She wanted to get to know the mysterious master better. When they approached the docks on the electric wheelchair, Ramon was just working on the sails of the elegant yacht Sea Star. Hearing the quiet sound of wheels on the wooden pier deck, he looked up and saw the young woman.
Their eyes met, and Ramon felt something familiar, the same pain he had seen in the faces of his patients in Cuba. «Good day,» Emily said, trying to hide her excitement. «I’m Emily Thompson.»
«Ramon Navarro,» he replied, removing his work gloves. «Very pleased to meet you, senorita.» His English was far from perfect, but his voice conveyed sincerity and warmth.
Emily noticed how he looked at her, not with pity or awkwardness like most people, but with some special understanding. «Your work with the sails is magnificent,» she said, nodding at the yacht. «I’ve never seen anyone treat our vessels so carefully.»
«Thank you,» Ramon smiled. «Boats—they are like people. You need to listen to what they need, not just oil and gas.»
«They feel the energy of the sea.» Emily raised an eyebrow. «Energy of the sea?» It sounded strange, but something in his words hooked her.
«You… you haven’t always worked with yachts?» she asked. «In Cuba I was, how to say, a doctor, but not like in a hospital. I helped people with seaweeds, water procedures.»
«Old ways.» «A folk healer?» Emily guessed. «Yes, you could say that.»
They continued the conversation, and Emily learned an amazing story. Ramon told how in his fishing village there was no real hospital, and people came to him with all sorts of problems. He learned from his grandfather, who knew the healing properties of seawater and algae, passed down through generations.
His hands could find tension points in the body, and the infusions he prepared from marine plants relieved pain and inflammation. «Why did you leave medicine?» Emily asked, though she already guessed the answer. «Here my diploma is worth nothing,» Ramon smiled sadly.
«And I understand why. American doctors studied in universities, know modern science, and I… I know only what my grandfather passed to me, and what the sea tells.» There was no bitterness in his words, only humility.
But Emily heard something else in them, deep knowledge that you won’t find in textbooks. Their conversation was interrupted by the appearance of William Thompson. He walked toward them with quick steps along the wooden pier, and it was clear he was displeased.
«Emily, what are you doing here?» he asked, clearly ignoring Ramon. «You shouldn’t stay in the sun by the water for so long.» «Dad, I was just talking to Ramon, he was telling interesting things about sails and the sea.»
William gave Ramon a cold look. As a successful businessman, he was used to instantly assessing people, and what he saw didn’t please him. His daughter, who hadn’t left her room for months, suddenly became interested in conversations with a simple worker.
«Mr.,» he began, «Navarro, sir,» «Mr. Navarro, I hope you understand that you were hired here by the contracting company for work in the marina, not for entertaining my daughter.» Emily felt the blood rush to her face. «Dad, we were just talking.»
«It’s all right, senorita Emily,» Ramon said calmly. «I understand, Mr. Thompson, sorry for the disturbance.» He nodded politely and returned to working on the sails.
William took his daughter back to the house, but for the rest of the day Emily thought about their conversation. For the first time in many years, she felt something akin to interest in life. In the following days, Emily began appearing in the marina more often.
Officially, she came to breathe the sea air, but in reality, she hoped for new meetings with Ramon. Their conversations became deeper. He talked about his homeland, about his people’s traditions, about how his grandfather taught him to listen to the sea.
«In my country,» Ramon said, carefully coiling a rope on the dock, «we believe that body and soul are connected to the ocean. Sometimes illness in the body is illness of the soul. Modern doctors treat only the body, but forget that the sea can heal the soul.»
«But my case is different,» Emily objected, «I have a damaged spine, it’s a physical injury. It can’t be cured with talks or seawater.» Ramon stopped and looked at her attentively.
«Maybe, but I’ve seen people swim after terrible injuries because they needed to live, and I’ve seen those who feared even touching water from a small pain because they didn’t want to live.» His words touched Emily deeply. Was he hinting that her illness was unwillingness to live? «You don’t know what I’ve been through,» she said coldly.
«You’re right, senorita, forgive me. I just… I see in your eyes the same as in my patients’ eyes. Not illness, fear.»
«Fear of what?» «You know that better than me.» This conversation kept Emily awake for several days. Fear? What was she afraid of? Of course, she feared remaining disabled for life, feared disappointing her father, feared being a burden.
But wasn’t that normal? Meanwhile, William Thompson was becoming increasingly concerned about the changes in his daughter’s behavior. After many years of apathy, she suddenly showed interest in something, but that something was a simple migrant master. William couldn’t understand what his daughter found in communicating with this man.
He conducted his own investigation through the contracting company. Ramon Navarro, 35 years old, came from Cuba on a tourist visa and stayed illegally. He worked as a folk healer, but has no license for medical practice in the United States.
He has a wife and two children who remained in Cuba. Nothing criminal, but nothing impressive. One evening, when Emily was dining with her father in the large dining room of the mansion overlooking the sea, William decided to talk to her frankly.
«Emily, I’ve noticed you’ve been spending a lot of time in the marina.» «I like the sea air,» she replied, not lifting her eyes from her plate. «And I like seeing you active, but I’m worried about your interest in this master.»
«His name is Ramon, Dad, and we’re just talking.» «About what?» Emily finally raised her eyes. In them burned something William hadn’t seen for many years—fire…
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