My newest short story

I've started moving away from the novel I want to finish one day. After so long, it's evolved into something almost completely different from my first idea. It feels good to get into something fresh. My newest short story is based on two dreams I've merged together.

The first dream is about a man who stowed away on a ship that was torn apart during a terrible storm. He floats for days, praying for help. After 3 days, he reaches an island made completely of sand. It's a giant plateau that's hundreds of feet above the sea, but the sand doesn't erode away. He grabs on to one of the thick, hairy, rootlike things that hang off the side of the island. He uses all of his remaining strength to climb. His strength starts to wane, and his hands slip. A frog's head emerges from the sand and speaks to him in a deep voice, "Climb," it says. He presses on and finally reaches the top. The roots that fall over the side of the island come from a pond with a huge lily in it.

He is completely alone. He drinks some of the water from the pond and sleeps until the morning. He notices some fruit hanging from the tree that had sheltered him at night, so he takes a few from the branches and begins to explore, feeling strangely refreshed.

The island seems to extend as he walks. He sees a thick mist in the distance. As he gets closer, he sees a city of Alabaster buildings connected by wooden bridges. People who look like sketches peek from windows and hang flowers outside their windows. He starts to cross a bridge, and feels the water below splash him. Two humpback whales are coming up for air right underneath him.

Those are a description of my two dreams put together. It's nothing much yet, but I have to write something about it. So far, I've only written 3 actual paragraphs, but it's evoking some interesting images.