It didn’t occur to me to ask why we sailed in the direction of the island. I didn’t care. Perhaps I dozed, which was not a state of being much different than being awake, but when I looked next time, we were entering a small bay. An energetic man could almost throw a rock across it.
Looking back, I expected to find Captain asleep, but he was crouched, steering the boat carefully. Not long after, the crunch of the hull grated on the sand, and the motion of the boat shifted, then stilled.
Captain called, “Everybody, pull yourselves together and stand up. The heat is too much. Get into the water on the port side of the boat where there is shade and cool off.”
We looked at him in confusion and with some amount of resistance. Asking me to do anything was likely to have the same response. My body was limp, my mind slow.
He moved forward, where he came to Anna. “Get up, young lady. Come on, I’ll take your hand.”
I watched from the corner of my eyes as he helped her step over the side. A moment later, she sighed, “This feels so good.”
Will was next. Then Kendra. I accepted his help and as I threw a leg over the side, my foot entered the coolest water since leaving Dire. I slipped into it, knee-deep, and into the shade provided by the hull. The sea bottom was soft sand, the water cool, the shade protected us from the sun. What could be more perfect?
There were gods I should have thanked, as well as the captain of our boat, and as I was thinking of more people to thank, I found that I could lie on my back, my head closest to the shore, with the water barely covering my ears. I closed my eyes and sank into the depths of sleep like none I’d ever known.
Later, I admitted to myself the water was not as cool as it seemed. It was warmer than most, but when compared to the air, it felt cooler than my body. I loved it.
Captain had us all in the water relaxing and staying out of the direct sun. He had joined us and said, “We’ll stay here until later when the wind picks up. Relax. Recover.”
“We need to hurry to Landor,” Elizabeth sighed, but didn’t stand to force the issue.
Captain said, “We’ll sail all night and make better time. Make it up easy.”
“You’re the captain, Captain,” she said and giggled as she had when ten and the weapons-master had taught her a new wrestling hold to use on me.
I’d like to say I was strong and stayed awake to guard us but that would be a lie. After the long night, I dozed comfortably. We talked only a little but enjoyed the small things in life. I asked Captain, “Have you been here before? To this place, not Landor.”
“Three or four times. Always to beat the afternoon heat, like now. Deep water in the bay, no rocks or reefs to open the hull, and soft sand to lay in. The wind usually picks up well before dark and we’ll be on our way again.”
Kendra motioned for me to join her down near the stern. I moved to the shade where she relaxed and waited. She said, “My dragon still refuses to come. I’m worried.”
“Don’t you think it deserves a proper name after all this time?” I heard both sharpness and humor in my tone. “As a group, we could all suggest names while we wait for the wind. I have a few choice ones in mind.”
“There is only one dragon in the world so that’s obviously the one we’re discussing. Why does it have to have a name? We both know the animal I’m talking about so quit talking about a name. I know you’re trying to humor me. But it worries me. She won’t budge from that ledge she is on.”
“Know what worries me? It’s Elizabeth. She’s changed, and she’s worried, too. You are her closest friend and maybe you can find out the problem.” I waited, making sure nobody was close enough to have overheard us.
“Change does not mean something is wrong,” Kendra said as wisely as any sage.
I glanced at Anna, sitting alone at the edge of the shade provided by the boat. She scooped sand from the bottom and let it sift through her fingers. *You okay?* I asked. *You seem a little down.*
*Nothing.*
*I know women well enough to know that’s either a lie or you’re concealing something. What is it?*
A pause ensued. Before I repeated the question, she answered, *I can’t read.*
“Is that a problem?*
*Maybe not for you, but it makes me feel stupid.*
The last word had boomed into my mind as if she was shouting into both ears at once. I said, *Okay, we can solve that.*
*How? Using magic?*
I pictured the first letter learned in reading class in my head and sent it to her along with the sound it makes when said aloud. *No magic. Draw this in the sand beside you. Say its name out loud until you know it and when you do, I’ll give you another.*
*Then I can read?*
*Not right away, but soon.* I pulled away from her mind and found Kendra watching me. “Anna wants to learn to read.”
“The pair of you are becoming close. I like that.”
“You never answered me about Elizabeth,” I said. “You deflected my question with something mundane about change being good. And you didn’t give me a name for your dragon.”
Kendra looked directly at me without flinching and said, “How long before we sail?”
Even I had to laugh. She had no intention of telling me anything. I spread my arms wide in the water and closed my eyes. As hard as some might find it to believe, the combination of floating in water not much deeper than my hand, the shade of a stifling hot day, and the cessation of immediate tension allowed me to slip into another comfortable sleep.
I awoke to the captain telling us the wind had picked up. I sat and found the cooling sensation as a slight breeze touched my wet body. We climbed a rope ladder attached to the hull. The captain counted heads and lifted the sail. He attached the line on the end of the boom to a cleat and twisted the rudder. The boat shifted and started moving.
He made a wide turn, gaining speed as we moved, so we could coast upwind long enough to leave the little bay before turning south again and catching the wind. We sailed between the featureless mainland and equally featureless Dead Isle, closer to the island because Captain said the water was deeper there.
The depth of the water seemed to be his constant concern. I glanced around the boat. Anna’s finger repeatedly sketched the first letter and I judged her ready for the second. But I’d wait for her to ask for another. Will was at Elizabeth’s side, not intruding, but never more than an arm’s length away. Not since we camped near Kaon had he been much farther away.
I was rested and watched the sun sink into the land while we sailed on water. The breeze turned to a chill and eventually to cold. We had our blankets stored above the floor, so they stayed dry. However, I was not sleepy, having slept much of the afternoon away. I watched the dark outline of the shore and listened to the rush of water along the hull.
*I want the next letter.*
I sent it to her, along with the sound it made. She didn’t respond. I turned in the starlight and found her using a fingernail to scratch out the second letter against the side of the hull. Over and over. In a few days, we’d begin placing them together and sounding out simple words.
Teaching a child was one thing. Anna was nearly a young adult and she would learn in a fraction of the time a child would, if for no other reason than because she wanted to. We passed another fishing boat and Captain called out a greeting and exchanged information about fishing.