Islands in the Sky

6.5

“Heed you?” the captain said.

Sema nodded, hoping she wasn’t being rude. “Please?” she said.

The captain didn’t answer. She just stood there looking at Sema, her expression cold, and Sema didn’t quite know what to do. Sema stood there, and the captain just kept looking. She didn’t tell Sema to quiet down and stop making trouble, but she also didn’t move, or look towards the sun, and Sema wasn’t sure what that meant.

Sema hesitated, then walked across the ship, to the sun-side rail, staring out at the sun. The captain watched her, but didn’t move herself.

“There’s something there,” Sema said again.

Sema’s eyes hurt. She was seeing dark spots in her eyes from the light, so many she couldn’t see properly any more. She was seeing dark spots, and imagining the sun had odd shapes, and wasn’t going to be able to see very much for a while. She looked away, and blinked. She looked at the captain instead. “Please just look,” she said. “Please?”

The captain hesitated. She looked at Sema, and seemed to think. She glanced around, at her crew, and then back to Sema, but still stayed where she was.

“Please?” Sema said again. “You said I was right to be cautious.”

“And you were. And I listened. But now your caution is becoming…”

“Please,” Sema said, interrupting. “Please just look. I won’t say another word for the rest of the trip if I’m wrong this time.”

The captain smiled slightly.

“I promise,” Sema said. “I promise I won’t. I’m staying quiet now, see?” She put her hand over her mouth.

The captain laughed, and then walked over to Sema. Her expression had changed, and was warmer now. She wasn’t taking this especially seriously, Sema thought, but at least she was there, and looking.

The captain stood at Sema’s side, and looked out, directly into the sun. She squinted, as Sema had. She raised her hand. She moved her fingers apart slightly, and peered between them.

“I saw something,” Sema said. “I’m sure I did.”

“You’re supposed to not be speaking.”

“Oh,” Sema said. “Yes.” Then she remembered. “I said I’d be quiet after you decide that I’m wrong. You haven’t decided yet.”

The captain didn’t answer.

“There’s something there,” Sema said, for something to say. “I’m sure that there is.”

“Let me look, child.”

“There is something there,” Sema said nervously. “Isn’t there?”

“Just wait. I’m not sure.”

Sema waited while the captain looked. She felt terribly anxious, now. There were other people nearby, looking too. Looking towards the sun, but also watching the captain, waiting to see what happened next. Sema almost hoped there was something out there, after all the fuss she had made. She truly almost did. She was terrified there was something there, sick with fear that there was, and most of her, the sensible part of her, wanted desperately to be wrong. But all the same, an odd little part of her hoped to be right, too. As if it was that important to avoid embarrassment, even if it meant facing pirates again.

Sema stood there, waiting, wondering whether to speak. The captain looked through her hand, squinting carefully, thinking.

“Well?” Sema said, suddenly unable to wait any longer.

“I think there is something,” the captain said.

“Really?” Sema said, surprised. “Oh.”

“I think there is,” the captain said.

“What?” Sema said. A few other people did too.

“I’m not sure,” the captain said, still squinting. “I can’t see. But there’s something.”

Now, more people looked. Now, everyone was on the sun-side of the ship, rather than the island side. Now, more people were looking out at the sun, but the captain had looked away. She began to act. She began shouting instructions, calling for more sails, more speed, and a turn towards the sun.

“We’ll go around and look,” the captain said to Sema. “We’ll look, and see what it is, and then we’ll go and consider the island.”

Sema nodded unsure whether to be relieved or not.

“You did the right thing,” the captain said quietly. “Again. It’s probably nothing, but you did the right thing to wonder, to speak up and make me look. Again.”

“Thank you,” Sema said.