* * *
The crowd of well wishers had thinned somewhat, but a few men still slapped him on the shoulder and wished him well. Leef hardly heard or felt them. All he wanted was to be alone. In a matter of two hours, he had gone from a sense of elation and the feeling of having a world of possibilities to one where he saw no future. His father had officially retired, his brother had taken the results of three years’ labor, and he was without a job, a home and future.
He looked back at Herv. Perhaps Herv would be willing to take him on as a deckhand? But no, it had cost him a month’s wages to convince Herv to take him on this last trip. Herv was no rich man, and he knew he couldn’t afford to hire Leef for his trawler. And most, if not all, of the fishers were in the same situation. No, the only answer was for Leef to go into business for himself.
And the answer to that—he realized—was to do the unthinkable.
Leef walked away from the wharf, buried in his own grief. He hardly saw the young girl that stood where the wharf ended and the string of shops along the harbor begun. He started to step past her, but she stepped in front of him.
“Excuse me,” she said in halting Common. “I am looking for passage to Sparta.”
“I can’t help you,” Leef mumbled. “Try one of the captains on the wharf.”
“I have tried,” she said. “I have tried them all. No one will help me.”
Leef shook his head, annoyed by the girl’s persistence.
“Trades are blowing the wrong way this time of year,” he said. “I don’t blame them.”
“Yes, but,” she said, insistently. “My name in Mara. My brother was kidnapped. I need to get to Sparta to get him back.”
“Take it up with the police in Sparta. Oh, that’s right, you need to get to Sparta. Sorry, can’t help you.”
“Look, I don’t have much money, but I will gladly pay you later for passage. But I need it right away.”
“Listen girl,” Leef said. “What part of no don’t you understand?”
“I can’t afford to accept no,” she said, tears coming to her eyes. “I’m all out of options.”
Leef nodded. “I know exactly how you feel. Sometimes you have to do the wrong thing for the right reasons. Sorry.”
He stepped past her and walked away.