A Fuego Lento

Lucas and Ricardo were on deck doing their chores as cabin boys.

After a while, Ricardo had finally been lowered from the mast, although his mouth still tasted like dirty rags, so he worked in the kitchen to try to get this taste out of his mouth with some food.

"If we get out of this alive... I swear to my family that I'm getting off this fucking shitty ship" Ricardo complained while he worked, "They always have to take it out on the two of us"

"To top off Ron's bastard, I confiscate the rusty knife…"

"Since I'm supposed to be a danger to others... and he sends me to the kitchen full of knives..."

"That old man couldn't be more stupid, all because I didn't pay him for the fucking caps that day..."

Lucas didn't answer, he didn't seem to be in the mood to talk as he worked.

"It is better that we put the best ingredients in this meal..." Ricardo commented opening a box full of jars with spices "... that this could be our last dinner"

But Lucas still didn't answer, only the sound of work answered for him.

"Did the disappearance of the boys shock you a lot, Lucas?" Ricardo asked when he noticed that Lucas seemed to be more depressed than usual.

But only an uncomfortable silence was filling the room, and the noises of work were beginning to be annoying for the young cabin boy.

Noticing that Lucas did not respond, Ricardo continued:

"Rather dead, then missing… I doubt they are alive…"

"The captain said that just to create hope and for the crew to continue to listen to him"

"Every time I get to know that old bastard more and more... Something strange had to be in him to have survived in this sea until that age"

"I hope he manages to save our asses... I don't want to die, I just left home, I still have a lot of world to discover"

But Lucas didn't answer, he had already started cooking his part of the food, so the silence became even more awkward.

"What a fool I was to get on this ship... I should have listened to my older brother and joined a fucking mercantile fleet, not a single shitty ship" Ricardo complained, putting his part to cook.

Ricardo, sitting next to Lucas who remained silent looking at the fire, he continued.

"But as a good little brother, I just wanted to show my parents that I could achieve everything in this life without their help and escape from home without taking a measly badge"

"I wanted to be the next ancestor who would be worshiped by future generations, as our grandfather did when he conquered our island, but now I realize that the stories only tell the celebration feast and not the tears, blood, and sweat that grandfather wasted to get it"

"At least that gave me the freedom I was looking for, but I think they scammed me with the cost I paid for this shitty freedom I'm living"

Lucas didn't answer, he just looked at the fire, trying to ignore Ricardo's existence and hypnotizing himself by the dancing flames.

Ricardo, noticing that his friend was not feeling very well, went along with it and stopped talking to hypnotize himself by the fire as well.