Someone bangs on the doors yelling for everyone to get to the deck, and Emmanuella is snapped out of her sleep. Sluggishly, she makes her way to the bathroom as a fully awake and dressed Kwame makes his bed. Emmanuella washes herself then braids her hair tucking it into her shirt. While tucking her shirt into her trousers, Emmanuella walks with Kwame to the deck.
Everyone on board lines up shoulder to shoulder in rows and columns. Commander Ferrari and General Violet weave their way through those in line as a man guiding them with a list of point out who is who and their profession. The trio stops at Kwame.
“Kwame Akan, carpenter, employed by the GreenBean Man.” The list carrier announces. Kwame stands like a soldier with his hands behind his back and head held high. The commander takes a closer step to Kwame as General Violet examines Emmanuella with curiosity and suspicion.
“You’re not as bad as Cabbage Bottom, are you?” The commander inquires with his breath in Kwame’s face.
“I’m not an inventor.” Kwame points out. Commander Ferrari nods.
“Fair.” The commander whispers, “What about the accent? It’s not from any of our dialects?”
“I’m not from Espela. I’m from a small distant country, and I grew up on a farm.”
“And you found your way to Espela? So you like to travel? I think,” Commander Ferrari pauses as General Violet circles Emmanuella. Failing to notice his partner’s curiosity, the commander continues, “You will be of good use to the navigation team, and you will help the maintenance team.”
“As you wish, Commander.” Kwame hisses through his teeth. His lips refuse to form a smile. Though the Commander backs away, he stares directly into Kwame’s eyes, and Kwame stares back. Even nervous and closely examined Emmanuella can see a silent war between Commander Ferrari and Kwame has sparked. The list carrier clears his throat, but the Commander continues to wait until Kwame backs down.
“Emmanuel Pierre,” The list carrier moves forward, but General Violet cocks her head to the side at the name, “He can cook and clean.”
“I think--” General Violet pauses with a smile. Emmanuella looks directly at the grinning general, “Mr. Pierre would do well as an engineer. Mr. GreenBean, don’t you agree?”
Emmanuella can hear the swish of Mr. GreenBean’s cabbage bottom moving across the ship’s surface. Kwame groans. Mr. GreenBean appears in front of Emmanuella and smiles immediately. Just as Commander Ferrari casts a glare at Mr. GreenBean, Mr. GreenBean turns his head away to fix his face. Even General Violet looks to her feet to hide her ecstatic spirit.
“I think,” Mr. GreenBean pauses and speaks slowly, “Emmanuel will make a great engineer.”
Both Mr. GreenBean and General Violet look to Commander Ferrari for agreement, so the Commander examines Emmanuella.
“He only has domestic skills. And you want him to be an engineer?” The commander questions. With a blank face, the commander agrees to let Emmanuella be an engineer, so the trio moves on assigning positions.
Emmanuella spends her days ensuring the air balloon carrying the ship remains intact. Every now and then, she sits on top of the balloon with her arms outstretched allowing the wind to gust through her free hair. Someone tugs at the rope secured around her waist ripping her out of her bird fantasy. She repins her hair and hat back in place, then slips down the balloon towards the ship.
Plop! A raindrop lands on her nose bouncing and releasing it’s raindrop babies in a circle around it. Another lands in her hand. Another lands on the balloon. More raindrops land and faster each time. Emmanuella’s hands become slippery as she makes her way down. Her hand slips from underneath her, so she slides down the balloon reaching for anything at all.
Emmanuella falls from the balloon to hang by the rope wrapped around her waist. She sways as she hears her name called from the ship. The swaying freezes, the shouts cease, and the heavy rain freezes in place. Emmanuella is the only moving thing. She pokes a raindrop, but it soaks her finger.
A group of raindrops swirl, surely making the frozen raindrops jealous. A man with webbed feet, dark skin, long dreads matching a beard appears before Emmanuella. The man examines Emmanuella as he moves around her. He looks at the ship then raises his hand. Emmanuella’s velvet bag rises from her pocket, and the beauty beads float out of the bag. Magic. The man swirls the beads in the air just above his hands.
“You invented these?” He asks. Emmanuella nods.
Instantly, Emmanuella recalls the tales her grandfather and grandmother used to share from their adventures. Mermaids are beautiful and fascinating creatures. They have magic paired with glowing beauty both contribute to the health of the waters, but nature is always balanced. With mermaids come mermen. Mermen are destructive savages that think of nothing but power and wicked pleasures.
Emmanuella should’ve stayed home. Actually, staying home would not have mattered. Apparently, she’s destined to die before her 29th year comes to an end.