The Name of the Sea

"I am planning to finish the painting by my son's birthday. It is a painting of the Black Sea in its vastness, and a single ship, a pirate schooner, in the midst of it. The sky is clear, and the sun shines on the ship's mast. It is meant to be a surprise, so I kept it a secret from Elsa, Erdem and the grandchildren. Even Fino doesn't know what I am up to in the attic during the long summer nights. I am planning to call it 'Il Nome del Mare.' Aptly Italian, like that lunatic descendant of Barbaverde, whose deadly tricks on the island were going to cost all of our lives. The days when I was scared of the attic are like a distant memory, so much so that they feel like they belong to someone else, perhaps my grandchildren. My son had bought me this canvas and the tubes for my fiftieth birthday. I am thankful that he did, as a retired man's life can be rather daunting without much to do. If I didn't have the pet shop and the oil painting, I can't imagine how I could survive the silence when everyone went to their business."