Somewhere Under the Sea, 1967

Far-far away in the deep sea, a submarine patrols the ocean. Sturdy and massive, it stretches longer than the largest mammals on planet Earth. Day after day, it goes round and round, waiting for a command to return to the surface or simply until its fuel runs out.

Inside of the submarine, dozens of crew members watches out the submarine’s system.

The captain ensure the mission keep on track, commanding the crew with his optimistic words.

The navigator monitors the ship’s direction, he makes sure that they’re on the right direction.

The sonar technicians scan for nearby objects, they always in sync with the navigator.

The engineers keep the engine alive, without them the submarine will be a shipwreck.

Even the chef plays a crucial role, without food from them, we’d have starved to death by the second day.

Among the engineers, there is Fred, a fearless junior with a sharp mind and a kind heart. He knows the submarine inside and out, more than everyone.

Everyone aboard knows Fred. They love the mixtapes he brings on every mission. During breaks, he take control the ship’s speakers, and it’s always that one Beatles song always gets the crew singing and dancing together:

“We all live in a yellow submarine! A yellow submarine! A yellow submarine!”

While actually the submarine itself is black.

Fred always loves observing the other crew’s works—it’s just one of his quirks. Even he likes to handle the other team’s work when it comes to times for break. He always thought that this is the best way to gather the knowledge he’d take.

With his will to learn, he knows how to read the ship’s direction. He understands how sonar works and how to calculate it manually if it breaks. He even learned how to crack an egg just by watching the chef make an omelette. Or maybe how the captain hides his pack of cigarettes inside his hat.

But sometimes Fred’s overdid the other’s works, as if he knew better than then. The captain appreciates Fred’s hardworking attitude, while some of the crew told him,

“Thank you, but you don’t need to do work outside your responsibilities, Fred. That is our job.”

Though it was to tell Fred to not working too hard, Fred saw it as an absolute win. He believed that his hard work and kindness were helpful to the team.

What Fred didn’t know was that this was a double-edged sword to him.

That day was a celebration under the sea. The captain announced that their mission objective had been fulfilled. The crew was full of joy, they were finally going home after countless days in the middle of nowhere.

The chefs were cooking meat steaks. No fancy ingredients, just salt and black pepper was enough to make everyone grin with bloated tummies.

The navigator was chilling in the corner with a sleep mask on. No wonder, his eye bags had eye bags. He was exhausted from navigating with his bare eyes for days.

The sonar technician was busy counting the number of days they’d spent inside the ship. It seemed like he needed something to keep his head straight outside counting nearby objects.

The captain sat alone in his chair. He took off his hat and stared at the pack of cigarettes he’d been hiding all this time. Looked like he missed smoking after months on board.

And the engineers? They were dancing to their national anthem while waiting for the steaks to be done.

“We all live in a yellow submarine! A yellow submarine! A yellow submarine!”

It seems they were still not aware of the actual color of the submarine. But it makes sense since they can’t see the color of the submarine from the inside.

Little did they know, there is a whale near the submarine. It slammed into the left wing of the submarine. The impact made the lamp inside the cabin flicker, and made captain’s cigarette box slips from his hand to the gap under control room floor.

“It’s the left wing! It’s the left wing!”, says an engineer just ran from the engine room to the cabin.

The captain took a command and says,

“Everyone! to your posts!”

The engineers immediately got back to the engine room to check what’s need to be fixed.

The sonar technician checking what’s the object that crashed to the ship.

The navigator makes sure the ship is still moves to the right direction.

Not much things that the chefs could do in this situation, they’re just sitting under the kitchen and praying as if it’s their last day on earth.

On the other hand, Fred’s got another plan. He knew that the left wing most likely beyond repair. But he’s sure that they could still make it to the surface—if his plan worked.

Fred’s running from room to room. Shouting instructions to his friends. Sometimes he’s taking over the others tasks just because he got no time to explain.

Every minutes matter. He wants everything to be under control.

Then, in a rush, he entered a room and slammed the heavy door behind him.

Clank!

The metal door sounded different when he closed it. He checked the door, but it won’t open.

He was locked in.

He’s panicking. He’s knocking the door with his fist and asking for help. But no one seems heard him.

“Help! Help! I got locked in here!”

All of the sudden, the lights went out. Leaving Fred’s alone in total darkness.

He sits on the floor between the pipe and the valves.

His breathing quickens, his sweats dropping, the silence grows louder while actually all he can hear is just his heartbeat that fasten. He feels anxious, and scared.

“Did I fail?”

“Did I screw it all up?”

He begin to thinking too deep.

“Please… please just let me get out of here”, Fred’s whispering in the front of the door.

Suddenly-

Bang!

“Fred! Fred! Are you there? Are you okay? Gosh this thing is so heavy!”

The door unlocked now. The captain opened up the door with both of his hands and a flashlight in his mouth, just like a cigarette.

Fred saw the captain in the front of him with the others behind the captain. All of them were sweaty and breathing heavily.

“H-hi captain! T-thanks for helping me! How was the situation? Is it good? Is-is it bad? So-sorry for making trouble here, I-I-I will get back to work!”, says Fred while he catches his breath.

“No, no need to worry Fred. Everything is under control”, says captain with calming voice.

“Bu-but the electrical goes ou-”, Fred’s answering immediately.

The captain placed both hands on Fred’s shoulders.

“Look… You don’t have to carry all of this on your own. Just… just trust your friends, do your part—and let the others to do theirs”

Just a second after the captain said those words, the lights flickered back on.

“The lights are back! The lights are back!”, an engineer shouted from the hallway.

Everyone rushed back to their post—including Fred. But this time he’s minding his own business.

He’s still believed that the left wing is beyond repair. He doubted the new plan will works. But at least now he feels a little lighter.

A few minutes later, the final engine error has been fixed.

“Reset the generator now!”, the captain ordered.

Fred approached the lever carefully. He’s still doubtful, but for once, he let that go. He trusted his team. And then he pulled the lever with both of his hands,

Whrrrr…

The propeller spinning again, louder and faster than before.

“Test the wings!”, captain says.

“Right wing is functional sir!”

Then it comes silence. No report on the left wing. The captain wiped his sweat, thinking that if the left wing doesn’t work, then all of the effort will be meaningless.

Fred didn’t react, because he already expected this. He sat alone between pipes in the engine room, staring to the floor as he lost in thoughts.

Then suddenly an engineer shouting from the another engine room,

“Left wing’s working! We can operate it like it’s used to!”

The room erupted with tears and joy. It’s hard to believe but their effort is finally paid off. They had done it, together.

Fred who’s staring to the floor, suddenly staring to his friends. He was speechless. He never imagined that the outcome is better than his plan. He stood up and joined the others to celebrate their success to fix the engine.

They all were into joy knowing the fact that they’d be able to go home safely.

The captain finally be able to reach his cigarette pack between the gap under control room floor.

The navigator busy renavigates the ship to the correct direction.

The sonar technicians forced to do extra work to scan nearby object, ensuring the same thing will not happen again.

The chefs glad that their prayer is working, they don’t need to hide under the kitchen again.

Fred, he learns that he doesn’t need to worry things that much. He learns that not all things have to be under control, sometimes he only needs to let go—just to keep sane.

Oh yeah, and the engineers? They’re all singing to their usual national anthem for the last time, but this time a little bit different,

“We all have fixed the yellow submarine! The yellow submarine! The yellow submarine!”

They had fixed the submarine, though the yellow part was still very much wrong.

But for Fred, something else had been repaired too.

It’s a small part of himself.