I was aimlessly staring into the sea when I was suddenly jolted back to reality by a thought that had slipped my mind. "Hey, the map!" I exclaimed, reaching out eagerly for the crumpled piece of paper that was laid out on the hull.

Tavin joined me moving closer to inspect the map. "Oh, I completely forgot about it," he admitted sheepishly, his eyes scanning the markings on the paper. "Let me get the flashlight." After searching for the flashlight from our survival kit, we flashed it onto the map.

The map was limited only to the vast expanse of the Atlantic Ocean. On the right side, the familiar outlines of the European continent were displayed, followed by a scattering of islands.

I took the rusty compass and placed it on top of the map. It pointed its arrow in the North direction and I let out a sigh, "What we are doing right is not accurate, but this is better than nothing. According to this compass...hmm, I think we are heading North right now?"

Tavin stood up and began to experiment with the compass, trying it out from various positions on the boat to ensure its accuracy. "If we are, we might as well reach the Artic, well, our dead bodies might just. So, we have to travel to the East, right?" I wondered out loud, trying to balance myself as Tavin wobbled the boat with his restless experimenting with the compass.

"Yeah, I think so," Tavin said, his gray eyes squinting at the compass once again. "Well, we will just have to trust our instincts rather than sitting around."

"I just hope we don't come across The Efate and Malden Islands who are at war right now," I told Tavin worriedly and he hummed, "Well, I don't think they are in the East. I believe those Islands might be a little towards the South."

"That's good then," I sighed in relief, assured by Tavin's firm words.

Tavin took a seat and grabbed the handles of both the oars. He gave out a whistle in awe as he tested them out, "You are amazing, Candace. You got on their boat and stole all of their possessions, and even used these heavy oars to get our boat away from them. That was brave and cool."

"It-it was nothing. I had to do what I had to do within that short time," I stuttered, casually hiding my face behind the map that I was inspecting.

"That is why what you did was amazing. These oars? They are so damn heavy. Kudos to you, Candy. Even after being that exhausted, you got this boat away despite never having used oars before," he praised, trying to push the oars against the water.

"Well, I guess the 'hunger for survival' can do that to you. You also took on two men who were both twice your size."

"'Hunger for survival', huh?" he murmured to himself. "That desperate desire to stay alive really does make you do crazy things."

I was ready to move that past encounter once and for all as I took the compass from Tavin. "You row and I'll check the compass."

"Sure," he agreed and set to work. He groaned as he pushed and pulled the oars, and soon enough, he got the hang of it and the boat began to propel slowly across the vast expanse of the sea. Occasionally, he paused to massage his arms and catch his breath. I offered to take over, but he declined, arguing that this was a good opportunity to make up for all the exercise he had missed.

The day had drawn to a close, and a cloak of darkness shrouded us, signaling the arrival of night. Tavin took a break from rowing and shined the flashlight on the compass to check if we were still heading toward the East. When he saw that we were, he rested his body against the boat with a tired sigh.

The moon had emerged in the endless black sky, casting its ethereal glow across it and illuminating the world below.

And the stars.

I love watching the stars.

The stars that were scattered in the sky resembled tiny jewels in an inky void. They twinkled brightly and a sense of contentment washed over me, and I released a soft, content sigh. If I could paint anything in the world, then the one thing I found difficult to paint was the stars.

Despite my never-ending love for painting, there was one thing I found exceptionally challenging to capture on canvas - stars. I could capture the sun or moon just well, but the little stars; their shine and sparkle, the way they twinklingly wink back at us- I could never successfully paint them, no matter how much I attempted to replicate their radiance. I was always left disappointed with my outcome, nothing able to kindle my satisfaction.

For this very reason, I was enamored with the stars. I loved gazing at the stars and studying them, wanting to uncover some fresh, undiscovered aspect with each passing night that I could add to my infinite collection of failed paintings of the stars.

"I can't see you clearly in the darkness, but I can sense your intense focus on the sky."

I shifted my gaze to the right and distinguished Tavin's outline that was leaning against the boat's edge.

"First the sunset, now the night sky, huh? Well, the sky IS looking exceptionally ethereal right now. Look at all those countless stars!"

"Let me guess, this is also the first time you've stopped to watch a night sky 'properly'?" I asked dryly making Tavin give out a guilty chuckle.

"You got that right."

"Boy, am I glad that you are getting a taste of real life instead of the rich one," I muttered before quickly correcting myself. "I mean, not that you deserve what happened! Nobody deserves what happened to us! I wouldn't wish this upon even my worst enemy!"

Tavin let out a sardonic laugh. "You are not wrong, though. I AM getting a taste of real life. Can't wait to see what lies ahead for us," he said sarcastically.

"We are a team now," I grinned his way even though he couldn't see me, "I like to believe that we've grown closer and I trust you. If anything is bothering you, you can confide in me and vent it all out."

"Thanks, Candace. That means a lot. You could do the same, just so you know. Man, I feel like I could get a good night's sleep today!"

"Really? That's great, Tavin. You deserve a peaceful sleep finally," I said gently, looking back at the twinkling stars.

Tavin took a while to reply, "What's with that tone?"

"Hmm?" I squinted my eyes at his figure wondering what was wrong.

"You...you heard me, didn't you? At night?"

My muscles tensed up and my body became rigid as the cold breeze filled the tense silence.

Tavin sighed after a few minutes, "Damn, just when I thought I'm becoming more and more masculine around you, something HAS to happen that makes you question it."

I couldn't help the laughs that sputtered out of me, "I don't question your manliness, Tavin. I think crying and not restricting yourself is manly. You are plenty manly."

"Plenty manly? What's that?" he chuckled and he flashed the flashlight at me, momentarily blinding me. "Damnit, I might as well give up and unravel my whole self in front of you, not to say, you've literally done that." It took me a moment to understand the underlying meaning behind his latter sentence, his suggestive tone and wiggling eyebrows hinting at how I had stripped him down to his boxers.

"Cut it out!" I retorted at him with a scowl but then I joined in on his laughter.

Tavin let out a content sigh after he came down from his high, "I really am glad that it was you I was stuck with though."

I tilted my chin up, giving a prideful huff, "Of course, you should be grateful you were stuck with someone as sensible as me. Other girls might just kill your chance at survival by trying to get into your pants even while you are stranded."

"I cannot deny that it is true. As much as I can't help it that I'm attractive, I would do better alone, surviving myself."

"I'll swear I'll drown myself if you continue to flaunt yourself," I warned, adjusting my body and preparing to sleep with my blanket. After a week of sleeping in the boat's hull, my body has adapted and found a less uncomfortable sleeping position.

"You're no fun," I heard him complain and ruffle around, probably getting ready to sleep too.

After laying down, we were left to gaze at the hauntingly beautiful night sky, our breathing the only sound to be heard. In this pitch-black void, the stars were the only objects visible to us. Imagine being on a boat with an endless expanse of the ocean around you, with the stars and the silent breeze only to keep you company. It was comforting and healing at the same time.

"Good night, Candace."

I smiled to myself, "Good night, Tavin."

° ° °

I woke up with a deep groan, yawning and stretching my limbs to my fullest contentment.

Cheers to us! We've survived another week of being stranded at sea. What will await us today?

I sat up groggily, rubbed my eyes, and gazed at the blue waves drifting past me. Tavin was still sound asleep, which made me smile. It seemed like he had slept well, as he was usually the one to wake up before me. With another yawn, I grabbed a bottle of water and my makeshift plastic cup to quench my thirst and rinse my mouth before looking back at the sea.

Wait... blue waves were drifting past me...?

My sleepiness was gone in an instant as I became more aware of my surroundings. A sound of a motor, the wind pelting coarsely onto my face, the waves passing by me at a distance, our boat moving about at an alarming rate...

With my heart in my mouth, my eyes followed the rope tied around the bollard of our boat...

... to another boat that was towing us and pulling our boat along the waves.