Treasure of the sea |Lesbian story|

CHAPTER XIII

In the days that followed, I made the acquaintance of other members of Arenis' crew. There was Naade, the man who had accompanied me to the Captain's quarters on the first day. The scars on his face perturbed me, but despite his striking appearance, he had a very outgoing personality. I had never conversed with a black person in my life. I asked him where he came from, but he refused to talk about his past. Then there was Dilthey, a man in his thirties, who during a lunch break invited me to eat with him and Jackie Jay, a young man with a perpetual smile on his face. I had warned myself not to get familiar with these people, so I declined their invitation. Dilthey tried to insist, but noticing my resolve, he shrugged and nodded slightly.

"Forgive me for disturbing you, Miss, but I thought it only fair to warn you that it is less than two days to Charlestown. You will be with your family shortly," he said before taking his leave. He greeted me politely, giving a little bow of the head.

"Earth!"

A scream pierced the morning stillness. I awoke with the word burned in my mind. Earth. Earth. When I realized what it meant, I leapt forward and sat up in bed. The sun hit me full in the face. Its torpid rays penetrated through the porthole. It was hot. My nightgown was sweaty. I glanced out, but saw nothing but an expanse of water.

I had to get out.

I dressed as quickly as I could, washing myself with cold water and gathering my hair into a hasty bun. I hurried outside and first saw a greenish line on the horizon. We were still a long way from land, yet there it was. And I felt relief invade me completely. The crew behaved as usual. There was no enthusiastic expression on their faces. I ran forward until I reached the tip of the ship. I stood and watched the Galatea glide toward that new continent, toward my new home. There they were, waiting for me. I had never travelled so far, although as a child I had expressed many times my wish to accompany my father on his expeditions to Africa, but I was never allowed to. I loved unwrapping the gifts he brought us. Exotic gifts, from cultures completely different from ours. Who knows what I'd find in America?

The water of the sea was clear and let the colour of the bottom show through. The coast was getting closer and closer.

"Quinn! Quinn! What the hell are you doing? Why isn't the Galatea flying the British flag? Do you want us to get shot?!"

I could more and more distinctly see the trees, streets, and houses of Charlestown. The land near the town was sandy, but farther away it was clay and marshy. It abounded with beautiful navigable rivers, large stone buildings with porches with great pillars and steeples. A sound of bells hung in the air. As the harbour grew closer, I heard a great clamour. It was crowded with people. Among the crowd I saw so many faces. Unfamiliar faces of women, men and children. Oh, and how many children! They were playing along the canal, chasing each other and shouting carefree. The buildings along the harbour were hostels, rented rooms, taverns and inns. In front of the latter were long wooden planks for customers to enjoy the sunny day and the hustle and bustle of downtown Charlestown. A few people, who had noticed the Galatea arriving, had lingered on the pier to watch the docking. The small group consisted mostly of children exclaiming and pointing their index fingers at us, excitedly.