Mysteries in Starry Skies Above the Ship Destiny's Dreams

The Querida, whose name meant “dear," struggled where she was caught on the ocean reef. Her square, clipper ship sails were ragged. Her three masts leaned to the side. Nearby, the jagged shore threatened her.

A mile away, high above the sea. sixteen-year-old Maria Bibiana walked over the rocks near the rim of the dormant volcano in the brightening dawn.

She turned her face toward the sea and their wrecked ship.

The island exploration voyage and passage to Rio de Janeiro had ended with disaster. It was the late 1800s. They were stranded on a barren, stony island off the east coast of South America.

“Bento, see the sailors rowing out to the ship to bring in more supplies.” Maria Bibiana turned to her twenty-year-old brother.

“We need to get everything off the ship before it sinks.” Bento squinted across the island.

“When are we going to leave here? Is someone going to find us?”

Their eight-year-old brother, Luciano, gazed up with wide eyes.

“When our ship does not arrive in Rio de Janeiro, grandmother and grandfather will tell the harbormasters and our parents. They will telegraph ships to look for us.” Bento leaned down and gave Luciano a reassuring hug.

“It is too bad our ship’s telegraph doesn't work. No one knows where we are.” Maria Bibiana’s voice seemed oddly tranquil, almost as if she did not care.

She had a secret. She must keep up pretending.

“I’m so glad we climbed the volcano yesterday. Even though we had to carry supplies and camp here at night.” Maria Bibiana’s eyes roamed the horizon in all directions.

Teodoro, the ship’s navigator, held his telescope to one eye and turned, studying the island and the sea. Captain Paulo of the Querida, peered through his own telescope.

“There are other islands out there. This must be an archipelago.”

“I can see our people down on the beach. They are coming out of the shelters made from wood we brought in from the ship. “Do you think there is any way we can drag the ship to shore and repair it?”

“I don’t see any other signs of other human life here. It’s a volcanic island. There are penguins, sea lions, huge seals with long snouts almost like an elephant, and lots of dolphins leaping in the ocean.”

“Yes. Rocky and barren. No forests. Few animals and only scrubby grasses on the stony ground.”

Maria Bibiana scanned the faces of the speakers and listened closely.

How could she explain to them she had found a beauty here in the isolated, remote, rocky world surrounded by endless seas and skies?

Her other secrets almost spilled out, too.

The voice of the ship’s navigator, Teodoro, came to them in the clear morning air.

“We are about 300 miles east of Buenos Aires, near the Islas Malvinas, according to the star charts from the ship. This archepelago was discovered in the 1700s. We have climbed several thousand feet above sea level here at this volcano.”

“Can we build another ship from the wreck? Maybe a smaller sloop to sail to Buenos Aires and bring help?” One of the sailors spoke.

“Too bad we don’t have enough fuel for signal fires up on this volcano. Ships could see fire and smoke for miles.” Teodoro’s mind kept searching for solutions.

Over a mile away, the wrecked Querida swayed back and forth on the reef with the ocean swells. Captain Paulo saw her shredded sails dangling in the breezes.

Her slender body, built for speed, still showed the beauty of clipper ship design. But now she reminded him of a woman in a once lovely gown who drooped in torn rags.

 Maria Bibiana and her brothers, Bento and Luciano, decided to spend the day exploring the caves around the volcano.

All day Maria Bibiana smiled and pointed excitedly at discoveries.

She forgot about the rigid roles and social expectations for women on the mainland. There they followed sets of limited behaviors and had few choices.

It was so different from being out exploring wild islands.

Maria Bibiana felt she was emerging from a cave of her own.

Each morning on the island she could explore to her heart’s content. She was free.

The day passed peacefully for the group on the volcano rim.

When the sky was darkening, Teodoro the ship's navigator, got out his telescope to view the stars.

Maria Bibiana hovered at this shoulder.

“Can I see that? Are those the charts for the constellations above us now?”

“Yes. See. There.” Teodoro pointed at the chart and then the sky.

“Here. Use the telescope.” He handed it to her.

Maria Bibiana gasped.

“How far does the sky go? And the stars?”

“No one knows.” Teodoro raised his eyebrows.

“Will you teach me about these charts and the stars?” Maria Bibiana looked at him.

“I can show you some of it."

“I want to know more.”

Teodoro laughed. “That’s why I became a navigator and a star chart expert.”

“I want to be one too.”

Teodoro laughed again when he heard Maria Bibiana’s words.

From that night onward, when the sun began to fall beyond the horizon, Teodoro had an eager student trailing behind him.

Miles away a ship sailed closer to the islands. The clipper ship, Destiny’s Dreams, spread her white sails, like a woman who is ready to glide into a dance and whirl.

Under the full moon, her sails reflected light, and her three masts pointed at the stars.

Captain Alfonse Belanger, stood with Adelberto on the deck. Nearby a woman and a man took turns putting their eyes to the lens of a telescope aimed at the distant galaxies. 

“Do you think we will find them?” Adelberto carried the telegram that arrived on the Destiny’s Dreams.

“Their ship may have gone down. Or they could be shipwrecked on one of these islands.” Alfonse’s face looked thoughtful.

Captain Alfonse's colorful parrot crawled up and down his shoulder and arm. Nearby, his rescued monkey swung from the thick rope halyards hanging from the cleats on the mast.

Rescuing animals and people was in Alfonse's blood. He felt a special empathy and compassion for living things.

“There are some barren, rocky islands around 300 miles east of Buenos Aires," he said.

"I want to check there in case they went exploring, and crashed on the volcanic reefs or the basalt stone sea stacks.”

“I’m glad the passengers don’t seem to mind this detour from their passage between Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro."

"Having the musicians, entertainers, and our storyteller with her blue lantern on board the ship helps keep everyone calm and happy.” Alfonse looked at Edelberto, who nodded enthusiastically. 

“Yes. We’ve had some great opportunities. Very lucky.”

Edelberto looked at the sea charts he held.

“We are around a day away from the islands if this wind keeps up.”

“Good. That tailwind is driving the ship well.” Captain Alfonse tilted his head to check the three masts carrying square, white , oiled canvas sails.

“If the Querida and her passengers are there, we’ll find them.” Edelberto nodded.

“We’re lucky those astronomers were traveling on board to Rio de Janeiro when we got the telegram. I’m learning more about the star charts from them.” Captain Alfonse smiled and nodded at Edelberto’s words.

“Yes. I am too. Useful.”

Another day and a half passed on board the Destiny’s Dreams. 

 Out on the barren island, the people from the shipwrecked Querida began taking the ship apart. They had a plan to build a smaller sailing boat, like a schooner. Then part of the crew could sail to the mainland for help.

Maria Bibiana and her brothers, Luciano and Bento, stayed with Captain Paulo and Teodoro, the navigator and star chart expert, on the rim of the volcano.

“I like it up here. We are thousands of feet above the beach and ocean. You can see far away, even to those other islands. At night the sky is so clear the stars seem close."

Maria Bibiana’s face lit up with enthusiasm.

Her oldest brother, Bento, spoke. “If we were not shipwrecked here, I would think you are enjoying this.”

She smiled at him and kept her secrets.

The voices inside of her mind said, I love it here. The stars. The endless universe. Learning the constellations. I don’t ever want to go back to my old life. Trapped in old-fashioned rigid roles. I’m free here to do things and learn things. Opportunities.

She knew her brothers would not understand. She must never tell them.

 My name means full of life.

Her parents believed in giving the children inspiring names.

Bento’s name meant blessed. Luciano’s name meant light. Maria Bibiana felt a rush of love for her brothers.

This is the happiest I have ever been, despite a shipwreck and being stranded on a barren island. Why is that? 

 In the middle of the day Maria Bibiana and Teodoro squinted through telescopes at the ocean rippling beneath approaching gusts.

“ Over there.” Teodoro pulled Maria Bibiana’s telescope over to point in the distance.

“See that.”

She closed one eye, put her other eye up to the lens, and drew in a deep breath. Her skin shivered and her mouth dropped open.

“There is something out there. I can’t see it very well.” She spoke fast.

“It is getting closer.” Teodoro spoke.

“Could it be…” Maria Bibiana’s voice trailed off.

They held their breath, steadied the telescopes, and watched the white blur coming closer over the ocean.

“Birds? White gulls?” Teodoro said, not daring to hope.

Several minutes passed.

“Sails.” His voice shook.

Maria Bibiana’s eyebrows drew together. She felt a surge of excitement. But it was followed by a twinge of dread.

Was she going back to her old life? The rigid, social structures and expectations?

“A ship.”

“Everyone, get ready to yell and wave. A ship is out there.” Teodoro said to the others on top of the volcano rim.

Out on the deck of the Destiny’s Dreams, Captain Alfonse and Adelberto peered through telescopes.

“You were right. These are the islands we saw on the sea charts. Let’s sail closer so we can see better.” Alfonse’s voice was excited.

The white sails billowed out with wind over their heads. The ship cut through the gentle waves in the light breeze under the clear, sunny sky.

Passengers were listening to the ship’s musicians play stringed instruments and flutes on the deck. The storyteller with her blue lantern was entertaining them with tales. They hoped their ship would find the missing clipper, the Querida.

The Destiny’s Dreams was a different kind of ship. It broke with traditions and sailed merrily over the seas with a captain and his rescued parrot and monkey, dancers and musicians, and storytelling. There was an atmosphere of enjoying life.

It was so different from many of the ships where grim captains drove a crew hard and passengers wore solemn faces.

Now the ship also had the two astronomers doing research with high powered telescopes on the deck of the ship each night.

Under the black velvet sky, lit with stars like gemstones sparkling, the astronomers always had a group of curious sailors and passengers gathered around them.

Questions and discussions were lively and imaginative.

“What is beyond the stars?"

“How far away is the moon?”

“Is anyone living there?”

The freedom of life at sea was contagious. Everyone felt their curiosity rise. The nights under the stars over the sea filled them with a joy.

“Captain.” Adelberto’s voice was urgent. “Look. There. On that volcano. Near the top.”

Alfonse stepped over to the high powered telescope of the astronomers. He hunched over it, closed one eye, adjusted the lens, and stared.

“There’s someone on top of that volcano.”

He turned the telescope to scan the island and its shores.

“There’s a ship wrecked near that jagged peninsula. It’s them. We’ve found the missing Querida.” Alfonse’s voice was low. Adelberto repeated what he said to those around them.

The sailors and passengers spread the word.

“We found the missing ship. We see the people on the island.”

“Hurray.”

On top of the volcano, Teodoro and the rest of their group waved, jumped, and shouted.

The clouds of white sails floated closer, and the ship anchored a mile off the rocky shore. Through their telescopes, Teodora and Maria Bibiana saw a surfboat rising and falling on the ocean swells. It was heading from the ship to the shore.

Down on the beach, people leaped, hollered and waved their arms.

Maria Bibiana and the others on top of the volcano gathered their gear and began to climb down the rocky slopes.

Her body shivered with excitement. They were rescued. But what awaited her back on the mainland?

“We will take a load of passengers and row back to the ship. Do not worry, everyone. We will get all of you on board the Destiny’s Dreams today. It might be a little crowded but we can manage. The weather is good. Some people can camp on the deck or in the dining room, because we will run out of cabin space.”

Captain Alfonse’s words met with cheers.

In the afternoon Maria Bibiana, Teodora, Bento, Luciano, and Captain Paulo were in the last trip the surfboat made out to the ship.

“We are only a few days sailing away from Buenos Aires. When we get there you can book passages to wherever you wish to go,” said Adelberto, the first mate of the Destiny’s Dreams, to the new arrivals.

That night Maria Bibiana, Teodoro, and the others from the camp on the volcano volunteered to camp out on the deck. The dining room was crowded with people from the Querida.

When the stars came out, Maria Bibiana and Teodoro got their telescopes out.

They saw several other people also studying the stars. and they walked over to meet them.

“Hello. I’m Jorge,” said a man next to a large, high-powered telescope on a tripod.

“How do you do.” He bowed politely and they shook hands. 

“I’m Cloe,” said the woman. “Welcome to the ship Destiny’s Dreams. We are so glad you were found. Tell us about your time on the island.”

“We studied the stars and moon from the top of the volcano.” Maria Bibiana burst out. “It was wonderful.”

Jorge and Cloe laughed.

“We love studying the constellations and planets too. It has been our life. We are astronomers.” At Cloe’s words Maria Bibiana felt something burst and flow through her whole being.

“You spend your life doing what you love.” She spoke with a tone of wonder.

“And you are a woman astronomer.” Her voice shook with excitement.

 “Yes, dear. And you can be one too if you wish.” Cloe looked closely at Maria Bibiana.

“We used to teach but now we mostly travel and do research on ships. That way we can study the night sky from many locations. We study geography and the ocean too. Science fascinates us.”

Maria Bibiana’s eyes were wide and her face glowed.

Cloe saw this and said, “Would you like to look through our strong telescope at tonight’s stars and moon?”

The next few hours went by as if they were minutes. By the time the group said good night they already had plans for the next night.

During the day Cloe and Maria Bibiana walked the ship’s deck, talking, and looking at star charts. They were often joined by Teodoro, the navigator from the shipwrecked Querida. 

Captain Alfonse also joined the discussions and each night’s astronomy sessions.

“I’m sailing up to Rio de Janeiro after this. Would you like to continue on the Destiny’s Dreams to there? Someday I hope to sail clear around the planet on all the seas.”

He felt a shared sense of exploration with the two expert astronomy researchers.

“Maybe you would even like to do that.”

“Yes. Of course. We would love it.” Cleo and Jorge spoke at once.

“We could use an apprentice too. Maria Bibiana, would you like to be an astronomy intern and study with us? We can use a third person who is eager to learn.”

The night sky full of clear, close stars seemed to reach down and enfold Maria Bibiana.

She stared.

“It would be my dream come true.”

Alfonse spoke to Teodora.

“I can use a second navigator, too. I know your captain will get another ship.But you are welcome to join ours.”

Weeks later, the Destiny’s Dreams full, white sails were filled with a light breeze under a twilight sky on the way to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, around 1,000 miles north of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

On the deck the muscians played stringed instruments. The storyteller wove tales of wonder.

Captain Alfonse walked the deck with his colorful parrot climbing on his shoulder and arm. Rio. his rescued monkey, played in the thick rope halyards hanging from the mast.

A telescope on a tripod sat on the deck. The newly formed Destiny’s Dreams Astronomers gathered there under the stars.