Then it was time for us to leave. I opened the curtains to see that the sun was out, and there was no snow. The perfect day to head out to sea.
The townsfolk were planning to come out and see us off. We went to the lab and got into the Polar Tang, got some lessons from Wolf about how to pilot it, then docked the sub at Pleasure Town.
From there, we said our final goodbyes. To my surprise, the one who cried the most was Rudd.
“Waaaah! I can’t believe you boys have grown up so much! You’re going out on your own big adventure now! I don’t care if you’re going to be pirates, I’m just so proud of youu!” he sobbed.
I had no idea that he was such a weepy guy. Then again, there was so much that I still didn’t know about this town. There were so many things we could do—fun things, funny things, things to learn, things to say. But right now, we were leaving. We were charting a course for the wide open sea, each for our own reasons.
“All right, folks. It’s time for us to go,” I said, and we headed for the deck of the Polar Tang. Wolf planned to stay on the land among the townspeople and watch the rest of us go. It was time to say goodbye.
“So long, old man. We owe you so much. Live long for us!” I called out from the deck. Bepo and Shachi and Penguin added their own messages of gratitude.
Is this really it? Something was wrong. The fog around my heart wasn’t going away. There had to be more words to say…
“I’m going to start up the ship,” Bepo called out from behind me.
“All right.”
Slowly, the submarine began to drift away, distancing itself from the shore. I saw that Wolf broke into a smile.
“Law! Penguin! Shachi! Bepo! It’s been a blast,” he said casually.
And when I heard that, for the first time ever, I said it…
“Wolf!”
I called my friend by his name.
“Law, did you just…”
“Of course I’m going to miss you! You, specifically! There’s no way I can leave and not tell you how much I’ll miss you!”
I didn’t have pride or shame at that moment. There was something I needed to say to him; words that the Junker needed to hear from me.
“Thank you, Wolf! Thank you for always, always showing me kindness! Even if we’re apart and I never see you again, you’re still the best friend I could ever have!”
My voice cracked and faded at the end. I hadn’t intended for my eyes to get all wet.
Bepo burst out of the control room. The other three had their heads down and were holding their fingers over their eyes.
“Go on, you brats! Go and learn about the world! Go and learn about freedom! I had the time of my life…living with you!” Wolf called out. He thrust his fist into the air, and we lifted ours in response. Then we turned our backs on him. We wouldn’t turn around again.
“Go into the control room and get us going, Bepo,” I said.
“All right.”
The ship began moving again. Before long, the shore was out of sight, and we were pirates. In the days ahead, we would have to survive on our own and find the things we needed on our own.
As I was heading into the sub’s interior with Shachi and Penguin, a symbol popped into my head. “Heart,” I said.
“Huh?” the other two replied.
That was it. It had to be our crew’s name. The love I received from Cora. The kindness Wolf showed to us. The trust I had in my friends. All of these things were represented by the word “heart.”
“We’re the Heart Pirates!”
✦ ✦ ✦
It was a clear day. The wind was at our backs. There was no need for any more tears on this greatest of days. We were facing forward and moving onward, right now, with nothing but belief in the radiant freedom that lay ahead.