— Far far beyond the sea
Far far beyond your eyes can see
Broken bones and broken hearts
Lying in the mud of scattered pearls —
Year of our lord 1710 — Bay of Sorrows
"The old wench is already waiting, captain. As if she knew that we were coming."
"She always knows," Kim whispered into the cold air of a gloomy night, watching the mist curling around the shabby-looking wooden shack settled right at the docks, keeping an all-knowing eye on everyone who dared to pass the Bay of Sorrows.
"Tell the folks to get ready. We are mooring," Kim ordered, counting the pearls on the Ruby Red necklace weaved around his fingers. He couldn't lose it, he couldn't drop it, he couldn't let it slip his mind.
Kim closed his eyes.
"One pearl for you
One pearl for me
One pearl for whoever you want it to be
One pearl for you
One pearl for me
One pearl—"
"Captain, we are here!"
Kim opened his eyes. There she was, standing at the door. There she was, waiting to tell him more.
Kim's boots buried themselves deep into the mud as he jumped off his ship, heading straight towards the sharp eyes of the oracle. The closer he was, the more he could feel the unsettling shivers creeping up his body, from the tips of his toes to his neck, cutting off the air he desperately needed for his lungs.
Kim gulped down, nodding in a greeting, "Lady Omnia, a pleasure to meet you again."
"Pleasure is a pleasure until it becomes a rotten apple," the oracle walked back to her shack. One second here, the other there, and before Kim knew it, she already held his hand in hers. The lit candle on the table—the only source of light in the room.
"Accepting a gift from a siren, how foolish of you, little pirate," the oracle's sharp nails clacked on the pearls wrapped around Kim's hand. "One pearl for you, one pearl for me—"
"Cut the crap and tell me what you know!" Kim cut her off. "Why... why I can't stop myself? I must always have the necklace with me. I must! I must! I must! It drives me nuts! You know why, right? So tell me!"
The oracle's sharp eyes flickered, just briefly, just for a fragment of a moment, and then the curve of her lips lifted, "I told you, little pirate. Accepting a gift from a siren was a foolish decision."
"I couldn't tell her no. It was stronger than me."
"Stronger than your will to live?" the oracle asked. Her sharp ocean-blue eyes were replaced by sheer whiteness. Her body trembled. Her hand wrapped around Kim's own, so tight, the blood in Kim's veins was slowing down.
The voice, void of any emotions, hollow, and bleak, came from the depths of her stomach. The words brought Kim nothing but more questions. More confusion in the godforsaken life of a phantom of a pirate.
"There will be a boy
a pretty one, indeed
he will be your demise
you will be kneeling at his feet.
The siren has woven a pretty gift
Death is ready for its shift
Escape you can't, escape you mustn't
He is waiting for you, but knowing it, he doesn't."
Kim shook his head, watching the necklace around his hand. Shiny pearls. Ruby Red in the middle. He wanted to let go. He wished to let go.
But he couldn't do it. The necklace, having the power over him stronger than any treasure ever had. Kim would die before letting that necklace slip his fingers. Die at sea. Die at the land. It didn't matter as long as the necklace would be in his hand kept.
"What does any of it mean?" Kim asked when the oracle's eyes turned back to blue, and her hand around Kim's gentler stayed.
"You are focused on the wrong thing, pirate. It's not about the necklace. It's about who's neck will bear it in the future."
"No one! It's mine!" A guttural scream left Kim's body. But it felt as if it didn't. It couldn't be him who made that sound. Who screamed like this. Who felt his heart being torn apart just by the mere possibility of the necklace ever belonging to someone else and not him. Kim was going to live forever! He was going to find a way so that he could be the only person to ever possess such beauty.
"You came here for the answers, Kimhan," the oracle calmly said. "The answers you are getting. Sirens can't make us fall in love with objects. It's humans we desire. The necklace is just a means for you to get to your future."
"It's a love spell?" Kim spat out, rolling his eyes. "Miss me with that bullshit!"
"Love spell can't work if one of you isn't alive," the oracle placed her hands on a crystal ball in front of her, closing her eyes. "Hmm, it is indeed a peculiar situation. It's not a love spell. It's a map from you to him."
"Him?"
"One has to die. One has to be born. Different times. Different world. The times of us will be long gone. The time of him had only just begun."
"Too many rhymes, matey," Kim groaned.
"Too many rhymes, but they can save lives," the oracle replied, kissing the crystal ball. A cloud of black smoke covered the ball. A smoke hand reached towards Kim's heart—its bony fingers with their sharp nails digging into his chest, curling around his ribcage.
"Death is coming, little pirate. Death is bleak, no scarlet," the oracle laughed, squeaky and sharp as Kim abruptly stood up from his chair, trying to keep a distance between him and the hand of the smoke.
"You are no oracle but a liar! Death will come, but when I say. Only when I say!" Kim stormed out of the shack, his clothes immediately getting drained with the pouring rain. When did it happen? When did it start? Kim didn't know, but the rain was heavy, and his crew, tired... But they had to. There was no choice; sailing out of the Bay of Sorrows they must tonight, before tomorrow.
The boots were splashing water and mud every time they hit the ground, Kim's footprints were all that was left behind as he jumped back on his ship, heading straight to his wheel.
"We are leaving this godforsaken place!" Kim shouted, swerving the wheel over and over until his wrists burned with pain.
"Captain, captain," Kim's first mate, Big, ran to him. His face was wet and pale, eyes hooded in fear. "The weather's too bad. The men are tired. There's something. Something in the dark. It won't let us leave. It won't!"
"Bay of Sorrows never lets you leave. That's why we have to," Kim looked at the horizon, barely visible far, far away. "We will sail through the Bay of Sorrows even if it will be the last thing we'll do."
"Aye aye, captain," Big turned around and shouted into the cold night and the heavy rain, "Captian said we are sailing, so sailing we will!"
"Aye aye! Aye aye! Aye Aye!" The voices of the men came from every direction. The unanimous acceptance of the possibility of the upcoming death just for their captain was hanging in the air right above Kim's shoulders, feeling proud for the crew he chose, feeling sad for the crew he chose.
⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆
Year of our lord 2005 — Bangkok
"Deep deep in your sleep
Sails a ship of your dream
Once you will meet her
Once you will meet him."
"Granny, will the pirate really come?"
Maria Kittisawat cupped her grandson's chubby cheek. Her calloused hand was in contrast with smooth, youthful skin, showing the relentless passage of time. "One day he will, Porchay. Today or tomorrow or a thousand years from now. But one day he'll be here. To take what was promised to him. To take what he doesn't want."
"Have you waited for him too?"
Maria Kittisawat smiled, "everyone in the Kittisawat bloodline did. Now the necklace is yours. And once you grow up. You will wait too."
"I want him to come," Chay giggled, squeezing a teddy bear close to his body. "I like pirates."
Maria Kittisawat patted his chestnut hair, sticking to every side, "this pirate is different, sweetheart. This one is real."
⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆
Year of our lord 1710 — Bay of Sorrows
The water was everywhere. Entering Kim's eyes, nose, mouth, lungs. The more desperate for air he was, the less he could get. Quietly, from deep underwater, he could hear his men, his friends, his crew... calling for help, calling for their captain. Begging for life. Begging, begging, and begging. But Kim couldn't help. He couldn't even breathe. Letting himself succumb to death just like many pirates before him and many after him will. The voices of his crew wavered down. Silence, his only company, became. Was their alive, and was he dead? When did he end up in the water and not in his empty bed? They were almost out of the storm, almost there... and then... The ship rocked hard, but it didn't fall apart. Didn't. Didn't. Didn't.
Silence.
Stillness.
Darkness.
Death.
The last thing he felt was the necklace wrapped around his hand. It was burning. Even in the water. It was burning.
⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆
Year of our lord 2023 — Phuket
Kim violently choked out water from his lungs. The air was suddenly too hot around him. His entire body was trembling. Finally opening his eyes and looking around, he realized that he could breathe again. Where was he? The night was gone. The sun was high up in the sky. No clouds in sight.
"Man, are you okay? Where did you come from?" A young voice, soft and airy, hit Kim's ears. He clenched his fist; there was nothing. The necklace was gone. The Ruby Red was gone! His Ruby Red. A grave feeling struck Kim's body. He looked up. There stood a boy. Chestnut hair ruffled in the soft summer wind. His eyes, big and brown, reminded Kim of the first doe he hunted down to have something to eat. The boy was looking down at him in confusion, but Kim... Kim was even more confused.
"Are you alright? Should I call an ambulance?"
"Bloody hell! Where's my ship?"
"Uhmm, what?"
"Where's my necklace?"
"Where's my crew?"
Kim's voice was getting louder and louder, echoing around them like the thunder of a deadly storm. Kim stood up, his knees shaky, legs barely holding him up as he threw himself at the boy, forcing him to the ground. "Where is it? Where is everyone? What did you do?!"
The boy under Kim squirmed, pushing Kim away, the collar of his shirt moving just enough to reveal shiny pearls around his neck and right in the middle—Ruby Red calling Kim's name.
Kim's body froze, looking at the necklace he whispered, "the Ruby Red."
The boy under Kim stopped moving. His doe eyes suddenly looked at Kim with wonder. After the moment that could last centuries, he whispered, "so it's you. You really came."
To be continued...
P.S. have you enjoyed the first chapter, guys 👀? If yes, chapter two will be out tomorrow ❤️