Simply Inhuman

 Carlos felt like puking.

The waves tossed the little boat around, and his stomach churned in time with the sea. With one hand holding on to the railing for dear life, he only barely managed to stay standing upright. Even then his knees shook and he stumbled.

“What did I say?” complained the captain of the tiny sea vessel, Haddock James, glancing in distaste at the little boy. “There’s nothing out here. No sailor knows these seas as well as me, and there ain’t any island in these parts.”

Carefully steadying himself, Carlos sighed. “I’m paying you, aren’t I? Just trust me.”

The man with the greying beard snorted. “Yeah. If it wasn’t for the generous pay, I wouldn’t have even listened to your stupid request.” He looked at his customer in suspicion, eyes narrowing. “Say, how did you get solid gold bars?”

The seasick boy panicked. Thankfully, the sound of the only other crewmate on-board shouting saved him from answering. “Captain, you won’t believe this! There’s an island here!”

Captain James’ eyes widened in shock. He rushed to the front of the boat to see for himself. With a groan, Carlos slowly made his way over there as well.

Upon arrival, seeing the grumpy sailor looking so shocked nearly made him burst out into laughter, until his stomach reminded him of their precarious situation. Instead, he allowed himself a smug grin.

“Well, I’ll be damned.” whispered James, almost reverently. It was like no other island in the vicinity. Instead of sandy beaches and palm trees, pink sakura blossoms littered the coast of the small landform. “You were right, kid.”

But when he turned around to ask Carlos more about the island that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, he was met with a little apologetic smile. The boy snapped his fingers, and the captain’s mind went blank.

“You will forget about this island, and my request to you. You will return back to your home, remembering a completely normal request for shipping goods.”

He looked at the older man’s glazed eyes with a hint of remorse. The crewmate stood similarly listless to the side. But it had been necessary. Feeling pity, he decided to give the man an explanation, even if he wouldn’t remember it later.

“My parents are old-fashioned, you see. They didn’t want me to rely on magic like this all the time. So they told me to try to get back home from my aunt’s place using boring methods like you humans. I don’t know how you get used to these strange boats!”

Stopping his rant before it continued, Carlos silently thanked the man. Although the boat never docked, he no longer was on the boat a few hours later. Instead, the captain and his colleague felt rather dazed when they returned to consciousness. It turned into further confusion when they found the solid gold bar on the desk in the cabin. But James went home with a large turkey for his family’s dinner that night, and decided not to question it.