Chris descended from his perch when the last of the passengers boarded and the gangway, secured. He made his way to the bridge with long and purposeful strides. Crew and passengers alike gave way for the captain as he marched past them. When he entered the bridge, the crew stood at attention. With a simple wave of his hand, they all went back to their designated functions. Chief Bustamante waited for Chris to sit on the captain's chair before delivering a clipboard and his report. "All preparations have been made, there are nine hundred thousand passengers, and all crewmen are accounted for, Captain. We are ready to set sail."
Chris glances at the monitors on the panel surrounding him for a quick scan of the ship's systems. Once satisfied, he gives out his order, "Move the ship astern."
"Aye, captain, moving the ship astern." Martinez quickly replied.
Cecilia was in her cabin when she felt the liner move. She was changing into an elegant attire, preparing for her performance later.
"We are clear of the port captain," Martinez reported, waiting for Chris's next command.
"Take her out westward at full speed ahead," Chris commanded, looking over the horizon. The Twilight gracefully glided on the calm sea waters, as the ship approached the Kasanaan river, the once clear waters soon turned brackish, then the waters became as black as an abyss.
When Cecilia came out on the deck, she immediately felt the chill in the wind. She looked up into the sky. "The stars and constellations are different," she noticed, "We must be in the spirit world."
She was about to head to the Gold deck bar when she felt a tug on her dress. She looked down to see what it was, only to be startled by the ghostly apparition. "WAAAAHH! Please don't hurt me!" she screamed, pleading while cringing in a corner, her hands joined together over her bowed head.
Slowly, Cecilia lifted her head only to notice all the eyes staring at her. She then glanced at the ghost in front of her, realizing that it was a boy, and that he was on the verge of tears. "Wait! Wait! Did I scare you? Please don't cry," she said to calm the ghostly child. "Why are you crying? Is anything the matter?" she asked, despite the child being a ghost; she felt a pinch in her heart, a child is still a child after all, she thought.
The child sobbed, wiping the tears from his eyes. "My mommy, I can't find her. We arrived here together, but now I can't find her," the child continued to sob.
"Well, where did you last see your mommy?" Hoping the boy remembered something so that at least they would have a clue about where to look for the boy's mother. But the boy shook his head, making Cecilia realize that they might have to approach the captain to know which deck the mother was on. "Great, now I need to ask a favor from the last person I want to ask," she thought to herself. Extending her hand to the boy, she assured the child, "Let's go, I know someone who can tell where your mother is." The boy took Cecilia's hand, she resisted the urge to let go of the child because of the cold touch, instead she opened up with small talk to distract the child. "What is your name? I'm Cecilia," she introduced herself.
"Toby," the boy answered, "My name is Toby." The child repeated as the two marched to find the boy's mother amongst the gold deck passengers and hoped to come across the captain, or at least one of the Chiefs.
After searching the gold deck for a while, they saw someone who was zooming past passengers and crew members alike. "Excuse me! Pardon me, coming through!" he excused himself as he zipped past people.
Cecilia deduced he was maybe an officer, because of his different uniform, so despite knowing this crew member was in a hurry, she stopped him, "Excuse me! I'm Cecilia, the new singer. Do you know where the captain is?" blocking the young man's way.
The man stopped to look down at his shirt as he buttoned it. "I'm Martinez, he's on the bridge." He started to run again, "It's this way. Sorry, I can't wait for you guys. I'm busy," apologizing for abruptly leaving the young lady and the child.
"Haist! That is so rude!" She gently nudged the boy to follow her up the stairs, and soon enough, they chanced upon this time, Chief Murillo.
"Chief, excuse me, but can you help me? This child is lost, and he is looking for his mother. Maybe you can take a look to see if she is in this deck?" nudging the child forward to the woman.
Murillo looked at the child. "Wait!" She snobbishly said,
"The Bar won't open until eight in the evening, but for now, please enjoy our infinite buffet." The chief said to a passenger, pointing to a long table in the center of the deck, filled with every delicacy known to man.
After the passenger left, Cecilia expressed her admiration for the Chief's range of languages: "Wow, you know how to speak Spanish?"
The chief ignored what Cecilia said and marked her on her tablet. She then glanced at the boy. "If the mother is not here, then she could be on another deck." She then glanced at Chief Bustamante, doing his last round of inspection. "Look, Chief Bustamante is over there doing his rounds, go and ask him!" The chief continued on her way, conducting a final headcount of the crew members.
Cecilia just sighed and made her way to meet the first officer, "Chief Bustamante! So sorry to disturb you," She sheepishly approached the first officer
Chief Bustamante stopped what he was doing and addressed Cecilia, "Not at all, Miss Bermudez, what can I help you with?"
"Well, you see, sir, this child has been separated from his mother, so maybe you can help us to page her or at least know what deck she is on?" Cecilia explained, hoping that the officer would have some pity and help them.
Bustamante chuckled as he signed a tablet handed to him. "We don't have a paging system for the passengers; Chief Murillo would be able to help you; she has the list…"
Cecilia cuts off Chief Bustamante mid-sentence, "Uhm, sir? Chief Murillo already told me she's busy, so she directed me to you."
The weathered chief officer sighed as he glanced at Cecilia and the child, "Murillo, you little…come on, follow me." He instructed the two, a fatherly smile appearing on his face.
Cecilia and Toby's eyes sparkled at the help the first officer was extending to them, eagerly, they followed the man. "Where are we going, chief?"
Chief Bustamante gave a knowing grin, "To the one man who knows where everybody in the ship is."