A Pirate’s Wife (17 page)

confining and small for her to breathe properly. She liked

to watch them all working on the deck, repairing and

cleaning the sails and all the tackle, keeping the ship well-

maintained.

Most times, she would study the man Roberto from

underneath her lashes as she continued with her needlework

or reading. She admired the way his men respected him,

obeying his instructions to the smallest detail. Though

maybe they did it out of fear most times, she sensed a

genuine respect toward him. He was not afraid of doing the

small, mundane stuff with them. She loved the way he

laughed without any care, interacting with them on

competition days, climbing like rats into the ropes to see

who would be first. His strength and fitness attracted her so

that she openly stared at him.

During their off times, the crew would ask her to

tell another story and she gladly accommodated them.

On one occasion she saw Roberto's strictness with a

man who was lazy on the job, but he still managed to be

kind to him. The story it reminded her of, had made a huge

impression on her young mind.

'The captain that led us was a cruel man. He was

always seeking for ways of making life difficult for the

crew, especially my father, the big giant,' she smiled,

missing the man who played such a big role in her

growing-up years.

'When I first saw that giant man after we came

aboard in India, I, at the tender age of four, ran to him and

gave him a huge hug. First, he looked lonely and sad and

that attracted me to him. Secondly, his whole posture was

one that promised safety. At first he didn't want to speak to

me, shooing me away, but he couldn't resist my childish

charm.' She chuckled while the men grinned.

'I continued speaking to him because, in my young

heart, I was desperate for a father's touch. However,

without me knowing it, I put him in danger. At first, the

captain said it was okay because my mother was upset.

When she overheard another sailor saying that he would be

flogged, she pleaded on Cisco's behalf, but as I already

said, the captain was a cruel man.' Sadness shadowed her

eyes.

'The next morning he was tied to the ropes and

flogged. Ten lashes because he answered a few questions!

My mother tried to hide it from me, but I did see it. My

young heart was aching for the big man and I ran away and

cried where she could not see me.' She dabbed away the

moisture from her eyes and continued.

'After the storm and the shipwreck we landed on a

strip of white sand. While on land, people became sick or

were so tired of the long walk that they just lay down in

defeat. The captain refused to take care of them and left

them behind. Sometimes you could hear the screams of

these people as wild animals attacked and killed them. He

would laugh about it. It would anger Cisco but he kept

quiet, his back still painful after another lashing because he

had saved my mother; had saved all of us. Food was very

scarce. The giant wanted to go out and hunt, but the captain

refused to give them any ammunition. It was more precious

than gold at that time and as he said, he was not going to

waste good bullets on animals. Some literally starved to

death. We had only the plants around us to eat. We ate

leaves and bark, but some would become so sick from

cramps with the unnatural diet, that they were left behind to

die by the cruelty of the animals we could hear all around

us.'

Roberto sat close by and listened, watching her as

she relived those days, all the men's attention on her.

'I remember one day we came across an empty

village and they searched around to gather some food.

Suddenly shots broke the silence and we saw the captain

looking frantically around and shooting blindly into the

thick bushes. When my mother and father went to

investigate, they found a young pregnant woman killed.

They were devastated at the cruelty of this man but they

could do nothing to prevent this senseless killing. After

that, he found stray dogs, grilled them and forced us to eat.

My mother refused and father went back to the village later

that night looking for food, which he found and brought to

us.

'This man, our captain, finally died after he himself

became mad with the fever that killed most of the group.

He wanted to kill Father in his delirious state. Out of self-

defence, Father had to kill him.' She closed her eyes, the

images still so clear in her mind.

'My father took over the role of captain and life

became easier. The people had a great respect for him.

Under his leadership no one was left behind. No one was

hungry if he could help it.'

She had to brush a tear away, missing both of her

parents extremely.

'Tell us another one. How were you saved?' one of

the men asked. Silence ruled on the ship as men listened to

her. A few could tell their own stories of that hard savage

country, but it was nicer to listen to the young woman. Her

voice was soothing to their hardened hearts.

'Father had to leave us at one stage. The group was

very tired and weak from weeks without any nutrition.

Food was very scarce, so he decided to go before us and

explore the land closer to the coast. By his calculations, we

had to be close to a fort. Mozambique was still far off. If he

could get a ship at the fort, it could take us to Mozambique

and bring everyone to safety quicker. He left another sailor,

who was, and still is, a very good friend, in charge of the

group. Before he left, he set some traps, in the hopes that

small animals could be caught to prepare as meals.

'He was gone for four weeks. We later found out

that the search party, consisting of thirteen men, all came

down with fever and ten died on the way. When they

reached the fort, my father himself became very sick. After

he regained his health, he arranged for a ship that was

willing to wait for us and came back with enough food. By

the time, my father finally returned with the necessary food

supply, we were all literally at the doorstep of death. The

fever plagued our group as well and one by one, people

died. My mother and half-sister were the only two able to

stand, but they were exhausted in caring for everyone. My

mother became so thin that father did not recognize her at

first, and when he did, he cried so much.'

She closed her eyes, seeing her mother's skeletal

figure with pale blue skin stretched thinly over it. The

image imprinted in her mind.

'It was painful to see them in that state. At that

point, they did not care that my biological father was still

around. They just held each other, longing for the comfort

that they could only find with each other. After he buried

the dead and rested, Father took us back, carrying me on

his back. Five days later, we were at the fort. The fort's

occupants helped us to get enough rest and decent food and

water to sustain us so we could go onto the ship. Two days

later, another storm hit us and once again, we had to

abandon the ship. My biological father died during that

storm. He threw himself from the ship into the whirlpool of

angry waters, knowing he was losing his mind.'

She swallowed again at the memories of that man.

She could not even remember what he looked like

anymore.

'His way of life finally caught up with him. The

captain of the fort helped us again and for a whole week,

we could rest and have decent food. After losing the others,

father decided that he needed to go to Mozambique to get

help. He meant to travel alone on foot. The group decided

they would go with him and not stay behind. My mother

was the first to refuse to let him go alone. She did not want

to be apart from him any longer. We all walked along the

coast line until we reached Mozambique a week later, this

time without any difficulties. The governor was good to us

and helped us to get on our feet again. Regaining our

strength with a great deal of rest and well-balanced meals

made the world of difference. Another month passed by

before a ship passed that was willing to take us back to

Portugal.'

'How long did it take you to get back?' another

sailor asked.

'Two years in total since we left India and reached

Portugal,' She replied.

'Will you ever go back there?'

'Never. The memories still haunt me. My mother

and father took great care in helping me forget, but I have

learnt to take it day by day. Mostly the faces of those

people that stayed behind in fear and trembling haunt me. I

didn't fear the savages so much as the cruelty of the captain

to my father. It was very real. When the ship went down the

first time and we reached the shore father built a hut for us

because we did not know how long we would stay there.

The captain hoped that another ship would pass but after a

week it did not happen and the food was already scarce.

The search teams stayed away for longer and longer times.

My biological father decided he was going to stay

in our hut while we were on the beach. My mother refused

but he tried to overpower her. Father stepped in when he

heard her scream for help and saved her. He received a

flogging because of that from the captain. Those are the

things that I struggle with the most.'

'Why do you say that your biological father wanted

to rape your mother? Weren't they married?' the men asked

in confusion.

'Yes, but my mother was forced into the marriage

by her parents. On their wedding night he forced himself on

her and nine months later I was born. My mother never

forgave him for that and she never allowed him to touch

her again. When he saw that there were feelings between

the sailor and my mother he was jealous and wanted to try

again; again with the same brutality.'

For the hardened pirates it was difficult to

comprehend. They were used to taking what they wanted,

even by force, but when injustice was done by the rich,

they could not fathom it. Those were the people who

dictated how they all should live, yet they still were capable

of doing such cruelties to their own.

There is no honour in that.

13

Another week passed before a storm hit them.

Heavy rains fell like buckets from the sky onto them and

the strong winds blew them around like a feather on the

ocean. Rosa-Lee had to tie ropes around herself to stay on

top of the deck, trying very hard not to panic as the water

crashed over them. Pierre tried several times to convince

her to go below deck but she refused. The stifling cabin

would not become her coffin. When the first heavy rain fell