Grrowl!!
A loud sound echoed through my stomach just as it tightened up.
I was hungry—really hungry. My hunger was so intense that I didn't have the energy to open my eyes. The pain only made it worse. Tsk!
Splash!
A cold, salty water brushed off my face, waking me up from my half-slumber state. I woke up with fuzzy memories hazing my mind.
"What the…" I couldn't help it. The sight before me was so unreal that I had to look shocked—puzzled, if I rephrase it.
Under the endless blue sky, I was drifting away on the huge waves of the sea. It was vast, and no shore anywhere near the horizon.
"Where am I?" I asked myself only to realize I was alone on the small boat. I was not certain whether the boat could even help me reach the next island.
It was severely damaged, as if it had survived countless cannon fires, and still held firm. The cranky sound wasn't very reassuring, though.
"How in the world did I end up here?" I scanned the surroundings one more time before scanning myself.
I looked taller, wrapped in a tattered cloak that stank of rot — filthy and foul beyond words. Underneath, my worn clothes were stiff with dirt and age, their dark colour faded to a sickly grey and clinging to me like a second skin. Ack, disgusting!
However, something at my waist quickly caught my attention.
"A sword?"
It was sheathed inside a pitch black scabbard and looked anew. I tried to pull it out only to find it stuck inside the scabbard as though refusing to come out.
"Seems like it has rusted." I shrugged and gave up the idea of pulling it out.
Ugh!
Suddenly, a pain throbbed inside my head, and my ears were deafened.
I couldn't understand what the pain was all about—I didn't hit my head.
There was something strange about the pain.
Just as I felt somewhat relieved, I saw something I never imagined in my dreams.
Sailing not far ahead was a ship—specifically, a pirate ship.
Under normal circumstances, people would freak out or try to bury them under the vast sea. I, however, was taken aback and froze still—because I knew who exactly the ship belonged to.
"It can't be…" I swallowed hard, "It just can't be…"
No matter how many times I wanted to deny it, the ship was unmistakable. The lion-shaped front, the skull wearing a straw hat on the jolly roger…
"Am I dreaming…?"
It was too real to be a dream, too.
"Then that ship… is that really them?"
I really had no idea what was going on.
"It's the Straw Hat Pirates!" I muttered, chuckling a forcible smile.
***
I grew up watching One Piece. Even at the age of thirty-five, I was confined by a colourless life which had only disappointment to offer. It was tiresome—and at some point, I really wished for companionship, only to get nothing in return.
I wasn't frustrated, though. I continued living, changing several jobs and occupations, only to live and wait for the next episode.
I might be delusional and fantasize about the fiction I hold dear. To me, it wasn't just an anime or a manga—it was my life-force. Without it, I might've committed suicide a long time ago.
The curiosity of what's going to happen next and the question—would they be able to find the One Piece, if yes, then how—worked like charm and motivated me to compromise with my bothersome life.
Now that their ship—the Thousand Sunny—is sailing before me, I'm finding it difficult to believe.
"Is that it? Did I really end up in the world of One Piece? Did I transmigrate?"
There was no possible way otherwise.
A surge of happiness ran through my body and soul, my eyes sparkling with enthusiasm.
I forgot I had a headache.
I forgot I had a stomachache.
I forgot how dire my condition was.
The only thing I cared about was whether they were real; I wanted to meet them at any cost. Luckily, their ship was sailing straight toward me.
Now it's becoming bigger and bigger, rather in a drastic way.
'No wait.'
Clash!
The huge Thousand Sunny ran over my small, negligible boat, and I was swallowed by the sea.
'Great! I realized too soon.' I thought, unable to swim due to the lack of energy from hunger.
My eyes were getting close once again as I drowned.