Another day had passed aboard La Vieja Ana, everyone woke up suddenly and went to work, they seemed to have a natural instinct to achieve such a group display, because not even Ron's screams were necessary.
'Today, you can do it!' Ricardo encouraged himself in his mind, while he woke up and went out on the deck, and everything that had to be prepared was done last night, now he only had to move the first gears so that the whole mechanism would start to work.
"Another long day, do you think we'll make it, Ricardo?" Taras asked, looking at the unfurled sails.
“No,” Ricardo replied with some sorrow on his face.
"Ha ha ha ... Because of that lack of attitude, I'm sure we'll make it" Taras laughed as he went to work with some ropes to prepare the sail.
"And why do you think we won't make it, Ricardo?" Taras asked with some concern, killing the laughter rather abruptly.
"Tell me, do you have any tricks to change someone's mind? Because I have no way of convincing someone who wants to die…" Ricardo said, as he helped with the ropes.
"Last night I thought I could change the world, today I woke up and found reality. We are doomed, Taras" Ricardo said, patting the old man on the back.
"Well, talking can convince people, maybe you should sit down and have a good talk with the person you want to convince not to kill himself," Taras said, looking at the horizon.
"And you have a plan to get out alive, Taras?" Ricardo asked, looking at the horizon next to the old man.
"Of course I have a plan, if not, why would I be so relaxed?" Taras answered with a smile.
"And what is the plan, or are you just going to pretend to have one? ... Ha, ha, ha" Ricardo asked, tying some knots from the ropes of the already deployed sails.
"..." But Taras didn't reply, he continued working with hesitation.
"If you can't tell me here, better tell me in the kitchen at night, at this rate, the captain is really going to kill us like you feared" Ricardo murmured to Taras.
"Yes, better at night, there are many people here, Ricardo" Taras murmured with some concern
Both separated after arranging the meeting, they couldn't risk talking about it anymore on the cover.
Ricardo went to help Ron with his knots. Ron always took more work than the rest, but his body could take more, so he was still in good shape.
"Ron, help you with this?" Ricardo asked, helping him and not waiting for the answer.
"You should conserve your energy, cabin boy, two weeks seems like a short time, but it's enough for these shattered souls" Ron said sadly looking at the sailors working like slaves on the deck, luckily everything would be over soon...
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"I think it doesn't matter, I doubt we'll make it Ron, it seems the end of the journey is near at this rate" Ricardo said as he continued to help Ron
"Ha ha ha, you lack spirit, I know it seems that all is lost, but that's just what the sea wants you to think, 'we humans are too weak, to allow ourselves to lower our arms so quickly' you know that phrase, guy". Ron said trying to encourage the cabin boy, in this last week Ricardo had become the soul of the ship, without his jokes, food, positive attitude and casual chats, more than one sailor would have really died. The boy couldn't lose faith, otherwise everyone would lose their pillar of support and collapse.
"No, I never heard it, but it seems like a good phrase... who said it?" Ricardo commented with a sad face.
"Ha ha ha, really? He's the only human god worth remembering 'big brother', do you know the story of him?" Ron asked, but I didn't expect Ricardo to answer, he was afraid that the conversation would die with a simple 'yes'.
"When humanity went through the darkest moments, a hero always appeared to save us and all humans followed that great beacon of hope, that great beacon was the big brother. More than a god he was a spiritual guide, but he is loved more than to other gods" Ron answered himself with a big smile.
"But he died" answered Ricardo flatly who knew the story
"He can't die, boy! You can't kill the hope of humanity! Because he lives in my heart and in the hearts of all men who remember him, as long as someone is willing to follow in his footsteps. He will become the next big brother, and will guide us in the moments where everything seems impossible!". Ron yelled, grabbing Ricardo's shoulders and staring into his eyes.
"Boy, do you know why I am telling you this story? Because you are the big brother of this ship! If you lower your arms today, all these bastards die tomorrow, they only stay alive thanks to the will to try to survive all the coast you broadcast, boy! You have to keep up your fight, not for yourself, but for all your brothers, like your big brother did!"
'Shit, the bastard is good with speeches...' Ricardo thought, as he wiped the tears that were on his face, to continue his master plan.
"That's why Ron ..." Ricardo wanted to say something to follow his plan that he had been preparing all week, but he noticed that a sailor behind him patted him on the back and with a few-toothed smile told him : "Take Them Home, Big Brother"
Ricardo felt a chill and was silent, looking at Ron in front of him for a while. Then he slowly turned around, to see who was the sailor that he had felt on his back, but there was no one, tears began to flow from his face, because he would swear that he had heard Lucas's voice giving him cheers.
Ricardo turned around, with a determined look and sending to hell the plan he had organized for a week, he shouted at the top of his lungs as if he were looking to challenge the seas: "That's why Ron we're going to get out alive, we always do it!"
'Shit, what the fuck did I just do…I was supposed to get Ron to help me, using my lack of will to live as an excuse…now what the fuck am I going to do to get out alive. You're a flower of an idiot Ricardo, you let yourself be deluded by Ron's words and you hear a murmur in your head, I'm going to die...' Ricardo reflected, but his thoughts were suddenly stopped by Ron's words.
"Yes... yes... We're going to get out alive, we always do" Ron murmured somewhat dazedly looking behind Ricardo, because he could have sworn he'd heard a dead man say big brother to this boy in front of him.
A scream resounded from Ron's back, tearing his ears from behind, even more stunned Ron turned to see the dying sailors, they were all kneeling looking at Ricardo, as if what they had in front of them was not a sailor, but the resplendent beacon that illuminates your path home.
"The big brother is alive, listen to him, whore! Humans still have gods!!" Dima shouted like a lunatic looking at the sky, opening his arms as if looking to embrace the sun.
Taras was silent looking around, especially at the captain's reaction, but the captain was heading to his cabin, so he could only see his back.