A Tug of War | Flash Post 470

And a tussle began between the mighty Indian Ocean and a speedboat!

Tell me more. This could be interesting.

Wasn’t interesting in the least for us, Button, but very very scary. This happened when we took a short break a couple of weeks back and went to Maldives.

I believe the main transportation from airport to island is by speedboat!

Yes. So we were transported from the airport to an island by a speedboat and the ride to the island was calm and inviting. It was on our way back when the tide turned and we felt we were knocking on death’s door.

Why?

It’s monsoon season in the Maldives. With three days to go for our return, the weather turned stormy with the ocean raging with anger. The storm became so frenzied that we felt we’d get blown away when we stepped outside our rooms! We had to think hard before stepping out of our hotel rooms to go and dine at the hotel’s Italian restaurant! We eventually did but it was tough reaching there because of the gusty winds.

How did the next day pan out?

It was the same! Dark, dismal and stormy from the time we woke up with occasional rain and thunder. Trees got uprooted and the ocean roared and bared teeth! With two days left for our return, I’d already started getting anxious about the day of our return and what the weather would be like! I went and stood on the beach to check on speedboats plying on the waters and took a step back because what I saw sent shivers down my spine. They were desperately trying to cut through the choppy waters whilst being tossed around mercilessly!

On the day of our return, the three of us woke up to a sunny morning, looked at each other and beamed. We went and ate a sumptuous breakfast, ate something small for lunch and started packing for our journey back home when, just like that, dark clouds started piling up on the skies bringing with it rain and thunderstorm. We looked at each other’s faces and saw fear. Only fear! We got into a buggy that was sealed from every side to protect us from the rain and storm and transported to the quay where we got into the boat that was already being tossed around furiously. We got thrown around just to get to our seats but had no inkling about what was in store for us!

When did the tug of war between the mighty ocean and the speedboat begin?

From the time we climbed into the boat. It’s an experience that will haunt us for the rest of our lives. We sat there with literally nothing to hold on to except each others hands as the huge rolling waves came and hit against the boat with a force that could have broken it into a million pieces but she held her ground hitting back as hard as she could. It was unrelenting. Much as we tried to concentrate on the television beaming the beauty of ocean life, it was tough when we saw gigantic waves come for us again and again and again. The boat gained some, lost some but rallied on with the sole aim of reaching us to shore.

And she did, despite the odds! Clearly, the speedboat was the winner!