Chapter 7: Dead Men Walking

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Night descended upon Jonathan once more, a day after Keijeen and those he had brought with him set sail from Jomsgrills.

The ride went smoothly and everything was going great so far. All that they had to worry about was what would fatefully come after the successful voyage.

Jonathan slowly and uncomfortably, sat up in his chair as he started his conversation with Keijeen.

"Father, do you ever... get scared?"

"Scared? Of course not! Why would I be scared of anything?" Keijeen laughed, ruffling Jonathan's hair.

"Before he died... my father always told me it was okay to be scared. He was scared when he took on those bandits, I could tell."

"He didn't want to fight, but he was scared that I'd get hurt."

Jonathan continued.

"I always have this feeling that something bad might happen to me next. Sometimes I feel like I'm cursed, like I shouldn't even be alive. Why else would my father have been killed?"

"He told me that the true monsters in this world are the people who lie to themselves..."

Keijeen looked worried.

"I always thought things would never get better after my dad died... but now that I'm with you, I can finally eat good food again... I can finally stop feeling like it's gonna be my turn to die, you know?"

"I can stop lying to myself."

Keijeen smiled slightly.

"But..."

"But what?" Keijeen responded.

"For some reason, even though I know all this now. I still worry. I still get scared, thinking about what could happen to me."

"I still keep lying to myself about these things."

"And the more I lie, the more I feel like these thoughts in my head won't be lies anymore."

Jonathan looked like he was about to cry.

"What if things just go back to the way they were..." He sobbed.

Keijeen let go of his casual attitude and began offering Jonathan some guidance.

"Jonathan, I think... you think too much. Your father was right, it's okay to be scared. I'll be real with you... I get scared too..."

"But letting fear cloud your judgment, is one of the worst things you can let happen. Acting off your impulse like that ain't gettin' ya' nowhere."

"Sometimes people lie to themselves or to others because they're scared. In moments like these, you gotta fight. To me, fighting is the best way to combat against fear."

Jonathan pondered on his fathers words.

Gazing out at the sea, he then scanned the ship, taking in all the people he could see.

"But what if you're afraid of fightin' it?"

"Then the only other option is to run. But if you're always running, you'll never know what to do when your only choice is to fight."

"If you're gonna be sailin' with us, you'll have to change your way of thinking. Warriors like us don't just learn the art of fight, but we learn to accept a fight for what it is and face it head on. 'Tis the mark of a true warrior my friend. To stand tall in the face of danger is what makes us men. When ya' become a true warrior, running becomes a last resort."

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