Point Of View: Diana
"What?" Tintin asks the man, whom he shakes. The man continues to explain the situation, but he's still stammering. The people around us begin to talk with each other, and the other people are running inside and out of the ship's rooms. I feel something nudging my leg, and as I look down, I see Snowy pushing his snout against my leg. I pat his head, and he barks at me as he points towards the port. I look at him quizzically. He barks at me one more time, and runs toward the port. "Hey, Snowy! Where are you going?" I call him, but Snowy continues to run. I sigh and follow him.
Snowy runs more, and he stops by the broken metal handles of the ship. Just a few meters away from where he Snowy is standing, is the tentacle I split from the Kraken a while ago. I stop too, and he barks at something hanging on one of the sharp ends of the broken metal handle. "What is it, boy?" I ask him. He barks, and plucks the item hanging on and places it in front of me. I kneel, and pick up the item. It was a ripped white cloth. It was obviously ripped out from a white coat. I stare at the ripped white cloth, which was stained with blood. Snowy barks at me again, and he points to another broken metal handle. There was black shoe hanging off of it, and Snowy once gain plucks it off and places it in front of me. Something tells me this is connected to the disappearance of the two professors…
Someone calls for me. I see Tintin looking around the port. He sees us, and he runs toward us. "What are you doing?" he asks me. He sees the ripped cloth and shoe is my hands. "What are those?" he asks me. "I don't know. Snowy just led me here," I tell him. "Look," I say to him, holding out the ripped cloth and showing him the blood. "Great snakes!" he says. "There's also a shoe hanging on one of the broken metal handles," I say to him, handing the shoe to him. "Do you know whose shoe is that?" I ask him.
"I'm afraid I don't know," he replies. "Tintin, I don't know if it's possible, but… could that be the two professors' properties?" I tell him. "That's not a very nice conclusion, but yes, it could be," he says. "We should hand this over to the captain. Maybe he knows who owns these." I tilt my head. "Which captain?" I ask him. He stares at me. "What?" he asks, and then he widens his eye, realizing what I mean. "Oh, both of them," he replies, smiling even though we just recovered from the disaster.
The three of us walk near the bow, and the crowd is noisy as we walk in. The people stops talking when someone slams a door open. Captain Ahmet appears in the scene, with his left arm bandaged. The man who took the wheel earlier, who must be his assistant, walks after him. Captain Ahmet's eyes widen as he passes through his ship, which is heavily damaged from the Kraken attack. I pity him. He then notices me, and walks toward me. I feel scared for a moment, but I straighten my back to show no fear. I figured out that he might scold me for entering the bridge without proper permission and then shouting at him. He puts his hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry, Ms. Diana, for not believing you in the first place. I regret not believing you, and now, this is what happened. Some crew disappeared," he says to me pitifully, his eyes are clearly sad. I pat his hand on my shoulder, and he looks at me. "It's not your fault, Captain. It's not my fault, either. It's not everyone's fault. It's not our fault for having this Kraken, so you don't need to apologize," I tell him. He smiles, and pats his shoulder. "Thank you, Ms. Diana. I owe you," he says. He faces the crowd. "Everyone! We should move now! The ship is destroyed, but that won't be a reason to stop this expedition. We will continue, and we should act together and repair the ship!" he announces. The crowd cheers and starts separating to work.
I smile at the scene. "You're being too nice," someone says to me. I look behind me, and I see Tintin smiling at me, with the cloth and shoe still in his hands. "What do you mean?" I ask him. "You're being too nice at Captain Ahmet. You should have just accepted his apology instead of telling him not to. You're being too grateful," he says, smiling. "Tintin, it's not really his fault. And, what are you doing? You're supposed to give that to the captain!" I tell him, laughing softly. "Crumbs! I forgot. Wait for me here," he says, and he and Snowy runs off to follow Captain Ahmet. I remember Captain Haddock, who's currently handing the ship's wheel. I run off to see him, and surely he's there, his hand clutching the wheel.
"Nice work, Captain," I tell him. He looks behind him, and he smiles when he sees me. "So what happened?" he asks me, returning his gaze to the wheel. "The Kraken's finished, but a lot of crew is also finished. You do know what I mean, right, Captain?" I tell him. He looks down at the wheel. "Yes. I pity them. I just hope that there won't be any more disasters. Are you alright, Diana?" he asks me. "Yes, Captain," I tell him. "I just feel tired." And after saying that, my body suddenly feels heavy. "I'll just go back to my cabin, captain," I say. "Go on, Diana," Captain Haddock tells me, and I go out of the bridge. My body feels heavier than that, and as I go down the stairs slowly, I feel dizzy. Someone then calls me, and as I look, I see Tintin at the bottom of the stairs, calling my name. My eyesight blurred, my body feels heavier than ever, and my head started to ache. Tintin frowns when he realizes I don't feel well and my legs stumble as I fall down the stairs, and Tintin panics as I fall. I feel my body bump on the metal stairs, feeling each pain. I finally roll down at the bottom, and I see Tintin shouting for help before finally losing my consciousness.
My eyes open, adjusting to the light in the room. It was blurry at first, but when my sight clears, I can tell that I'm in the ship's infirmary. The room is white and snug. There are two bunk beds, and I am lying on one of them, at the bottom part. Someone comes in the room, and I see Kurt in a green sweater and khaki pants. He smiles, and he places a tray of food on the table beside my bed. "How are you?" he asks me, smiling. I started to sit up and when I do, I feel pain in my back, making me groan. Kurt helps me straighten my back. Then I realize I got bandages on some parts of my body. My left arm is wrapped in bandage, and I feel something soft on my forehead. My torso is a bit tight, and I realized it's wrapped in bandage, too. I'm wearing a light, white dress that feels comfortable. "Are you okay?" Kurt asks me again. "A little," I reply. "How long was I out?" I ask him.
"A week," he replies. "A week?" I exclaim. "Yes. Tintin was awfully worried about you. He got out of the bridge, shouting for help. People immediately responded to his call, and you were brought here. Some of the professors helped the doctors figure out the reasons of your sudden loss of unconsciousness. Didn't you feel your wounds at your back?" Kurt asks me, sitting on the chair beside my bed. "No. I have wounds?" I ask him. "Yes. Small wounds, but it looks painful. They told me that you had shrapnel pierced at your back, caused by the Kraken who smashed its tentacles in the ship. Scratches and wounds are also found, mostly on your arms. Your forehead got pierced by shrapnel, too. Good thing that the shrapnel aren't buried deep within your skin. Here," he explains, and then he shows me a metal tray full of shrapnel. Some cleaned, some still stained with blood. "They said your adrenaline rush caused you to be numb, so you didn't feel your pain right away. You just felt it after the disaster, right?" Kurt asks me. "Yes, but it's such a long time before I felt it," I tell him.
"That's a bit odd, but good thing you're safe. Your bumping on the ship and your fall on the stairs didn't make your condition worse, but the doctors think that it may make you weaker. Anyway, I'm glad you're safe," he says to me. "Thank you, Kurt," I say to him. "Where's Tintin?" I ask him. "Probably helping out in the kitchen or hanging around the ship. He comes here every day, you know. Just to make sure you wake up," he replies. "I'm sure he'll be happy to learn you finally woke up."
I smile. I look at the food, and it looks appetizing. I stare at it for a long time, feeling hungry. "Maybe you should eat," Kurt says to me. I feel embarrassed. Maybe he must have seen me drooling over the food, so I let him place the food tray on my lap. I spoon my food into my mouth, and I munch it desirably. I feel uncomfortable because someone is eyeing me while eating, so I eat my food slowly. After finishing the plate of food, he hands me a glass of water. I chug it down, and I give back the glass to him. Someone opens the door, and it was Tintin. "Diana!" he says happily. He runs toward me, and he gives me a hug. I groan, and he releases me as he realizes that I'm hurt from my wounds. "Sorry," Tintin apologizes. "How are you?" he asks me. "I'm fine, Tintin. How about you? Aren't you hurt?" I ask him. "No, I'm not. I'm fine, even though I received some bruises from bumping in the ship," he says, and he raises his arm and pulls down his sleeve. There are some bruises on his arm, but I can see they're healing.
He turns to Kurt. "Thank you, Kurt, for taking care of Diana," he says to him. "No problem," Kurt replies, smiling. "Can I go out for a while? I want some fresh air," I ask them. "You can, Diana. But you must be careful," Tintin says. "I will be okay," I tell him. Kurt excuses himself, saying that he needs to get something done, so he walks out of the infirmary. Tintin helps me stand up, and he walks me around the ship as I breathe in fresh air. "By the way, where's Captain Haddock?" I ask him. "Oh, he said that he went to the ship's library," Tintin says. My eyes lit up. "There's a library in this ship?" I ask him. He stares at me confusedly, and he remembers something. "Oh. I forgot that you like reading books. Do you want me to accompany you there?" Tintin asks me. "Yes. Please do," I tell him, and he helps me walk into the library.
The library is a bit cramped because there are lots of shelves, but it's okay to walk around inside. I want some time alone. "Tintin, can you leave me here for a while? I want some time alone," I ask him. Tintin looks concerned and he asks, "Are you sure you'll be fine on your own? I mean, with your wounds not fully-healed yet and—"
"I'm going to be fine, I promise," I tell him, smiling. Tintin looks at me, like he was hesitating to leave me alone. "Be careful, Diana. The books might fall on you. Don't leave here without me, I'll be back in an hour," Tintin tells me, and he leaves the room. I walk around the library, looking at book titles and stuff, when I heard a loud thud. "Blistering barnacles," someone says. I look around, and I see Captain Haddock picking up a book that was lying on the floor. Obviously, he dropped it. There are also piles of books on the table. "Do you need help, Captain?" I ask him. He looks around, and he sees me. "Oh, Diana! You're okay, now?" he asks me. "A little. I want to read some books when Tintin told me that there was a library here, so I let him lead me here. What are those, Captain?" I ask him. He looks at the book in his hand. "Oh, this? It's a book about Greek Mythology. Just reading some," he says. He stands up and sits in front of the table, and started reading.
"Greek Mythology? You like Greek Mythology, Captain?" I ask the Captain, sitting in front of the table, too. "Eh, not much," he says, flipping some pages. "May I ask, Diana, do you know what creatures that sings? The ones who bring sailors in danger?" I stare at Captain Haddock. He seems to be a little weird today, asking about that. "Uhm, I think you're talking about Sirens, Captain," I answer him. "Thanks," he says, and continues to flip the book pages. "I've been searching them all this time. Ah, here. Sirens."
"'Sirens are dangerous creatures that have features of a bird from the waist down and a beautiful woman from the waist up. Sirens are said to sing enchanting songs that lure sailors to their deaths. The song is so enchanting that the sailors forget their sense of direction and follow the direction of the song instead, which would end up in having their ships wrecked by accidentally crashing it into rocks that surround the Sirens' island. Some said they have musical instruments that help them produce these enchanting sounds.' So, they're indeed dangerous," Captain Haddock reads in the book. "Do you believe in Sirens, Diana?" he asks me.
"I don't think so, Captain. From what I knew, Sirens are just mythological creatures. Others say they are just elements used in stories or poems. Why do you ask about that?" I ask him. "Nothing. I thought… it's nothing," Captain Haddock says. It seems that he's hiding something or hesitating to say something. "Go on, Diana. Just read, don't mind me," Captain Haddock says, and he gestures at me to read. I pick a book from the pile on the table and started reading. I read something about centaurs, when I hear some ringing in my ear. I scratch my ear, and continue to read. The ringing in my ear continues, louder and louder. I scratch my ears more, and the ringing disappears. I continue reading. Just then, I heard a faint sound of a beautiful voice, singing. Maybe it's just my hallucination. I scratch my ears more, and the faint singing disappears.
But the singing appears again, ringing in my ears, distracting me. I scratch my ears harder. The singing is louder, but I can say that only a few can hear it. I didn't mind it. Someone must have turned on some music, so I continue reading the book. I read the words, but my eyelids get heavy and I feel sleepy. My forehead was about to drop on the book when I found my consciousness again. I shake my head, and I still hear the singing. Captain Haddock seems to be sleepy, too, and he shakes his head. He puts his hands on his temples and he closes his eyes tightly. "Captain, c-can you hear it?" I ask him. He opens his eyes and looks at me. "You can hear it, too, Diana?" he asks me. "A faint singing, yes. What do you hear, Captain?" I ask. "A faint singing, too. Ah, blistering barnacles. It makes me sleepy. I've been hearing it for the last two days, and it won't stop," Captain Haddocks tells me.
Then, I realize it. Captain Haddock asks me about Sirens. And he researched about it. Does it mean—?
"Captain," I started to say. "Is it possible—"
"I think so, Diana. First the Kraken, and then—"
I widen my eyes. "Sirens."