𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 ᵍⁱˡᵇᵉʳᵗ ᵇˡʸᵗʰᵉ

16

 ༶•┈┈⛧┈♛ ♛┈⛧┈┈•༶

"That is the stupidest way to get a girls attention I have ever heard."

- Sebastian Lacroix

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GILBERT STEPPED ONTO THE BOAT DOCK, the wood creaking under his weight. It was safe to say, he wasn't anywhere near Avonlea anymore. The boat had stopped for fuel, meaning the workers onboard got time to themselves in the area they stopped.

Crystal clear waters surrounded the dock, people everywhere working at the market to sell food. Gilbert had never seen so many people in one place before, the streets practically packed and buzzing with chatter.

"Boy, stop skylarkin'."

Gilbert grinned, looking behind him towards the voice. Bash thrusted a barrel into his hand, Gilbert taking it from him. "This place looks amazing."

"Just the beginning, my friend," Bash replied, climbing off the row boat to stand next to Gilbert.

"You look underwhelmed."

"What you want me to do?" Bash looked down at him. "Dance?"

Gilbert shrugged. "It's been two years-"

"Yes, I'm very happy to be home, but you, you'll cry when you have to leave," Bash chuckled. "Trinidad will get into your soul."

The two picked up the barrels at their feet, one carrying theirs easier than the other.

"Sea leg and seashore ain't friend you know?" Bash held his barrel over his shoulder with one hand, Gilbert struggling with two.

"I just need to get my balance."

"You need more than that, you catch a stiff breeze, you're gone." Bash patted him on the back.

"I'm not that skinny," Gilbert replied, figuring out how to hold the barrel comfortably.

The two walked through the market, Gilbert admiring everything new and different. If he hadn't know it earlier due to the sunny weather, he definitely knew he was nowhere near Avonlea now.

"When I was a boy, I would come down here every day," Bash informed Gilbert.

"I had no idea such a place could exist."

Bash grinned down at him. "Bet you'll never find yourself this far from... what's the name again?"

"Avonlea," Gilbert replied.

"I used to shop here for my mom," Bash continued, walking deeper into the streets. "Every ingredient she cooked with had to be fresh."

The air smelled sweet, combined with the slightest hint of spice. To Gilbert, it was nothing like the familiar sent of pine needles. "All these smells are making me hungry."

Bash nodded as the loaded the barrels onto the back of a cart, continuing to walk through the streets. "You got nothing to eat on prince Edward?"

"I like potatoes."