The captain watched me as tears filled my eyes at his words. He smiled tenderly and then suddenly, with a swift move on his part, we were pressed closely together, body to body....

.....I was so grateful for the gift that he had given me that I sang to him....not a siren's song.....one without the magic; one just of....love. He pressed closer to me, his ear close to my mouth, delighting in both the beauty of my voice and the words.

We flew for a long time.....and I sang to him of my history....my hurts and fears...my heartaches...my loneliness.....I felt him tremble at moments, as though with repressed emotion....or anger, perhaps, at the pain I had suffered at the hands of others.

As, at last, we drifted toward the deck, I felt him pulling me closer in preparation for our landing.

In that moment, I dared for a brief few seconds to be bold enough to show my gratefulness and caring for him. I pressed close and kissed him.

It was not a kiss of passion; it was so much more than that. It was a kiss of love; of worship and my admiration of him; but more than that, it was a yielding.

I was yielding myself to him completely, opening myself up to whatever emotions, both good and bad, might come my way. I was embracing my new way of life and showing him my alliegience and my trust, something i had never given another before.

When we landed, laughing and tumbling, and at last came to rest, he looked at me, his eyes saying everything that I had hoped to hear. His voice spoke lovingly in my mind. 'Little one, I accept the gift of yourself with great soberness. I will care for you as I care for the others, with love and protection. But more than that, I will care for you with respect, which is something you have lacked your entire life. And with that said, I am going to give you your first order. You may not hide from us anymore. No sneaking up to deck to clean in order to punish yourself; no more holding back from being a part of things. You are loved...by me, and by each one of us. We are a family. Do not withhold any part of yourself from us again.'

We untangled ourselves from the rigging and got to our feet. He crowded me, leaning in to whisper "And from now on, you may NOT punish yourself. Only I have that right."

He pulled back, slapped me playfully on the butt and turned to face the rest of the crew and family.