On his next trip to the ship and back, Talbot reported to Hanna that, "The bowsprit was in the water now."
"What is the bowsprit?"
"It's the spar extending forward from a ship's bow, to which the forestays are fastened. The ship is definitely sinking. I will have to move quickly now to get as much out as I can."
"What is the spar?" Smiling like an impish child full of questions.
Talbot realized he was using terms that she would know nothing about. "Sorry, the spar is the thick piece of wood that the sail hangs from. In this case it is the piece of wood extending out from the bow."
"Oh, I see, thank you for the explanation."
"That is what is in the water now. The front of the boat called the bow is sinking when it was above water before."
"Can I help?"
"Not really, it is becoming treacherous now and much more difficult than before."
"Should you stop going there?" Worry grabbed her by the throat.
"Soon."
A veil of concern covered her face. He could see it and was touched by it.
"I will go tomorrow and see what else is left that is of importance to us. I think a storm is brewing."
She laughed at that comment because the sky was clear as a bell. "What do you mean? The sky was clear this evening at sunset."
"Red sky at night, sailor's delight, red sky morning, sailor's warning." That is all he said.
She repeated the rhyme in her head several times. 'The sky told him that a storm was coming. Hmm.' She pondered the thought for a moment and then went about washing the dishes from their dinner.
Hannah woke to the wind. A strong wind had come up. The sea was rough and the ship was moving. It was visible to the naked eye. She looked around for Talbot but he was gone already.
She wanted to bring up the subject of his trunk but with their in depth discussion about sextants and part of the ship she could not broach the subject or find a way to bring it up. She would this morning.
"Talbot!" Shouting for him through the wind. It was not easy. She couldn't find him anywhere. He must have gone to the ship.
Indeed he had. The wind made it very difficult for him. The ship creaked and screamed at him, as if to beg for a saviour. Begging Talbot to save her from drowning altogether.
The beloved Cospatrick was going down to join its crew and the other passengers and there was nothing that Talbot could do to stop that eventuality. It saddened him, as it would any sailor. There is always an emotional attachment to a ship from its crew.
The crew respects the ship for it was she that saved them many times at sea in great storms, when the power of God was seen by one and all. The ship hugged them and kept them, protected them from their demise. Now it was her time to go, and his time to say, "Adieu". Before that would happen Talbot wanted to make his way to the Captain's quarters to see if there was anything that would be useful to them. That was a difficult task for a sailor, the Captain and his possessions would always be respected. The Captain garnered cachet from the crew, although the First Mate had reason to admire and respect him most, as he was closest to him in position and friendship.
For Talbot, Captain Elmshurst was the epitome of a captain. They worked together for many years and became close companions over the years. He would be sorely missed.
"We had broached badly, side on to the wind and sea. The wind was on the quarter, it veered and pitched forward because of the sea hitting the stern, which caused it to present a side to the wind and sea, thus losing steerage and suffering serious damage." Captain Elmshurst informed him. The last words he heard from him.
These thoughts kept whirling around in his mind as he was going through the ship. The water was deeper than before due to the continuous and slow sinking of her. Now through the passageways the water was up above Talbot's waist. He was trying to move through the water quickly. The ship was telling him there was not much time to spare.
In the Captain's quarters crystal decanters with all the liquid gold still intact. He found the sextant and the ships compass. If for nothing else at least the Captain could be remembered by these things. There was a small box on the desk, Talbot decided to take as well. It had been a treasured piece of the Captain's. It was made of ivory. Very heavily carved with brass hinges in the lid and a brass latch. Talbot felt emotional about it now that he saw it and knew how the Captain felt about it. Talbot had admired it each time he would visit the Captain in the evenings for drinks.
The ship started moving. Moving enough to give Talbot a fright. He could hear the wood beams snapping like twigs under the weight of the water and the angle of the ship. It was going to fall off the submerged rocky ledge it sat on precariously, very soon.
Best he make his escape.
He quickly put his finds in a sack with a long rope handle, hung it from his shoulder.
As he entered the passageway the water now reached his chest. It was more difficult to walk so he tried to swim most of the way. The ship was leaning forward and the water was deeper for that reason. He was now swimming with his head almost touching the ceiling of the passageway. He knew in his heart this was the last time he would enter the ship and the last day he would see her. As he reached the opening of the ship it was completely submerged in the water now.
Then it happened.
As if the ship were free falling it started to plummet down. As if on a mountain side. Only the plummet would have been much faster but for the water it started falling slowly. Now the opening was starting to move beneath Talbot and a bile of panic rose in his throat. If he did not make haste to get out he was going to go down to the bottom of the sea in the belly of the ship. He started swimming frantically.
Realized that he was losing his strength and not getting very far as he was in a panic. He willed himself to be calm, that helped him move more quickly.
Hannah is watching from the shore in a nervous state.
As if someone had pushed the ship off the rock-mass, the ship started groaning and screaming, creaking and snapping. The noises were, very loud and could be easily heard by her at that distance. Tears sprang to her eyes as she watched.
Now the bow of the ship slowly but surely started sinking into the water and slowly but completely, disappeared under the water.
"WHERE ARE YOU TALBOT?" She shouted out loud. She was frantic. "TALBOT!" Shouting his name louder.
Then her hands flew to her face, first covering her whole face as if she could not watch. Curiosity got the better of her and she had to look.
She knew full well that the ship was going today. Right then. It took its final voyage to the bottom of the sea. Sadness engulfed her.
There was a sort of faux security that a huge craft brought her just being there. She felt vulnerable now, more than ever. If that huge ship could not survive, how would she? Where was Talbot? She started pacing back and forth on the beach feeling very helpless. Imagining all kinds of horrid things.
Maybe a beam fell and hit him in the head. Maybe the ship started sinking with him in it. Maybe he was drown. She started crying. Feeling anger, helplessness, frustration, panic and fear, all together. Her fists were clenched at her sides, her teeth were clenched in her mouth. Then her hand went to her mouth to try to control the sobbing that was brimming at the brink. The tears were hot and burning and angry.
There was no sign of him. If he had not gone down with the ship he would have swam back to the cove by then.
The wind whipped, the sky blackened, the rain fell in sheets. The sea was angry, perhaps not wanting to accept this vessel into her stomach. And yet the war was raging between the wind and the sea. The wind forced the vessel into the sea, the sea fought to not accept it. Both angry, both violent.
Then to Hannah's horror the ship disappeared under the surface and the only things remaining were the masts. They too started to shrink and then disappear with the rest. She could not believe her eyes.
Like the city of Pompeii, Italy, buried by a volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Like a great floating city, the Cospatrick buried by water, never to be seen again.
Then nothing! Only the rain falling, Hannah standing alone on the beach looking out to the sea with her hands over her mouth in utter disbelief. As if the ship never existed. Only water and boulders, jagged edge framing the cove.
And the rain pelted her like stones.
Tears streamed down her face with the rain drops. Every drop of rain that fell were the tears in her heart.
The heavens cried for the ship and the passengers and the crew and now for Talbot .....and ultimately for her.
Talbot disappeared!
Buried at sea with his beloved vessel.
Hannah ran into the tent that Talbot had made for her with his capable hands. She threw herself down on her makeshift bed and sobbed and sobbed for all that had passed before her that day. She had never felt this sick in all her days.
Through the tears she realized that it wasn't just for life lost but for love lost. She realized that she loved Talbot, more than she knew. Now that he was dead, she wanted to die. There was no reason to live any longer. What would become of her? She did not care.
Her heart was bursting with pain for the loss of Talbot........ lost forever!
She cried to exhaustion, then lay there hardly breathing, paralyzed with pain. She sobbed the whole night. What would she do without Talbot? She imagined the worse scenario.
The whole night the rain pelted down.
The wind lashed against the tent walls.
The whole night Hannah sobbed. Even when sleep forced itself on her she sobbed.
The next day she awoke to the storm. It continued to whip and beat at everything. It was angry. The trees and the palms bowed to its fury. Hannah continued distraught over the loss of Talbot and the ship. What was she to do now? Oh she did not care she wanted to be dead as well. What was the point of continuing by herself?
Her heart pained her in a way that she had never felt before. As though it knew that there was a loss. A loss of love. The pain was so great that she thought it would overtake her. Never had she felt such a thing.
Was she 'in love' with Talbot? Her heart wept over a 'love lost'? What was this feeling that she experienced?
By nightfall of the third day the storm seemed to have calmed somewhat. But then a few hours later it started again with a vengeance. Talbot had secured the tent well for it withstood the wind and water lashing against it. Hannah started sobbing again as reality sunk in. She was sure that she was alone and that he was gone. Huddled in their tent and under the rough blankets salvaged from the ship. She felt cold. She was shaking. Was it fear, or loneliness or heart break?
She finally fell asleep having wild dreams watching what happened to the ship again and again. Watching Talbot drowning with her very own eyes.
From nowhere, in the pitch black of the wee hours of the morning......wind howling........ she heard the wind shouting her name.............
"Han.....Han.......wher .....you? Han....!"
A voice! Whose could it be? She felt afraid. Was it her imagination? Was she hearing a voice in the wind and the storm? Did she believe it into existence?
The storm was so loud that no soul would be able to hear anyone talking.
"HANNAH!"
"HANNAH!"
" WHERE ARE YOU?"
The voice was frantic. Frantically calling. Frantically searching for her.
"HERE I AM!" She shouted at the wind.
Then she leapt to her feet and ran out into the storm. She did not see anyone. Had she lost her mind? She spun around and around while the rain pelted her. It started paining her. It was dark, windy and she could not see anything.
All of a sudden a dark form towered over her. She screamed with a fright not knowing what it was. She started backing away from the creature. Then she heard,
"HANNAH. DON'T BE FRIGHTENED IT IS TALBOT. IT IS ME!"
Talbot? Talbot who?
Back from the dead?
Resurrected?
How could the sea just spit him out? Impossible!
"TALBOT?" She screamed!
Had she gone completely mad?
Then she found herself embracing him. He enveloped her in his arms. They held each other so tight. He felt her fear. The rain pelted them continuously. Hearts pounding for each other.
He panicked when he reached shore, he immediately ran into the jungle, there were caves there, thinking that she was seeking shelter from the storm. He couldn't find her and thought she was dead.
Still panicked and yet overjoyed at the sight of him, she looked up into his face wrapping her arm around his neck and........................
..... kissed him!!!
In shock, but with the same intensity he.........
..... kissed her!!!
All else forgotten.
Talbot put one arm around her shoulder shouting, "COME ON, LET US GET INSIDE!"
Pushing her towards the tent. They got inside and the wind was blowing the flap that was a makeshift door. Talbot secured it to the posts, it held out the rain. The sides of the tent were flapping but stayed securely in place. Hannah started shaking violently. Talbot took her in his arms once again to comfort her.
"It is all right Lass. Everything is going to be fine. Do not fret Pet." He was trying to calm her.
"I.....I thought.....I thought you were dead!" Then fresh sobbing racked her body. Fear and relief and anger and panic tortured her. She could not stop.
"Shhhh.....everything is going to be fine. I am here. Not to worry. Shhhhhh....." He tried to sooth her.
Then she sobered up. She thought, 'Why am I so concerned about myself? He was almost killed.'
"Are you all right?" Pulling away from him and looking up at him.
"I am fine now that I have you in my arms." He told her to calm her more.
"Are you sure?" Asking while she fell on his chest again, wrapping her arms around him like a child that woke from a nightmare.
"Yes, I am sure Pet." He began to stroke her hair while he talked to her to sooth her.
"You should be dead. I watched the ship sink. I thought you were trapped inside. I thought a beam might have struck you and you were unconscious and went down with the vessel."
The sobbing started again.
"There, there. It is all right now."
What he did not say was, 'Yes I was trapped inside and stared death in the face, for a third time! Only by the grace of God did I get out of there. Two more minutes would have been my demise.'
"Where have you been all these days?" Hannah wailed.
"I got out of the ship before it sank, I would have come back but for the storm I had to climb the rock mass, facing the sea, as the storm and sea were too rough and I could not swim back to shore. I found a cave halfway up the rock mass and stayed deep within it until I was sure the sea had calmed. I was safe in the cave as it was deep. What he did not say was, 'I was trapped there for days. The sea so angry that it would have lashed me against the rock like a rag doll in the wind and beaten me to death.'
Her body slumped from weakness. He lay her down on the blankets like a small baby, like a fragile piece of porcelain. She whimpered with fatigue. He lay down beside her and she put her head on his chest. Clinging to him for dear life. All propriety was gone. Never entered her mind. She was overwhelmed that he was still alive. For his life meant her life. They were on their own planet. Nothing else mattered but the two of them. They were alive and with each other, that was the paramount fact. She fell asleep instantly. He lay on his back looking up to the ceiling of the tent. She breathed deeply.
He thought that this was probably the greatest tragedy she had ever experienced. She had no coping skills for this kind of trauma. Always protected from the world and any kind of disaster by those around her, by her status in life, her wealth, her husband. She had never been exposed to the elements, the earth, the sea and nature. She was spent.
Talbot's eyes were heavy. He was exhausted.
Then half awake half dreaming thoughts again of what happened to him.
Using all his strength to swim out of the belly of the ship and straight out and up to not be taken under with her by the suction that is created when a heavy mass such as a ship falls to the depths. That pushed him out to sea even farther. He felt the sinking ship pull at him. He felt compelled to watch it going down. A seaman's first responsibility is the ship.
By maritime law they must go down with the ship. Something compelled him to watch. Farther and farther it seemed to fall, although it was sinking. Getting smaller and smaller. Moving slowly through the water. Then becoming the size of a toy, then finally disappearing in the depths. Finding its final resting place. Sadness overwhelmed him. He was caught up in the emotion of the moment.
He realized that the sea was too rough and angry to let him swim back to the cove and the storm was growing in intensity rapidly. He climbed the rock to find shelter. To his great fortune he found a deep cave.
He used what strength he had left and climbed to the opening, pushed himself up and in it and fell on his back. His chest heaving to its fullest extent. He coughed and spat. The water sprayed in on him in great quantities, forcing him to turn on his front and crawl to the back of the cave. Had the cave been shallow he would have drown. The water crashed in and swirled around the entrance of the cave and then out again, never reaching him in its depths. It was as if the rock mass had opened its mouth and swallowed him. He watched the storm from the distance.
Night and day passed without being able to escape. Was this going to be his rock grave? How long could this storm last?
All his thoughts were on Hannah and how she was and how she was feeling. He knew that she would be out of her mind, believing him dead. There was no way that he could reach her.
Finally the storm lessened, the sea calmed somewhat and Talbot thought that he could chance it. Still fighting the storm, the wind and waves, using all his might, to swim back to the cove. He thought that he was dead several times. A huge wave pushed him into the cove at the last possible moment, saving his life.
He slept. He slept with Hanna in his arms.
"Hezekiah! No! No! Don't drown, don't!" Hannah was in the throws of a nightmare. Screaming in her sleep. "Hezzzzzekiiiiiahhhhhh!"
"What!...what is it?" Talbot answered. "Hannah, wake up!"
"No Hezekiah swim, swim hard, no don't. Hezekiah!"
Talbot was shaking her now to try to wake her.
"Hannah, wake up."
"What? Where am I?" She was finally awake. "What's happened?" She then looked at him and threw herself at him and clung to him. "I had a terrible nightmare." She started sobbing again. "I saw you drowning." Tears streaming down her face. "I was so frantic."
"You poor wee thing." He held her tightly. "It is all right. I am here with you. You are fine. We are safe."
He tried to do everything to console her. While he had her head under his chin and talking to her consolingly he was in a quandary wondering how on earth she would be calling his Christian name. Was it a coincidence? How was this possible? How could she know? He was searching the farthest recesses of his memory to answer his questions. He had never mentioned it. Never told her his name. No one had called him that for years and years. Only his mother and father called him that.
They were gone. Also lost at sea. He was the only one of them that survived. When he was of age he gave himself to that which took his parents - the sea.
"There, there now." She was a bit calmer. The sobs turned into hiccups now and again. He lay her down when the crying subsided. She was so beautiful and vulnerable, he wanted to protect her forever. She was not built for this kind of living. Someone needed to shield her from these things. He would do his best to look after her every need. His heart swelled for her all the more.
Then the truth crushed his chest like a boulder once again, she was married. What was he going to do? He was in love with her, but she was another's. How could he let this happen?
The morning came and the sea was still rough although the rain storm had blown farther out to sea. It could be seen in the distance but the sun was shining on them now. The birds were in the trees chirping and singing once again. Talbot lay very still allowing Hannah to sleep as long as her body demanded it. She lay with her head on his chest and her arm stretched out across his torso. He was on his back with his arm around her supporting her head, like a big cushion. He cocooned her - symbolically - from harm.
A while longer she woke with a fright and jumped a mile. He grabbed her and held her down so that she would not be frightened further. He was a reassuring presence that would stave off a panic attack.
She swung quickly and looked at him, then calmed herself again and lay down. He was caressing her to calm her. He stroked her hair.
'Love was troublesome, was it not? Passion was real easy. Men had no problem revealing that.
Love was complex and complicated with many problems attached to the emotion, the feeling.
True love was beautiful but there were so many hidden issues, problems, too many of them to count. Like the stars in heaven.' So Talbot thought.
His love for her surpassed the physical realm into the spiritual realm. It exceeded the pure physical desire that he had for her. It was beyond lust and passion but much deeper, more meaningful. True love, the care and concern for another person without any interest in your own needs, wants or pleasures. Love is not wanting from someone else, love is giving. Love is without fear.
He thought about how much he wanted her and then remembered in that day and age, rules of propriety and morality must be respected and upheld. If he simply wanted to express his true love for her, if she loved him equally, that one simple act would make her an outcast. If the rules of 'her' society were ignored, she would be ruined.
Talbot understood that she loved him because of the way that she nursed him back to health. She saved his life, literally. The way that she reacted to almost losing him. The way she kissed him. The way she looked at him. The way she touched his spin, from the outside in, deeply, profoundly.
To love someone so intensely that you respect their feelings more than your own. A love so strong that you care about the essence of that person. Those things that are at the core of them. Who they are. And act accordingly.
That is the epitome of a real man. That is the epitome of real love. That love would surpass anything of this world. A man that loved a woman so much that yes he treated her like his beloved sister. She had become and was everything to him except a lover.
A love so strong that he would sacrifice himself for her. That he would suffer in his love for her in order for her well being and self-respect to remain intact. He would never do anything that would make her hate herself or destroy her relationship with God or her husband. He didn't want her to hate him.
How could he live without her and continue living with her, possibly for the rest of their lives?
Because of what they had been through........
They were bound to each other forever.............
Nothing could ever change that.
No one could ever change that.