Fair seas and Following Winds

    The salty-air blew through his long blonde locks as he stood on the bow of his ship. He stared out onto the horizon with his one good eye and plotted his course. He had been looking for this treasure for his entire life as a state-less pirate and knew he was coming close to the end of his tenure on the high seas. It was now or never. 

    The treasure was said to contain piles of gold, silver, jewels from the farthest reaches of the globe and the one thing you desired most. He had searched for what had seemed like hundreds of years and yet only a minute for his most desired. The treasure had managed to change shape within his mind as the years had flown past on the hurricane winds of life. 

    Captain Mortal was born Albert Donald many years ago on the shores of the mighty Atlantic; his mother had said he was a part sea from the moment he was born. He had worked the shores in his youth, joined the Navy when he was called to and left pieces of himself on floating waves during the bloodiest battles. Upon discharge, Mortal found himself a ship and took to pirating as a means to find the treasure that all men searched for; the one that would bring about unending happiness and was a key to the perfect life. 

    Captain Mortal had fancied himself a ladies man for years until the day his heart was stolen by a ravened hair beauty with eyes the color of the sky. He had settled himself with her in a small house on the edge of the ocean. There, in that sea-side saltbox, she had produced four children--- or was it five?--- It was a lifetime ago now. This family he helped create couldn’t compete with the ocean----his favorite love. He managed to find a job working in the middle of the vast watery landscape and his family slowly became a distant memory. The sea was his home, the waves his wife and the animals his family. 

    So far in his travels and miles of ocean he had only found snips of the treasure he sought but the fullness of the treasure had eluded him. Now on his final voyage he was more lost than he had ever been but clung to his faith that he would be successful in finding the mystical treasure. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the spray of mist from the upturned ocean on his face as they made their way towards the treasures final resting place. 

    “Fair seas and following winds, Captain.” His newest deckhand greeted him. Although Captain Mortal couldn’t seem to recall his name, he smiled in welcome to the deckhand as he accepted the mug of steaming coffee he offered. “Are we close to the land where the famed treasure lay?”

    Captain Mortal nodded. “I believe so my dear boy. We will be arriving sooner rather than later.”

    “Are you afraid, my Captain?”

    Captain Mortal slapped the deckhand on the back. “What’s to be afraid of? We have worked our entire lives for the treasure and now it’s so close we can taste it.”

    The Captain took his post at the wheel to steer around the rocks and thought back to his youth when he would have been more bold, choosing to risk the ship and ride over the rocks in order to save some time. These days, when time was much shorter, he always erred on the side of caution and never smashed into the rocks or sand breaks if he could help it. 

    “Captain! There is a disturbance in the water ten nautical miles ahead!” 

    Mortal shielded his eyes against the blazing sun and saw what the deckhand had seen. “You will not stop me before I reach the treasure, Reeper.” The captain muttered to himself as he spun the wheel in the opposite direction. Reeper was a giant black squid whom Captain Mortal had come in close contact with more than once on his long sea voyage but he had managed to skate by each time with minimal damage to his ship. 

    The ship sailed past the dreaded creature within inches of its outstretched tentacles and onto calmer seas. Captain Mortal pulled out his golden compass, a gift from one of his children, he thought, as he ran his weathered thumb over the initials AD that were carved elegantly on the case. He checked the compass for the direction of the treasure and felt the pull of it in his blood---as he always had. He steered his ship towards the small island that boasted a large mountain, palm trees and peace. 

“We should reach the island in a few hours!” Captain Mortal called out the deckhand behind him. He vaguely recalled having more deckhands in his years as captain of the Existence but they had all abandoned ship many years ago and now only their ghosts walk the decks. He had grown used to the silence and accepted the fact that he was meant to travel mostly alone now. 

They sailed through the rest of the afternoon and into the dusky nightfall. He enjoyed watching the sun set over the water like a fresh painting each day. There was a magic in the artistry of nature that he never found anywhere else and smiled as the moon danced among the stars for the final time on his journey. The treasure was in reach and for him it had been a long, perilous journey. 

“Anchors away!” They sent the anchors into the deep ocean below to soak their heavy metal bodies and plant themselves into the loose sand below. 

The two of them--Captain Mortal and his faceless deckhand---climbed aboard a row boat and using their excitement to energize them they made their way towards the sandy beach of the lost island. Captain Mortal took a large sigh of relief as his ancient booted feet sunk into the sun warmed sand and saw the glowing trail of diamonds that was rumored to lead to the treasure all men seek. 

“Finally.” Captain Mortal took a moment to enjoy the peacefulness of the evening, the smell of the clean salty air and the feel of the light ocean breeze skating along his face. “It has been one hell of a ride.” Flashing time roughened teeth, Captain Mortal smiled and looked as dangerous now as he had in his youth. 

Using the moonlight they followed that diamond trail off the beach and into the thick silver treed jungle. There was a sense of calm that rushed over the Captain the deeper he hiked into those trees. Although he lost the scent of the sea air, he found an overwhelming scent of lavender and fresh life---it intoxicated him. 

After what seemed like hours the Captain and his deckhand made it to a clearing and sitting in a beam of moonlight was a large golden treasure box. He was moments away from receiving what he desired most in this world and his hands shook with the thrill of it. Captain Mortal shuffled towards the treasure chest and knelt in front of it. On a sob he threw himself over the chest and celebrated a life's worth of triumphs, pain, struggle and faith that it had taken to reach this precious place. 

Leaning back again, he ran his hand over the top of the treasure chest and with a trembling hand he unhooked the lock. He slowly rose the lid and peeked into the glowing contents. 

“Grandpa Al, can you hear me?” 

“How much longer does he have?”

“I think it’s time to let him go; he has suffered enough.”

“I love you, dad.” 

“Grandpa Al, I love you and will miss you until I see you again on the other side.”

“Fair seas and following wind, Captain Albert. Give Grandma a kiss for us.”