19. Joy
JOY
“Perhaps this is a road we should not have tread.”
- JOY WHEN DISCUSSING THE JOURNEY AHEAD.
Istared at the strangers retreating figure. Alias, that’s what he said his name was. Florence stood behind me, her hazel eyes watching the figure intensely.
“Do you know who that girl is?” she asked as I stared at the picture taped to the nearest stall.
“Raya.” Her name sounded oddly familiar in my mouth, almost like something clicking into place. I didn’t know how I knew but there was no doubt in my mind she was Raya. I knew it in the center of my very being. Florence shook her head, looking over at Erin and Jodie, their mouths open, shouting their bids.
“We need to focus,” I turned, walking toward the sisters. “If the boat is docking before sunrise, we must be quick.”
Jodie turned at our voices, holding out a large sack filled with canned beans, fruit, bread, cheese, and rum.
“Rum?” I rose an eyebrow.
“You might not be a ‘real’ pirate,” she mimicked the word with her fingers, “but we are.” Erin couldn’t help the smile on her face as she rolled her eyes.
“We have food and… rum, but what of the boat?” I turned to Florence. “Do you know what is aboard?” I asked.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t check the contents before I stole the damn thing!” She spoke in a harsh whisper. I flinched as her words but stayed quiet. She had been tense since Alias had spoken to us, looking around every so often to check on the people surrounding us.
“Look, there is a stall across the way.” I pointed to a stall at the other side of the market. “Harlow will notice us gone sooner rather than later, I will get some supplies and meet you at the marina, climb aboard, and sail at first light.” I began walking toward the stall.
“You’re not going alone.” Florence grabbed my wrist.
“Only you know what the ship looks like, and I am not separating the sisters,” I smiled softly. “I will be back before first light, I promise.” I squeezed her hand.
“And if you are not?”
“Then,” I looked down at the necklace between my breasts, “save Jameson for me, please.” I turned on my heel and fled, not daring to look back. I knew Florence would take them to the ship.
But I didn’t know if she would forgive me for leaving her.
I jogged through the market, determined to make it to the stall and back well before sunrise, making the space between us and Captain Harlow as big as possible. The market had thinned out ever so slightly as I finally made it to the large wooden table. An older man sat behind the counter.
“Rope, please, rope, lanterns, binoculars, sage…” I searched the stall. “A map, yes, a map… please.” My breath was shallow, and a thin sheen of sweat coated my entire body. The sun would rise within the hour. I bobbed on my feet as the elderly man packed the bag agonizingly slowly.
I jogged back to the place I had left Florence, counting my steps to steady my heart.
But nothing was familiar, everything looked different.
“It’s the curse of the city,” a women in a purple headdress spoke from behind a stall, a crystal ball in her hands. I heaved the bag in her direction.
“Curse?”
“Everybody gets lost from time to time,” she spoke again, her voice wistful and strange. I smiled tightly, attempting to walk away.
“You know her, Joy.” I spun at the sound of my name.
“How do you know my name?” I pointed a finger in her direction.
“How does the sun know when she must sleep?” She petted a kitten perched on her matching purple tablecloth.
I knew the sun would rise soon; I knew that I was wasting my time but something inside me pushed me forward.
“Would you like to make a deal, Joy?” Her eyes met mine. “It seems as though you need some guidance.” I stared at her wrinkled face, despite the years she was beautiful and vibrant.
“What kind of deal?”
“I’ll tell you three truths.” She eyed the crystal ball lazily.
“And what do you want in return?” I straightened my back.
“A favor.”
“What kind of favor?”
“Oh you needn’t worry about that now, I do not need anything yet.” She smiled brightly.
I knew this was a mistake, I knew not to get involved with those who knew too much—witches… or those who claimed to be.
I nodded my head.
She reached out and took my palm, slicing a jeweled dagger across it, and deep crimson blood splashed my white trousers. She lifted some blood with her knife, stashing it in a small vile.
“For safe keeping,” she said with a wink. I stared at my now scarred hand, smearing the blood with the pad of my thumb.
“What will you do with it?” I asked wearily.
“I thought you were in a rush?” She rose an eyebrow.
“It’s true, I haven’t much time,” I said, looking at the still dark sky. “Will you tell me?” I asked softly. “The three truths.”
She smiled and her voice filled the entire space around us as I sucked in a breath.
“One,” I cringed as her voice became ethereal. “If you find what you seek, and seek what you find, the lines will blur, and your paths will become entwined.”
Her breathy voice rang through my entire body. Seek? Blur? Entwined? It was foolish to expect anything other than nonsense from an old crone. Her voice echoed again. “Two…” For some reason my heart began to beat faster than before, slamming against my rib cage. “Once fair, strong, and wise, with hair of gold and bluest eyes, her once guarded heart will be her demise.” My face crumbled in confusion and I played with a strand of my brown hair, this woman was surely insane.
“Three…” She leaned closer toward me. “The most important one, Joy.” She smiled through gaped teeth. “If the seed of doubt is planted and you nourish it so, the truth will remain buried, unable to grow.”
I stared at her, unable to fathom the time I had wasted listening to the strangers’ riddles. She handed me a piece of parchment, the same words she had spoken written down neatly. I hadn’t seen her reach for a quill or begin to write.
“What are you?” I asked, folding the paper and sliding it into my pocket.
“You must not waste time asking of things you already know,” she smiled again. “You must make haste, for the ship will leave at dawn, head east and you will find the dock.” She stood, beginning to pack away her stall.
“Hurry, Joy!” she shouted and my body began to move.
I ran through the market quicker than I ever though imaginable. It was as though the winds themselves pushed at my back.
I sent a prayer up to the Goddess.
Gold split the night as the sun began to rise behind me, the dawn chased me as I neared the docks. Florence would leave at sunrise, and as soon as light hit the ground Harlow would know we had stolen from him. And so my only option was to run, to race the sunlight and hope that its rays did not catch me.
My feet pounded into the ground and my heart raced. The light lingered behind me.
I wasn’t going to make it.
The shadow of dawn danced around my feet.
I would not win this race.
But then a sound entered my mind, a whisper so soft one might think it was the wind.
Just this once, Joy.
The withered witch’s voice was there and then gone before I could take another breath.
The daylight at my feet began to draw back, it slithered backward giving me the advantage. The woman, she was pulling back the day, she was slowing down time, slowing down everything but me. The customers and sellers began to slow, their movements tired and soft. I raced through the last of the market, my feet hitting the fragile wood of the docks. I stopped, catching my breath. Hundreds of boats littered the waters around me and just as it had slowed down, time began again. I turned to watch the day race towards me, all of this could not have been for nothing. I heaved the heavy sack back into my arms, sighing at the weight.
It was foolish of me to think I could save Jameson. I couldn’t even outrun the sun. Doubt flooded me.
I couldn’t save Lolita and I couldn’t save Jameson.
Tears threatened to fall as the day light crept closer. I choked on a sob.
“JOY!” I turned at the noise, Erin stood atop a grand ship, her arms waving frantically. Relief flooded me.
“There!” a male voice shouted from behind me, I spun, meeting Captain Harlow’s gaze.
“Did you think you could get away from me, Killer?” he shouted, dominance oozing from his every pore.
“JOY!” Erin screamed again. “RUN!”
And I did.
I pushed all my energy into the distance between me and the ship. Harlow and his crew were not long behind me, their grunts and shouts brushing against my skin.
I held tightly onto the straps of the bag, every so often resting my hand over my pocket to ensure the parchment of riddles still resided in there.
Florence, Erin, and Jodie stood at the ship’s rear, shouting for me.
I was so close.
“You cannot escape me, Joy!” Harlow taunted from behind me, his fun-loving demeanor gone.
Florence pulled down the sail as I pounded up the gangway and the ship began to move. I had to make the jump.
“Florence! She’s not aboard yet,” Jodie shouted to Florence as she stirred the ship. My breath became ragged.
“She will make it,” Florence shouted back, her confidence pushing me on. I leapt from the gangway to the ship and time stopped. The jump seemed to last forever.
With a jolt I landed on the deck, my legs dangling over the edge. Harlow’s men jumped after me, all of them landing in the clear waters below. Erin and Jodie heaved me aboard, my bag of supplies with me.
“This isn’t over,” Captain Harlow sang in an odd tune, and he began to skip in a circle like a child performing a dance for his parents.
Something cold and wrong slithered into my heart and I knew in my core that he was right. This wasn’t over.