The Storm and the Silence

Once upon a time in the future, when you’re long dead in your grave, two brothers with magical powers meet again in the middle of the Indian Ocean to settle their dispute once and for all with a final duel.

Sam and Mitch are ship captains, just like their father. They own big container ships and spend almost their entire time on the Indian, Atlantic, and Pacific Oceans. Each brother has twenty-two crew members and a magical power. Sam can control the weather, and Mitch can mute whoever or whatever he wants.

As soon as the brothers reach the middle of the Indian Ocean, the battle starts. Sam forms a grey, rainy cloud over his younger brother’s ship, and Mitch silences everyone and everything on his older brother’s vessel. Mitch’s crew have to stay inside and eventually feel gloomy after a few hours; Sam’s crew can hear nothing but their own heartbeats and pulses.

Captain, we cannot hear anything, but we can still text each other. Everyone is going nuts. What’s the order, Captain?
Delivered at 16:23

Chief officer, tell the crew they can now waste their time on Instagram and X guiltlessly. Have fun, guys!
Delivered at 16:26

For three days, nothing happens. Mitch’s crew feel gloomier, crying over the simplest issues, and Sam’s crew spend their time either sleeping or scrolling dating apps up and down.

Captain, why don’t we attack your brother? How long are we supposed to stay here and do nothing?
Delivered at 08:13

Chief officer, please stop texting me. And stop sending requests to follow me on Instagram. Only my close friends can follow me there, and believe me, you’re not one.
Delivered at 08:19

Captain, I didn’t know you’ve got close friends. Now that you don’t let me follow you on Instagram, I’ll unfollow and block you on X.
Delivered at 08:29

Chief officer, I don’t care! Bring me a pineapple pizza right now, or I’ll feed you to the sharks.
Delivered at 08:37

After seven days, three wise leatherback turtles who work as the ocean’s Holy Joes offer a peace plan to Sam and Mitch. Sam immediately rejects it.

“Thank you, turtles! But I must bring my arrogant brother down right here. I cannot forgive him. Never! He unplugged my PlayStation while I was winning my game. Unforgivable. He must pay the price for that.”

Mitch orders his crew to get ready for a surprise attack at midnight. The leatherback turtles return before sunset with a second, improved peace plan. Both brothers reject it.

“We’ll give you a ton of gold and a considerable amount of pearls, Captains,” the turtles suggest.

“Who cares about gold and pearls, turtles? Why don’t you update your info? Humans found planets with abundant resources of gold, diamond, and other valuable stuff a long time ago. Now gold is as valuable as salt,” Mitch shouts at the wise young turtles.

Ten minutes to midnight, when Mitch’s crew are ready to execute their surprise plan, a giant ship approaches them. Their father has arrived. Both siblings hate their evil father.

“I’m here to see some blood! I’m glad you fools haven’t started yet!” the father shouts at his sons with hatred.

Captain, how old is your father? He looks very frightening with that long silver moustache.
Delivered at 23:52

He’s only ninety, chief officer. He IS scary. He’s done so many bad things in his life. Once he threw his garbage into the ocean. So evil.
Delivered at 23:55

At 12:04 AM, Mitch orders his crew to attack Sam’s ship. But within a minute, a bigger ship appears. A pink cruise ship.

“Mom is here?” Mitch murmurs faintly.

“Oh, my dear, so glad to see ya here. Let’s drink and witness our sons slaughter each other. We can finally get rid of them,” the father speaks so loudly that both Sam and Mitch can hear him clearly.

“Honey, would you like to join me in my room? We haven’t been alone for a while,” the mother invites the father.

The father boards the mother’s elegant ship. They enter a luxurious room and lock the door. Everyone can hear some funny noises and shameful screams for about three hours, but they pretend they haven’t heard anything, staring at stars or humming a song.

At 3:00 AM, the parents reappear. The father looks joyful and calm now.

“Your father is going to leave us right away because he’s supposed to meet the Gentoo penguins for lunch tomorrow. Say goodbye to him,” the mother orders.

Sam and Mitch say goodbye to their father reluctantly. The father leaves the battlefield without saying a word but in a cheerful mood.

“Now, you two, come and hug your mother.”

Sam hugs his mother first, and after a few seconds, Mitch joins him. The mother kisses her sons’ foreheads and cheeks.

“Okay, my darlings, jump into the ocean. Your ships and crew are mine. I also take back the magical powers I gave you on your eighteenth birthdays. Jump! Quick!”

Sam and Mitch have no other choice. Control is their mother’s magical power. When she says JUMP, no one can resist it.

The siblings jump into the dark ocean. Their bodies freeze for a few seconds, but soon they get used to it. While trying to keep their balance, they see their ships and crew leaving them for good and vanishing into the darkness. Their gorgeous mother in her gold saree is not even looking at them. She’s busy giving orders to her all-female crew.

“We have prepared our third and final peace plan for you,” the leatherback turtles say eagerly. “Two villas in the Maldives plus two unlimited Netflix subscriptions. Do you agree?”

Sam and Mitch look at each other for a second.

“We agree on one condition. We should also have the latest PS35 with ten games pre-installed.”

The turtles agree instantly and carry Sam and Mitch toward their new home in the Maldives. They chant John Lennon’s song together:

“Mother, you had me but I never had you… I wanted you, you didn’t want me… So I just got to tell you… goodbye, goodbye, goodbye!”