The boat swayed with the wind. The water was dark. It brushed the sides of the boat, filling Aaban’s ears with the ambient sounds of the waves. There had been rain all day, and it continued into the night. The moon peeked in behind thin, dark clouds. The smell of salt was subtle. Aaban pushed his dark hair back. It was soaked from the rain.

The wood board creaked behind him, as footsteps approached. Aaban ignored it. A few more steps and a hand landed hard on Aaban’s shoulder. The aroma of alcohol blew in behind him.

“Gooood ev-evening.” Aaban turned and met his captain’s blue eyes. They looked dark. Water drops beaded and dripped from his large grey beard. “Should be arriving within a couple o’ suns. Best to uh, get to bu- bunk!” 

“Yes sir” Abaan said.

Captain stumbled over to the door. He walked through it and slammed it behind himself. Before he closed the door, a note blew out from his coat pocket. It blew over to Abaan, who bent down and picked it up. It was too dark to read. Aaban folded it up and turned back to continue to look at the Ocean. He sighed. The rain splashing on the dark sea oft reminded Aaban of his beautiful wife, whom he left to partake in trading. It had only been a few months, but Abaan knew the winds wouldn’t switch for a few more. The trip could take a year to complete but would give Abaan great wealth.

Abaan glanced once more at the sea. The waves tumbled the purple water around as bright purple lightning struck itself within the clouds. Abaan walked to the bunk doors and turned in.

Abaan woke. He turned in his bunk and viewed his crewmates. His arms popped as he stretched and yawned. Abaan reached into his pocket and grabbed out the note. Abaan could not make out the handwriting. It looked as if it was written by a child. Abaan folded it up again and pushed himself off the oak pallet and walked onto the deck. His back was not yet used to the punishment of the rough wood bed, and it ached. It was still dark and raining. Captain was also awake, and Abaan pushed his legs over to him. The captain was no longer drunk.

“Ahoy.” 

”Ahoy,” Abaan repeated back. Captain glanced out at the water, and back to Abaan. 

“I doubt it passes until we reach land.” The crew had its first stop in India. “The wind pushes both us and the storm together.” The captain said, pushing his hat down on his head.

“Aye,” Abaan said in agreement. “Here's this.” Abaan passed the note to Captain.

“I was looking for this!” Captain said enthusiastically. Abaan however, noticed the bright smile drip away almost instantly. Abaan looked down and walked past Captain. He yawned again and made his way to the cabin for breakfast. Abaan entered. He felt the glance of a few ship hands up at him, their eyes like marbles. After staring at his face, they looked down and started talking again. Abaan walked to the barrels and pulled a thick cracker out of one. The hard bread began to crumble as he pulled it out of the barrel. Abaan looked around the wooden room. He noticed an empty seat next to a familiar face. He sat next to a friend he had made during the early days of the cruise, Kairo. Kairo was the first hand on the ship. Kairo greeted Abaan. Abaan began listening to their conversation. They had been talking about old relationships, and Abaan felt like sharing. He explained that he was tired of sailing already, and wished for his wife’s hand in his own. They felt remorse for past lives.

“I couldn’t go back if I wanted to,” Kairo said sorrowly. A few of the others nodded.

“Doesn’t seem too hard to leave the voyage once you get back home,” Abaan responded.

“Might seem easy from a newcomer's perspective,” Kairo said. Abaan was puzzled.

“Aye.” A few ship hands responded at the same time.

“What do you mean?” Abaan asked.

“The relationships I had in the day are lost. This is my job, and with the wealth comes loneliness.” Kairo's soul sounded a bit defeated. Abaan understood. The voyages took months to complete. Sailors, Abaan now recognized, probably lost many relationships to time. This fact brought a bit of stress and sadness to Abaan’s consciousness.

The conversation was over, and Abaan rose to attend work with his wife in mind. He walked out to the deck. Water splashed over the sides of the large boat. It washed over the deck, leaving thin lines of foam around the floor. No scrubbing was needed. Abaan looked towards the higher deck. Captain stood at the wheel with a glass bottle. The wild wind blew his grey and silver hair back. Although the waves crashed and rocked the boat, Captain looked as though he lived for these moments. His body absorbed the motion and swayed with it, almost as if he was dancing in place. Not many others were out on the deck. The sails were down, and the ship dashed through the violent waters. There was no work to be done. Abaan greeted a few of the ship hands outside and headed towards Captain.

“Ahhhoy!” Captain shouted as Abaan approached.

“Ey to ya!” Abaan said with less volume as he approached. “How many days left till land?” Abaan said, hiding his desperation with fake enthusiasm.

“Couldn’t really tell ya if I’m being honessst!” Captain was still shouting. “I’ll tell you what! Go get some games started and I’ll join in a few hours!”

Lightning struck as Abaan turned and walked away. He didn’t get the answer he was hoping for. He figured the games might get his mind loose from his aching heart.

Abaan appeared through the doors of the dining hall. He walked over to a large bin and dug out a few game boards. He sat down and called over Kairo and a few of the other sailors. After a while, Captain walked in to join. Kairo had to leave to steer the ship. Captain took his spot at the table. Abaan noticed a new green bottle he had brought. After a few hours of gaming, Captain leaned to Abaan.

“Who would be fit fer captain if I were gone?” Abaan looked at him, confused.

“Just theoretical my boy!” Captain gave Abaan a big smile, showing his teeth. The smile slowly faded again, and Captain looked down. After playing the games for hours, Abaan and the rest of the crew anchored down and went to bed.

Abaan woke up and wiped the sweat from his forehead. His knees popped as he stretched. He yawned and walked out. The rain continued falling.

“Ahoy!” Captain shouted at Abaan with a nearly empty bottle in hand.

“Ahoy Captain,” Abaan replied quietly as he passed him to the dining hall. Abaan grabbed his cracker from the barrels and sat with Kairo again.

“Just a few weeks.” One of the sailors said. Abaan cringed a little. The more Abaan thought about it, the more he wanted to return home. He thought of the riches he could achieve, which calmed him slightly.

A large crack snaps from outside.

Abaan rushed out. Aaban’s fears subsided, and he let out a sigh. Nothing was wrong with the ship. Abaan, however, did notice Captain’s frail arm pointing out towards the water. Aaban turned and looked out. Although it was hard to see through the rain, the light radiating was bright. A great ball of fire was ablaze on top of the Ocean. 

It appears that a ship had been struck by lightning, subsequently setting the entirety of it ablaze. The rain was unable to put out the fierce flames, and they continued to dance around in the wind. The creaking of the wood could be heard from Aaban’s ship. The warmth of the fire could almost be felt. The ship cracked again and Abaan winced. 

“What are we going to do?” Abaan asked Captain.

“What do you mean?” Captain asked.

“Are we going to help them?” Abaan clarified in a hurry.

“Son, you have to know when to help and when to move on…”

“They’ll burn to death! Or drown!”

“Don’t argue with me. What am I supposed to do?” Captain snapped. Captain turned away from Abaan and looked back at the other ship. It was being reduced to ash. Everyone could smell the wood burn. They heard screams. Captain walked away with a frown. Abaan’s ship continued on its course, and Captain wasn’t seen for the rest of the day. He had locked himself in his quarters. Many ship hands knocked but were turned away. Kairo tried listening in but told Abaan he couldn’t hear anything.

The day passed. Abaan spent it working on sails. The captain never returned, and Kairo took the helm. He felt a cold sickness throughout. His chest was heavy. He felt uneasy. The burning ship was stuck in his mind. Abaan wanted home. He went to bed with a headache.

Abaan woke, sweating. He looked around at his crewmates who still slept. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and pushed himself off the oak pallet. The back of his hand was wet. He walked to the cabin for breakfast. It was bright outside. Captain was not where he would usually stand. Abaan walked through the doors of the cabin, grabbed a cracker, and sat down next to Kairo and his friends.

“Have you seen Captain?” Abaan questioned the table.

“Not since the day before,” Kairo replied.

“Aye,” the ship hands said at the same time.

“Weird,” Abaan muttered. He bit down hard on the cracker. 

“He’s probably still drinking!” Kairo blarred. The ship hands laughed. Abaan giggled but held the smile. Abaan got up and walked back to the quarters. 

“Alright everybody get up! Captains waiting on you!” Abaan’s only answer was a groan. The shiphands left sleeping started to move in the dark. Abaan walked to Captain’s door. Captain had his own room, but the size was small and the heat was uncomfortable. He knocked. There was no response.

“Alright Captain. It’s time to do your job!” No response came. “Captain! It's time to get on the wheel!”

“Shut up” a barely woken shipmate said. Abaan ignored him.

Again, no response came from the room. Abaan substituted his voice for his fist and started knocking hard against the wood door. Abaan beat on the door a couple of times. A couple more. Abaan’s last attempt was futile. He kicked the door. The door returned a creaking noise. He kicked again. The boards underneath Abaan squeaked. Abaan kicked again. And again. And then the door broke.

“Captain?” Abaan saw an empty bottle of rum. He looked down. To the right were more bottles. On the left was a sheet of paper and a quill, although nothing was written on the paper. Next to it was the note Abaan returned to him. The latch behind the office was wide open. The Ocean foamed and roared below. It appears Captain had jumped.

Abaan heard the stack of people gathering behind him looking into the office. Abaan stood in the doorway, shocked. He swallowed hard.

“What is it?” Someone asked behind him.

Abaan pushed the door open so that the audience could view the empty room. No words came. It was quiet for a few minutes. Kairo walked into the empty room, pushing past Abaan.

“As firsthand, I guess I’ll take the job.” Kairo took over the situation. No one said a word. It was Kairo’s position, and barely any of the ship's hands would be enthusiastic enough to have to command the ship.

“What about Cap-” Abaan began to say.

“And Abaan is the new firsthand.”

Abaan couldn’t finish his sentence. It appeared to Abaan that the shipmates almost didn’t care. Abaan shook his head at the offer.

“I don’t want it”

He didn’t want to continue sailing but knew the wealth the position brought would fit a man for as long as he wanted.

“It’s not mine. I can’t accept it.” Abaan said. Kairo nodded to show his understanding and called on one of his other friends. They accepted immediately. 

Abaan worked sails for the rest of the day, and in the next few weeks, they had arrived in India. Abaan was amazed by the hills of the land and loved looking at the novelty goods. He relaxed. He breathed in, and out and remembered his wife, whom he was ready to return for.