The Last One

by Will Dean

Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change. —MARY SHELLEY, FRANKENSTEIN

Stepping aboard a ship is an act of faith. You place your life in the hands of the captain and crew. You decide, actively or passively, to offer up your autonomy, and oftentimes that decision is not easily reversed.

am not a natural traveler. My instinct is to stay close to home and to surround myself with the familiar. I look on with awe as people like Pete catch flights and trains without a care in the world.

Where there are gaps in our knowledge, we fill them with best-guess theories and philosophies of convenience.”

“Where are they? I never even had a chance to say goodbye. Or to explain what I did.”

“It’s our compromise. She’d like to be married but I’m not ready so right now we’re fiancée and fiancé. We’re committed, in our own way, but we still get to be individuals, you know?”

“Some of them grew into family men, and some grew lonely. Be careful you make the right decision.”

An hour on board the Atlantica is like a month on dry land.

I’m not alone anymore on this ship, but I am excruciatingly lonely.

Take away basic comforts and authority figures and it’s not long before people reveal their true personalities.

“Humans can survive three weeks with no food, three days with no water, three hours with no shelter if it’s cold, three minutes with no hope.”