He said he liked her.
He had been captivated by her from the very first moment he saw her.
He said all the sailors aboard liked her, but none of them dared act on it, because their captain and first mate had yet to decide whether to keep her or sell her. But he could no longer hold himself back.
Because they were at sea, where no country's laws could reach them, and he was the longest-serving sailor aboard. Even if the captain found out, he would not drive him off the freighter over a pet, not with all his experience.
He grabbed the cage and tried with all his strength to drag her out.
He wrenched the cloth doll from her arms and hurled it against the wall. The cotton stuffing scattered by the impact and that coin were reflected in her eyes.
She heard barking.
She saw her little dog charge fiercely through the doorway and bite his wrist.
It turned out the dog had not forgotten its owner.
But just like the doll in her arms, it was flung hard against the wall. All she heard was that heavy whimper, and all she saw was the streak of blood splashed across the wall.
At that moment.
She did not know where the strength came from.
She grabbed the rusty iron nail outside the cage and drove it hard into his left eye as he turned to look back at her.
Squelch-
That agonized scream all but shattered the silence of the entire ship.
It was a long time before the captain arrived with the sailors who were still sober, and they saw that bloody scene. She sat blankly amid the blood pooling across the floor, her face and neck covered in it, her hands coated in thick