The Search for Immortality

Chapter 1: The Mysterious Visitor
In a small village lived a young man of the age of 29 named Mark. He was a skinny, black haired man. He was a blacksmith at his store "Mark's Smithery". Mark was creating a cutlass when he heard a knock on the door. "Come in!" he yelled. The door creaked open and a man in a dark cloak came inside. "Who are you?" Mark questioned. The man put down his hood to reveal a young face with a brown beard and hair. The man had dark, beady eyes.

"I am here to bring you news," the man said softly. "Your wife is dying in the hospital."

"What? How do I know what you say to me is true?" Mark was doubting that this man was telling the truth. "Well," the man said, "you can see for yourself.

The two men arrived at the hospital. Indeed, Mark's wife Caroline was dying.

"No," Mark said, kneeling by the bed his wife layed on. "Impossible! No!" Mark sobbed. He was devistated. "I can't let this happen!"

"There is a way... to stop this," the man told him. "A fountain. Whomever drinks from the Fountain of Youth, will become immortal." Mark looked at his wife, she was suffering. He couldn't let this happen.

"Where can i find this fountain?" Mark asked.

"The waitress at the 'King's Arm' tavern knows more about this than I. She can take you to where it is,"the man told Mark. Mark walked over to the tavern "King's Arm" to meet this waitress. When he opened the door he immideatley spotted her. She was the only waitress working at this time, as the man told him before he left. As Mark approached the counter, the waitress said, "May I help you?"

"I am Mark, and you must be Anne Seahound."

"Yes," the waitress replied.

"I need information on the Fountain of Youth," Mark said. The waitress looked up at him in surprise.

"Well," she began, "what you seek... it's.... well.... dangerous."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, not the fountain itself, the road to the fountain is the dangerous part."

"How?"

"Well, you see... the only way to get to it is a certain path. And this path isn't the safest path..."

"Will you be willing to take me?" Mark asked. Anne looked at him with a nervous face.

"Go with. . . you? To the Fountain of Youth?" Anne's expression changed from nervous to a mix of excited, nervous, and happy. "I would love to! It's my dream to find the Fountain of Youth!"

"Well, I guess thats good then.," Mark said to her.

"I guess we should get going, and do you have a map?"

"I do!" Anne said and pulled out a small parchment with a map on it.

"Well then, let us go."

Chapter 2: The Road to the Fountain of Youth
Anne was jumping up and down in excitment. Mark got his ship ready to sail. He took a hold of the wheel and started to sail.

"Where to first?" Mark asked.

"Oh, yes," Anne said, calming down a bit. "First we go to the Black Bay. Its a bit far so we can dock at the island to sleep. I found it as I sailed through the bay. The island is actually right in the middle of the bay."

"Well, off we go," Mark said. He too was excited; however, his excitment was at no close degree as Anne's.

"So, why do you seek the Fountain of Youth?" Anne asked.

"My wife. She's dying of an illness. The doctors expect her to live no more than one more month," Mark said. He was becoming sad thinking about it. He was almost even in tears.

"Well, I'm very sorry," Anne said. She too, was almost crying. The ship sailed up to a dark water. Anne and Mark looked down at the water.

"Well, this is it," Anne said. Mark took the ship's steering wheel again and sailed to the nearby island.

Chapter 3: The Black Lagoon
Anne and Mark unpacked their supplies. They set up a camp near a cliff. The island was rocky and had a dirt ground. It was easy to stick the poles of the tent into place. Anne cooked some food she had brought. Mark was finishing unpacking when he took out a picture of Caroline.

"Hey, Anne!" Mark yelled.

"Yeah?" Anne asked

"Im going' down to the beach for a while," Mark told her.

"Okay," Anne said. "I'll call you when dinners ready." Mark walked down to the beach and sat on the soft sand. He looked up at the millions of stars in the sky. He looked back down at the picture of Caroline, when he heard a splash. At first he thought it was just a fish, then he noticed a soft voice in the air. The voice grew louder. It was beautiful. It was irrisistable. The voice stoped, then started again. A figure rose out of the waters. It sang the beutiful song. Her hair was clipped back with a sea flower. A fin was out of the water behind her. It moved in a side-to-side motion. Mark walked toward the woman. He needed to hear the song better. He needed to be closer to the beautiful creature in the waters. She grabed his hand softly, welcoming him to the waters. She kept singing her amazing song as she guided Mark into the dark water. The voice was interupted by a yell. A far away yell. The creature dove into the waters. A blue fin splashed behind her as she left.

"Mark!" Anne yelled. "I called you for supper but you didnt answer so i came to- What on Earth! What are you doing! You'r soaked!"

Mark didn't even realize he was halfway in the water.