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Chapter 15 - A Rough Start

Woods is in a temporary coma; Catarina is injured beyond belief and is still recovering; no sign of Miss Lawson anywhere, she can be on another ship, I wouldn't know; and Audellia, nobody remembers who she is, for some reason Woods was the only person who did.

"I need to leave....."

Was the only thought that crossed my mind, everywhere I went, I brought trouble, and these innocent people, trying to salvage whatever they can, trying to make a change and make something better out of this world, were dragged into this. Was it a curse? Was it my luck? Was it just.....punishment? I pledged atonement, but nothing useful came out of it. Should I really keep trying? I have no right to live in this world, that I ruined, I should just disappear...

"Ah...That's it!" I just need to disappear, never show myself to anybody ever again, hide, and keep living, any anguishment that surrounds me will only affect me, I'll take up a new Identity, stray from my usual motive, find something other than forgiveness, like everyone else, I also need to make change....

"Right, I know what do....."

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Robert had a stern look on his face, he was anew, with his newly found devotion, he decided to go down towards the deck to meet the captain.

"You got another?"

The captain was a old and stubby man with a beard that crossed his shoulder length, he was holding a rusty opaque bottle of bear, ignoring Robert's question he kept on sipping, but when Robert refused to leave, he uttered, "Ain'tcha supposed to be a lil' under the age to be doin' this kind of stuff." Without permission, Robert grabs the spare bottle on the table and says, "I'm 29 actually."

And then he goes to chug it but sees it to be hollow with one or two drops of it left.

"Just how much have you been drinking old man?!"

"Wha'? Never heard of a drunken sailor have ya'!" The captain chuckles as he keeps sipping , "Here! Have a go at it lad!"

Both of them sit down, and after a long time Robert got to experience that calming taste of vintage beer; he starts of by proposing his clause, "So.....Can we stop, at some sort of port...not far from here..."

The captain leds out a sigh and asks, "And why would I do that?"

It was an akward silence, there was a depressed youth and a disappointed elder, "I'm trying to make change, again, I've had enough, you understand, don't you, you must have had struggles in your life, maybe adapting a different lifestyle isn't the solution, maybe escaping isn't the solution, I can only try, see if it succeeds, if it doesn't, I do it again."

The captain says nothing and Robert sees himself out.

*sigh*

"I think I might have messed it up, who told you to give a damn speech Robert."

********************************

A few moments later, the trawler abruptly takes a break and the captain leds out the excuse of 'low fuel' and he couldn't have made it more blatantly obvious for the hopeless young man. Doctor Palmer gladly obliged as it benifited the health of the injured, some could take fresh air, others could buy some healthy food supply and not eat from the boat's rotten stock. Robert took his chance, this time it wasn't lying, as he made it look like he was going to get his own goods from the shops at the harbor stop but when he got off he never got on again, without anybody noticing. A foggy picture from the cockpit's window stares down to Robert as he gives a slight grin and walks off, holding his satchel over his shoulder.

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"Right...Now what?"

Robert thought to himself the circumstances he was strangled up in, at first, the only thing his mind was directed towards to was how he has a short lifespan left and if he doesn't take action it will decrease even further; the solution was a donor, one who matched with all of Robert's physical and biological descriptions, perhaps a new city or somewhere alike See Green would suffice with a oppurtunity that would satisfy his requirements.

"No.....if I am to incorporate myself with more people again, misfortune would be inevitable. Solitude is my only choice, somewhere isolated, if I were to find myself anywhere alike See Green, I'm bound to bring calamity with me, I'll get attached, the people will show me kindness, and it will all go full circle. I'm not acquainted with the state of the world currently, and that has put me at an disadvantage, I need to map this land, so I can avoid any interaction, always be in the shadow, while I try to fulfil this new motto I've picked up."

********************************

It was a tranquil feeling, the hushed harbor, almost no sound was espied except the salty gushes of wind. I needed to make it to somewhere dense, so I could easily gather more information on my whereabouts, I started off with approaching a man standing at the end of a pier, from what could be observed, he had an urban attire, I stepped up to the pier and patted him on his shoulder slightly, he turned around with his eyes open wide and a slight grin, he was certainly agog and took control of the conversation. After an array of complicated words all I could discern from this one sided ramble was, "Why did you come here? What made you choose to come here? Will you stay here? What do you want from here?", there was a common theme in his words, every question related to this place, he spoke it in such a tone as if he didn't want me here.

In response, I just said I needed a map of the city and some supplies, hence, I need to know the way to town. The man lifted his arm and pointed with his index finger to the direction opposite to me.

I exited the harbor and went straight in the direction, the man became silent immediately and turned around facing towards the sea like I found him, I tried approaching him again to get a more clarified version of his bleak instructions, my attempt bore no fruit as he kept glaring away while I made my way just straight ahead until I saw proper civilization in the direction the mysterious man told me.

It wasn't long before I spotted homesteads and then commercial properties, soon I started seeing faces and before I knew it I was enveloped in a crowd. After some struggle I brought myself to somewhere calm, for a map, soliciting my way to a library perhaps was my most viable choice.

"Excuse me?"

"Excuse me!?"

"I need to kno-"

"Hey, do you hav-"

Person after person, some pretended to not listen, some walked away. Almost like a beggar, I seemed like a hobo going from street to street, not getting any response, not even a look, just getting ignored, it made me gave up.

"One believes to relieve tensity, one terminates stress; what thy seeks only one knows, THUS, thou shall visit one's reiki centre. Here's our contact info, 'K 'Cya."

"Huh? Hey wait...What was that, some kind of mascot, with a rather childish voice at that, probably some kids trying to play a prank."

I was never going to find a library at this point, strolling around I think I toured the whole city, from ration shops, to furniture stores, tailors and blacksmiths, schools and public gardens, police departments and even shrines. Maybe a library was not where the map of this city could be finded at, if I could meet a traveller like me or a merchant, someone who could converse unlike my situation here where ignoring seems to be an active practice amongst the people.

"Wait...the only person that has conversed with me since the two whole hours I've spent here, was that mascot kid....The business card!"

'HTC, the care you need, the compassion you deserve, Heartpool Central, Eastmund Road.'

"Seems, like I can finally make some progress."

When I arrived, this place had a warm air circulating around it, there was a bristling aroma that tingled me inside my nose, and a steamy air that made my skin gleamy. The shoji slid open and I heard a rather recognizable high pitched voice, "You have to have the right environment for the right process!", a young girl with a petite figure, whilst holding a familliar hyottoko mask in her hand she was standing right against me; her unusual pink vibrant hair with black ponytails stood out the most, I knew who she was the instant I saw her stubby feet and squeaky voice, it was the same mascot that made me come here. Behind her was an oily room lit by scented candles and lanterns. There was a table in the middle and a beautiful young lady standing beside it, she was signalling me to come towards the table, I went ahead and laid down, the table was topped with soft cushions and pillows, I practically melted in it, I expected some sort of relaxing massage but I was wrong, the lady made gestures, moving her arms like waves while rotating her hands anti-clockwise, at some point she started to make physical contact, there was no force nor strength, just slight touches that made energy regulate around my whole body, all of a sudden I had forgotten all my worries and pain, I was one with my own, a balance was created, even just for a little longer, I wish I could have been able to experience this for some more time. After this reiki, it didn't all go back to how it was, something changed, I felt exuberant, like I could run a marathon thrice.

"Okay! That would be 15 rolands."

"Come again?"

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Cell 63, Prisoner name: Julius Robert Oppenheimer, arrested for illegal bartering.

"How did it end up like this?"