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Breathing the clean air into my lungs is just what I need. Several breaths later, the fog that’s been hiding inmy head, lifts slightly. “Hello,” a voice whispers into the wind. I turn, finding the deck empty behind me. The hairs on my arm stand at attention.
Peering into the water below, I search for a small vessel that could be the source of the sound, finding nothing.
“You’re a beautiful one,” it continues. “Such lovely hair and eyes.” The voice seems to be carried by the wind. I step down, moving away from the railing. “Don’t go,” it whispers.
Stepping backward, I move away from the edge toward the middle of the main deck. “Elsbeth, there’s nothing out there. You’re tired and hungry, and your imagination is getting the best of you,” I say out loud, hoping to provide comfort.
“Elsbeth,” the voice whispers from the sea. “What a beautiful name…”
I shuffle backward, refusing to turn my back toward the voice. Every inch of my body is on alert. This is something I don’t have a name for—that terrifies me. I continue shuffling backward, working my way toward the door to the stateroom. With my back pressed against the wall, I peer into the sea, not sure if I’ve lost my mind, or just on the verge of it.
The door to the captain’s quarters opens, revealing the man who saved my brother. He steps into the fading moonlight.
“Good morning, Captain,” I whisper.
“Elsbeth, is everything okay?” He moves in front of me.
“I…I don’t know. I heard…” I stop before saying more than I should.
“You heard something?”
Shaking my head. “It must have been the wind.” I smooth the wrinkles on my skirt, taking a few minutes to get my thoughts together. “I’m sorry to have bothered you.”
“You haven’t bothered me. I was beginning my day.” He steps toward the helm, unwrapping the rope holding the wheel into place. “This is my favorite time of the day. Everything feels fresh and new.” He takes a deep breath, mimicking mine from earlier. “Up here, you can see the sun beginning to rise over the horizon.”
“I’m sure it’s lovely,” I answer, unsure of where this conversation is heading.
“Join me.” He reaches his hand toward me, offering to help me onto the pedestal. Refusing his help, I grab ahold of the base of the wheel and pull myself to the top. Thorne chuckles at my stubbornness.
“Stand here.” He steps away from the wheel, giving me space to move. I do as he suggests and am met with the first light of the morning sun.
“It is beautiful,” I whisper.
“Aye. See that way?” He points north. “If you look carefully, the sun will reflect off the ice that sticks out fromthe sea.”
“Ice?”
“Aye, icebergs. Large enough to sink a vessel of this size.” He points ahead of us. “This way is America.”
I turn toward my tour guide. “Have you been there before? America, I mean.”
“Once, when I was a boy but never as a Captain.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but what if you’re heading in the wrong direction?”
Thorne laughs, sending chill bumps over my skin. “I have my tools.” He holds up something I recognize from books.
“A sextant,” I interrupt.
His eyebrows raise at my words. “Not many people know what a sextant is.”
I shrug. “I read as much as possible before we left home.”
“Here.” He hands me the contraption that I’ve only read about. “Look through?—”
“I know how to use it,” I interrupt. Putting it to my eye, I line the mirror up with the horizon. Other than the basics of how to use it, I don’t know what I’m looking at. I hand it back to him, trying not to seem obvious.
Thorne doesn’t seem annoyed at what Mama calls my “independent streak.” It’soneof the reasons I’ve made it to nearly twenty years old without being married. In the village where we live, most girls are married or at least betrothed by thirteen or fourteen. I close my eyes, wishing the memory away.
