In the vast sea, many vessels sailed. One in particular wasn’t too flashy or sophisticated , but it served only one purpose. To float. A small girl lay asleep all alone on a worn, but sturdy boat. . “Where am I?” she cried when she awoke. She stopped herself. “Steady, only small children get frightened so easily.”

Research note: 71 percent of the earth's surface is covered with water and less than 1 percent of that is freshwater.

She looked around. ”Maybe I’ll find land soon,” she murmured to herself. ”But for now, I seem to be lost.” She did her best to remember anything at all, but nothing came, not even her own name. An immense figure floated towards her. A humpback whale, whose silence intimidated her greatly. The whale disappeared as quickly as it had came. I really am alone, she thought. The isolation was maddening.

Dawn slowly faded to dusk as the sun crossed the west horizon. Hunger gripped her stomach. I’m all alone, she thought, I have nothing. The remnants of her past remained obscured. Blinking back her tears, she looked at the endless ocean. Something white crossed her field of vision. Her eyes focused on a floating object rather too large to be any sort of garbage. No, not an object. It was someone.

Research Note: The Plastic Oceans Foundation estimates that over 8 million tons of plastic is dumped into the ocean annually. With the amount of pollutes increasing rapidly , the future of ocean conservation doesn't look too bright .

As the dark silhouette of an animal floated closer, she realized that what she saw was an older seagull. He was limp and still. Out of concerned curiosity, she leaned forward and scooped the poor creature into her arms. Suddenly, he started coughing violently. Something was lodged in his throat. With an unexpected cool face in the horrifying situation she was in, the girl calmly, but with shuddering gasps of disgust, proceeded to push down 2 fingers on the birds chest to eject the foreign object.

After several minutes of coughing and gagging, the bird finally, hesitantly, peered up at the girl."Y-you saved me," the old bird croaked. "I thought that was a small fish, but instead it was a fragment of hard rubbish that almost took my life." He coughed again, and managed to form words with a painful grimace. "May I ask where you are going?" "It was nothing," the girls slowly replied. WIth some renewed vigor, she continued, "I'm on the search for land, which has so far been remarkably unsuccessful. I think that was plastic you were choking on." The bird seemed to be humble and know a great deal. "May I come along with you?" the beat-up bird questioned hopefully. The girl nodded agreeably. Delighted by the idea of some company she and her new friend traveled the sea.

As they slowly explored the ocean together the scraggly seagull proved his weight in knowledge."Would you like a piece advice?" inquired the old bird. The girl nodded and listened intently. "The reason others don't get along is because they don't understand each other. And it's not that they can't, but they don't just try hard enough. Do you think people would still destroy our only home if they knew what it was like to be smothered in floating garbage?" The girl shook her head and they sailed in silence for the remainder of the day.

Research Note: In the ocean, there is the Great Barrier Reef which is the Earth's largest living structure with an area of about 133,000 miles. It can even be seen from the moon!

By nightfall, the seawater was darker than the night sky itself. An air of lethargic calmness was residing over the boat. A creature's snout broke through the flat surface, causing small ripples through the small waves.. It was a manatee. "Please. You have to help me." he begged. "My family is gone! We were swimming together until a-a large ship came and they were s-sucked into the propeller." lamented the lonely manatee. The sad sentiment reminded the girl with her own loss of family and made her heart twist in grief. Finally, the seagull spoke, breaking the silence."We can't bring your family back, but we can comfort you and give you company." "I'm so sorry," the girl whimpered. They had gained another companion.

Within a few hours the manatee began to talk with a little more ease."I miss my family. Do you think I'll ever find another?" he confided in the small child sleeping near her. The girl rubbed her eyes. She gave the manatee a sad grimace and replied, "I miss mine too. You can't replace family, but you can fill your life with enough people that you love that the pain becomes easier to bear. Either way, you still have us." In spite of himself, the manatee returned the smile. "Where are we going?" he asked. "We're endeavouring to discover land." answered the seagull. "Do you know if there happens to be some nearby?"he continued, hesitating. "I'm afraid not," replied the manatee,"I was too... upset to notice anything of the sort."

Research Note: According to National Geographic, around 70 percent of the oxygen we breath is made by the ocean.

A spurt of water streamed up from beside the boat. The very top of a wrinkly, barnacle-infested back was glistening, barely visible. The humpback "Excuse me! " called the manatee. The mysterious whale was clearly surprised and disappeared into the inky water instantly." "Worth a try," the girl grumbled.

Many exhausting, long nights later, the group grew very fond of each other, but the band did not let their mind slip of their main goal: to find land. "I'll fly around and search to see if any help is nearby." the bird offered, spreading his wings and leaping off the boat. His wingbeats faded as he eventually turned into a dot on the horizon.An hour later, thumping beats of his wings were getting closer to the boat. Perching on the side, he confided, "I found someone. I spied a large turtle, and she's swimming our way." The child tired eyes brightened with hope as she crossed her legs and waited for the turtle to make its way to the rickety boat. The sea turtle almost passed them by when the girl called out, "Wait!" The turtle turned in the water. "I'm sorry, but would you kindly be able to tell where land is?"