Vuela

Chapter 13

The rest of the night is cold and quiet up on the top deck.

The tired and weak Vuela hides from everyone else by hanging out on one of the viewing balconies, which she climbs herself once she regains her strength from the events of the accident. She stares out into the infinite horizon, which is back in a peaceful state, but the clouds still loom above the vessel. With every breeze of wind that swishes by, the more goosebumps appear on Vuela's arms, and the more each one taunts her eyes to shed painful tears. To distract herself from doing that even further, her eyes focuses on the black sky and her fingers play with the bow strings of Vuela's blouse.

If only Vuela has been more useful those two hours when she has witnessed the death of an important man. If only she has better strength. If only she has the ability to save lives, then she wouldn't be hiding from everyone else, including those she can trust.

Like Celia...

Like Sora...

After that show she displays in front of them, especially the Captain, Vuela shivers at the thought of having them tip-toe around her before they can potentially spark another episode. What even was that? Vuela questions herself. I hadn't done that since that day at the hospital. When her dad died, of course. Because that is what children do when they want to prove something that isn't true.

Her dad did die.

That man from the bookstore died with blood on her clothes.

But she refuses to believe that she's responsible for the death of Mr. Newton. On the other hand, she is the last person he could see before his demise, and she couldn't save him from that fate.

She's even the last person that poor man from the store saw before he collapsed to the ground.

Vuela thinks herself as the worst charm of luck.

The sound from the deck is faint, but Vuela can easily recognize her mentor's voice from down below. Vuela looks back down towards the floor and finds Latimore Savage waving at her to come back down to the ground. Vuela obeys the gesture and takes the metal ladder back to the roof of the operation room. She stops by the front edge and sits there, dangling her legs against the wall, still staring out into the open air and sea. Her heart beats harder, so she bends forward, hoping it will hurt less.

"Your scientist friend is right, girl," says Savage calmly. "What happened tonight wasn't your fault. It was no one's."

Vuela turns her head to the port side of the ship, trying to ignore the speech that sounds as if Savage is reciting it for the millionth time despite it being the second time only. The girl is tired, and she can't bother to look at Savage after what everyone saw earlier that night.

"Things like this happen, Lala. I've been on too many voyages to not see that."

Vuela tells herself that's too many accidents that should've happened overall. There can't be that many saviors either, she supposes.

"You're a hero in the greatest way. If you didn't take charge the way you did tonight, the lot of us would be swimming with the sharks right about now--"

A pinch ravages under Vuela's skull. "You don't get it, do you? You're supposed to yell at me!"

Auntie Latimore's mouth drops. "You have gone crazy, girl. Why would I do that?"

Vuela jumps off the roof and stands on her toes, trying to get to her mentor's face. "I killed a man! I screwed up, and he's dead! I should've pulled him over the railing. Better my life than the First Mate's? What the hell is that? What good have I done? I'm not worth a single dime on this goddamn ship or anywhere else!"