Skip to main content

'X-FILES'

 

The yacht, brand new, bobbed in the pale gray waters where it was moored. Freshly painted in chrome, the Contessa was going on her maiden journey today with a family of three. Alan Barlow had purchased this beauty for a few million and before holding a party aboard, wanted to take his wife Ana and seven year old daughter to the middle of the sea to show them dolphins and seals. Family getaway. Or was it his guilt for not giving them quality time in the race for raking in the moolah and to stay on top of the Forbes list?

The press was all over the place and that was all that mattered to Alan. Publicity! Glamour, glitz, ambition, millions…billions!

The Barlow family posed on the pier for photographs with the gleaming yacht in the background. Ana’s white, flowing summer dress billowed in the soft breeze and her chestnut hair shone with streaks of gold like a halo against the sun making a slow, shy appearance. 

Rosamund had an excited look on her face and was restless to embark. Her father had promised her some stunning pictures of the sky at dawn and they would miss it if they didn't set out soon.

After a final wave at a huge crowd who had come to see them off, the Contessa set sail gliding across the shimmering Atlantic. A few miles into the journey, the sky had put on a surreal show of floating clouds and stunning streaks of colors. The Barlows gazed heaven wards, mesmerized. There was a nip in the air, and Ana pulled her mink shawl closer.

The water surrounding them sparkled silver and gold endlessly into the distance. Ana looked uneasy and darted a wary look at Alan. He seemed unperturbed and was engrossed in clicking pictures of the unusual scene unfolding in front of him. Rosamund dashed to the railing and peeked at the dolphins swimming alongside the yacht. 

A few excited moments of monologues with the adorable sea creatures, she came back dazed and tugged at her mother's sleeve. A concerned Ana couldn't nudge an answer out of Rosamund. 

The boat jerked and bobbed roughly for a couple of minutes. The dolphins and seals drifted away as though fleeing. And just as soon as it had started a painted performance, the sky decided it was curtain down. A thin gauze of pearly white laminated the horizon with puffs of pewter clouds. The weather forecast had said sunny and clear skies. 

Alan reached for the radio but there was a queer buzzing sound and all the dials were spinning haywire. The horizon disappeared as mists swirled around the yacht spreading their tentacles around the sails, ripping it. 

The yacht rocked mercilessly making Ana and Rosamund screech. There was no other ship or sea vessel in sight. Come to think of it, there weren't any when they set sail. What was happening?!

The mists grew livid and swelled into a fog enveloping them, smothering them. Dark pewter clouds billowed in the sky and the sun was just a memory.

The yacht was going down in a whirlpool or was it a whirlwind? Were they being sucked in by the sky or the sea? Disoriented, lost and helpless, Rosamund finally blurted out that a dolphin had spoken to her. In human language. Both Alan and Ana glared at her as this was no time for jokes.

But Rosamund was adamant and told them that the dolphin had warned her to turn the yacht around to where they came from. This was no place to be. It only looks alluring at first but they had inadvertently entered a portal into the Bermuda Triangle.

Shell-shocked, Alan and Ana could only gape as darkness shrouded them.

****

Divers searched for them at the bottom of the deep waters for some accidental death but no success. The Contessa had disappeared without a trace along with the Barlow family!

©️ Sangeetha Kamath 

Pic Courtesy Image by hang Anna from Pixabay

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

GROWN, FLOWN AND HOME ALONE!

      GROWN, FLOWN AND HOME ALONE! The scent of sweet spring is here! Buds and blooms add dashes of color as the grayscale backdrop bids farewell. While the hush of icy twilights were a sweet lullaby and hazy halos of the winter moon sparkled away, our tender snuggles under the downy, weighted quilts were cozy and warm spaces. Dreams floated in and out—whispering their nostalgia and wistfulness. They hummed a timeless tune of a sacred and cherished bonding of a mother and her cub. The sunlight shone a pale peach behind my closed eyelids before they fluttered open to a bright eve of a spring dawn. The rush of warm breeze rustling the pendulous Silver Anne pothos, heady fragrances wafting from rosemary sprigs and the calming lavender stalks roused the lethargic bear in me from my hibernation.  A well deserved wintering later, life is once again a delectable stew bubbling away. Of a different flavor this time.  **** My den these days is a no sound zone. All day. Un...

ANAM CARA

The waves are soft and frothy. Laced with gossamer frills tenderly kissing the tips of my toes covered with the grainy sand of the rugged seashore where I'm sitting, wistful. A gust of briny breeze tousles my hair as I gaze as far as my eyes can see.  A flock of terns wheel overhead, their sharp, shrill cries punctuating the air as they dive and swoop over the surfs. A lone frigate bird, its crimson belly dazzling like a jewel skims majestically above, its long, slender wings outstretched as it rides the thermals high above the ocean. I absorb the sights and sounds of the late afternoon while absentmindedly scooping seashells beside me. As the afternoon phases, the furthest rim of the ocean is fringed in a gilded hem and the sleepy sun yawns, its dipping glow streaking the sky in a mellow tangerine and warm cherry. As I continue sitting there, the ships and yachts appear --specks of light from the portholes glimmering in the distance, reminding me of the phrase “That ship has saile...

A-Z Blogging Challenge Theme Reveal

Hey everyone! April is almost upon us and it reminds me of my childhood summer vacations, visiting my cousins in different cities, playing with them and watching movies late into the nights, brunches, more outdoor skips and hops and when the boiling sun drove us indoors, how the tangy, icy lemonade pitchers awaited us.  April is also about April showers, new beginnings and of late —the month of blogging! I'm excited to announce that I'll be participating in the A-Z April Blogger Challenge, starting on April 1st! This challenge is all about pushing myself to create new content, connect with fellow bloggers, and have immense fun while doing it. Throughout the month, I'll be posting daily(except on Sundays) on a variety of topics, ranging from personal reflections to mixed random bags of thoughts especially bordering on memoirs and non fiction. That's something I excel in apart from writing fantasy and the paranormal.  2025 will see my blog Sanguine Allegory bustling with ...

BOKETTO

  In my quiet moments, I pause the world from its frantic pace. In that stillness, I wistfully gaze into the distance and just let things unfurl as they please. I let my thoughts flow, absorbing nothing. Internalizing nothing. And just like that, the strands of tightly woven twine untangle and the knots come loose. Today, as usual, I found myself caught up in the hustle and bustle of daily grind. I was rushing to get things done, stressing about deadlines, and feeling overwhelmed by the sheer amount of tasks on my to-do list. But then, I took a deliberate pause. With a deep breath, I stretched, stepped away from my desk, and walked out onto my balcony. Leaning on the railing, I looked down at the familiar lanes of my neighborhood, twirling around the corners behind the blocks of apartments.  The park and playground stood deserted at noon amid the cluster of flowering trees and surrounded by the hedges lining the curbs. I gazed at the sky, feeling the warm sun on my face and ...

THE WISE OLD OWL

The taxidermied owl was perched on the mantle piece, it's shiny, wise gaze fixated on her. Kim had an unsettling feeling with this sinister showpiece everytime she visited Cunningham Manor. She sat opposite Keith, going over all the details again and asking more questions.  The investigation had drained both of them with no solution on end. It had been months. Audrey Cunningham had disappeared without a trace.. “I'm afraid we've done the best we could. We will be archiving this into the Cold Case Files in a couple of days”,sighed Kim. Out of nowhere, a sudden gust of wind knocked the owl off the mantelpiece. It dropped near Kim’s foot with a loud thud. A key neatly hidden key under it's talon was exposed. HELP and MUSIC BOX were etched weakly on it. **** “Mr. Cunningham! I need to see the Music Box right now”, Kim said with an authority as she radioed the team outside.  It held a secret compartment in which a handwritten letter by Audrey said that her life was in danger...