Level 1

CHAPTER 3 – WOMAN

I am young and strong. I must work as a slave. I work for the captain of the pirates. I feel very sad. I have a bad life. I must work hard.

I work every day. I work in the house. I work in the garden. The captain tells me what to do.

I don’t like my work. I want to change my situation. I want to be free again.

It is morning. I meet a young woman. She works in the house. She is so beautiful. She is also a slave. She cleans the house.

I speak with her. She doesn’t speak my language. But I feel that she understands me.

When she sees me, she is happy. And I am happy too.

Sometimes she touches me. But it is only a short moment. Slaves can’t be together.

I think about the young woman very often. I want to meet her every day. But she is not in the house every day. When I think about her, I have a nice feeling in my body. I think that I love this woman. I think that she is my girlfriend and I am her boyfriend. But our love is complicated. We can’t live together. It is very sad.

Sometimes I fish with the captain or his friends. A young boy helps us. We use a small boat when we fish.

One morning, when we fish, we are lost. Fog is around our boat. We see nothing. We can’t go home.

The next day, the fog is away. We can go home.

When we are back home, the captain says, “Use a bigger boat.”

The bigger boat is better for long journeys.

One day, the captain tells me, “Put more food and drinks on the boat. Bring some guns too.”

The captain wants to fish with his friends.

I prepare the boat. I put food and guns on the ship. But the captain’s friends don’t want to fish.

Then, the captain tells me, “Prepare the boat for usual fishing for the next day.”

This is my chance. I can run away. A lot of food and guns are on the boat. I prepare the boat for fishing. But I leave the food and guns on the boat. Tomorrow, I can run away. This is my plan.

I think about the young woman. I want to take her with me. But I don’t know how to do it. It is not possible to take her on the boat. I am sad. I don’t know what to do. I want to be free. But my heart wants to be with her.

It is the morning. I meet the young woman in the house. She is so beautiful.

I look at her. She knows that something is different. Maybe she understands that this is our last moment together. She looks in my eyes. She touches my hand. I think that she understands.

Her face is sad. My face is sad too. She smiles at me. Then, she goes away. This is our last moment together.

WORDS FROM CHAPTER 3