*Sabrina*
Four days later.
“Land ho!”
The call rings out, and Gabriel joins me at the railing as the island comes into view, lush and jagged on the horizon, the sea around it deep blue.
“Hispaniola,” he says quietly. “Graceful name for a place so fierce.”
I nod. “It stays fierce. In my time, it’s two countries—Haiti on the west, the Dominican Republic on the east.”
He glances at me. “Still split?”
“Yes, it’s complicated. Haiti’s born out of a revolution, the only successful uprising of enslaved people in history. They take their freedom and name their country themselves. The Dominican side fights its own battles for independence. Neither path is easy. This island has been carved up, fought over, and bled on for generations, but it endures.”
He nods slowly, his gaze shifting bac
