Chapter 8: Wrath of the Sea Spirits

It was still the dead of night, but Tom had long been awake.
No matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't close his eyes.
Perhaps even Death itself couldn't lull him to sleep with its lullaby.
For this was the day of departure.
He had waited for it so long.
Now everything depended solely on him. Charlotte had supported his desire, and against the backdrop of it all, he felt genuine relief. Yet ahead, there were still many questions that needed answers.

- Soon we'll meet again. So much time has passed. So much has changed. I don't know if we'll even recognize each other.

Speaking these words to the sea, Tom hoped to find a guiding mark in the waves. Not just for their nautical course—no, that had long been charted.
For the inner course of his soul.
Though Tom had managed to calm Charlotte and put to rest the guilt within himself, the nature of which he still couldn't grasp,
Somewhere deep inside him, voices—previously so quiet—were now screaming.
Tom couldn't make out their words, but with each step from home toward the port, they grew louder and louder.

- Perhaps Charlotte was right? Maybe enough is enough? Time to stop? The sea is meant for the young, for passionate and fiery lads who, sparing nothing, sail into the abyss chasing a dream. I've long since found and fulfilled mine. I have Charlotte. I have wonderful Emily. What more could I desire? What?

What more could he desire? Every great sailor, dreamy astronomer, or renowned warrior had faced this question at least once.
Yet somewhere deep within, Tom understood that if he stopped now, in a certain sense, his life would end. And he would lose everything—even what he had now.

- But... But if that's the case... Why am I so restless? Why does my soul tear itself from my body and fly far away from here? Why can't it just stop? Why was my heart made to love not only Charlotte?

Lost in his morning melancholy, Tom didn't notice that he was no longer alone on the porch.

- Daddy...

- Heavens, Emily... Why are you up so early?

- I had a scary dream.

- What did you dream about, my little pearl?

- In my dream, there was a huge dragon. It attacked our town. It burned houses and ships in the port. It burned the school and all my teachers. The town hall, the library, the market square—everything, everything, everything. And then it flew to our house and took Mama.

- My child, you know it's all just a dream, not real. There are no dragons in the real world.

- I know, but that's not what scared me. When the dragon took Mama, she was calling for you. But you weren't there.

- Where was I? Out at sea at the time?

- No! I don't know how to explain it, but it was like you weren't there at all. Your things weren't at home, no one in town knew you. There wasn't even a grave for you at the cemetery. It was as if you never existed. But Mama kept calling for you. She screamed with all her might, but you weren't there. You didn't exist. And I started crying.

- That can't happen in the real world. Only in dreams. I'm here now, right beside you. Completely real and completely existing.

- But is it possible for someone to just disappear? So that everyone forgets them? Forgets them so completely they can never remember?

- Only if they never existed in the first place, perhaps?

- Can that really happen?

- Don't worry about it. I'm just saying nonsense. Of course, it can't! God brings us into life, and at the end of life, He takes us to Himself. But if you live a worthy life, people will remember your name for a long time. Besides, our souls live forever in the heavenly kingdom. So calm down. It was just a dream, a figment of your vivid imagination.

- I wish I only dreamed of fairies.

- If you wish for it and don't forget to pray before bed, you'll surely meet fairies in your dreams.

- Then I'm going back to bed.

- Good, run along quickly.

- Will you sing me a lullaby?

- Ha. I don't think it'll help you fall asleep. And I don't know any lullabies.

- Mama always sings one to me before bed.

- You mean you usually fall asleep to my stories, don't you?

- They're so interesting, Daddy... But every time after you, Mama would come and sing me a lullaby. So I can't fall asleep without one.

- Is that so... Looks like we've got a secret mutiny on this ship.

- Yes! And if there's no lullaby, I'll ask Mama to lock you in the hold so you can't go anywhere. That way, you'll stay with us forever.

- What a sly blackmail! Now I'll definitely have to sing for you! Let's go quickly.

This was the last chance to hold little Emily in his arms like this. These six years he'd spent on land had felt both endlessly long and impossibly fast—and Emily had been a witness to it all.
Already so grown and clever, yet still small enough to hold in one arm.
Perhaps when he returned, he'd need to muster all his strength to lift her.

- I don't know any lullabies, so you'll have to fall asleep to a sailor's song!

- Deal!

- Just a warning—it might be pretty awful, so let's not tell Mama, or she'll laugh at me for the rest of her life.

- It'll be our little secret that the Captain doesn't know about.

- Hey! I'm still the Captain here for now.

- Come on, start already...

- Ahem... Alright, alright. How did it go again...

The gods would never forgive me if I told you anything about Tom's singing.
But I think it's important to know that for Emily, it was the best singing from the best daddy in the world.
That morning, warmth finally filled the Warren household, completely driving out the dampness of inner doubts and worries.
It would be wonderful if that moment could last forever.
But it couldn't...
Perhaps that's why it was so precious—for both Tom and Emily.

The ship was ready, the course charted. A new beginning, whose epilogue would be an end. But what is an end, and what is a beginning? It didn't matter. Where the beginning lies, where the end... The important thing was that Tom knew not all who wander are lost.
Charlotte came to give Tom a final kiss.
She had promised herself, at least for a while, not to cry or grieve, for what was meant to happen could no longer be undone.
Once again.
Once again, she had to trust and simply wait.
Yet in her heart, a hope flickered—that this time, precisely because it was Tom,
everything would, for the first time and forever, be alright.

- Take care of yourself...

Emily had come to see her daddy off too, which was a great support for Charlotte.
Her cheerful and lively mood helped balance Charlotte's sorrow, keeping it within bounds.

- Yes! And come back soon so we can go to the festival faster.

- It won't start before the planned date.

- Still, come back quickly. We'll find things to do. And Mama won't be sad.

- And you won't be sad?

- Of course I will. But not too much, so Daddy doesn't get too full of himself.

- Oh, you... My little show-off!

Goodbyes...
It's hard to imagine a situation where they'd be entirely pleasant and free of a tinge of sadness.
The only thing to do here was to end it as quickly as possible.
Turn the hourglass and wait for the soonest reunion of the Warren family.

As always, Charlotte took responsibility for handling such difficult and unpleasant matters.

- We're already waiting for you. And don't take on too much. You're not 16 anymore.

- I thought I was only getting stronger and tougher with age.

- You only thought so.

- Oh, hush!

- Listen to your daughter and don't get too full of yourself...

- I never liked goodbyes.

- Never say that to me. Besides, we're not saying goodbye—when we miss each other, we can visit one another in our dreams.

Emily shouted too:

- And I'll fly to Daddy in my dreams too!

- You won't even notice how quickly I'm back!

- Seven feet under your keel, Daddy!

- Why are you surprised? Soon this little sea wolf will replace you,

- Charlotte teased, both to poke at Tom and to support him at the same time.

- With a future like that, I won't be afraid to leave my post.

- Go already!

- Will you smile for me one last time?

Tom gave his loved ones one final embrace.
But, as we've already established, all good things must come to an end.
Yet so do all bad things.
A parting is followed by a reunion.
A lost bearing leads to the right path.
For Tom, it was time to find the right path, now not within himself but at sea.
Truth be told, he always fared better at sea.
So it was time to board the ship, where Richard and the rest of the crew were already waiting.

- So, Rich, are you ready?

- I was about to ask you that. You're the one who's been lounging on land while we did your work.

- How's my little girl doing? Has she aged as much as her master?

- She's as fresh and beautiful as the first day. You're the one who's grown moldy.

- Hahaha. Enough chatter. Cast off the mooring lines!

- Mooring lines cast off!

- Raise the anchor!

The crew responded in unison, their voices as one:

- Anchor raised!

- We'll take a starboard tack. Throw the backstay!

- Welcome back to the helm. Whatever I might say, she missed you!- The feeling's mutual! So, is Lottie ready?

The moment Tom stepped onto the deck, all his dark thoughts were swept away by the morning tide.
He no longer worried about Charlotte and Emily. Now his heart was in the hands of another Lottie, and his soul belonged to the element that, despite the drift, carried him forward.
With her snow-white sails unfurled, Lottie sailed far beyond the horizon, where even the sun's rays couldn't reach.
Would Charlotte's voice carry that far?
Would Tom hear it through the roar of the surf?
It didn't matter, for the key had been turned, and Tom's soul looked only ahead!
In that moment, nothing could hold it back.
Nothing, of course, except itself...