The Moonlighter glides into Crescent Island's port during the evening of only our second day homeward bound. Twilight has begun to claim the sun—that was barely visible all day—and the winter wind tosses snow about my face.
I haven't moved once from the forecastle. I haven't put Sitara down or abandoned her, I have stood guard over her body all night and all day, though there is nothing left in this world that could harm her. More blankets have been placed around my shoulders, but I have no need for them. I'll forever be chilled from the inside out.
I can hear the excited chatter from the people on the docks, sounding as though the entire town has come down to greet us. And I'm sure the entire town has, wanting to see who survived and who died. Some who are shocked, no doubt, that we even returned at all. Their talking and chattering overloads my senses and I suddenly feel like puking.
I look over to my right to see The Hangman pulling into port next to us. Some of the pirate crew looking nervous to be docking in such a "law-abiding" town and some of them merely look exhausted, Captain Cutler one of them.
The Moonlighter's crew begins to disembark, those first carrying stretchers between them as they carry the dead to their families.
I have to get up and take Sitara to her family, they have to see her. But I don't know if I have the strength to lay their dead daughter before them. That's something I never thought I'd have to find the strength to do.
"Callum," Robby says, squatting next to me and laying a hand on my shoulder. "Amadrya is waiting down there. She waits to see her sister."
I look at him and can see the pain in his eyes. He'd do anything to spare Amadrya from this, the grief, the loss. But this is something he can't protect her from and it hurts him just as much as the loss does.
I nod and swallow the bile in my throat, forcing my achy limbs to move. I stand with Sitara cradled in my arms and the blankets fall from my shoulders to the deck. I refuse to look down at her face or I might collapse and not be able to get back up again. One foot in front of the other I make it down the gangplank. The chatter from the townspeople has fallen to a horrified hush as they watch the dead be unloaded. The occasional cry of a newly widow, mother, sister, friend, or daughter piercing the silence.
"Nereida!" A sister calls for her sister and a ripple shifts through the crowd as Amadrya pushes her way forward. "Callum." She says as she makes her way to where I stand, her eyes on me until they flicker down to Sitara in my arms.
She freezes a few steps in front of me and takes in the pale, cold corpse of her sister. Her features instantly become grief stricken and she can only stare as her eyes pool with tears.
"Oh, Nereida..." she breathes, breaking free of her frozen state and stepping forward to brush Sitara's hair from her face. She gently caresses her face, pressing a kiss to her cheek and laying her forehead against her sisters. "My beloved sister, why did you have to long for adventure?"
The crowd parts as Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell catch up with their eldest daughter. Mrs. Caldwell immediately cries out and turns into her husband's arms for comfort, while Mr. Caldwell can only stare wide eyed at his daughter.
"I'm sorry." I begin to stammer, knowing they'll blame me, as they should. As they have the right to. "I'm so...I'm...I'm sorry."
"You didn't do this Callum." Amadrya says, her voice hoarse and croaky. "You're not to blame."
"But I am," I protest, trying to make her see reason. "She came looking for me, she would have been safe at home if it hadn't been for me. If I had never insisted on helping Sígrun, if I had never told Captain Nico of her existence. I couldn't protect her, I couldn't save her."
"It's not your fault." Amadrya says again just as calmly, but a sad forcefulness to her words. "Nereida made her choices. You have no control over fate and time, you cannot know what it is God has planned. You are not to blame."
She looks me in the eyes, gazing hard to make me understand the truth of what she's saying. But the tears in her eyes only make me feel more guilty. I start to break down again, the pieces of myself I had picked up and put together, slowly falling away again.
"Let's take her home." Mr. Caldwell says, turning our attention to him, his eyes still trained on his youngest daughter. "It's time she came home."
YOU ARE READING
Moonlight Waves
AdventureI was still naive then, I had no idea how that childhood love for each other would grow into something so strong, something...that...burns and aches. As if you're being pulled under by the waves and the depths press against your chest, pushing out t...
