Boy
By: Rev Kurame

Bulma hugged her heavy shawl closer, as the wind picked up speed, tossing her waves of hair. The thin ribbon she had procured to fasten her locks away from her face had long since been lost to the stormy skies and her wild mane whipped freely about her face. 'Red sky at morning, sailors take warning...' she repeated the old superstitious adage to herself. That morning had exploded in a blood red mural much like a crimson rose opening to a lover's kiss. The sailors had murmured softly amongst themselves of the ominous presence of the violent red sky, softly so because they did not wish to alarm the passengers of the ship. Bulma, however, was much more astute than the average woman and therefore deduced that their grave manner was some cause for concern. Later that afternoon, that sky's warnings had turned true as grey clouds descended upon them followed by torrents of rain.

Bulma sat in the bay window of her cabin; a small candle slowly melting by her side acting as the only source of light. She had cracked open the window just a bit because the stuffiness of below deck was getting to her and even though she could smell the crackling storm in the air, she welcomed the fresh oxygen. She heard her cabin door close behind her with a thud as the 'intruder' fought against the wind to close it. Bulma knew but one person who could be entering her cabin during the panic of the storm: her twin...

"Yamucha," she turned to face him, "what word does the captain bring?" Yamucha shook his head, freeing some of the water that had logged his ears. "I do not know, sister, how we will fare this. The storm seems to be growing worse..." Bulma pursed her lips in agitation, worry clear in her eyes. Yamucha moved quickly to ease his sister's anxiety. "But do not worry overly much, nothing shall come of this mild tempest. This ship is as sturdy as the day it was made!" Bulma ground her teeth. "Although I appreciate the effort, dear brother. That does nothing to quell my fear when the howling and the ranting of the storm ouside tells me otherwise."

The two sat in stony silence as the torrent grew to immense proportions, tossing their ship lightly between perilous waves that threatened to capsize them as if they were a toy. Bulma and Yamucha Briefs were a lady and gentleman of Messaline, traveling together to visit relations only a week's worth of travel away by ship.

Eighteen years ago, the Lord and Lady Briefs were quite surprised when they became the parents of twins, identical twins, an extremely rare phenomenon. Both possessed lean faces and high cheekbones with wide unassuming eyes and wavy hair. Bulma's hair was a bit fairer than her brother's, a brilliant vermillion blue, while Yamucha's hair was a midnight shade, bordering on black. It was to their parents' frustration that Bulma and Yamucha learned at a young age how easily they could be mistaken for one another, if the observer did not pay close attention to detail. But as the twins grew older, Bulma's femininity became more pronounced and Yamucha's masculinity could no longer be denied. And Lord and Lady Briefs' era of mistaken identity came to a close.

Bulma gave a frustrated sigh and slid back in her chair, her legs spread out before her. "How unlady-like," her brother chuckled. Bulma rolled her eyes and blew a stray lock of hair from her face. "I'm anxious to know what is going on above deck." "It's safer down here," Yamucha warned. "I'll only be but a second," Bulma whined as she stood up. Yamucha frowned at her. "You are most irrational, sister. To go above deck during such a storm--" "This mild tempest," she cut in, amusion clear in her voice. He shook his head. "I cannot stop you, but I will go with you," he said, standing to follow her. "Oh, how chivalrous," she teased. "Come now, courageous brother of mine, we will find what a predicament our very lives have been tossed in."

Bulma cautiously pried open the door. She was instantly assaulted by a strong hot wind and the putrid stench of salt. The ship rocked violently as a huge wave broke on the hull. Bulma was thrown out of the doorway and against the opposite wall. "BULMA!" Yamucha shouted above the deafening noise of the waves. He stumbled out after her. She picked herself up off the floor, her dress now covered in a salty spray. She muttered curses she should not have known under her breath. Yamucha held onto her arm. "Can we go back now?" he asked hopefully. "No! I am sick of this! I'm going to tell them to turn this ship around!" Yamucha watched dumbfounded as his twin sister marched down the violently tilting corridor.

Bulma burst out of the suffocating hallway in haste and was greeted by pandemonium. The ship's mates were shouting orders to the sailors who were busy trying to get all the tasks done. The captain quickly noticed the 'guest' on their deck as waves threatened to pull her off the safety of the ship. He clambered down the ladder that led to the main bow. "Lady Bulma! Lady Bulma!' he cried as he made his way towards the frightened young woman. "What in Heaven's name are you doing out here?!" He put his hand on the small of her back to steer her back inside. "I demand to know what is going on," she shouted above the noise, tears brimmed dangerously close to spilling from her eyes. "Turn this ship around," she commanded. He shook his head violently. "That we cannot do, Mistress. We are having a hard enough time keeping us on course." Bulma's eyes darted frantically about, watching the sailors call to each other over the pitch of the storm. She watched as one man made to grab a coil of rope and was sucked overboard by a greedy wave. The captain put his weather-worn hands on either side of Bulma to steady her. "It would be best, Mistress, if you would go inside," he said gravely. She nodded, rather shaken by the chaos that flew around her. The captain watched her turn and satisfied that she was heading back to safety, he proceeded to climb back to the wheel where his first mate was fighting a losing battle.

Bulma stumbled back towards the door that led to the below deck cabins; it was banging open and shut violently. Suddenly, Bulma felt a deadly calm brush her right side, only warm air cascaded down her cheek... when suddenly she felt the unslaught of frigid water as it dragged her towards the side of the ship. "BULMA!" she heard her brother's horrified wail pierce the howling wind. Bulma tried desperately to cling to the water-logged boards of the ship's deck but her fingers couldn't get a grip on the slick surface and the young Lady of Messaline was kidnapped to the vast jaws of the sea.

The last thing Bulma saw as struggled to stay afloat above the calamitous waves was the dimming lights of the ship as it disappeared into the darkness.

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