Chapter 2: Echoes of the Shore

16XX, Bristol, Great Britain

- Tom, darling, wake up! It's already two in the afternoon. This won't do.

An unfamiliar voice called out to Tom through the haze of a strange and eerie dream.

- Mmm... I'm getting up.
But this world felt more familiar to him. This was definitely his home.
In just a few minutes, the wave of reality would completely wash away the memories of those bizarre events that had happened to someone else entirely, in a completely unfamiliar world.
The most important thing was that the enchanting melody of the violin would disappear too.

- Up all night again until dawn?
Charlotte asked.

- Yes... I couldn't even close my eyes until the first rays of sunlight.

- You never spare yourself. You can't do all the work in the world. Go wash up at least—lunch will be ready soon.

- Thank you, love. I'll be quick.

The morning routine washed away the last traces of confusion from Tom's face like magic. He had stayed up until dawn again, poring over maps, and now he was causing trouble for his entire family.
Thank goodness his beloved Charlotte was understanding with her husband, but he still needed to hurry to the lunch table.

- Now that's more like it...

- Oh, stop it.

- How's the course coming along? Did you manage to finish it?

- No. I spent the whole night with the maps but didn't get anything done.

- What's the problem? You said it'd just be a reconnaissance expedition to already charted islands.

- I stumbled across an island I'd never seen on the maps before. I spent all night going through the archives, but I still couldn't figure it out.

- Really? Can I take a look?

Charlotte walked over to the small table in the living room, littered with various tools and maps Tom had been working on. A sextant, an astrolabe, a compass, a logbook...
As she leaned over, Tom could once again count the moles on her neck—thankfully, she had thoughtfully tucked her sandy-blonde hair behind her ear.
He had already forgotten his dream, but his body still felt slightly out of this world, so Tom carried himself with a hint of unease.

- Here it is...

- You're joking, right?

- What's wrong?

- You're such a fool... No wonder you stayed up all night.

- Stop teasing me, Charlotte! What's going on?

Without stopping her playful giggling at her husband, Charlotte simply blew on the map, and the mysterious island miraculously vanished.

- What do you mean? I don't understand... Where did it go?

- It was just a tea leaf... And you thought it was some new island...

- Damn it...

- I know, I know...

- You don't know anything... All it took was a little puff to erase an entire island from the face of the earth.

Such was the power of a woman... One touch could lift you to the stars, while another could wipe an entire island off the map. Tom understood this better than anyone, though he hardly realized it. So, Charlotte's everyday magic continued to amaze him, even after nine years of marriage.

- And this is just lunch...

- What else can you do? I'm starting to get scared of you.

- And you should be—a little fear never hurts. Or I might just blow on you next!

- Oh, not that!! Haha

- Haha, enough, enough! Go call Emily instead.

- Damn! I promised I'd take her to the town hall today to see the port, but I overslept...

- Yes, she tried to wake you, but she couldn't manage.

- Was she very upset?

- Terribly.

- You could've lied a little.

- No, I want you to fully taste the consequences of your actions.

- I'm not a very good father, am I?That's not what I meant.

Charlotte frowned. She didn't like it when Tom started berating himself. On one hand, she was glad that the renowned captain, famous across all of Britain, acted like an ordinary man at home. But Tom was always overly self-critical.

- No, you're right. Even though I took a break from work for Emily's sake, I still haven't spent more time with her. I'm always buried in maps or heading to the port.

- When we met, you weren't this melancholic! Stop talking nonsense. You're a good father.

- No need to cheer me up. If you keep praising me for no reason, I'll get completely lazy.

- Oh, believe me! I'll let you know about all your slip-ups, but I won't let anyone slander my husband!

- Haha, slander...

- Seriously, think about it...

Emily goes to a wonderful teacher, listens to incredible bedtime stories every night, and spends all her free time—when her strict mom isn't pestering her—laughing her head off at a waterfall of hilarious jokes.
And whose doing is that?

- Mine?

- Correct answer!
Everyone messes up sometimes, but that's no reason to beat yourself up over it.
We agreed with Emily that after you return, we'll all go to the Allantide festival together. She can even skip school for it.
You don't mind, do you, Captain Warren?

Charlotte turned away from preparing lunch again and playfully draped herself over Captain Warren's shoulders. They both loved mornings like this—even if it was already lunchtime.
They were together, the weather was nice, and no one was in a rush...

- Captain Warren will definitely give his permission. I'll even get a seal from the Pope himself.

- Mmm, the Pope himself—I didn't even know you were such an influential figure...

- But joking aside... Thank you, really.

- It's nothing.

- No! Thank you for saving my impeccable fatherly reputation in Emily's eyes, and just... you know...

- Know what?

- I don't even know what I did to the gods to be rewarded like this.

- Now that's too much. We're not 16 anymore to be so overly affectionate. Besides, it's time for lunch!

- Understood, Captain Warren. Off to find Boatswain Emily!

- And move those limbs faster, Private Tom!!!!

- To fall so many ranks in a single day... What a disgrace...

- One more word, and you'll spend the next week peeling potatoes in the hold.

Stepping into the yard, Tom immediately spotted Emmy. As always, she was swinging on the swing he had made for her on the old oak tree.
Emily was a spitting image of Charlotte—same sandy-blonde hair and sharp features. She had inherited Tom's deep, clear green eyes.
They hadn't yet developed the weary glaze of adulthood, so she always looked at the essence of things with the characteristic cheerfulness of a child.
Tom didn't even have a chance to say hello before Emily bombarded him with a flurry of questions.

- Dad, how long will you be at sea? Mom promised we'd go to the autumn festival together!

- If Mom said so, then it'll definitely happen.

- I want to give apples to all my school friends. And you can treat your whole crew!

Charlotte had already finished preparing lunch, so she decided to join Tom to speed things up a bit.
She didn't like disorder, and knowing Tom and Emily, she understood that the start of lunch could easily drag on.

- Of course, we'll prepare gifts for everyone you'd like.

- It's a shame we couldn't go to the port today. I wanted to see your ship.

- Next week, you can come see me off. You'll get to see it then.

- You still haven't said how long you'll be gone.

- Good question, Emily,
Charlotte chimed in, supporting her curiosity. Tom's upcoming voyage hung over their family like the Sword of Damocles—at least for Charlotte. She had long wanted to talk about it. It wasn't that they hadn't discussed it with Tom before, but Charlotte could never muster the courage for a final conversation. So she was glad Emily had brought it up first.

- It's hard to say. I still haven't properly charted the course.But I'm sure you won't even have time to blink before I'm back home with my girls,Tom, for his part, might not have fully grasped the depth of the girls' feelings, but he knew they worried about him deeply.So every time, he tried to smooth over the issue, avoiding concrete answers. It wasn't the best plan, obviously, but what answers could there be when it came to the sea?Tom could be confident in his abilities, but he could never predict the elements.

And what did it matter, when he had gone to sea so many times and returned just as many?

- Dad...

- Yes, sunshine?

- Honestly, I don't want you to go.

- Why not?

- Remember I told you about my friend Mia?She told me recently about her dad. He was a sailor too, but he never came back after his last voyage.

Mia and I think mermaids stole him, and now he's stuck with them forever.

- You don't think those mermaids would have the strength to keep me from coming back to you, do you?

- But they can enchant you, and you can't.

Emily was a clever girl. Her questions, though tinged with childish naivety, perfectly captured the essence of Charlotte's worries.
The only difference was that Emily was a child, and Charlotte wasn't. She understood a bit more, and though the emptiness from Tom's departure pained her as a wife, she still remained a mother...

- Your dad has magic stronger than any mermaid's.

- Mom's telling the truth. No mermaids can stop me, especially when I have such beauties waiting for me at home.

- What about sea tigers? Sharks? Giant octopuses? Flying rays?

- Haha, enough, enough... Trust me, sunshine, I'll make it through every challenge the sea throws at me. After all, you and your mom are waiting for me. I'll be fine.

- But... they're all so scary.

With every second, the conversation grew more painful for Charlotte.
She didn't like half-measures, so she wanted to end it quickly.
Besides, lunch was about to get cold.

- Mom and Dad would never lie to you, so you don't need to worry.

Go wash your hands quickly. You still need to practice your letters.

- Exactly! If you don't learn your letters, how will you read the name of my ship?

- I'll read it from memory.

- Haha, how's that?

- Well, I know its name... Dad's told me so many stories about it. So I'll just read it from memory.

- That doesn't count! Haha, go on, hurry up.

Charlotte said.

Emily ran back to the house, and Tom, Charlotte, and their raw, unfiltered worries—freed from the background noise—returned once more.
They both knew this conversation would happen soon; it had already repeated so many times but never concluded.
Each of the lovers had their own reasons for avoiding it for so long.
Tom couldn't change his decision.
And Charlotte couldn't stop trying to dissuade him.
Tom knew this.
And Charlotte knew about Tom.
But this conversation had to happen, because each of them wanted to take a step toward the other.