Page 23 of Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt

‘You should be sorry! Now, listen up as I explain, or I’ll hit you over the head with my broom.’ Tiggy pointed to the water. ‘When you look at the ocean there, you can see the blue, and the swell, and the waves. But that’s only part of the story. You can’t see below the waterline, where theTitanis creating a current. To the sea life – the fish, the plants – that current is a force beyond their control, from a place they do not understand.’ Tiggy closed her eyes, as if visualising the thing she was trying to describe. ‘It’s like that up here too. All around us are energies and forces which most people don’t question or can’t comprehend. But I can see some of it.’ Tiggy reopened her eyes and looked at Maia. ‘It’s not, like, magic or anything. Everything is here for us to see. It’s just that I know how to look.’

‘You’re incredible, Tiggy. So, the question is... can yousee whether you’re going to be an auntie to a niece or a nephew?’

Tiggy raised an eyebrow at her sister. ‘I suggest a nice neutral colour for the room,’ she replied with a wink.

A smiling blonde steward emerged from the upper lounge. Maia shot Tiggy a look, and Tiggy responded by miming the zipping of her lips. Neither sister had met the steward before now. In fact, more often than not, the interior staff would change every season on theTitan, with a new crew of young ‘yachties’ appearing each year.

‘Good morning, Miss D’Aplièse, and... Miss D’Aplièse. Can I get either of you a coffee? Or perhaps some juice?’ she enquired timidly. Maia felt for her. Working on superyachts, she imagined the usual clientele weren’t always the most easygoing of individuals. She moved to reassure her.

‘Please, it’s Maia and Tiggy, and yes, thank you. I’d love a latte, please,’ replied Maia.

‘And for me too, thank you,’ added Tiggy. ‘With oat milk, please!’

‘Lovely, I’ll get those for you now. And Chef has asked if you plan to go ahead with breakfast for everyone at eleven?’

‘Absolutely, please feel free to start bringing things up. I’m sure the smell of bacon and coffee will be enough to lure the rest from the depths. And if it’s not, we’ll go and round them up,’ Maia promised.

‘Great,’ replied the steward, before heading back inside.

Maia inhaled deeply. ‘You know, it does feel a little alien to me to experience such wealth and luxury now. I feel a bit embarrassed by it, if I’m honest.’

‘I know what you mean. Personally, I’m much more at home in a tarpaulin hide in the middle of a woodland glen,’ agreed Tiggy.

‘Well, I’m not so sure about that. I don’t know if I couldsurvive too long without the Brazilian heat. In any case, I suppose we must all remember to keep giving back to the world whenever we can. I’ve actually started visiting afavelain Rio every week to tutor children in English and Spanish.’

‘Wow, Maia, that’s fantastic. It’s where your life began after all,’ said Tiggy gently.

‘It is, yes. I feel very passionately about offering any help I can to improve their future prospects. I think it’s unlikely an enigmatic billionaire is going to come and save them, as was the case with us.’

‘No. Pa certainly provided all of us with a lifeline. How different our stories would have been had he not plucked each of us from around the globe.’ Tiggy shook her head, then looked back at her sister. ‘I miss him so much, Maia. I feel like I’ve lost my anchor. Whatever problem I was facing, he’d know exactly what to say to make me feel better. I imagine it’s the same for you?’

‘Yes. For all of us, I think.’

‘The irony is that we need him now more than ever, and he’s not here to help us.’

‘Not physically, no. But, in a way, I think he is with us,’ Maia replied.

Tiggy looked at her sister. ‘Maia, are you about to offer some spiritual wisdom to thebrujaherself?’

‘I wouldn’t go that far, but look what we did – we found the missing sister. We couldn’t have done that without him guiding us.’

‘He’d be so happy she’s coming.’ Tiggy smiled.

‘He would be, yes.’

‘It’s just...’ Tiggy put her head in her hands. ‘You know what I was saying before, about being able to feel the different energies that influence our lives?’

‘Yes...’

‘Please don’t think I’m mad,’ Tiggy said pleadingly.

‘I promise I don’t think that, Tiggy. I never have.’

‘Okay. Well, usually, when someone is about to die, I can sense it. I’ve always been able to. Just as I can feel new life too, like the one growing inside you at the moment.’ Maia nodded sincerely at her sister. ‘Then, after people I’ve known in my life have passed on, I’ve always been able to... to say goodbye to them. I mean, to their spirit or life force or whatever you want to call it, before they go. It’s always been very comforting for me. And, I think, for them too.’

‘I understand.’

‘But Maia, I never felt it with Pa. I didn’t sense that he was about to leave us, and I certainly haven’t been able to feel him since. That’s really why I’ve found the last year so difficult. I haven’t been able to say goodbye to him.’