Sethe leaped forward, which wasn’t a good option, since she began falling, but since Sethe was close to the ladder, which led to the deck, Bardo was able to catch her in time. She grabbed on to a log on the side of the boat and let go of Bardo. “Can I help?”
“NO!” He yelled. “Both of you stay below deck!”
Octavia tried to get up, but then slowly got back down. “Alright, I will be praying!”
“WHAT?” Sethe exclaimed. “I’m going up with you and you can’t talk me out of it!” She let go of the log and fell back onto Bardo.
“See? You can’t handle yourself in a storm like this!”
Sethe pouted. “Alright…” She looked away from Bardo. He raised an eyebrow before climbing back to the deck. When Bardo was out of sight, Sethe let go of the log and began falling, but caught the steps and began climbing. She opened the ‘door’ that covered the deck.
“Sethe!” Octavia called. Sethe looked around to Octavia. “Sometimes it’s best to let God handle the storms in your life. Just like I had to learn while I was in prison.”
Sethe frowned and looked at Octavia for a few seconds before climbing up the ladder. Octavia sighed.
“CAPTAIN!” One of the sailors called. “THERE ARE ROCKS UP AHEAD!”
“WE HAVE TO PUT DOWN THE ANCHOR!” Another yelled over the storm.
Sethe looked at the horizon. There were dark clouds and rain. All of the sudden a ginormous wave rose. A sailor looked at Sethe. “What are you doing here? Get below deck!” As the wave began to crash on the boat, the sailor grabbed Sethe and onto a rope and held on to both. Sethe held on tightly to the sailor to avoid being swept off into the ocean. There were yells and screams as the wave hit the boat. All of the sudden, Sethe and the sailor were knocked off the boat and into the waves.
“Zeno! Sethe!” Bardo shouted from the boat. Sethe struggled to swim above the waves, and she didn’t see Zeno. She felt a guilt for going above deck against Bardo’s words.
Below deck, Octavia sat, groaning in pain. The ship was thrown, and Octavia was thrown with it. She hit a wall, knocking herself unconscious. Josiah ran down the ladder, and when he saw Octavia knocked unconscious, he ran to her and held her in his arms.
“NO!” He yelled, seeing that she was dead. He grabbed her head and put it to his chest and cried.
Sethe began to drown. Bardo jumped in the water with a rope in his hand. “Sethe, where is Zeno?” He yelled while swimming towards her. She gasped for air. “I – did – n’t – see – hi – m.” He swam towards her and grabbed her. “We have to look for him!” He said. He swam and held Sethe, when they saw Zeno. He was afloat, but there was no sign of life. Sethe and Bardo stared at the dead body in sadness and shock. “I TOLD YOU TO STAY BELOW DECK!” Bardo eventually yelled at Sethe.
“I’m so sorry…” She closed her eyes so she wouldn’t have to see Bardo’s disappointment in her. “Pull… PULL US UP!” Bardo yelled, his voice breaking. Sethe felt slapped. She knew she was wrong to disobey him. I should have listened to Octavia… She thought. Octavia! When the crew finally pulled Sethe and Bardo up, she immediately ran down below deck. “OCTAVIA! She yelled. When she ran down, she saw Josiah crying over a dead Octavia.
“What happened?” Sethe said, worried.
“She’s dead…” Josiah said, sadly.
“WHAT?” Sethe exclaimed.
“We didn’t even get to start a family with each other… death has chased us all our lives… and it finally caught up to us…” Josiah mumbled, slumped over, seeming to loose all the emotion and happiness he once had.
WAIT. Sethe thought. What Octavia wanted to tell me… what if she was pregnant? Then Sethe slumped over. If I was here with her, she might not have died… and that would mean I’ve killed three people with my recklessness…
~ ~ ~
Kaila walked around her “room.” All of the girls had gone to work, except Eliana. “So… how did you get roped into this?”
Eliana looked up from her cleaning. “Oh, I fell in love with Adrian.”
“What was your life like before Adrian?”
Eliana looked around the room. “Well, my husband and I – ”
“You had a husband?” Kaila asked.
“Yes… I loved him, but when he left me for another girl. I was hurt and confused, so when Adrian came to me, with his soft words and kind manner, I immediately fell for him. I never really received the harsh treatment that everyone says he does. He was always kind to me, and when he asked me to stay with him, I accepted his invitation. He never asked me to work for him or anything, I just did.”
Kaila frowned. “Why does everyone here dislike Adrian so much, but you don’t?”
“Well, for one, Lucida.”
“Will someone please tell me what Adrian and Lucida’s relationship is like?” Kaila said in frustration.
“Of course. Lucida was just a young girl when Adrian’s father found her on the streets. He took pity on her, and so he let her into his house and took care of her as a daughter. Adrian and Lucida were like siblings. Adrian has a soft spot in his heart for Lucida. He takes care of her, and helps her in her studies. She loves learning, but it is not widely allowed for a woman to read and such.”
Kaila’s eyes were wide. “Why Lucida out of all the girls on the streets though?”
“Lucida is partially blind. I’m not sure how she reads, but she finds ways to.”
“Why else is Adrian a saint in your mind?”
“Well… I don’t know… but he’s just so kind! Everyone makes mistakes!” Eliana said, sighing. “I love him. I wish everyone could see what I see in him.”