Days passed. We sailed peacefully under the shining sun and the calls of seagulls. I got accustomed to the life at sea pretty soon. I started believing that I truly had the seaman heritage. However, one day, our harbinger, Ernesto, cried from the mast rather worriedly:

"I see a ship on the horizon!"

We all rushed up to the prow of the ship. We indeed spotted a red-sailed silhouette coming towards us. The captain immediately ran out of his cabin and approached us, looking at the vessel that was coming in our direction.

"What type of a ship is it, Ernesto?" he cried up to the harbinger, who was still observing the unexpected guests.

"It is a problem, Captain!" Ernesto shouted back, "It looks like a junk!"

This frightened us all. I had already learnt a lot about ship types, so I knew what 'junk' meant - it was a small and swift type of a ship that mainly the Chinese used. So, knowing it was a junk, one could only assume we would have to deal with the Chinese, who, as I said, mainly operated either as smugglers or even worse.

"Ugh, those yellow rats..." Our captain, Mr. Roberts, spat aside. "Let's just hope they're going to be smugglers lurking in the seas."

"But what if they're not?" A lot of sailors were concerned.

"Prepare your guns and swords, whoever of you has it. We will try to get away from them. If they don't follow us, then they're smugglers and we're good... If worse happens, we'll try to outrun them."

"Can this little brig really outrun that junk?"

"We'll try our best, damn it! Don't act like scaredy-cats!"

The first order the boatswain received was to steer aside and get away from the approaching junk as fast as possible. We started sailing away. Ernesto cried from the mast again, with a fearful voice:

"Captain, they're coming right after us!"

Indeed, as we looked at the junk, we noticed it had come too close. It was fast approaching.

"Devil take it!" the captain spat again. "Prepare for the worst!"

Just as he cried these words, Ernesto, the harbinger, yelled at full force:

"They've hoisted a black flag! Save yourselves!"

That was the final warning. Hoisting a black flag meant that a pirate ship was approaching us. I got worked up. I was dead scared as it was my first time being attacked by the ruthless sea-robbers. On the other hand, I knew that engaging in a pirate battle and getting to know more pirates was my only way towards finding my father... It was truly a tough situation.

When fear seizes a person, they act purely on primal instincts that first arise in their minds. These instincts seized me too, and my first concern was to prepare for the clash. I grabbed a sword from the basement and got ready to take my fate into my own hands. My heart banged with fear - it was my very first time of ever using a sword.

The junk came close and its cannons thundered. They blew up the sides of our ship. The chips got thrown in all directions. We hid behind barrels and the masts to protect ourselves. However, not everyone managed it - many companions of mine got hit by the bombs and vanished at the bottom of the sea.

After much cannoning, the pirates gave a battle cry, threw hooks on our damaged ship, and began boarding. It was one of the most terrifying times I had ever experienced. I held my sword with trembling hands and tried to brace myself. I was too scared to even look at the blood. I didn't know how I would manage to fight, but I was sure of one thing - I would have to go all out if they threatened my life.

I was hiding behind a mast and could hear my friends' agonized shrills, as well as the cracks of swords and pop of pistols. It was a total turmoil. Yet, a tiny piece of my conscience told me that it was cowardly from my side to sit hidden and hear my friends die. I knew I could never forgive myself later. I remembered how my companions laughed at Stinky Joe for his cowardliness. Then, I even caught a glimpse of Stinky Joe's hiding behind the barrels again. 

No, if I truly believed I had inherited my father's noble pirate blood, standing up against the enemy pirates to defend my pride was only natural... or at least it should've been. So, why was I trembling? I had to fight, and I absolutely had to survive - that was all. 

I took a deep breath, and valiantly sprang out of my hiding place. I attacked the first enemy whom I caught a glimpse of - a young man of around twenty-nine years, who mangled my companions like a beast. I soon crossed the swords with him. My eyes were already burning. The only instinct that had now seized my body was the instinct of survival, so I began to selflessly fight. I swung the sword with all my might. My swiftness helped me a lot to avoid the pirate's attacks. But otherwise, inexperienced in sword fights, I had little chances of winning.

Still, I didn't surrender. Giving up wasn't in my nature since the very beginning. Once I set my eyes on something I struggled with all my might to get it. Now my eyes were set on victory, so my hands moved almost on their own. But my adversary was a lot taller, stronger, and fiercer than me. What's more, he was a lot more experienced, as none of his sword moves was unintentional, unlike mine. He had no openings, while I had plenty.

He wore an eye-patch on the right eye. His expression lacked mercy completely. He was a bloodthirsty sea-robber, even though he was so young.

He cut me on a hand. I quickly docked and avoided the sword to stab me further. I yelled and dashed at him even more furiously than before. He got a little startled as he didn't expect such an outcome.  

I fought with all my might and still, I felt how my hand was getting weaker from losing blood. Soon, the adversary stabbed his sword into my shoulder. I screamed in terrible pain. My vision went blurred. My limbs went numb and I collapsed to the floor. My hat slipped off. The last thing I managed to see before blacking out from pain was how my opponent widened his left eye in a stupor. The last thing I heard was Chinese words I could not understand:

"Tā shì... nǚhái?!"

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她是......女孩？！- She is... a girl?! (Mandarin Chinese (simplified script). The sentence in the text is written in pinyin). (Author)