Point Of View: Tintin

I hope Diana's doing fine.

A week ago, I saw her fall from the metal stairs, which was obviously painful. Added the wounds on her back, which she didn't feel during her fight with the Kraken.

I got bruises from bumping into the ship, but Diana got the worst condition. Some of the crew members got bad bruises, scratches, and other wounds, but no one got shrapnel on their backs or on their skin. I think Diana got some sprains, too. But if you look from the other side, Diana is the luckiest on board to be alive. Some crew members died, either from the smashing or fell out of the ship or got electrocuted and sucked by the Kraken. But hopefully, we still got some more crew left. And I'm determined to keep it that way.

The only problem we have are the two missing professors. No one knows where they are, but we assumed that they're already dead. It scared me a little because Captain Haddock said to me that the first two expeditions also lost their two professors on the Kraken. Which also happened to this expedition. I wonder if someone would arrange another expedition of we fail.

But… no. We can't fail. The crew members who gave their life for this expedition won't mean a thing.

I walk around the ship with Snowy, and I see Kurt looking at me. He waves at me, and I walk closer at him. This guy probably needs a chat after the disaster. He's recovered from his wounds now. We lean against the metal handles of the ship, which was repaired a week ago. The damaged parts of the ship were repaired by the crew. They actually did a good job, since you can barely see the damages the Kraken done. Kurt was one of the repairers. "How are you, Kurt?" I ask him. "I'm doing fine. My wounds are already healed. How about you, Tintin?" he asks me. "I'm doing fine, too. I'm just worried about Diana," I tell him. "Don't worry," he says, smiling. "She would be okay. You took care of her very well."

"I just wonder what the other injured crew members are doing now," I say. "Well, they're okay now. They just need some rest. The professors are doing some research now, with your Professor. What's his name again? Is it Professor Albert?" he asks. "Cuthbert. Cuthbert Calculus," I correct him. He smiles and scratches the back of his head. "Ah, yes. I remember. They got some sample of the Kraken's blood from the tentacle Diana cut," he says to me. "That Kraken's blood looks very weird. It glows, right?" I ask him. "Yes, and it's blue," Kurt says to me, making a disgusted face.

I laugh softly. "Kurt, how's Gina doing?" I ask him, my happiness melting. He looks at me. "She's doing fine. She didn't get any wounds from the attack, but she got some scratches," Kurt replies. "That's good," I tell him. Kurt looks at me seriously. "Did you have any relationship with my sister?" he asks me. That caught me off guard. I don't really want to talk about that side of my life. But it's his sister, so I think I should let him know. "To be honest, uhm, well, yes," I tell him. He just smiles, and he looks at the ocean. "Is she serious about it?" he asks me. "Very," I tell him. "She also holds close to me. But it's over already," I tell him.

"Why?" he asks me. I look at him, and I'm thinking of telling him about it or not. I keep silent for a moment, and I finally decide to tell him about it, but he smiles and looks away. "If you don't want to tell it, please keep it. I don't want to break your privacy," he says. I look at him, and I smile. I don't really want to say it to him. "She's my sister. Even though she doesn't really give me any attention, I still care for her. So I just wanted to know if she's alright with her relationships with other people. But it's fine if you don't tell me, I can see you're a good man," he says.

I was surprised at what he said, because he sounded so mature. His eyes really show it. Then, he pats my back. "Well, Tintin. I should be going now. I'll just check something," he says, and he leaves me alone. I look at the ocean, thinking if I should tell Kurt what he wants to hear. Then, I heard a loud clang, and when I look behind me, I see a blonde woman on her knees, groaning, with a metal tray beside her. Medicines and other medical equipment roll on the floor, and I can tell that she tripped. I run to her side, helping her place the bottles and other things back on the metal tray. Snowy follows me and he also helps my pushing some of the bottles with his snout close to me. "Sorry. I can handle this, Tintin," she says. I was surprised. "You know my name?" I ask her.

Then, her eyes widen and she cups her hands over her mouth. "Oh, I'm so sorry, sir. I'm not supposed to address you like that," she says. "No, it's fine. You can call me by my name. But how did you know it"? I ask her, and we both stand up. "I'm the one who helped your friend Diana prepare for the ball. She was really kind," she says. When I look at her directly, I can tell she was beautiful. She has long, wavy hair and a pair of dark brown eyes. I found myself staring at her for a long time.

"Thank you for helping me," she says to me. "Oh, it was no problem," I tell her. She smiles at me. "Oh, by the way, I'm Charlotte Willems. Nice to meet you, Tintin," she says as she shakes my hand. "Nice to meet you, too," I tell her. "I need to be going now. I need to replace Diana's bandages," she says as he walks away. "Wait, Charlotte. She's not in the infirmary right now. But she'll be back soon," I tell her. "Is that so? Well, I'll just put these on the infirmary and I'll be back later. If she comes back, wouldn't you mind calling me? I'm just in the ship's kitchen," she says to me. "Alright. Wait, kitchen? Aren't you a doctor or a nurse?" I ask her. She smiles. "I'm both. I'm assigned to take care of Diana," she says. "That's great," I tell her. "I need to be going now," she says. She walks away.

"Charlotte?" I call her. She looks back. "Yes?" she asks me calmly. "Would you mind joining me in dinner later? With Diana and the others, I mean." I ask her. "I wouldn't mind. It's okay," she says. "Thank you for inviting me. I guess you can tell me the details later when I come back, Tintin," she adds. "I will," I tell her. "Thank you for inviting me," she says, as she leaves. I stare at her as she leaves, and I feel my heart racing.

I put my hand to my chest, and I'm wondering what this feeling is.