Fair Winds

The crisp salty air flows like a magical dance with the ocean. The sight is the perfect marriage to the well-known pirate; Captain Jonathan H. Steele. He stands before the bowsprit of his ship, “The Cutthroat,” looking out to the distance. He feels that cool breeze flow through his thick, black, shoulder-length hair while his tricorne hat nestles snuggly on his head. His suntanned harsh-looking face shows the exposure of the sun while his sea-blue eyes tell many-a-tale of his great adventures. But nothing is bigger to the latest adventure he is about to embark on.

A smile spreads on his face as he studies the horizon with its melds of oranges, pinks, and greens. He is going back to Victoria, Canada to see his beloved Emily again. As he watches the sun slowly set in the west, he pictures Emily on his ship with his arms wrapped around her waist. The warm feel of her body pressed against his, the herby smell of her long dark hair flowing in the wind, and that sensitive part of her neck that skips a beat when he presses his lips to it. Right now, she is probably staring at that same sunset painting a glorious picture of it or even writing some beautiful story about what she is seeing. So intelligent is she and as wild as a tempest to boot. But that is what he loves the most about her.

“Three cheers for the Captain!” Yells out his quartermaster Christen Smiles, interrupting the captain’s thoughts. Steele turns and looks to his crew with their raised mugs of rum towards him. The captain gives them all a smile and tips his hat towards them.

Right now, the crew is trying to separate the treasure they have just acquired amongst themselves. They are standing around the piles of gold, jewels, and amazing amounts of riches they have just collected from the Royal Infantry of Shalamar. He remembers seeing the shock that they had delivered to those slave-trading bastards. They didn’t know what hit them. Now his crew have more than enough treasure to retire if they so choose.

He turns back to face the sunset on the horizon and thinks of his Emily. When they meet again, he will hold her close and ask for her hand in marriage. He has collected enough treasure over the years and has it hidden well in various places on Vancouver Island in the country of Canada. They can be comfortable with that treasure for a long time. They can sail away in the open seas together while she writes her stories and paints her pictures. A pleasurable sigh escapes his mouth as he feels a sense of making his dreams come true.

He promised her that he would be back in six months. Luckily, it went smoother than he had originally planned and it only took him three months instead. They will be at the Victoria port in two days time. Despite the fact that they have been exchanging letters, he still misses her dreadfully. But now, with his fortune now made, he can keep his promise to marry her. He could care less about the treasure when all he wants is Emily to share the several sunrises and sunsets together.

What will the future hold for them? He can’t help but wonder. With a little luck and some fair winds, that will happen sooner rather than later.

“Captain Steele!” Yells the sailor on the lookout, holding his looking glass with one hand and hysterically pointing out to the north with the other. “Hurricane coming!”

Dark, ominous clouds start to form over in the northern direction. They start small but get bigger as the seconds go by. A surge of shock and fear hits him first but then remembering his training, he yells out. “Hold fast men! Secure the rigging!”

With that order, the crew run around frantically following the captain’s orders. Captain Steele helps his crew pull down the sails while the boat tips violently to the left and right. Each of them feel the boat shuddering as if it is a sea creature in the midst of a terrible attack from a violent predator.

“Secure yourselves!” Cries Captain Steele. “Stay safe!”

“Captain! The treasure!” Smiles screams.

“Forget it! Save your life!” He yells out. “That’s an order!”

Listening to his captain, quartermaster Smiles wraps his wrist with the rope around the gunner. All of the crew wrap themselves with rope around various structures of the ship, hoping to survive the anguish and hate that this storm is dishing out at them. The wild rising of the water hits their ship in waves over and over again. Various wooden boards start to peel and fly into the water and into various members of the crew. This horror lasts for hours until the ship and its crew start vanishing into the raging darkness. Soon, there is nothing left.

Suddenly, everything is quiet. Captain Steele finds himself on top of what’s left of the floor of his ship. Exhaustion completely takes over him so that he can’t even lift his head. Tears fall down his face and all he can think of is Emily. The realization that he will never see her again breaks his heart into a million pieces.

He looks out to the horizon in the east and sees the sun rise. A small bit of gratitude fills his heart as he sees something beautiful before he parishes along with his crew. All he wanted is to be with Emily and now that can’t happen.

“I love you, Emily.” He thinks out to the horizon. “May the fair winds lead you to a happy life. That’s all I want now.”

His blue eyes close as he feels colder and colder until the life slips out of him with the calm of the ocean.