Chapter Fourteen: The Mary’s Final Voyage:

The smell of the ocean filled my nose. I could hear the seagulls above my head. Fog prevented me from seeing too clearly. I shivered at the cold around me. It was summer; why was it freezing like this? A loud horn sounded in the air. I looked out over the edge. People started to board the boat. They kept their eyes down as they walked by me.

“Hello?” I asked. Not a single person spoke to me. Some of them even walked through me. I tried to count how many people where coming onto this ship. I ended up giving up after ten. Where was I? Where were these people going?

“Daddy!” a little girl shouted. I turned my head to see a little girl my age running up the ramp. She had her arms outstretched as she ran through me. I turned around to see her running up to a tall, slender man. That was Sally. The little girl hugged the man as he knelt down to greet her. He kissed her on the forehead as he stood up. They walked further onto the ship. I suddenly had the need to follow them.

What was I seeing here?

Another man walked up to Robert. They spoke to each other for a moment. Then men frowned as Sally looked between them. Robert said something to the other man and he walked off. By the time the last passenger and I boarded the boat, the ramp was pulled away. The doors closed and I could hear the anchor being pulled up from the water. We were sailing away.

“Where are we going, daddy?” Sally asked Robert.

“To France,” he said.

“What is it like?” she asked. He hugged her to his chest.

“Some place wonderful, I hope,” he said.

“Yay!” she cheered. I myself felt the excitement too. Suddenly, the image skipped around me. I didn’t even get time to react. Before I knew it, the boat was in the middle of a storm. The winds whipped my hair around as buckets of rain poured down on me. The thunder and lighting made me wish that I could get off of that ship. The sailors ran around trying to maintain control. Judging by how bad the storm was, that didn’t look possible. I could barely hear the shouting above the storm. I shut my eyes, waiting for the worst.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed my shoulder. I turned to see Miranda staring at me.

“Miranda?” I asked.

“Are you okay?” she asked. I blinked for a moment.

“Yes…” I said. I turned to see Sally and Robert staring at me.

“Did you…?” I started to ask.

“Yes,” Robert said.

“Was this your home?” I asked.

“No, we lived in Boston before we got on that ship,” Sally said. I looked so confused.

“Then…” I said.

“What are we doing here?” Robert asked. I slowly nodded. He gave me a small smile.

“The sailor’s valentine,” he said.

“Huh?” I asked.

“It’s true,” Sally said. “His and my soul got attached to mommy’s present.”

“It was a present for your mommy?” I asked.

“Yes,” Sally said. I looked up when there was a knock on my door.

“Kinsey, who are you talking to in there?” Doris asked. I looked over at Sally and Robert for a second. They didn’t move. I pressed my lips together as I looked down at my knees.

“Sally and Robert,” I said.

“Who?” she asked. I was about to speak when the door opened. I looked up to see Doris with a shocked look on her face.

“Doris?” I asked. She backed out of the doorway as she covered her mouth.

“Miss!” Doris screamed as she ran down the hall.

“Doris?” I asked again as I followed behind. I followed her all the way to Grandma’s room. Our maid frantically told her what I had just said. Grandma got on the phone right away. The next day, a priest came to our house and went into the guest room. When he came out, Sally and Robert were out. I don’t know what happened to that sailor’s valentine after that.