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Rook sits leaning into Orla's tentative embrace.
“When I was younger, when I first put on the clothes of a man, I was very lucky that I wasn’t discovered. I had to hide so much. If I’d been caught and they decided I was a woman, many men would have used my body and dumped me at a port to become a whore." Around the text we see Rook's memories, first of working as a girl, doing laundry with a number of other women. Young Rook holds up a pair of freshly laundered men's trousers, considering. In another scene, we see Rook dressed as a young man, hair cut short, surrounded by fellow sailors at a tavern.
"So I had to pretend to be a man, and that meant when they bragged and bought women, I had to play along and brag with them. I even bought women, and then in private I bought them again, bought their silence. Some of them were very kind. Some of them even helped teach me how to hide, and they’re not all forced into the life, but more than not."
In a third flashback, we see Rook at work on board his ship, with his more recent crew.
"My captain, on the StarSong, my crew, they take me as I am. My captain is a woman, and she hires a different kind of men. It’s a blessing to not have to play those games, not have to pretend. But it’s a rare ship and a rare crew like that. I could sail the world over and never find another like them.”
Orla says softly, “You miss them.”
“I do. They’re my family more than my own blood ever was.”

Land and Sea page 31

January 17, 2021 Rey Mehlhorn No Comments

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My apologies for a long absence, the combination of work stress, other stress, and the holidays got to me. Will try to resume weekly updates, now on Sundays!

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