marcus could even still picture the looks on both of their faces when he was given the keys to the boat engine; bemusement written from ear to ear.
Up above him on the main deck, a flock of seagulls flew past in a collective group squawking as they flew past.
"Don't you dare poop on this boat you bloody birds!" swore Marcus as he turned the steering wheel to keep the boat under control. It hadn't been the first time a bird had come close to him and tried to poop on some items of clothing and precious possessions. He detested birds just as much as his twin brother Howard did.
Nicknamed the Mirror twins when still living together in England, their appearances couldn't be scarier. Howard the older and bolder, Marcus the younger and shyer. Yet since the previous decade, it had all turned into a role reversal.
Marcus casted his mind quickly back to the time when he had to babysit a young family of three kids and made them watch The Parent Trap. It reminded him of the time when trying to pretend to be the other twin wasn't so straight forward.
As he travelled along the ocean's waves and amongst other boats and cruise liners that were heading in various directions of all shapes and sizes, the daytime sun turned into the nighttime stars that adorned the sky like diamonds from an expensive jeweller. Although the warmth had vanished in the clear skies of night, Marcus still found the confidence to walk on the deck without shivering too much. To make sure that the walkway was clear, he moved one of his tall hiker rucksacks out of the way into a small cupboard but in doing so, a large chunky book fell out onto his left foot.
"Ouch! That hurt!" screamed Marcus, "Goddamnit!"
The chunky book had landed front cover up and it faced Marcus who was trying to nurse his foot better.
"What book is that?" he questioned as he gently ran the tips of his fingers past the book spine and across the cover, "I don't think I've ever seen it before. Must have belonged to Howard and I ended up taking it by mistake."
He fished out of his cargo shorts a pocket torch that shone down brightly, Marcus blinked at the sight of the front cover and blew away some particles of dust that must have formed over time. The shield seal in the centre of the leather-bound front cover looked intriguing if not familiar to him.
"On second thoughts, would Howard have owned something like this?" he spoke out loud as the boat now anchored down onto the murky depths below rocked gently side by side. "I'm not too sure."
Before he had time to react, suddenly from out of the blue, an icy cold breeze flew past his right shoulder and towards the leather book and started to swirl over it. Marcus blinked as the swirl started to grow bigger and bigger as dust flew off the side of the leather book and into the murky waters next to it. The book opened onto the first page that showcased a cartoon looking image of a man and a name in black biro. The name was one that Marcus had never forgotten.
William Michael Ocean: Away from the land and out to the sea.
The statement next to William's name was a symbol to single out one fact that had stood true in his life. He hated the rugged landscapes of the English countryside where as a young boy, he had grown up to become a grown-up adult. Children loved to play games of make believe and create fantasy lands and aspire to travel, William had gone to sea to fulfil his dream; Conquering one of the world's biggest oceans. The Atlantic.
"Oh dad," whispered Marcus to himself, "Are you here with me now?"
There was no sound of a voice, only the movement of the pages from the leather book that were caused by the wind swirls. As the pages flew by, Marcus saw hand-drawn images, long pieces of writing, various dates at the top of each entry and various photographs of old ships and modern day boats that had been glued in.
About two-thirds of the way into the book, the wind came to an abrupt halt and rested a double page full of handwriting and a few images on the top corners of both pages. Marcus felt his heart ping with emotion as he read the date and the entry quickly as his speedreading training came into effect.
Monday 4th July 2005
I am getting so close to America, away from the English lands of cattle and farms and into cities like Boston and New York. I miss Howard, the cheeky devil. When I left him in the farmhouse kitchen with the wife and his face was covered in whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles, I couldn't help but not try and contain my laughter. There is one person I don't miss: Marcus. Whoever he is trying to turn into, I've no idea. When I left, all I saw of him was folded arms across his chest and a snarl written on the sides of his face. Maybe he didn't want me to go, but I wanted to go. The wife knows and technically, the children should know. Howard has always been the doppelganger of myself and Marcus? He's just a nobody. A spoilt brat that I've never really cared about. I hope one day, he gets a reality check because of his actions. Believe me as I write in this book, but the devil will get him. I'm sure of it.
At that second, Marcus could hear a scream and after looking around in a frenzy, he discovered that the scream was coming from his own mouth. He felt his eyes cast down at the page of the book that displayed that fateful paragraph. The words from that paragraph started to echo in his ears, repeating constantly over and over in a bid to scare him to the core.
"Please stop!" screamed Marcus as he spat towards the side of the deck with fear and shaking of his legs, "I may not have been the perfect son but I don't understand what I did wrong. This must be a dream, it has to be a dream."
But, his cries of terror were to no avail. The book started to float in the air above him and circle round his body at fast speed, the words still spoke out loud in his ear in the voice of his late father's tone.
"Listen to me!" screamed Marcus at the book, "I will tell you the truth if you stop spinning round me and use hissing words from your pages!"
To his relief, the book crashed down back onto the side and closed shut to silence the words that rumbled from deep within. This was an opportunity to confront the past that he had always tried to forget.
"Howard was the good teen, he was loud, he was jolly and everyone wanted to be his friend. Being Head Boy brought joy to the family, I wasn't even up in the senior prefect team at school. I'd much rather read Charles Dickens in the school library or the boys toilets. People didn't pay a lot of attention to me, I was no-one I suppose." spoke out Marcus as he paced the deck of the boat with fear, "There are so many things that I do regret doing, does Howard really want to see me? I don't know. I've tried to be there for my brother but he left me out, mum understood and what I've just gathered from reading my late father's written words, he never did love me."
The boat rocked through the waves as rain started to pour down with rumbles of thunder in the gloomy grey clouds.
"Listen book, to be honest, I'm glad that I've now discovered the truth behind my father's feelings." smiled Marcus sadly, "I do miss him."
On response to this statement, the book swirled in the air again and shone a reflective image on the top of the stormy waves. The images came thick and fast that Marcus felt it might be too hard to handle. Images of his whole family together in group photos smiling, fights between family members and then, the image of him folding his arms in irony. The last time that he had ever seen his father alive.
"Dad, this may look stupid but are you there?" questioned Marcus, "If you are, I'm sorry for the things that I ever did to upset you."
"That's OK son." spoke a deep voice from behind him. Marcus jumped with half surprise, half fright and came face to face with his late father.
"Ten years dad, it's been a while." trembled Marcus as he tried to stare deep into his father's eyes, "What ever happened to you?"
"A decade ago, I was here on this Ocean. That book," spoke William as he gestured towards the leather book which was placed on the side of the deck, "Was my personal diary that I had kept since I was a young boy. Everything in there belonged to me."
"And the sea journey?" asked Marcus nervously.
"I was haunted by masked outlaws, possibly drug dealers or smugglers. I don't know, they stalked my boat, made it capsize and killed me by throwing me under the boat." replied William as he stroked the side of his face.
"Is there anything you want me to tell Howard?" pointed out Marcus as he stared at the book.
"Of course he wouldn't believe your story that you and I met. The stormy weather was meant to ruin your journey and prepare my arrival. You have a life, you have dreams that I wanted to chase but now, they are yours to follow. I watch over you son and Howard too. Never forget me Marcus." spoke William as his arm reached out towards Marcus.
Marcus extended his arm to meet his dad's, "I won't dad, I promise."
He knew darn well that it was his dad's ghost that I just stood next to him as he could feel nothing of his arm, no muscles or bones. When he looked up again, his dad was gone and so was the book which had landed in the sea with a thumping crash. The night sky once again shone down full of stars like it was before the scary activity had taken place.
"I've learnt a lot tonight, from dad. The father son talk that we very rarely had. Ten years ago on the Atlantic Ocean, he was taken away." thought Marcus to himself.
"Now, it's time to go home." he added.
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