Watching Everything Sail Away

I only know the date because those horrible savages burned it into my mind when they invaded.

Brendon Durrin was my life. And they took that from me.

●●●

Brendon and I were in love.

He loved to sail, loved the sea. "Freedom," he would say as he stood with an arm around my waist while we gazed across the shimmering, blue water. "That's all that waits out there. Complete freedom." I could always hear the wistfulness and hopeful longing in his voice. And I would think, Someday. Someday we'll be free.

Brendon had inherited a miniscule sailboat from his father after he passed away. He kept it in a tiny harbor near our apartment just outside of LA and gave a fraction of his paycheck every month to ensure its place there.

I loved books and learning. Books can teach you anything and take you anywhere. I loved to read to Brendon, laying with my head in his lap, as he looked out across the crystalline blue he loved so much. I devoted a fraction of my monthly paycheck to new books and stories for us to enjoy together.

One night, we were laying in bed, simply looking at each other. The lights were off, but the curtains on the small bedroom window were pulled back, and moonlight filtered through, allowing us to see. He reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "Anye," he said softly.

"Yes," I answered, just as quietly.

"Run away with me," he breathed.

I giggled. "Where?"

His hand stopped stroking my face and simply rested on my cheek. I closed my eyes and let myself drift away on the beautiful sound of his voice. "When I was young, my father would take me out sailing. Once, we came upon an island that we couldn't find on any of our maps. We never wrote down its location, never gave it a name, and never told anybody else about it. It was our secret." The pause that followed was deeply serene, but I felt he had more to say. And I wanted to hear his voice. I opened my eyes.

"Let's run away to it, Anye."

It struck me. This wasn't a fantasy. "You mean… just drop everything and… run away…" The last two words were barely audible as the reality of it sunk in. When he smiled, my heart soared, and I couldn't help the grin that spread across my own face. "Really?" I asked, daring myself to believe it. Freedom…

The next day, we resigned from our low-paying half-time jobs. We packed up everything we owned, emptying our humble little apartment - number 62 - and payed the landlord for the month. I was surprised to learn all of our belongings found places aboard the tiny Dauntless.

He'd taken me sailing before. In fact, I was an accustomed first mate. As we hoisted the sail and released her from her mooring, I felt my heart swell along with the sails. I turned and smiled at Brendon, who returned a brilliant smile of his own. Freedom. This was what freedom felt like.

●●●

Brendon was relying solely on memory to guide us to his secret island. We were relying solely on his memory from over fifteen years ago. But I didn't mind. I had infallible faith that we would find it in a comfortable amount of time. We had plenty of food and reading material. Brendon requested The Odyssey more often when I read aloud, because of the sea-faring journeys it held.

One day, Brendon came below deck, and by his glowing expression, I could tell we'd found it. He didn't say a word, but we both raced upstairs.

●●●

We adjusted to life on the island quickly. Brendon made a lean-to from the various vegetation, and books I'd brought told us what we could and couldn't eat. Life was more or less the same as it had been. Brendon still loved to sail and would go out every now and then. Sometimes I went along, sometimes I stayed behind. I'd still read aloud to him, and we were still in love. Our isolation made us closer, almost euphoric.

●●●

Brendon woke me by shaking me gently, and I opened my eyes to see him holding a finger to his lips. I tried to ask him what was going on tacitly. He shook his head.

"Come on," he whispered, and led me from our sleeping quarters to a dense area of brush. I thought it was an animal's burrow. "Hide," he simply whispered. Something wasn't right. I did as he said anyway, and watched him walk away. From my hiding place, I could see a sliver of the horizon, the wondrous place where the pastel blue sky met the deep blue of the sea. But at that moment, large sails blotted out most of the sea. Squinting, I could make out the letters "S.S. Ti," and my mind was sent reeling. Visitors? How did they find us? What did they want? Did we know them?

Brendon's silhouette crossed my view, and then there were more than one. The body language of our visitors was a stark contrast to Brendon's, though his wasn't as relaxed as usual. The strangers' posture was offensive and stubborn. And there were four of them.

I crept from my hiding place to get closer. I knew he was in danger. My heart was beating out of my chest and I didn't breathe as I tucked myself behind a large tree trunk just feet away. Closer, I could see the strangers more clearly. They were all men, and all wore similar uniforms. From my new vantage point, I could see their ship. The U.S. Navy. The largest man seemed to be the commanding officer, and he spoke to Brendon. I listened closely.

"Are you alone on this island, sir?"

"Why do you ask?"

"We have a court order allowing us to extract information. This island is government property. Are you alone in your residence on this land?"

He knew I had moved. His eyes met mine, but the Navy men were too oblivious to notice. In that split second, I saw all the regret and guilt he felt, all the pain he was feeling just thinking about what was to come. I love you, I could hear him whisper in my mind.

Then I could feel tears building in my eyes.

"We're going to have to arrest you, sir."

But I knew my Brendon wouldn't go down without a fight.

While I was frozen to the spot, tears rushing down my cheeks in a steady stream, trying to get my brain to function, to figure out how to help - chaos ensued. Brendon lashed out and struck the man who had been speaking. That man fell back and another stepped forward, attempting to seize Brendon. Brendon hit him as well, but ended up capacitated by the other two, each taking hold of an arm. He ceased to struggle as handcuffs were clamped around his wrists. He didn't look to me as they led them away.

It wasn't until they were in the rowboat and drifting from the shore that I found my feet. I ran toward him, screaming, crying, flailing… He couldn't be leaving. I tried to run through the water, but after only a few steps, I was exhausted. I saw the boat reach the ship, and watched as he was hoisted up the ladder. Dazed, I stumbled backward, then fell to the beach. Slowly, the S.S. Titan moved away.

And I sobbed.