Saudade (Published under Indie Pop)

Chapter 36: The Tears of the Sea

I watched as they stood and fired, and then ducked when bullets or arrows flew to our direction. I couldn't remember - no, I was afraid to know how many times they were almost hit until a couple of arrows came fast towards them, hitting the one near me on his neck. My eyes widened in horror and shock when he fell on the floor of the deck, blood gushing from his mouth and the wound on his neck. His companion looked at him horrified, but decided to put his grief aside and focused on firing at the targets.

The pirate with an arrow pierced on his neck started coughing and I couldn't just watch him as he desperately tried to fight for his life. Pulling all the strength I had, I ran towards him and knelt beside his body. I panicked as I saw a pool of blood already forming on the floor as he tried to breathe.

He grasped my arm tightly and stared straight into my eyes. It was as if he wanted to tell me lots of things but he couldn't just do it at that moment. He could never do it anymore. And I knew by then that there was nothing I could do to save him. The awful realization seemed to hit him and tears made their way down my cheeks as his grip in my arm started to loosen. I watched as he became still and his eyes closed. It was the first death I witnessed in this battle and I wondered just how many first deaths I had missed while I was in here in the grand vessel.

"He's gone," I muttered.

My sobs reached the ears of the other pirates so he turned to look at us. His attention wavered when he saw the dead body of his companion and that was how an arrow found its way on his shoulder. He dropped to the floor clutching the wounded part of his body. I turned as he cried in pain and looking back at the dead body in front of me, I decided to get up and run quickly to his direction.

"Are you alright?" And I knew it was a dumb question from me because obviously, he was far from being alright. He didn't answer so I looked in to his wound and I gasped when I saw the familiar red color of its fletching - definitely a West Land arrow. I remembered the time when I joined the Weston brothers in hunting in an Eastern forest with Tarnus on my side. They were able to catch a huge bird and I thought it immediately died as Threy's arrow pierced through its right wing. I cried that time out of pity when the poor animal fell on the ground. Threy decided to keep the bird alive when I didn't stop bawling my eyes out and took out the arrow from the bird's body. The bird was still alive in the West Land's castle, caged and kept as a pet. I thought I gave it a better destiny, I guessed the bird hated me as well for denying the creature of an easy death.

With a strong determination, I helped the pirate up and helped him towards the barrel. I sat him straight with his back against the wooden container and started touching the arrow. That's how I should do it, right? I should just do what Threy did.

"Wait, do you know what you're doing?" the pirate asked warily. I couldn't help but take a little offense of his distrust towards me. I might not be doing it well the way Threy did it back then, but I was the only help he could get at the moment.

"Trust me, alright? I might have the tendency to take your words against you and do it in a more painful way than it should be," I replied, frowning.

Seeing the seriousness in my face, he remained calmly and quietly seated. I inhaled deeply and broke the fletching of the arrow. My fingers were trembling because of the horrified death I witnessed and the chaotic situation we were in but they still got the strength I needed to pull the arrow at the back of his shoulders by its shaft and arrowhead. I sighed in relief as I pulled the arrow completely out of his skin and dropped it on the floor. He let out a loud wail as blood made its way out from its wound. Seeing that my dress already showed too much of my skin, I decided to tear his clothes and wrapped it immediately on his wound.