No Hope

IX - Mops and Sponges

"someone is happy today" Stephen said as i ran around the poop deck. 

"more than you think" i said and he just laughed. after what happened yesterday, i woke feeling better than ever. i felt like i am a normal human again.

"the ship is dirty" i said as i stood up on a bucket, to get a better view of the main deck.

"i have an amazing idea" i said and Stephen gave me a funny look. i jumped off the bucket to face him.

"what is it kid?" he asked and i wanted to laugh but i managed to put a serious face on.

"the captain is not here today. which means that there is nothing to do" i said and Stephen folded his arms as he waited for me to continue.

"let's all clean the main deck" i said and Stephen laughed loudly. 

"do whatever you want kid, but i don't think anyone will listen to you" he said and i took that as a challenge.

"how do i make them pay attention to me?" i asked Stephen. he is an old salt so he knows everything.

"just scream Avast Ye, and everyone will pay attention" he said. i quickly stood up again on the bucket and i cleared my throat.

"Avast ye, pirates" i screamed. and with a matter of a few seconds, every pirate was standing on the main deck and facing me.

"i am going to be serious and no joking, deal?" i said and they all just looked at each other.

"have you ever thought about doing other things than stealing and killing?" i asked and they all shouted a big no.

"have you ever considered doing something that you never did or maybe once in a life time?" i said and there was a mix of yes and no.

"since the captain is not here, which also means that there is nothing to do, how about we all do something together?" i said and i am starting to feel like this is a bad idea.

"let's all work as one hand, and let's start the day with some fun and laughing, since all of you are always mad and you barely smile" i said and some of them laughed and some just smiled.

"let's all clean the ship, together" i said. and i closed my eyes because i was scared of their reaction.

"i am in" Oscar screamed. i opened my eyes and he was raising his hand.

"me too"

"i don't mind joining"

"nothing is wrong with a little bit change of routine"

"i am ready" and after a few minutes, everyone on deck had their hands raised. i turned around and i saw the Stephen is smiling at me. 

"you are one strong kid" he said and i laughed.

"always been a strong kid" i said then i walked to the main deck.

"bring as many mops and buckets as you can. also bring soap and sponges" i said. and Oscar and three other men disappeared, and after a few minutes they returned with mops, sponges, bars of soap and buckets of water.

"take mops and sponges, i don't want to see anyone not holding anything" i said as i grabbed a mop. the pirates gathered and they took either a mop or sponge.

"throw in the water" i said and Oscar laughed. me and him grabbed the buckets and we started throwing them around. then he suddenly grabbed a bucket and splashed it on me. 

"what was that for" i said but i was quick to start laughing. he laughed at my reaction. i grabbed a bucket and i splashed it at him, he looked at me with a shocked look on his face.

"did you really expect that i will not throw a bucket of water on you after you threw one on me?" i said and he laughed loudly. i looked around and i found a pirate that wasn't holding a mop nor a sponge. i grabbed a bucket of water and i walked into his direction.

"you have five seconds to explain to me why are you not holding a mop or sponge" i said and he looked at me, shock on his face.

"one" i said and everyone around me started laughing.

"two" i said and he himself started laughing.

"there wasn't any mops or sponges left" he said as he raised his hand in surrender.

"i mean, there is a point but i am still throwing that bucket on you" i said and he laughed.

"you are joking, right?" he said and i splashed the entire bucket on his face.

"of course i am joking" i said and the ship was filled with laughter.

"enough laughing, let's start cleaning" i said. and we all started cleaning. who thought that one day, i will turn pirates into house keepers?.

"Oscar" i screamed and Oscar came running. it's been a while since we started cleaning, and the pirates are all laughing and having fun.

"give me a bucket of water " i said. he grabbed one and placed it in front of me.

"and a bar of soap" i said and he gave me a questioning look.

"what are you doing?" he asked and i laughed. 

"please" i said. he handed me a bar of soap. i threw the soap into the bucket and i moved it around in circles with my hand until the water became bubbly. then i pushed the bucket on the floor.

"grab my hand" i said. Oscar hesitated but he grabbed it. this is going to be so much fun.

"on the count of three. run" i said. as we took a few steps back, then i looked at him and we both smiled.

"one" Oscar screamed. as i grabbed his hand tighter.

"two" i screamed. then we looked at each other and we smiled.

"THREE" we both screamed at the same time. and we ran as fast as we could then we let go of each others hands and we started literally skating on the water, since it's slippery from the soap. Oscar fell down and he pulled me down with him. we both laughed on top of our lungs. when we tried to stand up, we both fell down and after many tried, we both managed to stand up without falling down.

"WHO WANTS TO DO IT NEXT" i screamed and the pirates looked at each other. and in the next five minutes, every pirate on board ran on the slippery water. seeing these pirates act like kids is one of the reasons i am happy today. as the time passed by, after we finished splashing water on each other, after we finished playing around and after we finished cleaning, everyone was so tired, everyone went to relax or sleep. so i was sitting all by myself on the poop deck, watching the sunset. thinking about how happy the pirates we're today, as if they never laughed in their entire lives. this is definitely a day to remember.

"so you come here, threaten to tell everyone that we are planning on killing the king, then you offer to give us information and in return you just was to stay here, then you became a part of us and now, making my crew get along with each other ? that is something new" his voice said, i happily turned around to face him. but i was shocked and the smile left my face, i don't understand, i thought he was happy, but he wasn't. he was mad.

"why are you mad?" i asked. i felt disappointed, i thought that he will be happy. he will be proud.

"why am i mad? there is a reason why i never made them get along with each other" he screamed in my face. and the happiness disappeared. and the joy escaped the place.

"i trained my crew to be heartless, tough and ruthless. and you came here, and changed everything" he said and i was lost for words.

"making them laugh for a few seconds will not making them weak" i said and he rubbed his jaw.

"that will make a part from their hearts breath" he said. and i can't believe this, he acts like he owns them.

"i want their hearts to be dead, i want them to be just like stones" he said and i stopped myself from slapping him.

"you seriously act like you own them. they can do whatever they like" i said and he grabbed my collar and pulled me closer to him.

"this is my ship, my crew and my rules" he whispered in my face then he pushed me down on the ground. then something came up to my mind. i angrily stood up and i stood in front of him.

"well, congratulations. yesterday, you laughed. and since laughing makes you a weak man with a heart. well, all thanks go to me since i made you a weak man. but you know what, i didn't make you a weak man, you are already a weak man, and yesterday i made you show it" i screamed in his face. and his expression was scary.

"this might be your ship, but they are your crew and you are the captain. not their owner. and i didn't do anything wrong, all i did is make them have a good time. they all we're happy, as if it's the first time they are happy. so if you are the reason they have never laughed from their hearts before, change your ways, because when they find real happiness, they will blame you from not letting them enjoy it" i screamed. he looked at me with mixed emotions in his eyes. 

"they are human beings, they have feelings, they can hide their feelings. but that doesn't mean that they don't have any" i whispered to him. i just hated the fact that he just wants his crew to have a stone heart.

"we don't deserve happiness" that was the only thing he said before he turned around and started walking. but i can't let him leave this easily, not after what he just said.

"we all made mistakes" i screamed, he stopped walking but he didn't turn around.

"each one on this ship, made a mistake that caused him to be stuck on this ship" he said. i didn't know what to say.

"if they are not the men i trained them to be, they will be repeating their mistakes over and over again" he said. i am now curious.

"they can be changed, you can change them, i can change them and they can change themselves" i said and he angrily turned around , causing me to take a few steps back.

"change can not be made, they are what they are now and there is no one or nothing that will change that" he said and i noticed the sadness in his eyes, as if he wants them to change but something is holding him back.

"the only reason you are still alive and on this ship is because you said that you will help us. that's it Clay, you are the reason they will be working extra tomorrow" he said and i stopped the tears from escaping my eyes.

"all i did was make them happy for once in their lives Elias" i screamed. and his eyes turned darker when i said his name.

"you are not who you think you are Clay, the thing you will be calling me is Captain, don't you dare say me name ever again" he said and i angrily laughed.

"i called you by your name yesterday, did it make you mad? no, now stop acting like the big boss here when you are nothing except a piece of garbage" i said and he rubbed his face with his thumb.

"just f*****g forget about what happened yesterday Clay, it's not as special as you think it is. i was drunk Clay so i don't even remember most of what happened. stop acting like what happened yesterday is a big deal, and don't think that just because i smiled with you means that you are now someone close to me. i don't care about you or about what happened yesterday, all i care about is getting information from you" he said. and i was disappointed, not shocked, just disappointed.

"and for a brief second, i thought that you are not as bad as you look like, well thanks for showing me that you are and always will be the man who acts like he is ruthless because he doesn't want to break the barricade between him and the past" i said. then i walked past him and i made my way to my room. i thought that i can change him, i thought than i can help him, but turns out that i was only living in my imagination.