The ship shuddered as another wave struck its side.
Conversations around the lounge immediately grew quieter.
Several passengers moved closer to the windows.
Others reached for their phones, hoping to capture photographs of the approaching storm.
Captain Lubasi remained standing.
His eyes were fixed on the darkening horizon.
The clouds now covered nearly half the sky.
Lightning flashed between them like silver veins.
Something about the scene troubled him.
Beside him, Fernando calmly turned a page in his Bible.
The old teacher appeared completely unaffected.
"You don't seem concerned," Lubasi said.
Fernando looked up.
"Should I be?"
Lubasi stared at him.
"Most people would be."
Fernando smiled.
"Most people worry about things before they happen."
"And you don't?"
"Oh, I do sometimes."
The answer surprised Lubasi.
"You do?"
"Certainly."
Fernando closed his Bible.
"I'm human, not an angel."
Lubasi laughed.
For some reason, he had expected a different answer.
Fernando pointed toward a nearby chair.
"Sit down, Captain."
Lubasi hesitated before taking the seat opposite him.
For a few moments they watched the sea in silence.
Then Fernando asked, "What brings you to Rome?"
"My friend's funeral."
Fernando's expression softened.
"A close friend?"
"The closest."
The old teacher nodded.
"I am sorry."
Lubasi stared through the window.
"He was Italian. We served together in the Central African Republic."
"A soldier?"
"Military observer."
"And a good man?"
"One of the best."
Fernando was quiet for a moment.
"Death often asks questions that life allows us to avoid."
Lubasi looked at him.
"What does that mean?"
"It means that when someone we love dies, we begin asking questions about ourselves."
Lubasi frowned.
"What kind of questions?"
Fernando smiled gently.
"Where am I going? Why am I here? What happens after death?"
The retired officer leaned back in his chair.
"You're assuming everyone asks those questions."
"Don't they?"
"No."
Fernando raised an eyebrow.
"You don't?"
Lubasi shook his head.
"I'm an atheist."
The old teacher nodded calmly.
"I suspected that."
This time it was Lubasi's turn to be surprised.
"You suspected it?"
"You watch people carefully."
Fernando pointed toward him.
"But you never look upward."
Before Lubasi could respond, another violent wave slammed into the ship.
Several passengers screamed.
A glass fell from a table and shattered across the floor.
The vessel tilted noticeably before correcting itself.
The room fell silent.
For the first time, concern appeared on many faces.
A crew member hurried through the lounge.
His expression was tense.
Too tense.
Lubasi noticed it immediately.
The captain inside him awakened.
He rose from his seat and stepped toward the corridor.
Then he stopped.
Fernando was still sitting calmly.
Reading.
As if nothing unusual was happening.
"Tell me something," Lubasi said.
Fernando looked up.
"Yes?"
"If this storm becomes dangerous, will you still sit there reading that Bible?"
The old teacher smiled.
"No."
Finally, a sensible answer, Lubasi thought.
"What will you do?" he asked.
Fernando slipped a bookmark between the pages and closed the Bible.
"I'll pray."
A flash of lightning illuminated the room.
Almost instantly, a thunderclap exploded overhead.
The passengers jumped.
Fernando simply smiled.
Outside, the sea was no longer calm.
And the real storm had not yet begun.