He stood at the helm, silent and reserved, ignoring the sting of the salty sea air on his skin and the blinding glare in his eyes from the sun reflecting off the ocean he has called home for so very long. As the captain of his vessel he would normally be on high alert, his eyes scanning the horizon for potential dangers both natural and man made as he would bark orders to the men who swore their loyalty to him, but today a somber tone tainted the energy of all the men aboard the ship, himself included. Yesterday's skirmish with a rival pirate ship resulted in loss of the young cabin boy whose job was to assist the cook, and while usually the loss of only one sailor would be seen as a blessing, no one felt much like celebrating.
Their rough lifestyle may have cost them the lives of many comrades over the years, but the lost of one so young was hard for the seasoned seafarers to bear. The young lad was no older than 12, and his passing caused a heavy melancholy to settle upon all those on board, each man taking this loss to heart in their own way, many recalling how young they were when they took to the sea, others thinking of the families they left behind when they chose this path.
The captain thought back to the family he left when he chose to be a pirate instead of being forced into the navy. His life as a merchant seaman was not glamorous, but it was simple, and he was blessed with a young and cheerful wife who gave him three beautiful children and filled his home with laughter and warmth. When he had left his oldest child was about the age of the young lad who died that day, and while he knew that over 10 years had passed since he last saw them, it was hard to think of his children as adults. He wondered how his wife fared after his leaving, if she married another and filled that man's home with happiness, or if she had to raise their children alone, struggling to make ends meet. He wondered as to the fate of his children, if they got their schooling and made something of themselves or if they turned to the hard streets and endured a fate similar to the young boy on board. Did his wife hate him for abandoning the family, or did she understand and managed to forgive him during all these years?
Shaking himself from these cyclical worries, the captain pushed the memories of his past back into the recesses of his mind and, taking a deep breath, traveled down the steps to his crew, ordering all the men to gather and for the quartermaster to have a few men go down and retrieve the body of their fallen ship mate. He said a few words over the body, as close to a prayer as these men could create, and the cook stood and said a few words about the character of the young man lost, as he knew him best. Then, after a moment of silence, the captain gave the signal for the body to be released over the rail of the ship, the young boy's body becoming one with the sea below them. The captain then released them, reminding them there was still much work to be done before the day was done.
Returning to his quarters for the evening, the captain removed his hat and lay on his bed, musing over what actions he would need to take in order to retain order over his crew. Though he longed to be like the other men, leaning on each other in hard times like these and being able to joke around when times were good, he knew that he must perform the role which had been assigned to him, showing no emotions and allowing no one to see how life affected him. There was no other life for him than that of a pirate, no matter how he may desire otherwise at times. He may live the rest of his days a fugitive from the law, never able to see his loved ones again, but he gained a respect and love for the freedom and passion of the sea that would remain with him all his days. For better or for worse, a pirate's life for he.
No comments:
Post a Comment