Home for the Few - The Awakening of the Silenced Ⅰ

VII. What was denied to us.

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   Sitting on the lookout were Jacoba and Lilith, the former wearing one of her classic colorful summer dresses, the latter in loose pants and a shirt, in the color of earth and chocolate. Both wore heavy black boots. All their clothing was either stolen from attacked galleons or made by their own hands.

   Jacoba was resting facing the sun, her body weight on her elbows. Lilith was rolling a cigarette, resting one arm on a bent knee while the other leg dangled over the edge. After finishing rolling it, she lit it, took two drags, and handed it to her friend. Her hair was loose; after several weeks, she was finally ready to remove the buns.

   "How did you meet Finn?" Lilith asked Jacoba, as two thick clouds of smoke escaped from her nose.

   "Well... I started visiting the Heart a year or two ago, even though I had no one to see there. But I liked changing the scenery some nights. He was always there, meeting his grandmother." She handed the tiny end of the cigarette back to Lilith and continued, "We became friends quickly, and then we started feeling something more than friendship... One night, his grandmother wasn't feeling well, so she couldn't join me to Verum. That night Finn asked if I wanted to be his beloved, and of course, I accepted.

   "Then, when I returned to the ship, I found out his grandmother had died. I couldn't go back to the tavern for months, the pain of seeing him suffer was too much. I know it was wrong, and he needed me more than anything... I already assumed I had been forgotten. One night, when the crew returned from the tavern, he came with them, looking for me." They had already finished the cigarette. Lilith was eating plums, while Jacoba simply enjoyed the sun, as she hated those fruits.

   Below them, Sao and Meena strolled along the deck, deep in conversation.

   "Someday, I'd love to live on the mainland, start a family, and be free by his side..." Jacoba finished.

   "Soon that will be possible..." Lilith responded proudly, ignoring the pain in her chest and the voices in her head telling her that Jacoba hadn't bothered to share something so important with her all these years.

   "Agh!" Jacoba exclaimed, brushing her eyebrows with her fingertips, irritated. "Enough of talking about your majestic plan all day, I'm sick of hearing the same thing over and over."

   "I know, all I ever talk about is that, I'm sorry." Lilith laughed, smiling as she looked at her. "I'm really excited. Tonight, I'll set out for Verum and from there, I'll travel to Vulpes with Wilhelm."

   "Yeah..." Jacoba began to stand up, the conversation had bored her, and she had spotted her group of friends on the deck, fishing. "I want to see how long you last. Good luck, I guess."

   With that, she slid down the mast. She approached the group of girls with great joy, a joy that pained Lilith, as it was never directed at her. Staring at the horizon, toward Vulpes, Lilith prepared another cigarette, this time to share with herself.

   Around the galleon, seagulls fluttered, trying to steal the fish bounty the young women had collected.

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   Kaira danced barefoot in her room, her loose, light brown dress swaying with the rhythm of her feet. Her hair tangled around her limbs with every step she took. There was no music, but she followed the rhythm of her own voice, echoing against the walls of her room. It was the only place where she was allowed to sing, since, upon reaching puberty, her hoarse voice had become increasingly seductive, almost hypnotic.