Treasure of the sea |Lesbian story|

CHAPTER XVIII

"Ten years ago, I was living in the suburbs of London with my wife and two children. We were poor, so poor we couldn't even feed ourselves. One day my youngest son, Bill, fell ill. I was trying very hard to get money to pay for a doctor. Finally, I gave up hope and acted without thinking, stupidly. I was caught red-handed when I broke into a house. Inside my pockets they found various jewels. Therefore, I was arrested. Shortly before the trial I received a letter from my wife telling me that Bill was dead. I was sentenced to hard labour in the penal colonies. I wasn't even allowed to say goodbye to my family one last time. I'd heard about those convict colonies. People were treated worse than beasts and not given enough food to survive such hardships. I knew I would never return home, and the thought of my wife and only son left to their own devices haunted me. I left a week later on a prison ship. There were forty-two inmates, seven of them women. One of them was Arenis. She was then barely twenty, the same age as my eldest son. We were tied up like animals and locked in that dark, smelly hold. They wouldn't let us get up or go outside for a breath of air. Every hour of the day we prayed to the Lord that an epidemic would not break out on the ship, because if it did we would all die. We began to get to know each other as the days went by, because the only thing you could do in that place was talk to your companions in misfortune. Arenis was the only one who didn't open her mouth. She stood there with her eyes turned blank, expressionless. I began to believe that she was mute. The other women were afraid of her and no one dared approach. She seemed as if she were waiting for something. And in fact, when we were not far from land, she raised her head and said it was time to assault the sailors and take possession of the ship. There were forty-two of us, and little more than ten of them. She revealed her plan to all of us, who listened unconvinced. We thought she was crazy. But her plan was so flawless that none of us could see a mistake. It seemed to work perfectly.

"And how do you think we can free ourselves from these chains?" asked one man, almost mocking her.

It was then that we noticed that she had been free for some time. She had used two iron pins to free herself, taken from the robes of the women near her. She knew a technique for blowing off the locks that trapped us. In no time she managed to free us all. The assault was a cinch. The sailors never saw it coming. They hadn't even had time to grab their weapons. We threw them overboard and to our surprise we found out that Arenis was able to steer a sailing ship. She was elected Captain and landed us safely in Nassau. It was then that she gave us a choice: get off and start a new life or follow her out to sea. I felt lost. I could no longer return to England, for I was now a fugitive, and after that assault at sea I should be condemned to death for the murder of those sailors. I was involved in a mutiny, and the Royal Navy knew all our names well. I had no money, nowhere to go. And that woman was offering us a better life and maybe even some money to send to our families. I followed her. She was so convincing and determined that I soon began to admire her. Every month I manage to send my loved ones enough money to feed them properly. Not once have I regretted becoming a pirate."

For the first time, I felt compassion for these people, for Dinnington. Suddenly, he was more human. I felt that somehow I was sorry. Sorry for what? For that little boy who died because he didn't get treatment? For all those lives cut short by injustice and a crushing, cruel existence? Who was to blame? The criminal or society?

"Why was Arenis there? Why was she on that prison ship? What did she do?" I asked.

"I've never asked her personally. I know nothing about her past and she refuses to talk about it. However, there were rumours among the inmates of that ship. They said that she had murdered her husband."

I had imagined that the woman was despicable, but that she had cold-bloodedly murdered the person she married, I just couldn't accept it.

"But that's just a rumour, Miss Adler. Never trust rumours."