Everything was gone. That damn water had ended my life, I could feel it. The water sliced my chest inside like a thousand knives... strange, isn't it? How can a liquid meant to save lives do something like that? I always thought water kept people alive and gave them strength. Instead, it decided to leave my body soft as jellyfish and destroy my hopes to have a happy life someday. Of course, being in uncle Ruben's ship gave me joy. However, it all changed when I found out the horrible truth about him and Dr. Bakker. You must be wondering why I got so angry at my uncle and didn't care much that a doctor, who's supposed to help others, murdered my father. The answer is simple: Dr. Bakker didn't persuade me to join a pirate crew to hurt dad's feelings. At the same time, I understood my uncle's reasons to do what he did... Anyway, I was a mess. I didn't know how, but I could think while dying. At a particular moment, I suddenly woke up. My gaze was unfocused and, when I thought things couldn't get any weirder, I started breathing underwater like a mermaid. Once my eyesight came back to normal, I saw the shadow of a man. He stood in front of me.

"Am I dead?" I squinted while approaching him. "Who are you?"

He got closer to me, revealing his face. I wouldn't stop blinking. When I thought my life couldn't get any crazier... guess what?

It can't be. I must be in hell already!

He pressed his lips together, "Hello, Eva."

It was my father, in flesh and bone... or perhaps something else? I didn't know. His body had a weird glowed. My father was dressed exactly like he was when he died. Tears ran down my face and I gawked, unsure of what to say. What the hell was he doing in the middle of the ocean? Did he know I'd become a pirate? I felt a headache while wondering which could be the answers to my questions.

"Dad?" I frowned and touched his arm. "If you're here, why can't I feel you?"

He recoiled and forced a smile, "I'm a ghost."

I sighed and gazed downward, "That explains a lot since I'm dead... and it's all uncle Ruben's fault!"

Dad frowned while shaking his head in denial. He caressed my face, seemingly worried about me. I bit my lower lip and closed my eyes, controlling myself not to cry.

"Your uncle is guilty of many things, but the shipwreck isn't one of them."

I scowled. How could my father say that about the man who took his life? What uncle Ruben had done was selfish and unforgivable! Dad shouldn't have defended that assassin... I wasn't ready to forgive my uncle anytime soon and doubted dad liked him at all.

"What do you mean?!" I increased my tone of voice. "Did you know he killed you?"

"Of course. The fact that Ruben planned to kill me was the main reason I fled from the Netherlands. He'd been wanting to do it for a long time," dad looked at the ocean floor and back at me. "I completely understand his reasons and that's why I forgave him."

I raised both eyebrows. Dad was weird and did terrible things, I know, but that didn't change the fact that uncle Ruben was a murderer. I had followed a merciless killer instead of accepting my fate... I wondered what my father thought of that.

I sobbed again and glared at my father, "I can't forgive uncle Ruben right now, but don't you dare think I forgot what you did to my mother and me!"

He bit his lower lip. Did my father sincerely regret his actions? Although he appeared to feel guilty, there was no way to be sure. He'd fooled me before, so he could do it again.

Dad took a deep breath, "You should forgive him. Forgiveness removes a massive weight from your soul."

I pressed my lips together, thinking about his words. My body was so soft at that moment that I couldn't feel my arms and legs.

"Besides, I was horrible to your mom," he took a step closer. "Ruben loves her with his heart and soul, so how can I blame him for what he did?"

I crossed my arms, "Do you think he loves me as well or just lied to gain my trust?"

"He does love you, Eva. You should give him a second chance," my father nodded and raised his brows. "Also, he introduced you to your true passion, so he did at least one thing right."

Grinding my teeth, I turned to the ocean surface. There was no way for me to decide at that moment if I could forgive my uncle. That was a complicated matter, so I needed time to think about it.

I laughed sarcastically, "Really? You aren't mad that I became a pirate?"

Father shook his head in denial and smiled, "Not at all. I actually saw it coming."

"That's rather surprising..." I raised an eyebrow and put a hand on my chin. "I thought you hated pirates."

He shrugged, "It doesn't matter what I think. You'll always be my daughter."

I smiled and felt my cheeks getting redder. I hated blushing... it made me look so weird! A part of me wanted to lash out at my father and tell him what I truly felt about his stupid passiveness, but I couldn't. My dumb heart stopped me from seeing him as only a villain. I knew he drank due to his guilt. Besides, if it weren't for his alcohol addiction, I was sure he would've been a great husband to my mother. God, I hated it when my heart decided to be merciful...

"Now you have to wake up," he touched my shoulders and caressed them. "It's not your time yet."

Once dad let go of me, I was pulled away violently from him. He got smaller as the water dragged me towards the surface. My hair fluttered and I narrowed my eyes. I winced and all I could see was a mysterious light. Suddenly, I was no longer at the bottom of the ocean. The sun burned my eyes as I slowly opened them. I felt a person's legs under my head, so I screamed and recoiled. Maartje kept me from falling out of the pirogue. Her eyes were red and wet. Sven observed me with his eyes widened while breathing fast.

My cousin forced a smile, "The ocean storm is over. We survived!"

"You were unconscious when I brought you out of the water, Eva. I thought we'd lost you..." Sven's expression softened and his eyes gleamed. "I'm so glad you're alive!"

At that instant, I felt a massive amount of water in my throat. I struggled to inhale air as I moved, still feeling my chest filled with the liquid. Maartje helped me sit down properly. She and Sven held my head close to the ocean. After coughing five times, I let all the seawater out. I put a hand on my chest, relieved as I felt the air flowing through my nostrils. In less than a minute, I was already able to breathe normally again.

"Thank you so much for saving me, Sven!" I rubbed between my eyebrows. "I could swear I was dead..."

Sven sighed and raised his brows, "Actually, you were lifeless for a while and almost fell out of the pirogue multiple times during the storm."

I gulped when I remembered the awkward conversation with my father. Had I really died? Or my mind had gone crazy while I was unconscious? The sun hit my face like a fireball as I reflected on the subject. I also wondered if I'd really seen dad's spirit or just hallucinated.

"We're so lucky that Captain de Vries had at least one emergency boat," Sven laid his hands on the pirogue while smiling. "If it weren't for him, none of us would've made it out alive."

I nodded. Although uncle Ruben had many flaws, carelessness wasn't one of them. During the eight years I spent in The Revenger, he never forgot to make sure every crew member was feeling fine, always checked if the cannons worked well, emphasized the right directions to Isaak countless times... everything a good captain would do. My eyes bulged once I thought of him. I felt a weird emptiness in my heart when I realized my uncle wasn't on the boat with me, Maartje and Sven.

I pressed my lips together, "Did anyone else survive, Maartje?"

With my fingers intertwined, I prayed to God that at least one more person had survived the shipwreck. Had everybody died? My heart ached just with the thought of it.

My cousin shook her head in denial. Her chin trembled so much that I thought she'd scream. She squeezed her eyes shut as the tears ran down her cheeks. I hugged Maartje tight for a moment and she rested her head on my shoulder.

"I'm here," I caressed her back while swallowing my tears. "You can talk whenever you're ready."

She sobbed and forced a smile. I'd never seen Maartje that sad before. Unlike dad, uncle Ruben was a great father, so losing him must've been much more painful to my cousin. Although my uncle had committed an atrocity, he was nothing but caring when he was around me, Maartje and Sven. Even though I didn't want to admit it, I would miss uncle Ruben greatly.

"My father is gone!" Maartje's eyes got redder as she decreased her tone of voice. "Everyone but us is gone... forever..."

Don't cry, Eva. Don't cry...

I bit my lower lip until I tasted my own blood and yet I couldn't control my damn tears. My thoughts were no longer in my uncle's murderous conspiracy with Dr. Bakker. The only Ruben de Vries in my mind was the fun, caring and troublemaker uncle I loved. The Ruben who was passionate about adventure, cared for my safety, trained me, included me as part of the crew and the only adult who ever understood me because we were two birds of a feather. Despite my efforts, I kept sobbing and my heart was shattered.

"First dad, now uncle?" I put both hands on my face while breathing heavily. "I can't take it anymore!"

Sven closed his eyes and cried as well. He turned away from Maartje and I, seemingly wanting to hide his tears. The sunlight kept hurting my skin, making me wince. I felt as if every drop of water in my body was lost either as sweat or tears. Besides, swallowing that enormous amount of seawater had dried my throat completely, so it burned whenever I talked.

"I can't believe Isaak let this happen!" Sven clenched his fist and punched the boat. "If it weren't for him, our ship would still be in one piece."

I tilted my head tilted downwards as I recalled when my uncle first invited me to join him at The Revenger. What was I thinking? Following a relative I barely knew to an unknown destination was crazy! Also, I didn't know that dying alone in the ocean would be the end... God, I wondered if I shouldn't have stayed at home with that witch. Why did my heart make me choose that stupid dream of sailing? That shipwreck made me wonder if being a pirate was really my destiny.

"I should've stayed with Hendrika and handled the flogging like I always did," I rubbed my eyes and sighed. "I don't think I'm meant to be a pirate..."

Maartje frowned, "Are you crazy, Storm? I've seen you in action! You were born for this!"

I shook my head in denial while blocking the sun, "If I really were, I would've dragged myself out of the water instead of needing help."

Sven scowled and crinkled his eyes, apparently annoyed with what I'd said. I pressed my lips together, hopeless that my friends and I would survive in the middle of the ocean. We didn't even have fishing equipment, so I was sure we were doomed.

"What are you talking about?" Sven raised his brows. "Everybody needs help sometimes!"

My skin started to get red, little by little, as the sun burned it. Sweat flooded my back like a sea wave. I cleaned my tears and couldn't stop thinking about the crewmembers of The Revenger. Were any of them able to escape? Was uncle Ruben actually dead? Although I hated to admit it, I loved him and couldn't stand the fact that he wasn't on the pirogue with us.

I want to tell Maartje that her father killed mine, but this isn't the time...

"It's wonderful that we can count on each other," Maartje was crying so much that I worried she'd get dehydrated. "My father couldn't count on his own navigator and unfairly paid for it..."

My cousin was right. Uncle Ruben was clear about the directions and yet Isaak disobeyed. The ocean storm made everything harder and the seamount broke the ship's hull, but that crazy navigator was the one to blame for the shipwreck. He should've remained port instead of being so stubborn.

"Isaak messed up, to say the least..." Sven nodded and glared at the horizon as if he saw the navigator there. "If I find that idiot in an island somewhere, I'll have to control myself not to do something I'll regret."

I smiled mischievously, "Who said he deserves kindness? You have my full support to put Isaak in a cannon and fire him towards the sun."

The three of us laughed. It was the first time we let out a genuine laugh since the shipwreck. Guess what? It didn't even last for a minute! In a few seconds, we came back to feeling sadness and fear... At least I did.

"I know it's silly, but I wanted to at least have said goodbye to my father," Maartje pressed her lips together while squeezing her eyes shut. "He was one of my best friends, a wonderful man, a great captain... he didn't deserve to die!"

I nodded. Despite my anger because of what my uncle had done to dad, I never wanted him to die and much less in a shipwreck.

"Tell me about it," Sven shook his head in denial. "I wish he were here with us."

Maartje hugged Sven. He caressed her back gently and invited me to join them. I approached my friends and embraced them, which caused more tears to run down my face.

I wiped my tears away, "Honestly, I wish uncle Ruben were here too..."

My eyes burned and I couldn't tell if the cause was the sun or my endless tears. Yes, I still cried because of my uncle's disappearance. Talking to my father's ghost made me realize that uncle Ruben didn't deserve to be seen only as a bad guy. God, my thoughts were divided every time I thought of my uncle and dad ... sometimes I hated the two, sometimes I understood them.

The hours went by slowly on that terrifying day. My body begged for water and food. Sven couldn't decide if he wept or talked about his anger. Maartje sobbed almost all day long. I alternated between crying and complaining about my choice of leaving home. The night came and I still felt that my head was about to explode. Luckily, no other storms showed up to make things worse. At least I'd die happy since I was where I loved the most and with my two best friends... who am I trying to fool? That situation was terrible! Besides, I'd live forever if I could.

I pointed at one of the largest stars of the dark night sky, "Do you think that's your father watching over us, Sven?"

He smiled softly, "It must be..."

My cousin's eyes were less red and her expression more serene. Seeing her feeling better made me relieved since I hated it when Maartje was upset. I frowned slightly when I realized her gaze was fixed on the star that I'd showed Sven.

Maartje intertwined her fingers and closed her eyes, "I wish my father is alive, beautiful star."

Sven looked at the star while biting his lower lip, "I wish we find land soon."

Maartje and Sven turned to me expectantly. I chuckled since I didn't believe much in wishing upon a star. In fact, I had almost no faith that anything could help us at that moment.

I sighed, "I wish not to die in the middle of the ocean."

The three of us laughed softly for a brief moment. I took a deep breath, trying to forget the problem we were facing.

Sven yawned, "We should rest."

Maartje pressed her lips together and gazed downwards, "I don't know if I'll be able to sleep tonight."

"Me neither, Maartje, but we must try," I laid down next to the pirogue's left corner. "We need to survive..."

I closed my eyes and did my best not to start thinking about the crazy events that had taken place in my life since I first met uncle Ruben. Sleeping that night was one of the hardest things I had ever done. My mind wouldn't stop taking me back to my fear of dying, the weird underwater talk with dad, the shipwreck... among countless other things. Before I fell asleep, I wondered if my friends and I would ever find our way out of that situation.

****

Author's note:

Besides dedicating this chapter to the fabulous , I would also like to dedicate it to the amazing and to the great ! So... triple dedication in this chapter!!