Jackelyn Parrish

Mrs. Fisher
English 4
May 7, 2013
Lost in Atlantis
Lets go! Come on, Elizabeth! The ship is about to leave! my sister, Lucy, frantically
screams as she drags me to the vessel. Her frantic screams should have been filled with
excitement, but due to recent events they were not. This ship was about to set sail to Greece
(Childress); a place I have always dreamed of traveling to but under different circumstances.
People always dream of being famous, but not because of the death of their father. Lucy
and I are the daughters of Mark Mathis, a renowned scientist. At the time of his death he was
searching for the exact location of the fountain of youth. According to what he had told us he
was extremely close to discovering where it is. Most people do not realize the danger of
searching for places like this. They may think of the danger of exploring it, but never touch upon
the danger of other people who want what these places have to offer. My father became a victim
of these ruthless, greedy people.
Why do my sister and I have to flee to Greece? Not only was our father murdered, but he
was done so right in front of us. We were able to escape and later identify his killers. This
however, means that we must enter the witness protection program and relocate to Greece.

I keep trying to picture it; clear, endless water, blue skies, warm sunlight on my skin, and
the smell of freedom and peace. Images of my father being killed always seep in and jerk me
back into reality; I think I may never feel safe again.
Haley was my sisters name, but now it is Lucy. The name to me represents innocence
and light, which fits her well. She has always been the positive one of the two of us. She always
sees the good. Our fathers death has been extremely hard on her. I feel like she tends to block
out what happened rather than deal with it and overcome it.
The shrieking of the wind brings me out of my thoughts and back into the present. The
boat isnt swaying steadily with the oceans waves anymore, but has become a hard rocking in all
different directions. The deck hands are rushing back and forth securing ropes and such. I notice
then the constant streaks of lightning that are allowing me to see all of this.
My clothes are soaked, but more alarming than that is the presence of my sister, or lack
thereof. I frantically call her name as I run around the deck. I search the cabins and all the places
I can think of as this storm becomes fiercer. The storm is raging on and my fear seems to be
engulfing me.
Lucy! Lucy, where are you? I scream at the top of my lungs. My voice is beginning to
give out on me. I feel like falling to the ground in a crumpled up mess, but I must not give up. I
have to find her. This storm is not giving up and neither will I. As I regain my courage I round
the corner into the dining area and see my sister bent over one of the waste bins. Relief floods
over me like the water flooding onto this ship. I want to grab her and shake her, but instead I
hold her hair back as she hurls from the rocking movement of the boat.
Elizabeth, whats happening? she weakly asks.

Its just a storm, I reply softly as I try to lead her to a safer, more secure spot. As we are
a walking I manage to grab one of the men rushing by to ask where we need to be. He gruffly
and hurriedly tells me to go to my cabin so I lead Lucy in that direction. We must go onto the
deck to get to the stairwell in order to descend the stairs to our cabin. We rush into the torrent of
rain, but to our dismay are stopped in our tracks.
When we were younger Lucy and I loved to watch Disney movies; my favorite being The
Little Mermaid. I always wished I could be a mermaid and live under the sea. It seemed as if
today would be the day I got that wish except that I may not live beneath it, but die. I watched in
horror as a huge wave rose up and crashed over the boat sending people flailing overboard.
Even if you werent tossed overboard you didnt have much hope for there were waves
upon waves crashing over the boat and it seemed as if the boat was one wave from toppling over
and sinking to the bottom of this vast ocean. I gripped Lucys hand with all I had and as another
wave crashed over the boat looked into the eyes of my sister for what I thought would be the last
time.
Sissy, over here! my sister yells with excitement. Look! Its a jellyfish. Isnt it pretty?
she asks with a childlike wonder. Her long blonde hair falling in tangles down her back with the
sunlight bouncing off made her youth shine through even brighter. They say ignorance is bliss
and at that age it truly is. All Haley saw was a jellyfish, but I saw it for what it could do. With
just one touch of its stinging tentacles you could be killed. I guided her away to a safer view of
the ocean. After building sandcastles and playing in the ocean all day we wandered over to
where our parents sat in lawn chairs, relaxing. The sun began to fade into the horizon as my
family sat and watched; we didnt know that would be the last time we were all together.

I slowly lift my eyelids; they feel as if they weigh a ton. All I can see is water above my
head and all I can think is how breathtaking it is. Then it hits me; how am I not drowning beneath
this water? It is as if there is this dome of water above me, but that is impossible. I am slowly
coming to the conclusion that this must be Heaven. It is the only possible explanation.
With great pain I turn my head to the side and see the body of Lucy laying next me. Panic
rises within me as I see that she is motionless. I reach out to her just as she begins to cough up
the water that had filled her lungs. Then another thought occurs to me; if I am in fact in Heaven
then why do I feel pain?
I reach for my sisters hand to comfort her and let her know that I am here; that we are
together. I begin to regain my senses and hear voices, but in a language I cannot comprehend. I
try to sit up, but am gently pushed back down by unknown hands. A face leans over me creased
with lines I perceive as concern, although it may just be age or confusion. Im sure my face
conveys many emotions with the forerunner being confusion.
The face that peers down upon me is tan with what seems to be war paint across its skin.
This person reminds me of the Indians I saw in the movie Pocahontas. It is as if these people
have been untouched by the evolution of mankind. As I am lost in my thoughts it takes a moment
for me to realize they are trying to communicate with me. Im sorry I dont understand, I say
with the hopes that they will somehow understand.
They talk amongst themselves and motion someone over. This one is a young man who
seems to be of power in their society. He cautiously reaches forward to help me sit up and makes
great effort to look into my eyes when he asks, What is your name? in perfectly clear English.

I am taken aback to hear my language flow from his mouth so effortlessly. I manage to overcome
my amazement and tell him my name and that the girl beside me is Lucy, my sister.
Welcome to Atlantis, he says with a sweep of his arms. My mind is immediately swept
away in a whirlwind of thoughts. I have so many questions if what he said is true. This is
Atlantis? The lost city: Atlantis? If Plato was correct, Atlantis has survived beneath the ocean for
over a thousand years. Many scientists, including my father, have made speculations as to where
it was located. None have ever been successful in locating it. My father did extensive research
for years and spent quite a lot of money searching out many theories before he threw in his
towel. I am sure none of the people searching for Atlantis ever expected that a civilization had
survived all these years.
I am pulled from my thoughts as the man who spoke to us grabs my hands and leads us
forward. Lucy and I look around with wide eyes, trying to take in the scene before us. I have
watched the Disney version of Atlantis and to some extent they have it correct, but it is so much
more magnificent than could ever be portrayed in a movie. This is one of those places that you
have to see with your own eyes and still would not be able to fathom the beauty of it.
The man introduced himself as Alexios, prince of Atlantis. He showed us the central area
and the gardens, which were both spectacular. He then guided us to steps that seemed to go on
forever and at the top sat their temple (Atlantian Life). There are not enough adjectives to
describe the scene that lay before my eyes. It was as if the temple was untouched by wear
throughout the years. It was huge and contained so much beauty. I turned and looked at Lucy as
she grabbed my hand. We were both in absolute awe of this magnificent structure. It seemed to
be a dream.

I thought Alexios was going to lead us up the steps, but instead lead us around the side
and to the back of the temple where it seemed the palace was located. He walked us up to two
huge doors and as he pushed them open you could see his shoulders become tense and not from
exertion.
A man who was obviously Alexios father and the king of Atlantis sat in a throne. I felt as
if I had been transported back in time. The man reminded me of King Triton from The Little
Mermaid. He had a very commanding presence, which his son had inherited from him. Alexios
introduced us to his father, but the king hardly spared us a second glance. He began to speak
rapidly to Alexios in their language, but from what I could tell he was not thrilled to have
visitors.
Lucy and I waited as patiently as we could and after what seemed like forever Alexios
took our hands and led us to our rooms for the night, which to our dismay were separate. He
showed Lucy to hers first and allowed me time to reassure her and hug her goodnight. He then
guided me down the hallway to where I thought I would be sleeping, but instead we wound up
outside in the gardens.
Please sit, he told me as he motioned to the lush grass. We have much to discuss and I
am sure you have many questions for me as well.
How did you end up here? What happened all those years ago for you to end up under
the sea? How are you protected, I asked without giving him a second to respond. He softly
cupped my hands in his in an effort to calm me.

One at a time, he said with a crooked smile. I could ask you some of the same questions. Let
me go first though, he calmly commanded. How did you end up here? he asked with
imploring eyes. So I told him the whole story; from my father and his career to his death.
As I got to the part about setting sail on the ship; however, things got spotty. A storm
hit, and the last thing I remember is grabbing Lucy as we got swept over the side of the boat. The
next thing I remember is waking up here, I told him.
That is very interesting, he replied, lost in thought. I could tell he was perplexed and
wanted to question him about what he knew of our arrival here, but my curiosity of how Atlantis
ended up at the bottom of the ocean won that battle.
Now will you tell me the story of Atlantis? I basically begged of him. This has been a
question left unanswered for centuries and I was about to unearth the truth.
I will tell you the story as my ancestors have passed it onto me. Many years ago
Poseidons descendants, who is the god of the sea, married mortals. His descendants were a naval
power and conquered much land. Our demise came from our attempt to attain Athens. We
became a greedy people whose only thoughts were gaining more power. As you can imagine this
angered the gods and they unleashed their wrath upon us. The earth quaked and the waters rose
up to engulf us, but Poseidon was very merciful. As the water rushed down at us he cast up an
encasing to protect us, which is the dome you see now. The entire island sank into the sea in a
single day and night of misfortune; never to rise again ("Has the Real Lost City of Atlantis
Finally Been Found... Buried under Mud Flats in Spain?"). Since our destruction not one single
person from the outside world has been here. It is as if we are cut off from the world; that is our
punishment for our greediness, he finished, somewhat out of breath.

I sat there in silence and stared at him with what Im sure was a shocked expression on
my face. It was all true! Plato was right! I remember reading an article of my fathers that said,
Atlantis is a story about a moral, spiritual people who lived in a highly, advanced, utopian
civilization. But they became greedy, pettyand the gods became angry. As punishment the
gods sent one terrible night of fire and earthquakes that caused Atlantis to sink into the sea
(Drye). No one could ever determine the exact location of Atlantis and here I am in the middle
of it with no idea exactly where I am in relation to the world as it is today, and Im not sure
Alexios knows where we are either.
From the way he told the story you could see that parts of it were just a cautionary tale
as some of the articles written about Atlantis also claimed (Drye). However, parts of his story
were not myth. There are two questions I have left for Alexios to answer.
Alexios, I begin quietly. I do not want him to think I am being disrespectful by asking
what really happened when Atlantis sank, but I must know. So I try again, I do not mean to
question the truth behind your story, but how can you explain what happened? The way I asked
did not make sense to even myself, but I could see in his eyes that he knew what I meant.
You want the events and not the story you mean. As it happened many years ago we
cannot be sure. Our ancestors passed on the stories of the gods to us so that is all we have ever
known. Most of my people are satisfied with that version; they accept their punishment for the
actions of our people. I however, like you, wanted to know more. As I said before, we had
conquered many lands, but were not satisfied. The beginning of our downfall came from our
attack on Athens (Platos Contribution). As we retreated to our land a volcanic eruption and
earthquake triggered a tsunami, which threatened to destroy our land. It is only by a miracle that

somehow the lava from the volcano cooled as it mixed with the water and formed an encasing
over Atlantis. The earthquake cracked the earth around us and caused Atlantis to sink, he
explained.
What he told me was just that, an explanation. It was not the story that many people had
heard and contemplated about for decades. His explanation took the grandeur and mystery from
the story of Atlantis. As extraordinary as it was for a volcano to erupt, an earthquake to occur,
and for a tsunami to follow, it explained how Atlantis came to be perfectly.
Yet, here I am with one question still unanswered. Where am I? From what I can
remember of my fathers research I am almost sure of our location. I just need Alexios to confirm
it. It hits me then, if I can figure this out all of my fathers research will not go to waste or
unnoticed. He will be famous for his research; not for his untimely, gruesome demise.
I just have one thing left to ask, Alexios. Do you know approximately how far Atlantis is
from Athens? I ask with eyes as wide as saucers. I am so close to knowing the location of
Atlantis. This could change everything for my sister and me.
If I had to estimate I would say a few hundred miles, he said; unknowingly confirming
that Atlantis is right below what we know today as Thera (Childress).
As were sitting here musing over the things we have told one another the ground starts to
shake. We look at each other with panic in our eyes and grab for one another. What little light
there is at this time of night is slowly fading into nothing. It feels as if I am drowning once again.
I am being swept away from him. It feels like dejavu as I slowly open my eyes once again. This
time all I see is the wooden boards of the ceiling in my cabin, but have the knowledge of the Lost
City of Atlantis, which will now be found.

Works Cited
"Atlantian Life." ThinkQuest. Oracle Foundation, Aug. 2006. Web. 16 Apr. 2013.
Hatcher Childress, David. "Top 10 Possible Locations for Atlantis." Atlantis Rising. N.p., n.d.
Web. 2 Apr. 2013.
Daily Mail Reporter. "Has the Real Lost City of Atlantis Finally Been Found... Buried under
Mud Flats in Spain?" Mail Online. Mail Online, 14 Mar. 2011. Web. 1 Apr. 2013.
Drye, Willie. "Atlantis - True Story or Cautionary Tale?" National Geographic Society. National
Geographic, n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2013.
"Platos Contribution." ThinkQuest. Oracle Foundation, Aug. 2006. Web. 16 Apr. 2013.