Afternoon watch was going great. It was our first day assail from leaving Providence. I had no thought about my parents, or even my dad all day, unlike the last voyage, which I thought of them constantly. My life I chose was going to be a great adventure.
Zacharia and I were off to a better relationship, now. I started to help him complete many tasks, since he wasn't the cook. We had received a first timer sailor that was very inexperience at everything but cooking. He said to us the morning we disembarked that he could whip up a seafood buffet, if we had a net. Even though we didn't and we didn't want to have one, he had to go out and purchase one.
As I said earlier, I was on my afternoon watch, painting the mainmast with Zacharia. Both of us were at the mainsail, painting away to make it as new as possible. They had given us a brightly colored, pine wood mast that looked completely bazaar on top of our vessel. We all were instructed to paint, even our poorly trained cook.
Captain Flick was sitting in one of his chairs from his newly refurnished cabin, filling out the sailing log. He said it was 'basic procedures.'
As I was paining, Zacharia seemed to pause for a great deal of time. I thought' Charlotte, he's getting a drink.' I tried to listen for the gulping of water going down his throat, but he seemed to be motionless. I finally had gotten fed up of him not working. We had to get this done!
With the rope I was holding onto, I swung around, only to startle the poor, old man. He was sitting there, looking into the west through his binoculars.
"You know, Zacharia, that an old sailors rumor says if you look into the sun long enough, you'll become blind." I was trying to make a joke because the sun was still high in the sky.
"Miss, I am looking at the ship that is following us. It shouldn't be in waters due to the fact that all ports closed immediately after we left due to lost child."
"I prefer Charlotte," I mumbled under my breath.
I don't think the man heard me because he went rambling on. "It's a beautiful, black ship with a big tube coming out of the to. Miss, it's one of those expensive brigs that are pretty fast, but they don't work as efficiently as sail ships, my opinion."
"It's Charlotte," I said louder, with much more support under my voice.
"Miss, doesn't your dad have one of those thingamajigs?"
"IT"S CHARLOTTE!" I screamed at him.
"Sorry mi… I mean, Charlotte. I think you should see this."
I looked through the binoculars, and sure enough, Dad's brand new ship he bought and showed me when we docked was following right behind us, catching quickly, but was way back in the horizon.
I slipped a sailor word. "We have to go tell Flick!" I was in a rush, swinging about on my rope to get to the shrouds. "NOW!" I yelled.
After a difficult struggle for the old man, he finally made it down the ratline to Captain Flick.