The journey back passed more quietly than the voyage out, as though the sea itself had decided to lower its voice.
With the anchor lifted and the sails properly aligned, VNS Hope glided through the calm waters with practised ease, her hull cutting a clean, confident path across the surface. The hidden cove gradually emerged from between the rocky walls, its familiar stone contours rising into view, worn smooth by time and tide, welcoming them home without ceremony. Sunlight filtered through the holes in the cavern ceiling, scattering across the water in soft, shifting patterns, light breaking and reforming as though the sea itself were guiding them back, marking the way in reflections.
The echo of waves against stone returned first, low and resonant, carrying the memory of countless arrivals before this one.
Then the towering walls, their sheer faces closing in gently, protective rather than imposing.
