Sea Stories
It may seem strange, but at that moment, when we were on the edge of the whirlpool, I felt calmer than when we were moving towards it. We went round and round, nearer and nearer to the horrible edge of the whirlpool. Suddenly, we went over the edge. I thought my life was over. But moment after moment passed, and I was still safe. The boat was on the inside of the huge whirlpool and we were going round in circles at great speed. I saw clearly that there were other objects in the whirlpool — trees and barrels. I noticed that the heavier objects went down more quickly than the smaller, lighter ones. So I tied myself to a barrel to help me float. I tried to make my brother understand, but he was terrified and stayed in the heavy boat. Without waiting, I dived into the sea to try and escape.
About three years ago, something terrible happened to me. Those six hours of terror have broken my body and soul. You think I am a very old man ― but I am not. It took less than a single day to change my hair from black to white. One day, my two brothers and I were coming back from the islands, our boat full of fish. All at once, the sky was covered with dark clouds and in less than a minute we were in a terrible storm. An enormous wave covered our boat and my younger brother fell into the sea. Our boat survived, and I was trying to recover when my elder brother put his mouth close to my ear, and screamed out the terrifying word ― Whirlpool! With the wind and waves we were going to in the direction of the whirlpool, the whirlpool, and nothing could save us!
As you can see, I did escape. I will bring my story quickly to a conclusion. Some time after I left the boat, with my brother in it, it sank into the bottom of the whirlpool. Soon afterwards, the whirlpool became less violent. Then the sky was clear, the wind calmer and the moon was shining. I was still tied to the barrel and the waves soon carried me to an area where the other fishermen were. In the end, a boat picked me up. I was very tired. The fishermen were my old friends, but they were unable to recognise me. When I told them my story, they did not believe it. Now I have told you, and I cannot expect you to believe me more than the fishermen did.
(Adapted from A Descent into the Maelstrom by Edgar Allan Poe)