Already Gone

Chapter Four: The Harbor

It was late in the evening and Liesl sat next to Zeke on a tiny bench that over looked the harbor on the south end of Liberio. Summertime had blessed the surrounding area's with good weather that made crops flourish and brought in an influx of food rations. The ability to have full plates during dinner time was seemingly enough to distract the people of increasing tensions occurring between Marley and the other countries of the world. As the sun disappeared the ships that were unloaded through out the day finally untied themselves from the dock and began their departure toward the deep blue horizon.

"What do you think would happen if we boarded one of those?" Zeke asked softly with his eyes fixated on the setting sun and the waves in the distance.
"They'd mistake us for seals and throw us over board," Liesl chuckled. It had been close to ten years since Zeke's mother and father had been sent off to "Paradise" and ever since then Liesl and Zeke spent every moment of their free time together. In those years Zeke began to grow more curious about life outside of Marley and Liesl began to grow more concerned on their future inside of Marley.

The sound of the boat gliding through the water intrigued Liesl too, but she kept her gaze solely upon Zeke as the moon began to take over the suns duty of illuminating the sky. To her the ocean meant nothing if he wasn't watching it next to her.

"I'm being serious Liesl," Zeke slunk down a bit and rested his chin on his hands. "One day i'll be boarding one of those boats and I'll finally know what's out there." The silence that bit back at Zeke after he spoke tugged him away from his daydreams and back to reality. A reality where he would only live to be thirty and forced to leave behind the only person who has ever shown him real compassion and kindness.

He turned his head away from the sea and back to Liesl who remained gazing up at him with her green doe eyes.

"Zeke, we have such little time left before..." Liesl wasn't sure how to put her thoughts in to her words as their eyes met. "Well i'm starting to think—"

"Come this way! Look another one is about to set off!" Zeke interrupted her as he usually did, but the slight giggle in his voice and the way his blonde ringlets bounced as he ran distracted her in the most beautiful way.

"You forget that I'm faster than you Zeke!" Liesl chuckled and let go of his hand moving past him with long strides that left him in the dust. They raced down the side of the harbor leaping over the seagulls that were too lazy to fly out of their way.

By the time they reached the loading dock their legs burned and they were left gasping for air. A dark colored ship that was nearly as tall as the buildings surrounding it began to blow steam and slowly set off through the water as it began its journey back home. Liesl and Zeke stood there mesmerized, trying to understand how insignificant they had to have appeared standing next to something of such a grand size.

"What do you say we jump on?" Zeke teased pretending to leap up and over the railing but Liesl quickly tugged his shirt tail before he got too close.

"Careful, I don't feel like fishing you out of the sea tonight" she laughed.

"Hey you two!" A voice called out from the back of the large steam ship, causing Liesl to snap her head in its direction. On the very edge of the boats railing an older man with a bottle in hand squinted to make out the two figures that were chattering on the harbor.

Zeke and Liesl were hesitant to respond to him, but the old man aboard the ship seemed just fine to carry on the conversation with no retaliation. He used his free hand to rub his eye hoping to clear his blurred vision, and was able to make out the yellow arm band on the young boy. Zeke, who could tell the man was inspecting them, slowly moved towards Liesl's left side making sure her armband would be hidden behind him.