Esperanza

Luckily all the boys on deck were doubly focused on their watch duty thanks to the yell he had given them before climbing to the helm.

"Do you really think, that we have the most miserable possibility of surviving with a fucking merchant ship in black waters" Paulo said, looking at the men on the deck as if they were walking corpses

"All sailors in these waters only drag out the inevitable..."

"Many times we were lucky, friend, but it seems that finally it was our turn to be the dead"

"Let's get on with it…" Ron said, cautiously trying to keep the conversation as private as possible "…like we always did"

"It's just going to be another great anecdote to tell in the bars, when we get to the mainland" Ron said approaching and taking the helmsman by the shoulder to show him the distant horizon, as he had done with Lucas, when he was assigned as cabin boy

"Imagine when we tell those whores from Los Alamos, that we navigate these waters…"

"Old Ana, the merchant ship that crossed the black waters and managed to get out alive..."

"We will be legends, Paulo!" Ron said, trying to encourage the helmsman.

But unfortunately for Ron, Paulo didn't seem very inspired by the motivational speech.

"45..." Paulo said slowly resuming his smoking routine "45 are the crosses on the map over these waters…45 are the exploration ships sunk in these waters"

"We are not even worthy of a cross on the map if we sink here"

"That's how insignificant Old Ana is"

"But that is also our best weapon, we are insignificant also for the dangers that haunt these waters" Ron said looking at the infinite waters that covered the ship "Layers an exploration ship cannot cross these waters, but our small merchant ship can"

"Dear friend, we've known each other for a long time..." Paulo said with one hand on his pipe and the other on the back of his friend "... I love you like the brother I never had"

"Even though you became a grumpy old man over time, you were always there to encourage and support the sailors on this ship"

"If the fat man was the spirit of this ship when we touched port, you were at sea"

"Although the boys often seem to be afraid of you, deep down they respect you because you are an incredible sailor..."

"I love you too, Paulo, that's why I'm worried that you'll lose hope, you have to believe that we're going to make it out alive…" Ron interrupted, somewhat happy at the change in tone of the conversation.

"There are not many, those who manage to survive in these waters until this age"

"We are old sharks of the sea and somehow we are going to make it!"

"Deep down they respect you because you are an incredible sailor…" Paulo repeated to continue "… But, unfortunately, you have zero talent for reading sea maps"

"Royer Durand Moreau - Captain of La Revanche De La Mer"

"Did you read the name engraved on the map?" Paulo said, while he laughed softly as if explaining his mistake to a young cabin boy.

"A noble?... We also have a cabin boy and there's nothing special about it" Ron said, trying to minimize the problem with the surname on the map.

"Well, we could say that being the son of the governor of an island is not the same as having the surname Moreau, but ignoring the question..." Paulo said, while he handed the pipe to his friend so she could smoke a little.

"The name matters little if I'm honest old friend, what matters is that it is engraved on the map"

"… and what does that mean?" Ron asked as he accepted his friend's pipe and took a drag.

"Not much…" Timonel said, looking at the rising sun beginning the new day on the horizon.

"...Only that an entire fleet of the Moreaus sank by these waters"

*Glup* the sound of the pipe falling into the ocean could be heard in the water

"Enjoy these two weeks you have left old friend, meditate on your past and try to accept your mistakes…" Paulo said slowly, not caring that he had lost his pipe.

".....because this time we have no hope"