On a certain island, a few years ago

"Elma?" She opened her eyes, to find Jackie staring at her with his big blue eyes. "Jeez, don't push your stupid face so close to mine!" She pushed him away and sat up. The evening breeze felt nice on her brown hair, and made the shimmering green grass dance and sway.

"Well, excuse me! We can't sit around near the woods all day, you know!" Jackie got up, and ran down the hill, his blonde hair whipping around behind him in the breeze.

"Hey! Wait for me!"

Elma took off after him. As she ran, she couldn't help but look behind nervously. It was starting to get dark, and the shadows of the tall pine trees were stretching longer and longer across the ground. There were stories of a witch's house beyond the woods, so nobody dared go that way.

Jackie ran across the grassy plain just ahead of his small hometown of Rennin. There were some villagers working around town, most of them packing away supplies before the coming storms. November always brought forth a few days of heavy rain.

He ignored the usual unsettled looks from the villagers at him, and rushed towards Grandpa Howie's home. "Grandpa! Got anything tasty today?"

Howie was a former navy officer and the chief of the town. He was plump, muscular, and had a kind, grandpa-like face covered with a surprisingly soft silver beard, thus his nickname of "Grandpa". He loved giving treats to kids in the town, like Jackie or Elma.

"You're getting a bit old for biscuits now, Jackie. 15 years old now, aren't you?" He asked, and dropped a good amount of chocolate cookies into Jackie's hands. "Yeah. But I hope you keep giving me these. They taste amazing!"

As he walked away munching on them, Elma ran upto him. "Hey...you...owe me some too!" She gasped, and bent over with her hands on her knees. Jackie stared at her and laughed. "You're way too weak, Elma. You really should build up some muscle!"

She glared at him, but didn't contradict his sentence because she knew it was true. She really did have bad stamina. "Just shut up. Let's go over to the boatyard and see if we can catch some fish." Jackie looked up at the sky as they walked. It was quite windy, and there were some clouds in the sky.

"Hmmm...I think it's going to rain tonight." He said as he skipped along the wooden pathway near the edge of the island, staring at the movement of the waves and currents of the sea. As usual, Elma was surprised by the sudden predictions Jackie constantly made while looking out at the ocean.

I suppose being a bookworm does have its advantages.

There were always fishing rods for people who wanted to have a go, stored neatly in a small wooden shed. The two children took one each, and stuck their fishing rods into the soft sand just under the pathway.

As they lay down on the wooden planks, Elma noticed Jackie staring at the ships, anchored just a few dozen yards from where they were. Quite a few villagers and workers walked around crates and lifted large boxes to and from carrier ships.

"Oi, Elma. Do you reckon I could take one of those ships out to sea one day?" His voice held a conviction that she had heard several times before.

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"Goodness. Nope, you'd probably drown. Or get shot. You want to be a pirate, don't you?" Jackie laughed and shook his head. "As if a real pirate will just drown in the sea. I can swim, you know. And once I get my hands on that book, I can learn swordsmanship!"

She sighed wearily. Sometimes, Jackie was way too immature for his own good. She could hardly believe he was actually three years older than him. He was stupid, immature, insensible, and yet...and yet...

"....Don't go."

Jackie was startled out of his wits to hear this from Elma of all people. He turned his head, and saw a sad, wistful expression on her face. "If you're gonna become a pirate and run around the world...I'll be all alone here. There's just the two of us, nobody else."

Elma knew in her heart that she was asking for too much. Jackie was constantly being bullied, yelled at, and treated as a ticking time bomb because of his parents. The two of them were pirates, after all, and this island had constantly been ravaged by pirates from all over the world seeking shelter and food. Usually stealing it from them.

Jackie's reaction caught her off-guard. He sat up and grinned at her. "So you don't want to be alone, huh?" She nodded, and accidentally let out a sob.

"Then join my crew!"

Huh? Her eyes widened, and suddenly, to her eyes, Jackie seemed ten times older. The fading orange sunlight made his face shine as he raised his hand to her.

You've had a tough life too, Elma. I know...all the things your mother does to you. Jackie thought.

You don't deserve to live this way.

But Elma closed her eyes and turned her head the other way, hiding her smile. "Nope! Impossible. A girl? Become a pirate?" Actually angry now, Jackie tugged on her long hair.

"Owwwwww!" She squealed and sat up, rubbing her head in pain.

"What the heck are you talking about, huh? Why shouldn't you become a pirate because you're a girl? There's no written law like that, you know. Pirates make their own rules!" Elma couldn't help it, and broke out in a big, teary-eyed smile.

He continued, "And if you don't want to go because you're afraid to die, you aren't pirate material. Pirates almost always die at sea, you know?" Elma wiped her tears on her elbow and shook her head.

"Why would I fear death? The only thing I'm scared of is being alone."

Jackie still wasn't satisfied. "First, you're gonna stop crying. A real pirate doesn't cry. And second, we're definitely gonna set sail together. I'll tie you up and toss you in my getaway ship if I have to!" He stared back at the shipyard again.

"I've already decided on when. When I turn 21, I'll set sail. And you're gonna come with me."

"We're gonna find El Dorado together!"

Those words pierced through Elma. Even several years later, it was not the words themselves that gave her chills, but the manner with which he said them.

With all the confidence of someone who had found El Dorado several times over. A glittering, dreamy look in his blue eyes. A determined smile with his hand on her head.

"I know for sure that his words are true. John Cabot surely did discover that island of gold on his way to America! I'll find it if it kills me...and I'll take you with me if I have to drag you tied up with a rope!" He grinned, and pulled her up.

Elma shook her head. "That fairy tale again. I can't believe you still think you have his diary with you. Someone probably wrote all that crap as a trick, you know?" Jackie smacked her face lightly.

"Have you seen that book? Even old Grandpa said it had to be at least a couple hundred years old. It fits the year he found America."

He looked out at the glimmering horizon, the orange sun setting just beyond it. "I'm going to go out there someday. That book said El Dorado was just East of the Antille Islands. I've got to see if it's true." Elma chuckled, still disbelieving of this.

Thousands of people have travelled to those islands and back. If that island was there, it would've been found by now. What she thought was logical, especially since it had been exactly 250 years since America had been discovered, in 1497.

But as always, Jackie used his iron will to deny everyone and everything. He pointed his finger to the darkening purple sky. "See that? People from hundreds of years ago used to think those lights in the sky were gods...but we explored the skies from here, with telescopes. We found the reality of the lights! Elma, we'll find the reality of the seas together, just like those astronomers."

He smiled a melancholic, earnest smile as he looked up at the sky. Elma watched him smile in a stunned silence.

"The lights in the sky...are stars!"