Creative Writing- Journey

He slouched against the warped boards, one hand dangling languidly across his knee. His head lolled to one side while his eyes flickered, scanning the desk. He watched a group of men playing a rowdy game of cards. To his left, women gossiped and chattered as they emptied buckets of waste overboard. Children ducked and weaved through the throng, giggling, chasing each other, serenely oblivious. Despite the intensity of the heat, groups of people still lingered in the sun, absorbing its warmth for the impending night entailed something much colder and darker.
His meditation was interrupted by the soft weeping of a child and as his eyes snapped open, he watched a haggard woman hobble over to comfort her own daughter. The child’s sunken eyes stared beseechingly at her mother while her twig-like arms rested protectively across her stomach. This scene was all too common and Sharriff let his head loll back into position, his gaze cast out into the blue void ahead.
As the boat lurched unexpectedly, he saw the woman pitch forward into a wiry young man wearing a blue shirt who turned to look at her in disdain. As she grasped at his waist for balance, he shrugged her off and impatiently returned to his conversation.
Narrowing his eyes in concentration, Sharriff leant forward, watching the woman with a more intense curiosity. The first twinge of excitement pulsed through his body; an excitement that he had not felt since he had been back home; doing what he did best; protecting people. As she made her precarious return to her daughter, Sharriff squinted at the clenched fist that was pinned tight to the side of her body. He watched as she slowly opened her fist to reveal the spoils of her mission. The foil packet glinted in the sun and Sharriff saw the little girl’s eyes light up with disbelief. Quietly tearing the packet, the woman passed half a biscuit to her daughter and pocketed the rest’ insurance against the dire times to come. She watched as her starving child began...