22. Ylfa
The boat arrived likeTim said it would, and now we all watch along the shoreline as the boat anchors at sea.
Since we don’t have a port for obvious reasons, we will need to paddle across the waves by boat. This is the closest the ship can get to us. And what a ship she is too. It’s a real pirate ship with white sails and a wooden structure, and I feel like I’m in a movie...
My first adventure at sea.
There are multiple paddle boats, and several wolves will be joining a human inside as they work the oars. Patrick can barely contain himself.
Ever since we were kids, we have dreamed of traveling across the sea, and it looks as if we have gotten our wish.
Tim has left out the location of their secret island, but I hope it is somewhere tropical. I want to see those white sand beaches that I saw in those human holiday brochures.
I truly feel blessed, and not for the first time, I’m glad I was banished. Why stay in one place when there is much to explore? It’s a big, wide world.
This former dud isn’t doing too badly.
“Well, hop on in,” Tim says, taking his seat at the stern of the boat as he grabs the oars.
Hunter and Patrick climb inside the boat, then turn back to help me. I sit on a bench, wedged between my mates, and I can’t believe it.
I’m going on a sea voyage. I feel like a pirate.
I glance to my left. Butch and several of his pack sit in another boat with old Hector, while Tiffany, Annabel, and Chelsea ride in a boat with Brianna.
The woman catches my gaze and nods, and I smile. We wouldn’t even have gotten this far if she didn’t decide to take a chance on us, and we owe her a lot.
“Do you think we will see a mermaid?” I ask.
Patrick laughs. “Maybe. Listen out for singing...”
Tim snorts as he works the oars, and I peer over the side of the boat, watching the water as it swirls aside.
We are sea bound...
“You know mermaids aren’t real, right?”
A little part of me dies inside, but I still throw Tim a pointed look. “You’re speaking to a woman who can shift into a wolf. So why can’t mermaids be real?”
He purses his mouth, considering. “Fair point. I suppose that goes for vampires and ghosts too.”
Okay, I definitely know that the latter is real. I have seen some odd things in my lifetime. Back in the library in Butch’s city, I swore I saw the ghost of a floating lady, but I’m probably just going crazy. Travel fatigue and all.
That city was definitely haunted by human souls. Vestiges of their old lives linger here and there...
Thinking about the abandoned city has me peering up at Tim curiously, and he notices me staring.
“Yes?”
“Would you ever go back to all those abandoned cities once we’ve formed peace?”
Patrick and Hunter look my way at the same time. I suppose the question was a bit forward, but I’m an inquisitive creature.
Tim shrugs. “Maybe. A lot of our history is there, after all. I often venture into old towns myself, and honestly... they creep me out! They’re like ghost towns... But I’m sure we can make some use of the space and start over again. There’s far less of us now, so we won’t go back to our former prestige. That could take centuries.”
Patrick speaks. “Would you want to, though? Please don’t take offense, but humans were harming this planet. There were just too many of you.”
Hunter and I look at Paddy now. Too far, man. Too far. Nothing to stop Tim from kicking us off the boat so we drown.
To my surprise, Tim agrees. “You’re right. We were! But I suppose it could be our chance to start over. We lost touch with nature. I wouldn’t want that for my descendants. Look...”
He inclines his head toward an oar, and I cringe. There’s a plastic bag hanging and dripping off the end. It’s green and covered in algae.
Tim sighs. “I try to clean up any plastic I find, but it’s never enough. It takes years to dissolve. But I promise. We won’t repeat the same mistakes. No sea turtles will be choking on plastic when we take our cities back...”
He seems to really mean it, and I hold on to hope. It appears some humans are willing to accept the sins of their ancestors and right their wrongs.
Everyone deserves a second chance.