We spoke of many things. Many of those things was Edsel. He told me of how Edsel had always been fascinated with ships since he took him to the nearest port to see one leave. He was not surprised to hear where he had gone to, and much the less was he when he found out who I was. It seemed the entire world around me knew of where I had come from, they knew I was the daughter of a tradesman, that I did not belong in the country but in a port that smelled like water where at night what put you to sleep was the sound of the waves. In the countryside, it was those despicable crickets.
For a peculiar reason, this man made me feel calm. More calm than anyone had since I last saw Paul. He understood what it felt to be misunderstood and betrayed. He was dishonored by his own father, left in the streets alone until a jewel merchant helped him. He spoke so fondly of him, it was as if you were hearing a husband speak of his favorite rose. If he had continued to speak of him I was going to fall in love with the jewel merchant. His voice then became bitter when he spoke of how he died after a night with a whore, she had given him the French disease. He died later on, and left his empire in the hands of Omer. He returned to be near his brother and nephew but he refused to see his father. Omer would never marry, and left all he had to the sole being that made him feel like a father. The man I was to see on a cloudy morning.
When I began to smell the familiar scent of the sea, my heart felt as if a countless little hands had tickled it. "Are we near?"
"If that's the smell of a port then yes." He had a sickening face, and I felt proud that this was the smell that made me feel like home.
"Then hurry!"
"We are to arrive dead then?" There was one thing that made me bothered by Omer, it was that he had something to say about everything. He was not one to argue with, and his word was the word we were to take.
We entered a thrawling city through a brown wall that surrounded it, through the bumpy bridge we entered. There were many roads that led to different areas of the port, but I trusted Omer knew where he was going. It smelled like fish, and wood. Men, women and children roamed about serenely. I began to see the distant ships. I felt like a child, jittery and untamed. He was in one of those ships I prayed, if luck was to be on my side he would be here and I would not have to wait for his arrival.
"Very well then child go!" Omer said irked waving his arm for me to get away. "If you do not find him come to me!" He yelled as I ran down the road. I stopped at the edge of the wooden planks where the water was below. There were so many ships, all with different colored sails and wood. Men yelling across from each aloud, throwing empty bottles at each other and laughing as they avoided them. Where was he I asked myself. I turned to see a woman cutting the heads off of fish, inevitably she was the closest person I could ask.
"Excuse me." She said nothing as she looked up at me and cut off it's head. "Have you heard of a young man, his name is Edsel. He has golden hair, tall and le-"
She suddenly lifted her large blade to point it at me, a horrendous scowl forming in her face. "You tell that son of a bitch that if he does not bring me my fish by tomorrow's end then I'm sending my husband to seek bring me back my coins and more from that low bastard!"
"Forgive me mam but I seek him out."
"Find the ship with the rotten red flag and he'll be inside their."
"Thank you." I whispered stepping more further back than I already was away from her. She scowled at me again and continued her actions towards the dead fish. I continued to walk down the wooden port, looking at every ship near and afar but could not find that rotten red flag. My heart began to ache more than it was in excitement. What if he had left again? He had not written his mama or his papa. I would have to go to Paul then, Paul who had yet to write to me as well. What if mama had married off to another man? What would occur to my sisters? What if Edsel was not here? I had all of it planned, I was to find Edsel, for him to remember what he had told his mama and papa for me to wait to go to him. Or that he was a patient man. The fear I felt as I look at all those great ships, and every flag differed in color was a terror that may have been worst than what I felt when I discovered the words that master Axel Fearbar felt towards me.
