House on the Rock JournalsBy Andrew Kersh
staring out toward the distant shoreline, i watched as the waves crashed just below me. The sky was a light blue today and I could hear the birds flying overhead. Occasionally they would dive for fish and then return to the sky, breakfast in hand, or talon I suppose. If I stared hard enough I could even occasionally see an animal emerge from the forest on the far shore. Like a lazy bird, i stood, smoking a cigarette as my house rocked slightly in the breeze. Looking down at the small rock the house had been built I recalled my old sunday school teachers preaching about how you should always build your house on a rock and not sand lest it be swept away. Pretty sure this is not what they meant. As I continued my surveillance of the area around my house, I noticed a small wooden row boat pass by. It looked like it would fall apart any minute. Inside sat two men, the one sitting in the back of the boat and rowing wore all black and had a bored look on his face. The man in the front lacked a definite shape. Like a fog, he seemed to swirl around and shift how he looked. It was hard to say what he actually looked like, but he was holding an arm out vigilantly in one direction. While the man in black rowed. Watching, i waved at the pair but they seemed not to notice me as they rowed on toward the far shore. Straightening from my position leaning on the railing of my porch, i threw my cigarette butt into the water and watched as it was carried away by the tide. Calmly i walked back into my house through the open door and stared at the inside of my cramped little abode. Being only one room, the inside of the house looked as though it had been crushed and jammed into the mold of a cube. The kitchen was mashed with the living room, with the dining room, with the bathroom. As a result the bath was in the corner next to the sink which was the same sink I used in the kitchen. The table I ate at was just behind the couch where I sat and stared out the window when I didn’t feel like going outside, the same couch that I slept on. Sitting down on my old couch, I stared out the window across from it while I contemplated life. |
By Sarah Lewis
The breeze blowing against my face, the water burning the cuts that cover me. Birds in the trees ashore chirping. 16 days. 16 days I’ve been stuck here on this rock with a shelter to protect me. I am running out of food to eat and water to drink. Thankfully none of the animals on shore can reach me otherwise I would have no food and would be dead by now. I climb up the stairs of my porch and chalk another tally onto the splintered wooden door. The radio is buzzing on the kitchen counter and I’m awaiting to hear something else besides static; It’ll never happen. The sun lowers into the earth and I’m left in the darkness shivering. As I start to doze off I begin to dream. I’m sitting in a lawn chair reading a book basking under the sun. Mom’s inside making lemonade and Dad’s grilling BBQ for dinner. I hear my dad yelling but it’s all mumbles; I can’t make out what he’s saying. Suddenly an enormous wave of water tackles me and my arm becomes entangled in the lawn chair. I wake up sweating and crying. I’ve been having flashbacks in my dreams of that day. I get up and stumble to my notes that I have laid out on the table. I begin to study all my calculations. All my science classes have paid off but not in the way I was hoping for; I’ll find a way out of this place. By Abby Kozinski
It had seemed like a great idea at the time, but now Jeremy thought it was time to reevaluate everything. Looking out from his window, he sees nothing but water and nature.. Although the nature comes after the water. Basically, he’s stranded. When he had built the house he had done it for he and his girlfriend at the time to live in, however, Jeremy cannot see the future and didn’t know they would break up a week before it was done. Another fact that was unknown to poor Jeremy was that building a house on a rock in the middle of a river was a terrible idea. Flood insurance was an absolute essential, but, considering all the circumstances, he was being charged through the roof for it, and that’s just the beginning of his problems. No one can get out to his house to fix anything, and as far as handiness goes, well, Jeremy is certainly no mechanic. If his heating or plumbing breaks he just kind of has to fumble around until he figures it out or, usually, gets lucky and the problem fixes itself. In order to get back to the mainland, it’s a half a mile of rowing (which is really hard work) and then another two mile hike to the main road which is where he can call a cab which he then has to pay for. His cell phone won’t work until he gets to some of the main roads because, like a dumbass, he lives in the middle of a river in the middle of nowhere. It’ll be so romantic! It’ll be so fun! Just me and her in the wilderness! It’ll be like a camping trip! Well, she’s gone and now Jeremy is out a LOT of money and always sweaty due to the rowing and hiking. Does he recognize it was a mistake? Yes. Does he live with regret? Also yes. |