On the fourth day aboard the ship, Sonder had spent a night in her quarters below deck.
The captain, and a few others, had said that they were small, and that was true enough, but they weren't so small that she couldn't lie down.
They were in the cargo hold. Her bed was two crates placed together between the surrounding cargo. A tarp served as a blanket, and a sack filled with wheat as her pillow.
She usually slept on her side due to the sword, but if she rolled over in her sleep, she'd fall off the bed.
Not that she slept. She just rested for a while until she assumed it was morning.
When she went back up to the deck, she, as usual, watched the flow of passengers coming and going.
She counted them. Just to occupy her mind.
There was a man. Older and well-dressed. He wore a dark coat, even in the sun, and always stood near the bow, staring ahead, as if he expected land to rise at any moment.
He was usually the first one up.
He had not come up that morning.
She waited.
Passengers came and went. The usual ones.
But not him. She scanned the deck and frowned slightly.
Maybe he was resting.
That was normal.
Sonder's gaze drifted toward the entrance below deck.
It didn't mean much; with so little happening the past few days, it was still a change, however small and unnoteworthy.
But later that day, she heard something that unsettled her.
Two passengers were speaking quietly, showing no concern that Sonder might overhear them.
Sonder didn't turn.
She kept her eyes on the ocean.
But she listened.
"...didn't see him last night."
"Maybe he's ill."
"He didn't look ill."
A pause.
"Did he fall overboard?" one of them said, very concern.
"No, it couldn't be. He's very careful when it comes to such things. He'll show up in no time."
A nervous laugh followed.
The next day brought more bad news.
The captain had announced that one of his sailors was missing, and the most likely cause was that he had gotten drunk last night and fell overboard without anyone noticing.
It was more matter-of-fact than she thought was necessary for the sake of politeness, but it seemed that the captain was just that type of person.
He spoke with another crew member, in low voices and short sentences.
Sonder thought she should speak with him.
She had been awake the entire night before, and even though she had seen a few sailors get too drunk, she hadn't seen or heard anything strange, especially not someone falling overboard.
Even if he didn't yell for help, her hearing was good enough that she would have noticed the splash if something as big as a person fell into the water.