The reflection in the water

And here he is again. He was running from chasing after him two or three men who were about 6.5 feet, and this all happened simply because he stole their pocket with money. Are they that greedy after all? Jack still had bad level skills in pickpocketing, and sometimes he got in troubles because of this, when he had only one way to escape — run, run without turning back, making his pursuers lose him from their view. And this is why he ran now, hopefully turning back sometimes not to see their silhouettes. The sun was almost set, and the port town slowly plunged into twilight, and was illuminated only by candles and flashlights in the streets. Well, just for saving some money and because of the poor state of some quartiers there weren’t flashlights everywhere, and this is why Jack ran in there: to find a place where he could hide. He couldn’t rely on Salazar or his father, the first wasn’t with him now, and the second, well… he never actually helped him, he wasn’t even ever interested in how his own son is going. And they didn’t even know what kind of trouble he was in again. Running away from pursuers was hard to do, sometimes Jack heard them shouting something like: “Get that bastard!”, “We almost got him!”, “Don’t let him run away!” and other curses. In one moment the road was divided by two sharp turns and a wall appeared from nowhere hung with ivy, making Sparrow think where should he run next, turning right was too obvious, so he turned left. This road was led up and because of this running away was harder than earlier. Paying attention to the rising slope, Jack instantly thought about the idea to climb on it, it would be faster and easier to get lost somewhere on the high, those men would think he had turned right and after some time they wouldn’t find his steps. Jack ran at a high speed right on this big long rock to jump right on the top, which may resemble a nature fence. Maybe if this rock, which extends to the horizon on left and right sides, was a little more tinier and neatlier, it really had a possibility to be a good fence, but now it did a great thing for Jack — he needed to win some time. What he was never expected that there will be a hole in which he slipped on a stone and got right in there, fell on his butt. – Ouch, damn it, it hurts… — he said instantly, rubbing the bruised area. The echo reacted immediately and his words were spread out loud in the whole cave. He shut up for a second, hearing the voices which surely belong to those who were searching him. Jack quickly brought his hand to his face, covering his mouth. He could hear everything happening in the street, and that means, they could hear him too. Rising his head up he noticed the hole he fell down to. He would never be able to notice it if he would just stand on the road, and he didn’t watch down when jumped so it’s not a surprise he fell here. – Where did he go?! – Damn, there are two ways to go! – I don’t see him! – Then you go left, and I go right. Sparrow perfectly heard their dialog, and they didn’t hear him. He smiled, being happy he managed to escape from them, even collecting a trophy. However he won’t be able to use it if he’ll stand here forever, so the young boy tried to climb to the top on the same slide he rolled down. Luckily he wasn’t trapped in a mysteriously appeared cave in the center of the town, and he could easily get back on the street… Well, actually he should wait a little, who knows how far away from here were those men, what if they return just in time Jack decides to escape? “Guess I have to find another way out” — with this thought he went in only one way to go — go straight. The moonlight didn’t penetrate deep into the cave, he had to walk virtually blindly, trying not to trip over some stone. One time he saw a light reflection, a wall behind him resembled a water surface with light glares on it. The wall resembled water in an inverted position, not spread out on the floor as it should have been, it was as if it had been hung on the wall like a mirror. In this “mirror” which somehow was shining appeared a reflection with Jack exploring this cave. Sparrow felt a little bit surprised because from where the light appeared? He slowly went closer to the mirror, raising his hand, the reflection did the same. The moment of touching the mirror gave him a feeling of warmth in his body, like you were diving into the water and it warmed you deep inside. The bright light appeared in the cave, revealing the extension of it leading to another street. The sunlight was illuminated by reflection from light brown rocks, seeming like you were in a stone house. Jack instantly put his arm on forehead, hiding his eyes from the lightsource which caused pain to eyes. Looking around, he thought the cave might have changed a little, but when he went away from it, he understood nothing. – Wait a second… Where does the sun come from? He looked at the sky in shock and did not find the Moon nor the sunrise, but he was pretty sure it was evening time. “I couldn’t stay there for the whole night, could I?” Turning sharply on the heels of his boots, he ran back and ran into the wall, but this time it did not glow and was an ordinary stone wall, without the feeling of flowing water due to its smoothness. – What does it mean? Did I just sleep there? — Looking around, this cave seemed different to him, simply because there was not so much ives in it. – And where did all these leaves come from? Although, I couldn’t see them. But wait! — he shouted. — That’s the point, I didn’t see them! Looking around, he realized that he hadn’t seen what the cave looked like at all: usually he could describe the approximate size of the stone, its name, color, but then, apparently at night, he saw nothing but a self-illuminating path. – Um…, — looking up for the first time, he discovered that there was no hole into which he had fallen yesterday. — Ooh, there’s so much that doesn’t fit in now. He looked around with an uncomprehending look, looking for answers, but it did not appear, and then it was simply one option — to return to the ship. “He won’t sail away without me, will he? Although, who knows.” The street, dotted with shops, bars or just houses, did not open up right away, in front of the entrance to the cave there was a simple alley with a low stone fence. The buildings were the same as in Santa Cruz, just the streets were not so dirty, there were no drunks stinking a mile away, and in general the people looked tidier. How could you even say that about a port favored by pirates. Although it was possible to notice that there were many more people in uniform. Someone was so desperate that they were ready to stop here? And Sparrow would gladly just quietly slip between everyone, but his plan was not destined to come true. – Hey there, Jack! Appearing from surprise, he quickly shook his head in search of the source of the sound. Those guys should not know his name, who then… – Already on your way back, huh? Finally, having determined the source of the sound, Sparrow saw a young man in a British uniform walking towards him. – Uh huh, y-yeah! – How was it, ev’rything’s fine? — He asked with a smile. It was not feigned, but at the same time it was unusual to see it, usually the king’s servants had to be disciplined and not express emotions. – Oh, simply amazing! — He waved his hand, — he said. Jack had no idea that something amazing was about to happen, but it would be better not to go into details. – Wonderful! Commander Beckett is already waiting for you. Well, see ya, — patting the pirate on the shoulder, he said goodbye and moved forward on his business. – Yeah, — Jack answered uncertainty. “Beck-kett? Who again?” Passing by the shops, Jack did not focus much on them, that is, he looked at them, of course, at the visitors, but did not look at them. It didn’t matter who that guy was, or who Beckett was, or what his rank was, it was more important to find a harbor, and with it his father. There shouldn’t be any difficulties, right? He thought so until he saw not a single familiar ship in the wharf. Unlike those he remembered, they were all in good condition, not noticed as after a thousand battles and unpatched, and some of them even had British flags flying. – Okay, no big deal… I’ll just go first one way, then the other, — Jack whispered under his breath, turning around. — So what, you don’t know which way to go the first time, or what? As he examined the ships one by one, Sparrow realized that he had never seen a pirate flag among them, although it should be the predominant one. You could even say more, this is not someone’s place, it’s just. A trading. District. In the meaning, a pier for merchants: the ships had a minimum of weapons, a minimum of cannons, but preference was given to boxes filled with goods, which took up almost all the free space. “Okay, let’s admit it, as if I paid much attention to the area we were in”, he tried to calm himself down, although panic was gradually emerging. – Jack! There you are! Hearing that they called him, he did not flinch noticeably, only tensed up from the fact that too many people knew his name. Having identified the person who called him, he noticed a man with a white wig. He was standing on the ship, but apparently did not want to shout back, so he went to the bulwarks, closer to Jack. Jack decided to stand for a while longer for safety, so as not to give away his ignorance of what was happening, waiting for the stranger to continue the conversation. – How was your trip? – Amazing! I would even say, I was very lucky! — Sparrow shouted a couple of phrases, and then bit his tongue, because apparently he had to do something, and everyone remembered it except him. He was already feverishly thinking about what else he could say that was vague, that is, how to say a lot and nothing to say on the subject at the same time, when he suddenly heard a familiar voice. – Are you back yet, Jackie? A smile appeared on his face, but then incomprehension froze in his eyes: the man who appeared looked completely different. The clothes were more reminiscent of a uniform than a pirate outfit in an indefinite style, the hairstyle, although reminiscent of the one he remembered, was still different. – Ah, yeah, — Jack answered anyway. Both men continued to look at him, expecting something, and apparently it was the right ship. Although Sparrow did not recognize it at all, since Edward was on it, he could just stand next to it, and after a while they would just return together, so he quickly ran onto the ship, standing in front of them. The two continued to look at Jack, waiting for him to tell them everything himself. “It’s not very good, and what should I tell them?” – Maybe you’ll say something to us? — Teague spoke first, it seemed he was not interested in waiting for his son to tell him himself. Even if he did not know what to say. – Oh, yeah. So, um… It was very interesting! — Jack stated, meeting his father’s eyes with complete incomprehension of what he said. Edward blinked a couple of times, but continued to smile. He extended his hand, saying: – And?.. Sparrow, noticing this gesture, realized that they had sent him not just to chat, but to bring something. And if he didn’t say something now to delay the moment of reporting in the form of the physical presence of something, then perhaps he could get into trouble. “Although, maybe a statement that I don’t understand what’s going on will save me? Well, if they believe me at all.” – Oh, that can wait, — it took him a split second to think over all the options that came to mind, and he settled on “giving it to him later.” And so that no one would distract him with questions again, he walked along the deck to the stairs leading to the lower tiers. Beckett’s eyes reflected a slight misunderstanding of what was happening; he, like Teague, could not understand the reason for Jack’s strange behavior. “He’s always been strange, according to one side or the other, but today he’s definitely different” The young pirate would have gone down into the hold, or simply gone to the cabin, waiting, if a cat hadn’t stood in his way, which he immediately noticed. – Waah! Kitty, kitty, kitty! — He immediately exclaimed joyfully, grabbing the skinny cat in his arms. She immediately responded with a loud “meow!” and grabbed him with her claws. — Uuh, where are you going with your claws? Waa, fluffy cat, — Jack whispered more quietly, starting to stroke the animal, and it responded with a loud song. “Or not” The men watching him smiled even more from what they saw, the boy had a weakness for purring creatures, and God forbid they end up on an island full of cats, he would approach any of them! So much so that he had to allow an hour or two for the journey, because he would catch up with anyone who ran away from him. Teague approached his son, bending slightly, and asked: – So everything is okay? Jack, distracted from stroking the cat, looked at him in surprise, and then nodded: – Yes, yes, everything is okay, — answered Sparrow and again pressed the cat to his head, spinning with her: — Okay-okay-okay!

***

Jack settled down on the barrel, still holding the cat on his lap, while she purred loudly and did not unhook her claws from his pants. Another ship sailed into the port and began to dock, and Jack would not have paid any attention to it if Edward and another man, who was probably the commander of what-was-his-name-again, had not shown disappointment, caused by either fear or disgust. Turning his head, he also watched the arriving ship, looking from the ship to the two of them. – And I told you it was a bad idea, — the man in the wig spoke first. – Don’t worry so much, this is the only decent port around. Be thankful it’s not Tortuga. Hearing the familiar place, Jack perked up. “Wait… Why ‘not’? What’s going on here…” Not understanding what was wrong with this ship, he decided to ask: – Is something wrong? – No, everything is more than fine, — Edward was the first to answer, turning his head towards the ship again. — There was a chance, but it was minimal. I would never believe that he came here for plunder, otherwise he would have come at night. – He doesn’t care at all what time of day the battle begins. He will come at dawn or under cover of night, it’s all the same. The ship stopped in a free place only three ships away from the one they were on, that is, at a sufficient distance to be able to see the sailors walking there and their captain, whose black--haired head appeared a little later, coming out of the “cover” of the crew members surrounding him. While Beckett and Teague looked sideways at the arriving ship, hoping that they would remain unnoticed for at least a moment, their plans were shattered by one loud, high--pitched cry that drove into a stupor not only the subjects of the British fleet, but also the owner of the ship with the black flag. – Armando! Hearing the shout of their captain, the members of the ship of the Silent Mary, who were near the captain, opened their eyes in surprise, turning towards the source of the sound. Captain Salazar himself stood, raising his eyebrows, not understanding who could have called out to him, and even so familiarly. Jack, without waiting for him to look in his direction, jumped up from the barrel, and rushed through all the ships, gliding along the deck of the pirate galleon, stopping, albeit with slight difficulty, right in front of the Spaniard. – Hi!