With different eyes

The way home with a raft

We stay here for a week in total and get on my mother's nerves. Well, Ace is running after her all the time. He just knows where the food is. The rest of the time he's always on my back. I, on the other hand, am getting fatter, with the advantage that the morning sickness has subsided. During the week we also went shopping for Luffy. I decided to bring him instant noodles out of flexibility. I'm standing in front of a pile of luggage and thinking about how we're going to get it all on the Moby. Ace is a bit more relaxed about it. He says he'll just build a raft. Do you understand why I have justified doubts? Nico, Mark and Loki stand in front of the pile of stuff and laugh like crazy. I'm sorry to say, I would too if I wasn't the one suffering. "Why do we have so much with us again?" I ask, annoyed. Ace is somewhere again. I don't know what he's doing but he's trying to hide it from me. I think it has something to do with the shopping at the baby shop. He definitely comes down the stairs with a bag. It's an interesting phenomenon in my family that we go on holiday with one suitcase and somehow manage to go back with four. Apparently, this rule doesn't make a difference even when we're on holiday between two worlds. My mother walks in with my father and comes straight up to me and takes me in her arms. Tears well up in my eyes. "You'll come over when the child is here?" she asks, distraught. I nod, crying. "Women!" says Nico rolling his eyes. For which he immediately gets a punishing look from my mother. "Men!" I simply retort. Ace just lifts all the stuff up as if it weighed nothing at all. "Shall we?" asks Ace, his eyes glittering. I squeeze them all again, crying like a castle dog as I do so too. Ace gives me a reassuring hug. And this despite the fact that he's also lugging all his stuff around. I shake hands with Ace and then grab the knife. The world blurs into a whirlpool of bright colours.

Until the world stops spinning, I sit down in the sand. Ace immediately throws the things on the floor and sits down with me. "Are you all right?" he asks me and I nod. On the next world trip, I will close my eyes. Ace looks at all the stuff. "We really need a raft to tie to the Striker!" says Ace. I nod enthusiastically. My trousers are really stretching. Soon I can't close them at all, it's very uncomfortable as it is. I look at my shirt. It's very long, I could ... I quickly look at Ace who is looking in another direction, probably looking for Luffy. I unbutton my trousers so that they are no longer tight and quickly pull my shirt over before Ace sees. He'll make fun of it. But Ace is too distracted, he looks into the jungle and grins broadly. Oh yes, I've forgotten about that again, there's another D. hanging around. He comes running up laughing and jumps at Ace. I slide a little to the side as the two of them start to fight and roll in the sand. A few more minutes and the two brothers look like breaded cutlets. My stomach starts to growl at the thought. I walk towards one of the numerous backpacks and take out a bread box. In it my mother has packed a sandwitsch with cold chicken. I eat my meal with relish before Ace and Luffy notice that there are edible things here. After all, I have to think of my child! Yes, I know I'm greedy, but it's Ace's fault! He didn't have to pass on his black hole, which he calls a stomach!

I look around. Doesn't Rayleigh have to be attracted by the noise, after all Luffy is fooling around. And I wanted to give him his present. As if he had read my thoughts, he comes trotting out of the forest and looks at the two brothers. Ace just pushes Luffy's head into the sand and laughs loudly. I walk towards the dark king and hug him tightly. Somehow the pregnancy has made me clingy. Rayleigh puts a hand on my head, laughing. "We brought you something!" I say, seeing the curiosity in his eyes. Smirking, I walk over to the backpacks and pull out his bottle. Then I hand it to him. "As a thank you for what you do and have done for Luffy, Ace and me!" I say smiling. Rayleigh laughs loudly and asks, "What have I done for you and Ace?" I smile mischievously and say, "Neither threw me, Roger or Ace off the boat!" Rayleigh throws his head back and laughs at the top of his lungs. "But we have to go, they must miss us on the Moby already!" I say and get a sad look from the brothers. Sighing, I take out Luffy's presents whereupon his eyes gleam with joy. "Food!" he yells and I hold the bag away and explain to him what he has to do. In vain, I think, because he's going to eat the noodles raw! "We have to build a raft anyway, otherwise we won't get all this stuff on the Moby," I say seriously. "And maybe we should tell Marco that we're on our way," I add. I don't know to whom, because Ace and Luffy are gone. I blink in irritation. Weren't they just sitting three metres away from me? I turn on my axis but can't spot them. "Where to?" I start to ask. "Gone to get wood!" says Rayleigh to me, opening his present. I raise my eyebrows and give him a punishing look. "Early in the morning already?" I ask crossly. He just ignores it and looks appreciatively at the bottle. Ace and Luffy come back with some logs and start building the raft. I wonder if it will hold. "Ace where's the den-den mushi?" I ask aloud and Ace just shrugs and enthusiastically gets to work with Luffy. That was a great help!