Rose could not tell in the darkness about who exactly was in the brig with her. Certain voices sounded deeper than others, so she assumed young people of all ages were being kept here.
The ship started to move that afternoon, sending crates in the brig flying across the room from side to side. Was Rose not sitting, she would have become dreadfully sick, but instead leaned her head against the wood, closed her eyes, and tried to go to sleep.
When she did finally doze off, she had the nightmare regarding her mother described in the beginning of this ledger. She awoke with a start, sobbing. She heard the clinks and clanks of chains as a body approached her. She begged for him to just leave her alone, but he was determined.
"Hello," he had said. "It's alright. You don't have to be afraid. My name's Jack!"
Rose turned her head towards where he voice was coming from, but said nothing.
"Do you speak English?" the voice named Jack asked.
She gulped, but still chose to remain silent, hoping still that he would go away.
Instead, he sat next to her. "Well, I s'pose that's a 'no.'" He paused, and Rose almost thought he had given up when he asked, "How old are you?"
She said nothing.
"Oh, right," said Jack. "Forgot...bout the whole...language thing. Hmm. Well...this is uncomfortable."
Rose settled back into her spot again, and kept her eyes straight ahead. As she couldn't see, she couldn't tell that he was waving his hand in front of her face. "Oi?" he said. "Can you not see?"
Rose turned to where his voice was coming from. "Not in the dark," she said softly.
"Ah! So she does speak! I was beginning to think you were deaf as well, and then I really would have felt bad."
Rose was uncertain what to make of this Jack fellow, and turned back to her corner.
"How old are you?" Jack asked again. "I'll keep askin' until you answer me. How old are you?"
"Twelve," Rose murmured. She supposed the polite thing to do would be to ask his age. "How old are you?" she asked.
"Just a little older," he replied merrily. "Twenty."
Rose furrowed her brow. "Why are you so...happy?"
He laughed. "Why are you so miserable?"
She started to cry again. "Because...my family...they're all gone and my mother—"
"Hey, now," Jack said, reaching out and touching her shoulder. "I didn't mean to upset you. You shouldn't be so gloomy. That's why I came over here at all."
"Why?"
He leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Because we're getting out of here!"
Rose gasped, "How?"
Jack responded, "Magic!"
"I don't believe you."
"Why not?"
"There's no such thing."
"Ah, but that's where you're wrong, lass. I have seen some amazing things! Things that you'll never believe! But I have a bit o' magic in me, and I have people coming to save us!"
"When?"
"Soon. And you can go back home and find your family!"
Rose was crestfallen. "But I can't," she said. "They separated all of us."
Jack sighed, then drew a more somber note. "I know," he said. "They're unbelievably horrible that way. You were a gypsy, weren't you?"
She nodded.
"Then we're the same. I'm a pirate!"
Rose's eyes widened. "A pirate? Then you do have friends!"
He grinned. "Every word's the truth, love!"
"But," Rose said sadly, "I don't have friends. I won't know how to get back."
"Well consider that you have a friend now. And when we get rescued, you'll all go straight to Tortuga. And you can go anywhere from Tortuga!"
"Tortuga?"
"A pirate island that has everything you can think of!"
"But when will we get rescued?"
"Don't you fret. It will be any day now."
Rose settled back down, next to her new friend Jack, mind aflutter. She wanted to believe his story, but how could it be true?
"Hey," Jack said just before she went back to sleep. "What's your name?"
"Rose.
"Nice to meet you, Rose."
The following weeks brought chaos. The little amount of light provided by the day still caused Rose to be totally blind in the holding bay. It was hurricane season, and the tiny ship was just on the outskirts of the tremendous storm, which sent water splashing from above to the brig below. The children were soggy and hungry, but they took the opportunity to collect the rainwater and drank it. Also with the morning came food, which presented itself in one of the later mornings during the voyage in the form of a hard cracker. The sailor in charge of feeding them simply tossed it in, leaving the starving children scrambling and fighting over who got what.
"Oi! Enough enough enough!" Jack yelled, breaking up the fight. The children's noise suddenly ceased, and they were attentive on Jack. "Listen up, all of you! We have to be civil, and share nicely! What's become of the lot of ye? Manners, my people! Now, I'll take this," Rose heard the crack of the bread break into several pieces, and Jack dispersed the lot to each child, and all was at peace. "Now may we please have some decorum?"
Rose's heart sank when she realized that Jack had forgotten her. But just then, a weight fell onto her lap. She reached for it, and happily realized that Jack had delivered after all. He sat next to her again, chewing on a piece of his own.
"We got the largest bits," Jack whispered, "But don't tell anyone."
Rose smiled, and ate happily, although it was the most chalky thing she had ever eaten in her life.
"So tell me, Rose," Jack said between bites. "How did you get to be in such a place as this?"
Rose looked down at her lap, growing sullen. "Do you not wish to talk about it?" he asked. She shook her head.
"Well," he said. "Let me tell you about myself then. I've been just about everywhere and done everything..."
Rose perked up. "Where have you been?"
She could feel Jack smile. "Name a place."
"France?"
"That's where you're from?"
She nodded.
"Well I've been there. I've been just about everywhere, but me specialty is the Caribbean. Seen great big sea monsters, and terrible, ghastly pirates, and mermaids—"
"Mermaids?" Rose asked. She had heard about mermaids from stories, but could never fathom actually seeing one.
"Let me tell you," Jack said, "They are as pretty as everyone says, but don't ever listen to them sing. They'll make you insane!"
The afternoon passed like that and swelled into evening. Rose was at peace just listening to Jack's incredible tales, not even bargaining with herself on whether or not to believe them, though, miraculously, they were all true. They took her on his adventures in her mind, and that made her all the brighter.
That night, when Rose began to get tired, he ended one of his tales early to allow the child to get the rest she so desperately needed. He let her lean up against him and fall asleep on his shoulder.
Just when he thought she was out cold, she sleepily asked, "Are your friends here yet?"
"Not yet," he said quietly.
Oh please, he prayed. Get here soon.
The next morning was when Jack saw Rose's pendant. The daylight had broken through the clouds, allowing Jack to see the necklace more clearly.
He froze. "What's that?" he asked her.
"What?"
"That necklace. Where did you get it?"
Rose touched the pendent, and her face fell once more. "My mother gave it to me."
Jack turned to the child, trying not to push too hard and hide the urgency with which he spoke. "Yes but where did she get it?"
Rose looked toward him. "My father."
It was a long time before Jack spoke again. "And...where is your father?"
"I don't know. He's a pirate, so he could be anywhere."
"What does he look like?"
"I don't know. I have never met him."
"Does he know about you?"
"I don't know! Mama never talked about him much."
"And who is your mother?"
Rose furrowed her brow. "Why do you want to know?"
Jack backed off a little. He was getting too interrogative. "Just...I'm tired of talking about me. I want to get to know you."
This was a sufficient answer for Rose. "Her name was Anna."
"Was?"
Rose shook her head, eyes filling with tears. "A man killed her."
There was a pause, then Jack touched her arm. "I'm so sorry."
Rose swallowed her grief, then continued. "Mama gave this to Loiza to give to me when I was older. He said it came from my father, and is very special because there isn't anything like it."
Jack nodded slowly. "I bet there's not," he said, touching the identical pendant that hung around his belt. "I bet there's not."
