Nasugbu, Batangas, Philippines – Year 1885
Reynaldo Bustamante walks up the gangway of the steamship along with the other passengers. He looks around at the people walking beside him. "Where am I?" he asked himself. He looked at his hands, still wet with seawater, his eyes laced with confusion and fear.
"Don't be afraid," a deep yet calm voice said. Bustamante looked beside him and saw Chris, who was clad in a white long-sleeved shirt with a black tie underneath a black mariner's coat. "You are Reynaldo Bustamante, right?" The man nodded with uncertainty. "Follow me."
The two entered the captain's ready room, and they sat around a coffee table. "I am Chris, the captain of this vessel." He poured liquor into two glasses and offered one to Bustamante.
"I assume you get the gist of this vessel?" Chris sat down and took a swig from his glass. "I'll go straight to the point. My chief officer disembarked during our last voyage; the Twilight requires a new one, and you, my friend, are the perfect candidate. Your maritime knowledge and wisdom far exceed my own, and the discipline you instilled into other fishermen that you sailed with will be of great help to me."
"I'm dead, aren't I?" Bustamante stared at his glass, swirling the clear fluid inside. "My family…what will become of my family? Now that I am no longer with them?"
"If you move on to Kaginhawaan, they would be left with your memory and whatever legacy you gave them." Chris leaned closer, "But if you stay on the Twilight and be its chief officer, you will be helping your family, giving them luck, good karma, and good decisions. You will be providing for them from beyond the grave." With a smile, Chris extended his hand.
Bustamante pondered for a bit, then he stood, took Chris's hand, and shook it. "I will serve, Captain!"
Chris grinned at the acceptance of his offer. "To your station then, Chief Officer Bustamante."
Kaginhawaan, Realm of Peace – Year 1944
Mario Martinez, the nineteen-year-old soldier, stood at the threshold and glanced back and forth between the ship and Kaginhawaan. Chief Murillo noticed the young man's hesitation and approached him. "Is there a problem?"
"I-I don't think I want to go yet," Martinez answered with a shaky voice. "There are so many things that I want to make up for, mistakes that I…"
"Whatever mistakes you made in life, you already paid for in the Engine room!" Chris said, interjecting in the conversation.
"It's…it's not enough, sir. I know I can do more if I stay on the ship. Please, sir…let me serve on the ship. I have atoned for my sins, now give me the chance to atone for myself." He asked. Martinez's eyes welled up with tears as he pleaded with the captain.
Chris stared at the young man, thinking whether to grant the request or make him disembark. "Bustamante, didn't you say we only have one helmsman on board?"
"Aye, Captain," The chief officer answered.
Chris took another step closer, "This is not a military ship, we are a cruise liner. If you stay, you will be serving passengers, not as an officer, but a glorified butler." He placed his hand over Martinez's shoulder. "You don't have a family in the mortal plane, no one will benefit from your sacrifice. Is that okay with you?"
Tears streamed from Martinez's eyes, he smiled, and said, "I will serve Captain…I had a friend who died with me that day. He has a daughter…she will be my beneficiary."
"Well said…" Chris smiled, "Chief Murillo, take Martinez for binding. Chief Bustamante, I leave his training in your hands. To your station…helmsman Martinez."
The Captain's Ready Room, The Twilight – Year 1875
Esperanza Murillo has just emerged from the Gray deck; now she sits by a table opposite the captain. Chris browses through several sheets of parchment. "You are applying for the position of chief cook? Why? Shouldn't you just be leaving?"
"I tasted the food here, and to be honest, it is atrocious." She said with confidence.
Chris scoffed, then he grinned. "It is atrocious." He nodded, "Chef Ivanov can learn a thing or two from you. But you still have not answered my question…why do you want to stay?" His eyes narrowed to slits.
Murillo took a deep breath and answered, "I am waiting for somebody; when that person disembarks in Kaginhawaan, so will I." She bowed her head low. "So please let me stay, let me wait."
"I assume that you are referring to whoever will be the last remaining member of your family? If you are waiting for someone you knew in life, that person would have long disembarked before you do." Chris surmised. "Very well, when you exit the room, go to the hallway to your left, and at the end is the galley. You start with whatever the chefs tell you to do."