What do you remember in a friend? Well, everything. When you love someone, you accept him as a whole. His words, habits, the way he looks at you... Common jokes, heart-to-heart talks, dangers and joys you've shared.
You remember your friend's warm shoulder nearby... his eyes... his smile... his hand on your shoulder... and his blood on your hands... and how you desperately search for his pulse... You can never forget him... You almost believe you'll open your eyes and see him on the neighboring berth, snoring softly in his sleep after a night's watch.
As you fall asleep, you hope to be woken by a cautious tap on your shoulder: "Get up, it's your deck watch..." Your memory keeps the feel of that fleeting, gentle touch, you cannot forget the silent laughter of those blue eyes...
Why? Why him? War doesn't ask questions... and doesn't answer them... "Fate is blind and death implacable..." These words come from a poem you once had to learn by heart. It was in another lifetime, before you joined the "Justinian". Beautiful words you never really understood. Your friend, on the other hand, finds beauty in the most ordinary things... and knows by heart so many poems. You cannot help admiring his memory: how does he manage to remember all that in addition to the day-to-day work on the fleet, mind-boggling enough as it is? But he can do it somehow... Sometimes you cannot tell whether he is joking or talking seriously. But you've come to know him by heart... and he knows you. It has saved both of you more than once, and it will save you again...
"Horatio!" This one word has so many shades. Your friend is always there, next to you... trying to shield you from danger... looking for understanding and warmth... giving you generously all the warmth he has... He is like a golden red sun... The world couldn't possibly exist without all this sunshine!
Fortresses... We've seen so many of them. They've encircled us both, tried to smother us... First El Ferrol, then Cape Samana, and now this one... in Kingston, Jamaica. A British fortress, no less hostile than the Spanish ones... Could you imagine that would ever happen? Who would have thought that our transfer to the "Renown", that was such an honor for us, would turn into a tragedy? But this doesn't matter any longer... All that matters is that both of you are here... next to each other but not together... A prison cell and a hospital bed separated by iron bars, walls, endless corridors... A huge stone bag where you are buried alive... But one cannot lock the sun in a stone bag.
The sun is free now, golden sun in the blue sky. It is like your golden red hair, my dear friend. "Sunshine"... I think this nickname will stick to you forever.
Shrill cries of seagulls in the air... The wind in the sails above our heads... All is well, brother. We've been acquitted, we are finally together.
The "Indefatigable"... The best ship in the whole world... We are back home.