"And tell me what you did in church?" Ricardo asked, trying to liven up the atmosphere in the kitchen a bit.

Lucas stopped his task and looking at the vegetables he had in his hand, somewhat nervously, replied "Hey!... In the church... In the church..." The vegetables fell from his hand and he started looking for them.

"In the church he was an initiate, so he did the tasks of an initiate" Lucas said redundantly with the vegetables back in his hand

"And we boys do things like boys too... Ha, ha, ha" Ricardo said somewhat ironically

"Well, the truth is that an initiate is not very different from a cabin boy" Lucas said somewhat thoughtfully as he resumed his task

"You wake up early and clean the church, then you do the task assigned by your superior... although the work is lighter and people treat you better"

"Now that I think about it, we are both initiated into something" Ricardo commented as he proceeded to cut the octopus.

"Yes ..... although you are much younger, you have a whole life ahead of you ..." Lucas commented as he put the vegetables in a large pot that was on the clay stove and something more subdued commented "I started late because of misfortune"

"In the church there are many boys who were practically raised by the priests to be their successors.... I don't have many opportunities to stop being an initiate"

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"In the church it is quite complicated to climb positions being an initiate or your parents donate a large amount of money to give you a good teacher, or you embark on a suicide mission to promulgate your God in the marginal islands of some ocean" Ricardo said that he had found out something about the subject before beginning his profession as a sailor

"But a church initiate lives better than the vast majority of people, it's not that bad either" Ricardo commented, trying not to make the atmosphere depressing

"Yes... yes... I live better than before" Lucas replied with some illusion as he added a kind of strange pill to the fire that served as fuel, "As a nobleman, it wasn't more convenient for you to join the church? I mean, most humans live better on land than in the sea"

"Yes... I would probably be living better than now, I could also go to the army or be a merchant or even an adventurer" Ricardo said with some irony as he began to cook the pieces of octopus.

"But there is nothing freer than the ocean and having grown up locked, what I wanted most was to go far away... far away where they could never find me" Ricardo said a little excited

"Locked…?" Lucas asked without understanding what he meant.

"Yes, locked up in a mansion, but no matter how luxurious a prison is, it will always be a prison" Ricardo said "At the beginning I also regretted leaving... Now I live worse, I am poorer, and I have to clean up the vomit of a bunch of drunks"

"But I am freer than all those who continue to live in that mansion" Ricardo completed with some pride "I no longer have ties, I go where I want or where the ocean takes me"

"Wherever the ocean takes me..." Lucas repeated in a low voice, somewhat fascinated with the young man's story.

The two boys continued their work while happily talking about life and their past, preparing for the big party that was to come tonight.