Sorry, sorry, sorry for having waited so long. I'm not native in English, so I found it difficult to begin this story as I fear making so many mistakes. If you see some, please, tell me.
The sun was shining and no wind was there to disturb the quietness of the moment. The only sounds Alice could hear were those of the sea waves splashing against the ship.
Far away, right straight on, she now could see a thin layer of land. England was in view.
She was coming home.
She sighed, staring in the distance. Three years had been necessary to come to that day. Three years, and none had passed without her thinking about Underland and its wonders, wishing to be there. But she had to do it. For her father. Three years ago, his loss was still so very recent, she had to continue this for him. In his memory.
Three wonderful-lonely-homesick-strange years.
Wonderful. China had really been a good idea. Two years of trading there allowed them to establish trading posts in the major ports and towns, and they were the firsts to establish a post in the new open port of Shangai.
And she even managed to learn some Chinese.
Lonely. Being the only woman on a ship had proven difficult. Not only was she feeling so lonely, sometimes she stuck in her cabin for days without going out. Some sailors just were too rash, and having a woman on board turned some of them wild, even if she had protection and was never harmed.
Homesick. Where was home exactly, in her heart, she wasn't sure. But she missed her mother, as annoying she could be. And letters took ages to come and go.
And she missed all her other friends, those she couldn't write to : the White Queen, the March Hare, Chessur... her Hatter.
Sometimes it seemed those years had been a neverending heartache.
Strange. Dealing with Chinese, discovering their customs, bearing the looks of disapproval because she was a working woman.
And all that work that had to be done. Her father never showed how much it was, she wasn't really prepared. But it was a luck for her. All that work kept her occupied most of the time.
They were landing now. As its custom, the sky was cloudy, and rain threatened. Nevertheless, it was a wonderful day. She waved her mother and sister hello, seeing them in the crowd.