The end of a crew...PART 2 (THE END)
(while reading this chapter, please listen to : Tanaka Mayumi : Binks no Sake)
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It was dark. Maybe I could go back to Rough Tell now, if only to see them again… one last time. I should give them a funeral worthy of their name.
I swam back to the island. The water was incredibly soft, caressed by the rays of the moon, which seemed to be watching me with a protective eye. The distance between me and my companions struck me as so ridiculous that I wondered if Teach had let me escape. I touched the ground only a few minutes after waking up. I saw that Teach's ship had disappeared: he must have left the island. I took off my pants soaked in water that was hindering my movements and followed my footsteps in order to find the place of the fight without difficulty. It was with horror that I discovered the scene.
The island was ravaged. The burnt down houses were nothing more than a macabre ruin; the fire had spread to the forest and the trees were nothing more than heaps of burnt wood. The traces of a merciless battle remained on the ravaged ground and the bodies of charred men, women and children littered the earth. I felt my throat tighten when I saw a small, fragile body whose hairs were half roasted. His hat was nothing more than a heap of ash and his antlers were torn off. Next to him I saw a body covered with blisters, which would have been unrecognizable if his nose had not been spared. Behind him, two bodies, one on top of the other. The one above seemed to want to protect the woman he was hugging. A few blond hair lingered on his uncovered scalp, and one last cigarette slowly roasted in his mouth. Not far away, piled up metallic objects supported a single skull, decked out in an entirely intact afro cut. A little further away lay an almost completely charred body, identifiable by its three gold buckles and its hand which was gripping a katana forcefully out of its scabbard. Finally, at my feet, a straw hat hiding a face distorted by the flames. His body was covered with blisters and only his left arm had been spared. In front of me, the annihilated crew lay on the ground of a lost battle.
I began to pick up the bodies when an intense pain was felt in my stomach. I coughed violently and was amazed to find blood flowing from my mouth. I realized then that my hope of survival had been a pathetic illusion created by my fear of death. I had lost too much blood, received too much blow to be able to survive. I was going to die here, with my companions. After all, it wasn't any worse.
I took the body of my captain and walked to a point untouched by the flames.
'Binkusu no sake wo'
The melody we were all singing together crept into my head.
'Todoke ni yuku yo
Umikaze, kimakase'
I put the body down and walked back to the crew. I grabbed the skull and brought it to the same place.
'Nami Makase
Shio no mukou de'
My voice was shaky. I made several round trips, delicately carrying each of my friends. I lined up the bodies next to each other. Then, I lay down beside them, continuing this melody and these words which permeated in me.
'Yuuhi mo sawagu
Sora nya, wa wo kaku
Tori no uta
Sayonara minato
Tsumugi no sato yo
Don to icchou utao
Funade no uta
Kinpa-ginpa mo
Shibuki ni kaete
Oreiachya yuku zo
Umi no kagiri
Binkusu no sake wo
Todoke ni yuku yo
Warera kaizoku
Umi watteku
Nami wo makura ni
Negura wa fune yo
Ho ni hata ni
Ketateru wa dokuro
Arashi ga kitazo
Senri no sora ni
Nami ga odoru yo
Doramu narase
Okubyou kaze ni
Fukarerya saigo
Asu no asahi ga
Nai ja nashi
Yo-ho-ho-ho Yo-ho-ho-ho,
Yo-ho-ho-ho Yo-ho-ho-ho,
Yo-ho-ho-ho Yo-ho-ho-ho,
Yo-ho-ho-ho Yo-ho-ho-ho,
Binkusu no sake wo
Todoke ni yuku yo
Kyou ka asu ka to
Yoi no yume
Te wo furu kage ni
Mou are nai yo
Nani wo kuyoku yo
Asu mo tsuku yo
Binkusu no sake wo
Todoke ni yuku yo
Don to icchou utaou
Unaba no uta
Douse daredemo
Itsuka wa hone yo
Hatenashi atenashi
Warai banashi
Yo-ho-ho-ho Yo-ho-ho-ho,
Yo-ho-ho-ho Yo-ho-ho-ho,
Yo-ho-ho-ho Yo-ho-ho-ho,
Yo-ho-ho-ho Yo-ho-ho-ho'