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I had been looking forward to this trip for a long time.
I had sailed with Captain Jorge the previous year, and we had become very good friends. We had sailed to the far east and back, each week I saw more and more of his daughter and could see how much she looked like him, and how much she had inherited his kind heart. I really wanted to spend more time with him, but it came down to money. If he did not subsidise the expensive upkeep on the increasingly expensive and fragile ship, I would not be able to continue sailing with them for much longer. I would have to do something else, and it would not be good for business. I had never been in love with the sea, but I really didn't want to leave this ship behind just because of a bad financial situation. So, I swallowed my pride and asked him for a favour.
"Captain, I know this is an expensive voyage for you, and I would love to keep travelling with you and Dasha. It is your dream too, so please keep subsidising us. More than that, I would love you to see us off. I know it always feels like good-bye, but it is not your sea, so you don't have to wonder what could have happened if we never come back."
I could tell he was proud of himself. He always made me feel as if I always got my way with him, but I knew better. He sent me a message, and I remained on board until he turned up 2 weeks later, 2 weeks to the very day. I was ready to go, but was a person short. There was a man on the dock who looked exactly like Captain Jorge, but he couldn't be the captain. Captain Jorge was alive, just not on this plane, my plane, of existence.
I had found a letter from the real Captain Jorge 3 days ago. He had sent it a few days before his fate, so he did not know exactly when he would die. I did not want to think of him as dead, I had lost enough friends to this terrible war that was destroying our world. So, every day it was a constant struggle not to think of him as dead.
The letter was as follows:
"Juan, You are my very best friend. I know, and I hope you know how grateful I am that we became best friends. I can tell you anything, even what I have not yet discovered about myself.
I have been thinking about your situation, and have been considering sending someone over to do my job, so you do not need to do it for me. I have decided for you. This week's storm will be your last with us, and I have arranged for someone to replace me, so you will still have a job and an income.
I'm not going to appoint another captain, because the person I have chosen is better than anyone, both in skill and heart.
I have arranged for you to meet up with my daughter, and your future boss. Her name is Jenny. She is very similar to you, in that she is humble, smart, clever and kind. She has inherited my kindness, but she has her mother's beauty. She has the same freckles and thick jet black hair, much like mine. Her best feature, however, is her voice. Just like a nightingale, every word she says is like a purr to the ear, sweet and melodic.
You will like her, I know it. I trust you completely and this is why I am asking you to meet up with her and her crew. You will like her crew just as much, they are a band of misfits, all together they are unusual, but they work together amazingly. The age range is broad too, and they have had a lot of experience on board different ships, some of them being in the Navy, but now being pirates. I don't know why, but it is not my place to ask.
Meet them at her boat and only them. They will take care of you and they will take care of me.
As this is your last week as part of my crew, I've decided to treat you really well, so give Juan the pendant that is around my neck when you see her.
Trust.
Bart
PS I think you are going to like the crew. They are a strange bunch, but once they get to know you they will like you also. You may even get stuck talking to them for hours on end."
I was so happy when I read that letter. This was my chance to continue sailing to the dangerous lands, but I also got to work with a close friend and his daughter. A daughter who was a lot like him, kind, smart, determined and a little clumsy, but still so beautiful.
I looked at the man. Something was not right. He was definitely of Asian descent and his clothes were those of a wealthy travelling gentleman. His clothes were the finest clothes I have ever seen someone wear. My clothes were rickety and old, and I knew I had too many tears to ever repair them. If I was rich and travelled on a fine ship, I would get a different set of clothes. I was not that rich.