The Brothers....Their Story Continues

Chapter Seven

They were starting the third day at sea a little rough, but surely the effects of the night before would wear off soon. With the sails down and the motor running, they cruised along at a good clip, and Efe could see they were nearing Cartagena. He wondered if they should make a stop there at the port for the night. He yelled for Kadir, who had gone below to make their dinner, "Abi, check the water supply and the food, and see if we need to make a stop at Cartagena." Kadir did as he asked, relaying that they had used one full container of water, and they could probably use some more drinking water. "Ok, we should stop there for the night, fill all the containers with fresh water and get some bottled water. After we leave there we will hit he open sea heading to Ibiza, and that will be, at least a two day sail. 

They sun was fading fast as their boat idled into the channel, just a ways from the dock. The pier was busy with people, and the sound of loud music drifted out from the bars that lined the wharf, and the smell of food from the vendors that where set up outside made both of their mouths water. Kadir was glad he had decided to stop, maybe they could buy dinner this time and save the food they had onboard. They pick an empty slip to dock the boat, and got it secured to the pier. Since they had been in the same clothes for three days, they opted to take a quick shower and change, before making their way to the restaurant. Efe was looking at one of the many bars and clubs along the wharf, dinner and a drink sounded pretty good. Kadir wanted to go to the small outdoor cafe that was right in front of the pier, so they decided to go their separate ways and then meet back at the boat in a couple of hours. 

Kadir had finished his dinner and even had dessert, filled the empty water container and went to the market that was a few blocks away, and bought water and a few more food items. He got everything arranged on the boat, but still no Efe. He stretched out on the deck bench to wait for him, knowing it would probably be a long wait. The busyness of the pier slowly began to disappear, the restaurants were shutting off there lights, and locking the doors, but still no Efe. With the wharf almost completely silent  and empty, Kadir knew his brother probably wouldn't return until the morning. He shook his head, " Typical Efe, he could always find someone to spend his time with, even this far away from home." He got comfortable on the long bench, listening to the water lap up against the side of the boat, his eyes were heavy, and hard to keep open. 

The sound of a woman laughing woke him up, he sat up, looking down the long pier he saw his brother and a woman walking toward the boat. " Oh hell no, he's not bringing her onboard to spend the rest of the night." He thought, but they stopped a short distance from the boat. He could see they were saying their goodbyes to each other, in the most conspicuous way, so he turned away to give them privacy. This was his brother, always able to find a way to have a good time. He just attracted women like bees to a flower, he was amazed by it, but he wasn't sure if he was impressed by it. The parting lasted for a few minutes, then the woman turned and walked away, and Efe started toward the boat, hands in his pockets. By the time he was onboard, Kadir was up waiting for him, " So what happened to you, where did you go." The younger brother asked. Efe smiled and plopped down on the other deck bench, " Well, I got an invitation I couldn't  refuse little brother, so I didn't." Kadir smirked, " Is this the way it's going to be the entire trip, you're off having a good time with the women and I'm doing all the work." Efe slid down, getting comfortable with his arms stretched out above his head, sighing heavily, " Ok, sure, that sounds good to me." He mumbled as he drifted of to sleep. 

Kadir watched him for a bit, thinking, " If I had just half the confidence, the arrogance, the electricity he had, I might have a whole different life."  He envied him in a way, he had always wanted to be just like him, maybe this trip would do him some good. Maybe a little of Efe Divit would rub off on him. The night was cut short when a hard rain moved in, drenching them as they slept on the deck. The both ran for cover below, as the storm intensified. They changed into dry clothes and retired to their bed in the cabins, finishing out the night there. By morning the storm had moved on to the south of them, but the winds that followed kept them docked for a couple of hours. The weather was something neither of them wanted to gamble with. After checking the weather conditions from there to Ibiza Island, they decided to head out. 

Moving out from the port and into the channel that would lead them out into the Mediterranean Sea, it was quite visible that the wind had turned the sea into a churning pot, with the waves rising and falling violently. The caps of white foam exploding into the water and lapping over into their boat. This was the first of many challenges that Efe would meet on this journey, he knew they were in a difficult situation and he would need all the skills his Dad had taught him to bring them through it. Kadir helped by keeping his eyes on the navigation panel, with the boat being tossed about almost like a toy, the possibility of them losing their course was more then evident. The thought of turning back to Cartagena was tempting, but they had already fought their way through these waves for over an hour and Efe hoped they would see their way out of it soon.

Kadir knew his brother would do everything possible to keep the boat intact and them safe, but that didn't keep him from wishing his Dad was there to navigate them to a calmer sea. The look of intimidation was written all over Efe's face, so to keep the faith alive in him was going to be his job. " Abi, you've got this, I think the winds are starting to die down some. You're doing a great job of keeping us on course." The younger brother yelled to him. The wind and crashing waves making it almost impossible to hear each other. Efe smiled broadly giving his little brother a thumbs up,  but that feeling of failing this test was sitting heavy in his gut. He heard his Dads voice loud and  clear In his head as he fought the wheel, " Never panic son, panic is the first sign of failure, and failure is a sign of weakness, we Divits are not weak".......

His heart beat fast as he braced himself against the side of the boat, griping the wheel with a determination and will. 

"He wasn't weak, never had been, and never would be.......

" There was the blood of Can Divit that ran through him........failure was not an option"