One Piece (SSW Backstory)

Chapter 3

Saphira's POV

The sun was setting, painting the clear skies orange and pink, a deep purple color stood as the background to make the two vibrant colors stand out. We stopped rowing hours ago, too exhausted to continue. We ate a small dinner in silence, Winifred took her food without a fuss. Her behavior is very concerning, but I'm grateful either way. There wasn't much space to lay down, we made due with it though. No use complaining. Silver was curled up in a ball next to our supplies, the boy was laying down on the other side with his knees bend and his neck propped up in an odd angle. 'That must be so uncomfortable' .

I was sitting upright, rocking gently back and forth. Winifred slept most of the day, so its no surprise that she was wide awake now. I sighed in exhaustion. "We can take turns." The boy whispered, I jumped a little at the sudden sound. I thought he was asleep. "I don't mind helping, I know your exhausted too." I gave him a glare, he probably can't even see it with how dark it has gotten. "I know you're mad at me for what happened earlier today, I'm sorry okay? I was just..." He's words died down, as if not knowing what to say, I couldn't see his face but I know he must be sad. I mean, he's handling it better then I did when our parents left us.

"I understand, and..." I sighed again when I felt Winifred playing with my hair, completely awake. "I'd appreciate your help, thank you." My voice didn't sound like my own, was I that exhausted? Or was it something else? The boys whisper brought me back from my thoughts, "Sure, just wake me when it's my turn." He turned, trying to get more comfortable. "What's your name?" It felt only right to ask, I mean we have been together for a whole day and don't know each others names. "I'm Saphira by the way, this is Winifred and that is Silver" I introduced us, "My name is Charlie." The boy whispered.

The boy sighed before sitting upright, "My dad..." He took in a shuddering breath. I gave him a moment, even though I couldn't see him, I can hear him struggling to not cry. "My dad's name is Charles. Heh, you can guess who gave me my name." He gave a small laugh but it quickly stopped, "My momma died when I was born, so it was just papa and me." He sniffed, he was moving around trying to get comfortable. "When papa got sick, I didn't think about the future, where he would soon leave me...but I knew...I knew the day would come, I just didn't think-" He was cut off by a hiccup, he rubbed his nose and his eyes. Calming down a little, he went silent.

I didn't know what to say to that. We hardly know each other, but at the same time it's like looking in a mirror. We are the same, yet so different. "When our dad died, our mother left us." The boy didn't expect me to share my story, but he was listening, I know he was. "She didn't leave us physically, uhm, like emotionally...or spiritual-ly?" The boy gave a snort, "I understand what you're trying to say." His hiccups stopped his laughter, I sighed dramatically. "Good, because that was so hard to explain." I cleared my throat, "When she left us, I was forced to learn things the hard way. Taking care of a baby isn't easy work, ya know." Winifred gave a small noise as if agreeing, "No, I don't know, I'm an only child." The boy giggled.

I rolled my eyes, even knowing he won't see it. "Well, lucky you then. Being the oldest is tough work." His giggling was getting louder, I had to hush him but was struggling keeping my own giggles in. None of this is remotely funny, I think we have finally lost our minds. The boy sobered up first, "What happened to your dad?" He sounded nerves when he asked, "He was one of the people that got killed in the mining accident." , "Oh, sorry...that it...happened?" His uncertainty of how to show sympathy was somehow funny to me. "Thank you, and I'm sorr-", "Don't say it." I was more confused then angry.

"He's not dead, so don't say your sorry. Don't say sorry about anything. My dad made his choice." I coudn't tell if he was upset or not, "He told me to life my live, to make every moment count and that's what I'm gonna do." I could feel his eyes on me, how he found me in the dark, I don't know. "I'm- no, we are gonna life our lives, we are free!" I was getting worried when he started raising his voice, "Shh-" , "No, listen! We are free! Free!" He was getting too loud, "Okay, I get it! Now quite down!" He ignored my harsh whisper.

"Saphira," He was closer now, I don't know where he got this energy from. "We.Are.Free!" I could see the whites of his eyes now, I swear I can even see stars in his eyes. He was waiting for a response now, waiting for me to figure something out. So I tried, I closed my eyes and thought hard on his word. 'What does he mean?' , 'Free? He means freedom right?' , 'We are free?' When I think about freedom, I picture a wide open field with beautiful blue skies, nothing to see for miles. No houses, no people, no disturbances. Is this freedom? But, I'm alone...

'We', he said we. Together? That sounds nice.' "We are free." I could see the widening of his eyes, the stars shining brighter somehow. "You get it now? We aren't trap on that island anymore." He sounded so light, as if a weight was lifted. "It was our home though." I still felt sad leaving all our memories behind. "I remebered something my papa said, it was before things got bad. His exact words were: "home is wherever your heart is"...or something like that?" He sounded unsure, but he didn't think long on it, "Well it still sounds right."

"Home is where your heart is, huh." I don't know what to think about that, is that why momma made so many heart decorations in the house? Or when papa brought momma flowers, he made a heart shaped letter to give with it. It's a nice thing to think of, but I know things aren't so simple. I keep these thoughts to myself, not wanting to hurt his feelings. He sighed and settled back down, no longer leaning towards me. "I'm not completely sure what it means, papa was always like that, saying 'encouraging' or 'inspiring' things." I can hear the smile in his voice.

Our parents did the same thing, told us to never give up, to never be afraid, but to thinks things through before acting. I know there was many more but I couldn't remember everything. It was like when I watch my mom make bottles for Winifred, how she patted her back to make her burp. Silver and I found those moments hilarious. But, when the moment came where I was forced to take care of her, I struggled to remember how mom did it. I don't even want to remember the first time I had to change her diaper. I shuddered at the memory, no it was more like a nightmare.

"We'll stay together, right?" Charlie asked so silently I almost missed it, "I mean if you want to, it would be nice to have a extra pair of hands." The sky was getting brighter, I turned to watch the first ray of sunlight light up the sky. "Hehe, so I'm just a extra pair of hands, huh?" He was laughing now, it confused me. "I mean we are gonna have to work hard-" He cut me off, "I know what you meant, I'm just messing with ya." His giggling died down. I just shook my head, 'What an odd boy'. As the sun roused higher into the sky, I realized we didn't sleep at all. Atleast, I won't be the only tired one rowing. Even Winifred fell asleep somewhere in the night.

This chapter was not proofread. The art belongs to me. Thank you for reading~