Little Inklings 2025

WEDDING CAKE ISLAND By William Phillips ’29 The ketch cruised leisurely alongsidethecoastline.Dannystoodat the helmand surveyed the landscape; in one direction the many nooks and crannies in the rugged cliffside, in the other the vast sea, seemingly infinite in size, with the exception of the occasional uninhabited island on the milky haze of the horizon. Danny took up his chafing cream and lathered it wherever the seams of his bathing suit would rub against the skin. Once he had put on his bathing suit, he went into the cabin to grab his cap and goggles. He opened the top drawer, where he kept the amethyst ring he had forgotten about. He shut the drawer abruptly. His cap and goggles were on his bed. Danny returned to the helmand cut the throttle. Once he had dropped anchor he stepped over to the boarding ladder and plunged into the sea. Danny felt the rapid rush of adrenaline as he was refreshed by the cool and crisp saltwater. It was clearer than he had ever seen; he had noticed the glassy convex texture of the water’s surface. Danny spotted many fish wriggling around beneath him, although he was just past the dropoff where water was deep. When he swam by the rocks below the cliffside the water was teeming with fish of all colors. Dannywatched them for a long time. He swam further along the cliffs. Danny was happy there were no jellyfish. Now as he swamaround the headland, the cliff became smaller until he was swimming next to the clusters of rocks that were along the coastline. Beyond them was the craggy and rough limestone terrain and the usual bushy undergrowth of a Greek island. There he spotted a herd of goats grazing on the bare patches of dry and stubbly grass. He swam beside the coast for about a mile. At one point Danny thought he caught sight of a monk seal out of the corner of his eye, sliding through the sea past the dropoff. He often saw the hawks flying in circles in the clear, blue sky above. Danny rounded another point and came into the bay. There he paused for a moment and floated in the water. He clambered up onto the jagged rocks, watching for any algae that might make him slip suddenly. Up ahead, the bay curved into a small beach, dotted with parasols and what Danny thought was a peculiarly small number of tourists for this time of year. Their children were splashing and prancing about in the puny little waves. Danny jumped back in the water and began to swim straight towards the beach. A couple of small sailboats and fishing vessels were moored in the bay, and as the water continued to shallow, he had to dodge them and their anchor lines. As the 36