Bitácora

And without hesitation, he said the name that best fit the definition of the captain:

"Lucas, ever since the siren attack, he's been acting completely different."

'Shit, I just shot myself in the foot' The captain seemed to have thought while showing a mocking smile. Lucas was his informant in the lower levels, he couldn't let them find out, otherwise people wouldn't act like they normally do in front of him.

'It's logical that Lucas is going to act differently, if he doesn't see them as friends anymore, for him, they are a bunch of lunatics who will kill him at any moment' Wiliam probably thought, but he couldn't say that to the young boy, so instead He said; "Okay, it's the most logical thing for that to happen, unlike the other sailors, Lucas spent a few months on this ship, it's normal that you don't know him completely"

"But Lucas before was always depressed, he said few words, and now he talks a lot and laughs quite often" Ricardo said, the more he believed it, the more he noticed that Lucas's personality had gradually changed since the attack.

'It's also normal, better to be the nice guy and not the one that everyone dislikes, if one is accompanied by potential assassins' Wiliam probably thought, but he couldn't say that to the young cabin boy, so instead he said: "It's normal Ricardo, Lucas came to this ship after a shipwreck and all his friends died, who would not be depressed in his place, with time the wounds healed, and now he is smiling again"

"You're right, really, if you think about it that way, his personality change fits well, the only thing I don't understand is why he always tries to be alone since the attacks, and he hasn't slept in the cabins with the rest for a long time "

'I wouldn't either if I were him...' Probably, Wiliam thought as he chuckled, but he couldn't say that to the young cabin boy, so instead he said:

"Ha, ha, ha... It's okay, Lucas came to see me personally to ask to sleep somewhere else until we reach the port, it seems that he became very fond of you and wants to break away little by little, in the end our paths are very different, Lucas will go to church, and we will go to the seas"

"I see, I feel a little bad for doubting my friend" Ricardo said with some sorrow.

"Ha, ha, ha… There's nothing to worry about, it's always a good practice to doubt, when you don't doubt, Ricardo" Said the captain with a smile full of satisfaction, seeing that the whole conversation went smoothly.

He stayed a few minutes in silence looking at Ricardo, then at his notebook and then at Ricardo again and said emphatically:

"Like Ricardo, if you notice someone who fits these conditions, come and tell me immediately and remember not to talk about this with others"

"Yes captain!" Ricardo answered automatically, he turned and went to the door to go out to continue doing his job. After fishing, the boys had many fish to gut in the kitchen.

But when he was about to leave, a voice interrupted him from behind him:

"Ricardo, there is something else I forgot to mention to you" Wiliam said looking at the young boy turning around.

"More than mentioning something to you, it is congratulating you on something, it is astounding that you have endured this entire trip being a cabin boy, you can believe me when I say that there are not many boys your age, who as soon as they leave their house manage to navigate these seas"

"And this is not an ordinary trip, we have really gone through a lot this time, most of the trips we only cry for a family and in this one we have to cry for half a neighborhood" Wiliam said looking for something in his cabinet.

The captain approached Ricardo with something in his hand, while he said with a smile:

"And yet, you have managed to be one of the best cabin boys I have seen in years, the vast majority would have cried and lowered their arms a long time ago, but you somehow always managed to keep fighting "

"Ricardo really congratulated you, I'll give you this notebook, believe me the only difference between a good captain and a bad one, is in the words written in his log" Said the captain handing him a black notebook, very similar to the one he always used.

"I'm sure if we make it out of this trip alive, you're going to end up becoming a great captain one day, and a great captain needs a good log, I hope you find it useful boy"

Ricardo accepted the log with trembling hands, it was a pity that without even using it for the first time, he had already stained it, but not with ink, but with tears, because finally the young cabin boy felt like a young sailor.