A Pirate's Song

Chapter Seven.

I was standing on a sandy beach, the sun having long since set with only the light of the moon reflecting off the black surface before me. I could hear it, the sound of a whale calling out to its pod, the crashing of the waves around me as the water soaked my feet, the swishing of fins against the water and the power that the moon had over it, pushing and pulling.

The tattered grey gown that hung to below my knees clung to me as the wind swept across the ocean, whipping my white strands back and out of my face.

Why was I there? I had gone to bed hours before at the orphanage. Why did it all seem so familiar?

‘Mary' the call was but a whisper carried by the wind, beckoning me into the fast body of water ahead. I recognized the voice, it was a familiar sound that made the lure that much harder to resist.

I took a step further into the water, my foot sinking into the sand as the waves were pulled back, white foam splashing against my calves. I felt a weighing need to find something, to fill the void that had grown inside my chest and the water promised me that, persuading me, seducing me.

‘Mary' the voice spoke again, the voice of a man but this time louder, clearer. My body moved on its own accord, one step followed by the other until the hem of my nightgown was soaked in saltwater.

My eyes began to glow, one a bright, vibrant blue, the other a silvery white. I had no recollection of finding my way to the shore but the only thought I had as I continued to head deeper into the water was the echoing whimper of 'I have to find it’

‘Mary!' louder it rang this time, coming ever closer.

Who is Mary? Why does the voice seem so familiar? Why is it reaching out to me?

I pushed the urgent tone of it aside and felt a strong wave crash into my thighs, forcing me back a step only to pull me further in. I felt mindless, as though I had no control over my body or actions, driven only by the need inside me, a need for something that I couldn't identify.

‘Mary!' the voice came from right behind me, snapping me out of my daze, my eyes returning to normal, the need to find something fading as if I had finally found it.

I turned sharply in the water to find a man standing there in only a pair of pants. He looked worried as he watched me, his long hair tied up on the back of his head as he leaned slightly closer to where I was.

My eyebrows furrowed up in confusion at the sight of him but also at the sight of the setting sun that moved across his exposed torso.

I glanced down at myself, finding that my grey gown was now a silk pink dress that I had hiked up at the skirt. The hair that hung down my shoulders was a dark blonde instead of white and my skin was tanner than it had been before.

‘Ye shouldn't venture off on ye own' the man scolded, moving closer to me. A feeling of love washed over me, enveloping my chest in a warmth that I had yet to feel beforehand. I smiled at the sight of his panicked state, my lips parting to release a small fit of laughter as I moved to meet him halfway, letting go of my skirt to place my palm flat against his cheek, caressing his features as my eyes searched his.

‘Isn't it beautiful?' I asked, letting go of him to turn and gaze out onto the sea where the sky overhead was painted a mixture of orange, pink, purple and blue. His arms wound themselves around my waist, his chest pressing flush against my back as he leaned down.

‘Not even the sea could compare to ye' he argued, nuzzling his face into my hair and breathing in deeply. I turned my head to look up at him, his eyes flickering down to my parted lips that he so wanted to taste.

He leaned down, the light of the sun catching between us before the scene changed.

I was under water, drifting down towards the ocean floor with my hand outstretched towards the surface. I began to panic when my lungs started to burn, my body begging for a breath of air. I tried to swim upward but the water kept dragging me down until I gasped it in, filling my lungs with liquid.

I was drowning, I was going to die. I had to get to the surface, I had to breathe!

I shot straight up on a feather mattress, gasping and panting as my hands gripped the sheets on either side of my body. Sweat trickled down from my forehead and my heart raced, the frantic beating ringing in my ears like the beating of drums.

I stared straight ahead, eyes wide and filled with panic until I managed to process that I was still alive, still breathing. My chest began to slow its rise and fall as I blinked, taking in the view of the wall, the white sheets beneath me, the brown shirt that I wore, tied at the waist with rope. I took in the room, eyes moving from the book on the night table to the chair on the other side of the room where a drunken man was snoring, fast asleep with a locket clutched in his right hand, the heart shaped pendant reaching for the floorboards below as he slept.

‘Caleb' I thought as I threw my legs over the side of the bed, causing my head to spin. I gritted my teeth and placed my palm flat against my forehead when the memory of him holding me, crying came flashing back.

I remember seeing something in that moment but all that came to me was the image of water followed by me passing out and him calling for me. I tried remembering my dream but I could only see bits and pieces in my memory, the ocean at night, Caleb stood across from me, the water.

I bit out a cry when the pain intensified, as if forcing me to stop trying to remember. The more I would attempt to think back on it the worse the pain would get.

I stopped, breathing in sharp, short pants as my head dropped forward and my hand tightened around my face. I squeezed my eyes shut only to stare down at the floor between my fingers when I had the strength to move again.

It was still dark, the room cast in the light of the moon. I got up from the bed, my hand dropping back to my side while I moved to where Caleb was resting, his hair a mess with strands dangling across his face, light stubble coating his jaw. Something was different inside me, perhaps it was the way he had wept like a child before or maybe how he looked when he slept with his muscles relaxed but whatever it was, I didn't like the feeling it created.

A mixture of caring compassion and adoration.

I forced them down and turned to head for the deck when something stopped me, the locket that caught the light also managed to catch my eyes, the tune coming back to me, so familiar, so haunting. I could feel myself wanting to touch it, fingertips twitching with a need to hold the heart in my palms but something tore me away from it and onto the deck where I sat on top of the figure head, watching the sun slowly start to rise over the horizon.

My mind would wonder back to my vision and dream but whenever it would, tears would start to run down the sides of my face from a mixture of agony and frustration.