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Chapter 19~ Lowlands Away
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A month had passed since we arrived in Madagascar. We kept ourselves busy enough. Samvel had been kind enough to provide us with a month’s worth of provisions. We spent our time enjoying what was around us, enjoying each other. But, time was growing shorter for us. I spent most of my time planning our next steps. Reyes took care of Constantine when I was away making money from small jobs around the village. Madagascar was a breath of fresh air for us all. We clung to it for as long as possible.
I came back one night from the village to the inn we were staying at. I expected a quiet night as always. A sack was lugged over my good shoulder. My arm, or what was left of it, was on its way towards healing. Samvel had taken me to a local physician who did his best to close the wound and encourage the healing process. Now, I kept it bandaged up under my shirts and knotted up at the right sleeve. It didn’t hurt so much anymore. But, I had to learn so much over again.
I walked across the dirt path up to the old wooden porch. And there, leaning against the railing was Constantine. She was gazing out at the ocean, her hair rippling in the breeze behind her. She was dressed only in her loose trousers and my old blouse with the sleeves rolled to the elbows. A hand was gently caressing the top of her belly, just beginning to round out. She heard me as I climbed the creaky steps and turned my way.
“You’re back,” she said, smiling.
I smirked and joined her side. I took her hand and kissed her cheek. And we just listened to the chirping of the crickets and the lapping of the waves. We stayed this way for quite a while, and I had to say it killed me to break such peacefulness.
“I wish this could last forever,” she whispered.
I squeezed her hand.
“You know it can’t, love.”
“I know.” She sighed.
It was time for the daydream to end. This time we had control.
She frowned and steeled her gaze towards the horizon. “We need to find your sister.”
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Reyes had changed the most out of us three since arriving on land. He was more childlike and less hard and frigid than before. But, that also meant he was so much more annoying.
“No.”
“What do you mean ‘no’?” I barked back at him.
He crossed his arms below and I nearly slapped him.
“No means I am not to go on some trip to save another of you.”
My face flushed hot red and I took another step towards him.
“Listen, you ungrateful little—”
“Edmund!” Constantine snapped.
I stopped and glared at her. But, she approached Reyes in a more ‘delicate’ manner.
“Reyes, do you remember when I told you there’d be a lot of obstacles you’d have to cross to be free again?”
“Yes, that was killing Kidd.”
“Not quite. We’re not free just yet, Reyes. Not all of us. Edmund’s sister has been trapped in the same place for years—just like you. Don’t you want to give that freedom to her as well?”
“She is not my—”
“I know she’s not yours. But, that doesn’t mean she’s not anyone’s.”
Reyes hesitated then bowed his head in fading reluctance. He eventually agreed and Constantine grinned from ear to ear. She peered up at me with a sly look and winked. I felt so sick.
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We left Madagascar’s shores the night after, catching passage on a ship headed towards Cape Town. For two weeks we sailed across Madagascar’s shores to reach South Africa. And for the most part, everything was painless. No one knew us so Kidd obviously wasn’t sending out men to hunt me down and finish the job. In fact, no one had a clue if Kidd was even still alive. And I was determined not to find out.
When we ported in Cape Town, I felt an overcoming desire to turn back and to charge forward at the same time. My hatred for Kidd fought with my deathly fear of seeing Gretchen again.
She left for a reason, Edmund. She never wanted to see you or our family again. Why would you ever think she’d want you now?
But, whenever these thoughts took over me, Constantine was right there to lead me ahead. Returning to Cape Town after so many years felt like stepping back into a long-forgotten memory. I saw it in Constantine’s eyes when she’d look around the town, searching for a person neither of us knew. Cape Town had torn us apart, and at the same time, brought us together.
We stayed the night at a local inn and asked around for the location of a cabin owned by William Kidd. No one knew of one. We asked around the local market, the very one Constantine had fled through to avoid Thomas Tew’s bloodthirsty crew. We asked everyone at the docks and the alchemist’s office and all the shops. No one knew a thing. And I was finally settling into the realization that it was all a lie. Kidd had sent me on one last wild goose chase. Of course, Constantine was in a very different mindset, averse to giving up the idea that Gretchen was here somewhere. Reyes was quicker to join my side. When all trails came to a dead end, we ended up in a run-of-the-mill pub on the outskirts of town.
I sat at the bar, a pint halfway empty in front of me and still foaming at the edges. Two Scottish men with a banjo and an accordion played an old tune in the corner of the hazy, dimly lit room—one that I might’ve heard as a child. Sometimes, the reminder of just how young I was would creep in. I was a man of twenty-two years, but oftentimes it felt as if I’d lived an entire lifetime from all the things I’d seen. Back in Bombay, I would stay up at night wondering what kind of a man I was supposed to be if none of this had ever happened. I would wonder if I was meant to be a physician like my father or if he had another vision for my life. I would wonder what kind of people I would’ve met or what kind of experiences I could’ve had if I’d stayed in England. I would wonder if I ever would’ve met Constantine and if our paths would have ever crossed. And thinking these things put a heavy weight on my chest. If none of this had ever happened, maybe I would have Gretchen and my parents. I would have a home and real prospects. I would have my right arm.
The Scottish men played through the old tune into one that I more easily recognized. The large red one strummed a single sound on his banjo before crowing the lyrics:
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I dreamed a dream the other night
Lowlands, lowlands awayyyy…
My love she came, dressed all in white
Lowlands away
She came to me at my bedside
Lowlands, lowlands awayyyy…
All dressed in white, like some fair bride
Lowlands away
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I watched the musicians intensely, forgetting my drink and pulling away from the bar. The Scottish man howled the sad lyrics into the smoky air, a grieved look etched into his face. The rest of the pub paid no mind but went back to their laughing and their rum sipping. But, I couldn’t pull my eyes away. I had heard this tune before.
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And bravely in her bosom fair
Lowlands, lowlands awayyyy…
Her red, red rose, my love did wear
Lowlands away
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The image surfaced in my mind like a crystal-clear vision at once.
The chilling wind whipped at my long white sleeves and the warm Indian sunlight glowed upon my cheeks. I closed my eyes and let the salty sea air flood my senses once more. The clinking of glasses was soon replaced with the crashing of waves and the creaking of old wooden floorboards. Whistles squealed in the air as men called out orders at us. I could even taste the bitter salt and tobacco on the very tip of my tongue. I opened my eyes and I was back on the Quedagh Merchant, the ship I'd left Constantine on so many months ago. The sky was as blue and sparkling as an island pool. Across the horizon was a flat, dark line—an adventure just waiting to happen. I looked down at myself as, suddenly, I was dressed back in my dirty black trousers and a loose blouse. My toes wiggled against the wet, slippery ship deck. And my shoulder felt heavier than before. I touched the space where my arm used to be and found it whole once more. I grasped the flesh and grinned. All around me, the sailors worked in an entrancing rhythm, pulling heavy ropes and rigging massive posts. They each shouted a song that rang and echoed in my ear like clocktower chimes.
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She made no sound, no word she said
Lowlands, lowlands awayyyy…
And then I knew my love was dead
Lowlands away
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I gazed in wonder at this spectacular scene and turned joyfully to Constantine beside me. But, it was only Reyes. Little Reyes before all of the cuts and scrapes of war. He scrubbed the floor with his head down. I knelt next to him and shook his shoulder. He felt so bony and small in my hands. But, he didn’t move.
“Reyes,” I demanded.
He stopped and looked up, his stare blank and meaningless.
“Reyes, where’s Constantine?”
He squinted, either from the bright sunlight or something else. “Who?”
I scowled, half not understanding and half too disoriented to be able to. “Reyes…”
But, he had returned to his scrubbing. I stood up and searched the ship. I weaved through the working men, singing the sad ballad straight into my ears. I climbed the stairs and anxiously picked through the crowd for any trace of her. But, she was nowhere to be found. I grasped the railing and felt my heartbeat quicken. I turned all around me to see the ship drawing into itself, shrinking slowly. A shaking began in the deck floorboards and my feet trembled unsteadily. The floor space began to disappear, so I threw myself over the stairs and back onto the main deck and raced through the people on the other side of the ship. But, that was shrinking in, too. A pounding in my chest and head nearly brought me to my knees. The singing had turned into yelling and shouting. And far behind me, gun safeties clicked. I wouldn’t make it out of this alive. I ran to the side of the ship and pressed myself over the rail. The ship drew in closer and closer. And, soon enough, I would collapse in with it. I began shouting for help, calling for anyone. I clawed at the sides of the ship and pushed my feet against the walls. But, nothing stopped it. Nothing ever could. All that was left amongst the screams and gunfire was a single melody.
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Then I awoke to hear the cry
Lowlands, lowlands awayyyy…
Oh, watch on deck, oh watch ahoy
Lowlands away
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