Siren

6. Dreams

Caleb’s POV

            I quietly slipped out of bed around 7am, making sure not to disturb Ivy. I had been up for a few hours already, waking with the sunrise.  Making my way through the galley and living area, I switched on the coffee percolator, which we had prepared before going to bed last night.  I checked to see it was secured to the wall properly and headed up to the deck.  As I came above deck the morning was amazing with the sun still low on the eastern horizon over the Turkish coast, not a cloud in the sky.  It was already warm but there was a soft breeze coming from north to south.  Inserting the key, I started the engine blower and bilge pump and did one final walk around to double check everything was in order before starting the engine and untying the lines holding the boat to the dock.

            Cruising slowly out of Kos harbor and heading north, I heard Ivy down below in the galley.  I peaked down and saw she was checking on the coffee.  She came up on deck and yawned.

“I see you weren’t kidding about getting an early start.”  She said grumpily.

“Good morning to you too.”  I laughed. “You can rest in for a while if you want?  I tried to be as quiet as possible.” 

“Well maybe, I might go down again for a few minutes.  When do you need my help?” 

“I’ll holler down when I need you.”

“Ok see you in a few.”  She said as she scurried back down into the cabin.

        It took us another 45 minutes or so to get clear of the harbor and the northern most point of Kos.  I stopped the engine and began to untie the main sail as we slowly drifted with the current.  The sea was calm and the breeze was still steady from north to south.  I had us underway heading west after about another half hour and called for Ivy to get up and get us some coffee. 

“Good Morning and thanks for letting me rest in.”  Ivy smiled, bringing up a steaming hot mug of thick black coffee.   “Wow, it’s another beautiful day.  Where are we headed today?”

“We are going to check out a small reef/swimming area off the island of Plati then over to Kalimnos for Dinner.  We’ll see after that.”

“Sounds great!  Would you like something for breakfast now?”

“Sure can you bring up some of those pastries we picked up last night?”

“Absolutely, I want to dig into them myself!”

        I locked the wheel on a course for northwest, then Ivy and I enjoyed the pastries on the upper deck.  Initially, I had wanted to go northeast and visit some of the Turkish coastal cities.  But I had a feeling, something was pulling me west.  I wasn’t about to tell Ivy about this feeling, especially after she freaked out yesterday.  There was something instinctive or rather primeval about the feeling.  How was I supposed to explain that to Ivy anyway?  

        Talking to the manager of the marina last night, he suggested visiting Plati and Kalimnos so it was an easy excuse to sail west.   I couldn’t get the singing out of my mind though, I hoped heading in this direction would bring me closer to her and the singing. Yesterday I could just make out her voice calling to me.  Her voice was like and Angel and made me feel content and happy, sort of like being high I guess.   The result though was that I really didn’t sleep last night thinking about her, so I was starting to get tired after the heavy pastries.

“Ivy?”

"Yes what’s up?”

“I might lie down for an hour.  Can you keep us on course and wake me up if anything comes up?  It should take us as least 2-3 hours to get to Plati.”

“Of course, but are you feeling ok?  It’s not like you to take a morning nap.”

“Yes feeling fine, I woke up with the sunrise shining through the windows this morning and could use a little rest.  It’s really starting to get hot as well.”

“I know I can’t wait to get to the reef and go for a swim!”

            I double checked out our heading and that the wheel was tightly fastened on course and slipped below deck to lay down on the couch.  After spending a few minutes laying quietly, thinking anxiously as to what may lie ahead, I set my alarm for 1 hour and dosed off into an unsettled sleep.

*******

            I awoke suddenly and confused by my alarm, I use the bell tower ring tone which is really annoying but gets the job done.  As I sat up on the couch, remembering a dream I had during my nap, and she came vividly to my mind.  Her right hand gesturing and inviting me. Her face, soft olive skin, deep dark eyes, dainty nose and wide mouth with thin lips smirking at me.  Her long black wavy hair fell almost to her waist and she was wearing a deep, dark purplish robe.  Who was she?  I went over to the sink and splashed cold water on my face, gazing out the porthole.  Before I realized it Ivy was by my side, holding onto my hand. 

“Hey sleepyhead.  How was your nap?”

“Good question, not sure if it helped or made things worse.”  I said, still sleepy.

“Come up on deck and get some fresh air.  I see an island just northwest of us, maybe its Plati.” 

“Ok sure lets go look.”  I said as she led me up the cabin stairs to the deck.

            I sat down next to her on the seat in helm area and took out the map and binoculars.  I briefly took a 360 degree view through the binoculars and knew we were still a few hours from Plati. 

“That’s Pserimos to the northwest, Plati is a smaller island on the other side of Pserimos.  So we’ll sail along the south coast of Pserimos and then north to Plati.  It shouldn’t take more than a few more hours maybe less.”

“Ok sounds good. What should we do in the meantime?”  She said cuddling up next me, reaching up under my shirt to rub my chest.”

I just laughed out loud and reached over to give her a kiss, forgetting all about the dream I had moments earlier.