My name is Johan, I am 21 years old and i come from a place called Graugarten.
I always dreamed of getting away from that ice cold little town I now proudly call Home. One day, I finally got the chance…
Days were always dark, with clouds so grey it seemed heaven itself was on fire filing the sky with smoke. All the rooftops in Graugarten were black and the houses were all painted white, the only colour one can find here is the dark blue of the Ocean. Sometimes I would spend hours looking at the sea, watching ships as they came and went wishing always to be in one of them, and I am not talking of those little fishing boats of our simple minded people, no, I mean those great ships with strange names and strange people sailing all around the world. I thought old people were being dull and short-sighted when they told me there was no place in earth like Graugarten, I simply didn’t want to believe them.
One day a ship called “Al-Jewara” came to our port, and that night I met a crew member, his name was John, and he wasn’t like the other crew members, he was more calm and spoke in a way that made him look wise and all man looked and spoke at him with a different kind of respect, it was almost as if he was their father.
John told me he was the captain of the ship, and when I learned this, I immediately asked him to take me along.
“This is not a cruise ship boy and you wont be on vacation” – he told me – “If you go, you will work like a slave and live like a monk. But when you return, you will be wiser.”
“Really? Then I don’t fear hard work and I don’t mind the hard life, as long as I it is away from here!” I told him.
“Ah! Boy you are in for a surprise! Mark my words lad: the greatest lesson you will learn is that there is no place like home.”
I didn’t really cared about what he was saying anymore- I was finally going away and nothing else mattered.
After finishing his grog, the captain said: “Very well lad, you are to report in the galley at 5 a.m. tomorrow, I think they need a new dish washer.” And then he left.
There I was in the galley as the captain told me to, it was a very hot place, it smelled like rotten cabbages and nobody spoke my language. The Chef was a very tall and aggressive man, and as soon as he saw me, he shouted something I didn’t understand, and then a man pushed me towards a sink filled with tons of dirty cutlery, pans and dishes to wash- it was the beginning of my nightmare.
The next two months passed without me seeing the sun, I was working sixteen hours a day and I was really depressed because I still knew no one.
One day the captain came to my cabin and told me to come along with him .
“Where are we?”- I asked.
“In the lands of the south boy, this is as far to home as you will ever be.”
It was very hot and the air was extremely dry. There were some man drinking in the middle of the street and I approached them.
“It is mint tea”- said the captain as one of those dark man offered me a glass. I sipped the tea for a moment; it was wonderful yet very strong.
“It needs some honey” I took a little bag with a bit of the remaining honey that I had brought from Graugarten, and poured it in the tea. The man became very curious and after they tried the new drink, they thanked me and smiled at me with such admiration I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, and I didn’t understand the reason why, after all, it was just simple Graugarten honey.
“Ok lad. Time to go west now!” said Captain John.
And of we went, and again several weeks passed until I stepped foot on land again.
As we got of the ramp, Captain John took a deep breath and said “Ah! The air of the west lands – so wet you can almost feel drops in your lungs!”
The air was indeed wet, heavy and hot. Captain John tooke me to a small restaurant downtown. People were all dancing in the street.
“What are they celebrating” I asked.
“Nothing. They are just being themselves.”
Inside the restaurant the Captain insisted I drink as much as him, and when I got out to the street again my head was spinning and I was missing home like I never had before, a feeling so hard I just had to get it out of me, so I started singing one of those calm tunes I used to hear when the old fisherman were working at the pear in Graugarten. Suddenly everybody stopped- no more singing or dancing joyfully in the street. I could only hear my voice.
When I stopped, an old lady came to me and gave me an hug, and after she told me something that John translated as: “I know how you feel.” Everybody started singing and dancing again, just as quickly as they had stopped before. I didn’t get it, this had never happened before back home when we used to listen to old man singing.
On our way back to the ship I asked: “Where are we going now John?”
“East mate. East. I am going home.”
That journey seemed faster than the others before. And I was looking forward to know where the Captain lived. But I couldn’t find him anywhere in the ship, so I decided to leave on my own.
It was the coldest place I had ever been- the streets were all covered in snow and I didn’t see a living soul- so I got back to the ship.
At the galley a man came dressed the same way John used to.
“Are you Johan?” he asked.
“Yes” I answered with a tone of curiosity in my voice.
He handed me a letter with my name on it and left.
It was a letter from John saying he was staying in the east and that he wished me luck on my return home.
After reading the letter I realised maybe I didn’t belong on that ship or in any other land, not because I liked Graugarten better than any of the other places I have been at, not because I lived there, but because one’s home isn’t where you live or work, it is where your heart is, and I left mine behind at Graugarten.