NIGHT by I Rin (best books to read .TXT) 📕

need to know that my daughter is safe.”

“And what if everything goes wrong?” Lica asked quietly.

“You know people saying: ‘It’s no use crying for the moon!’ Don’t think about it now.”

“Okay,” Angelica nodded. “I'll try to convince Isa, though I cannot guarantee anything. He is his own man!”

“You can do it if you really want!” Huron said firmly.

At this point Julien came in to the cabin.

“We are ready,” he said. “We are sailing in half an hour!”

The sun was shining brightly in the sky. The wind filled the sails of the ship, and the ship with our heroes left the harbor. The ship held a course to the east, to the fishing village where the captain had to buy crabs.

Lica was standing on the deck, basking her face in fresh breeze, and thanking God that he pulled her out of fire. Oddly enough, but she was thinking about Patrick.

Despite the fact that Huron spoke very harshly about him, it seemed to the girl that the young man was just a victim of circumstances rather than a real robber. Angelica remembered his green eyes and that hot kiss Patrick gave her farewell.

Part 9

The farewell dinner

The ship was going under full sail. Angelica did not notice how time flew.

“The earth!” suddenly shouted the sailor from the mast.

“Angelica, come here!” Julien called her from the command bridge.

Lica quickly ran upstairs.

“Look! Don’t you remember it?” the captain smiled.

Angelica looked through the telescope ahead and in the outline she recognized the island, where they had landed with Huron and Julien.

“That is the island where we first landed!” she exclaimed.

“That's right!” the captain nodded. “This means that our swimming is coming to the end. Tomorrow at dawn, we will be there.”

“I cannot believe it!” said the girl honestly. “All of these adventures knocked me sideways so much that I even don’t know who I am and why am here!”

“Come on!” Julien chuckled. “You do know! The only bad thing about it is that I will be shorn of your company soon.”

“Tell me, Julien,” Angelica turned to the captain. “Do you have a girlfriend? And have you ever been in love?”

“In love?” Julien thought. “Yeah, I guess! But it was a long time ago. I liked one girl who was my neighbor. I think she liked me too. But then the story with my father happened and I had to take his place and continue our business. And I haven’t seen this girl anymore... I guess she got married.”

“Have you tried to look for her?”

“No!”

“Then you have to find her to dot your ‘i’s’ and cross your ‘t’s’ in this story. What if she is still waiting and loves you?”

“Fat chance... So many years have passed.”

“Julien, promise me that you'll find that girl!” said Lica passionately.

The captain looked at her and said slowly:

“Okay, I'll try! Although I am sure that you cannot step into the same river twice!”

“You should try,” Angelica said softly.

“Why are we talking only about me!” suddenly Julien interrupted the conversation. “Tell me who is in your heart!”

“Oh, if I knew exactly...” Lica sighed. “You know, captain, I am very amorous, one day I like one man and the other day another!”

“So fall in love with me!” Julien smiled.

“Get away!” laughed the girl. “But to be honest I like you too. I treat you like my older brother...”

“What a pity!” the captain grinned. “But maybe one day you will change your mind!”

“I do not know, maybe...” Angelica replied evasively.

The seagulls appeared above the ship sails.

“We are very close to the island!” Julien said. “Would you like to walk there again?”

“Oh no, I am fold!” waved Lica. “One time was enough.”

“Well, your wish is the low for me!” the captain said. “Excuse me; I need to do my job. There are so tricky reefs, that my sailors are likely to lose control without my help.”

He kissed the girl's hand and went to the helm.

Angelica put her face against the fresh breeze, and again old memories had haunted her mind. She remembered ‘Black Patrick’ and its captain. A sad melody that Patrick played for her sounded in her head. She was badly sick in heart. Lica closed her eyes and remembered his beautiful green eyes. Suddenly the girl had very strong feeling to be with Patrick in his cabin again.

“What is happening with me?” Lica surprised. “Am I in love?”

She tried to think of other men, but only thoughts about Patrick came to her mind. Angelica ran into the cabin, found a piece of paper and ink, and immediately began to write...

 

To: the Captain of ‘Black Patrick’

From: Angelica...

 

I want to jump

Into pool of your eyes...

I want your love -

So sexy and nice!

 

But only fate

Takes away from your lips;

And I’m afraid

It tips me the winks!

 

But I hope we’ll meet

And destroy this pain...

And you know indeed

You have burned my brain!

 

Previously, she had never written poems, but now the feelings overwhelmed her and she wanted to express them somehow. Finished writing, Lica rolled paper, ran to the cook’s cabin and asked him to give her an empty rum bottle. Then she stuffed paper inside the bottle, carefully closed and threw it far out to the sea.

“It is unlikely that this message will reach Patrick, but at least I tried to do something!” said Angelica to herself.

A little later Julien came to the girl.

“I would like to invite you today for a farewell dinner,” he said. “Because only God knows if we meet again or not?”

“With pleasure!” Lica nodded. “I will tell Huron.”

“He has already known.”

In the evening high feeding was set in the captain’s cabin. There were a variety of food and drinks.

“My cook tried his best!” Julien said.

“Hmm... He has hands of gold!” agreed to Huron. “Angelica, help yourself! In my cave, we cannot afford such luxury!”

“But where did you get the fruits?” surprised the girl. “We are in the open sea!”

“My cook bought them on the island of St. Mary and laid them down for this occasion!”

“He's just a magician!”

Angelica took the largest apple and sat down at the table.

“Tomorrow we will arrive in the harbor,” the captain started the conversation. “Tell me, Huron, what you are going to do next?”

“Next?” said the sorcerer making a pause. “Next aim is to fight the evil!”

“It sounds too pathetic!”

“And, nevertheless, it's true!” Lica supported Huron.

“Really? Well, then tell me about it some more!” asked Julien, hiding a smile.

“The fact is,” Angelica said, “that the evil spirits were released in the Kingdom of Night. Now they pose a threat to the kingdom and not only to it. They can materialize in the form of any evil creatures and monsters, but our main aim is not to kill these evil creatures because they will recreate again but drive the spirits back into the abyss. I have explained you our mission in two words, captain.”

Julien was thinking...

“And what exactly are you, girl, doing in such a dangerous journey?” finally, he said.

“She plays the role of the first violin!” Huron grinned. “Or rather without her we couldn’t do anything!”

“Angelica!” exclaimed the captain. “You can die!”

“I know,” shrugged Lica, “but I have to. After all, the fate of so many people depends on me!”

“Am I too bold to understand the meaning of life?” muttered Julien. “Instead of having fun on the balls and doing housework, women began to take part in war!”

“One girl is different from another!” remarked the sorcerer. “Most of them like balls as just you said.”

“I admire you even more!” said Julien enthusiastically, referring to Angelica. “But I’ll say again, stay away from the battlefield!”

“Well, that’s enough about business!” exclaimed Lica. “Let's dance, captain. I can see there is something looking like a gramophone.”

“Oh, yes!” Julien smiled. “My father gave it to me when he came back from the long voyage.”

Last night on the ship

The captain came to the table and twiddled the gramophone handle. Unclear melody sounded from the trumpet. However, it was possible to recognize the waltz melody.

“Thank you for dinner,” said Huron. “I am going to my room, because I want to get some good sleep before tomorrow.”

The sorcerer rose from the table and walked out of the captain's cabin.

“Let’s dance!” Julien smiled to Angelica.

He gave her his hand and they swirled in waltz. Lica closed her eyes and imagined herself dancing with Patrick. She was so beautiful that the captain could not resist and cuddled her. He kissed her on the lips, and Angelica, succumbing to her feelings, hugged Julien’s neck. But suddenly she remembered the malicious face of Swein and his words: ‘You are a courtesan!’ Lica immediately pushed the captain and said:

“Sorry, Captain, I shouldn’t have done that!”

“I should ask for excuse!” Julien said and stepped toward Angelica.

“No, no, no!” she said firmly. “It’s wrong! Because we hardly know each other.”

“But, Angelica...”

“No “buts”! Thank you for a wonderful dinner, captain!”

Lica resolutely turned and walked out of the cabin...

The night seemed too long. She felt herself guilty.

“Why did I do that?” she thought. “Swein was right! I'm too lightheaded! I am flirting one, then the other. But, on the other hand, I only seventeen! And I want to fall in love, flirt, live! Well, if marry, so what? Four walls, a husband and children? My husband will ban me everything! And you have to obey him? No, I don’t want that! I want adventure. I want the wind into my face and a man nearby, who would accept my freedom-cantankerous character! Then maybe I get married... if nobody restricts my freedom!”

Angelica was thinking almost all night. She fell asleep only before down, exhausted by her own thoughts. She did not hear, that a sailor on the mast shouted: ‘The earth!’ She did not feel that the ship entered the harbor and dropped the anchor. Huron idly tried to wake her up. Lica was sleeping like a log.

The girl woke up because someone was touching her hand. She opened her eyes and saw that it was Julien.

“Are we in the harbor?” she asked, trying to wake up completely.

“Yes, for several hours,” the captain smiled. “But you were fast asleep and we could not wake you up.”

“Sorry,” muttered Angelica, “I fell asleep in the morning.”

“Never mind, I'm rather glad! You gave me a few hours pleasure to watch you while you were asleep. It was wonderful!”

Lica embarrassed, snatched her hands and got up.

“Tell me, captain, where Huron is?”

“He is in the tavern, checking the horses you have left before the journey. The animals have already fed, saddled and been waiting for you!”

“Well, then it's time to say goodbye!”

Angelica came to the captain and gave him her hand.

“Julien, I want to tell that I will never forget you and you will be always my best friend!”

The captain smiled, shook her hand, then suddenly leaned over and kissed her palm.

“Angelica,” he said, “it was the first time in my life I have met a girl like you! You are strong, bold, beautiful and sincere... I hope that our meeting is not the last! Perhaps in the future you will change your mind and I will be not only your friend or brother, but also a man!”

Again, Lica wanted to embrace this honorable man, but she forced herself to hold back.

“Thank you for everything!” only she could say.

“Let’s go to Huron until he finally loses patience!” Julien chuckled.

He took the girl on the deck and then down the gangplank Angelica came down from the ship. The sorcerer was talking to a fat man but noticing Lica, immediately interrupted the conversation and went towards her.

“At last!” he cried. “We are setting off immediately! Because of you, we've lost a few hours.”

“Let's go!” she nodded.

Huron brought horses, and Lica jumped into the saddle. Honestly, she was tired of the sea and was pleased to be on land again. Angelica looked at Julien’s ship and saw the captain