The fierce tide battered the sides of the boat, making my companion and me stumble and cling to anything inside to avoid falling into the icy Antarctic sea.

“I think we’re in the Drake Passage!”

I heard Lisa shout “We have to hold on and see if we can get out of this current”.

The whole situation was bizarre. How were we still alive navigating such treacherous currents? The air was freezing, but it didn’t seem cold enough to kill us both from hypothermia right then and there. Clinging to what little life I imagined we had left, I felt the current suddenly begin to “calm.” It was strange—had we escaped the passage’s current?

I felt Lisa’s trembling hands grab my heavy coat. I turned to look at her, and her image left me stunned. Her lips were purple, her face deathly pale; she seemed to be suffering far more than I was at that moment.

With a weak gesture, she pointed behind me. I turned to see what she was indicating, and there before us was an enormous iceberg. Shit. I rushed to the helm to try to change course, but something caught my attention: the iceberg had a massive hole, and inside it, a light. Was that a person? I squinted, doubting my sanity. Behind me, I heard Lisa coughing violently, struggling to breathe.

I let the boat carry us, though at the same time, I felt that no matter which way I turned the helm, it wouldn’t stray from the path it seemed to have already chosen.

The closer we got, the clearer I saw the man’s form. He wore ordinary black fabric pants, rubber shoes, and a light jacket that was clearly not suited for these freezing temperatures. No human could survive in that attire.

The man looked at us with a strange, curious joy, like someone who’s just gotten a new toy and is still deciding how to play with it.

“Welcome to the end of the world,” he said with a smile, revealing yellow teeth caked with tartar so old it was turning green.

A shiver ran down my spine. I wanted to get out of there. I turned to see Lisa’s reaction, but she was still, sitting, asleep.

“Lisa, let’s go!” I didn’t know where or how we’d escape, but I needed to find a way before the boat reached the iceberg. I shook Lisa, trying to wake her, but she didn’t respond.

“Lisa?” I touched her coat more firmly, then her face—it was ice-cold. “Lisa!” I shook her in every way I could, my chest tightening as I glanced back and saw the man smiling at us, closer now as we approached the iceberg.

I cried out with growing impatience and fear, knowing deep down that Lisa wouldn’t wake up.

I looked back again and felt the light from the man’s macabre smile glowing brighter, blinding me as I tried in vain to rouse Lisa. My face contorted into a grimace as tears welled in my eyes, a sense of hopelessness washing over me as I realized I was in terrible danger. The light grew stronger, now almost at the iceberg, at the man welcoming us to the end of the world.

I closed my eyes, bracing for the inevitable. And then, I felt the boat lurch violently. I opened my eyes to see we were in a fierce current, and I grabbed the helm to keep from falling.

“I think we’re in the Drake Passage!”

“Lisa?” I looked beside me. Lisa was holding on to keep from falling, just as I’d seen her before she stopped responding.

“We have to hold on and see if we can get out of this current”, she said with difficulty, gripping tightly.

We eventually emerged into calmer waters. My mind was racing. Had I lived this before?

I felt Lisa’s trembling hands on my coat again, then saw her pale face and purple lips.

What?

I looked behind me where she was pointing and saw the man holding the lantern, watching us with that smile that promised we’d be his entertainment for a long time—or perhaps forever.