When the Captain called to his crewmen to Cast Off, W at first thought they were discussing knitting; when he realised what they actually meant — setting the boat free of its moorings — he grasped my hand tightly and closed his eyes.
After a minute or so, I noticed his lips moving; leaning my head closer to his, I could just make out him repeating under his breath, 'We're not going to sink! We're not going to sink!'
Eventually he opened his eyes and looked about him. When he saw even young children playing happily on the deck, I think he started to believe he might survive the trip out to the lighthouse and back after all.
No comments:
Post a Comment