And here is the epilogue :)

Epilogue: As Soft As The Sea

His hands softly reached over to the long man next to him. With a small smile, the man grabbed the hands of the younger one. Behind them, a man with a Mohawk manned the ship. It was steered to a place they had left quite some time ago, a place where they had left their friend behind. The sea had been quiet ever since. The waves rocked the boat softly and comforting, as if it was telling them that everything was alright. It was as if they were once again accompanied by an old friend that they had left because of a drunken fight.

Some wooden pieces drifted around the ship, floating in circular movements around them. Mockingly and ominously as if they were telling them a story the men on the ship didn't want to hear. Private looked at the wooden pieces, soaking wet and floating along on the water. He then looked at the man beside him, who was looking at the wooden pieces too. "Is that from... Her, from Marlene?" He stuttered in a childish way as his hands clenched the railing of the ship. "I-I don't know, Private." Was the man's reply. Private swallowed back some tears when he saw the worried look on Kowalski's face. "Every wooden piece that's floating around us could be all from different ships, right? Hypothetically speaking?" Private said with a shivering voice as he watched the wooden pieces. "Hypothetically..." The man next to him repeated silently.

Kowalski had found his dream job back in NYC. He had become a scientist in one of the government's biggest laboratories. He had proven several important scientific laws wrong, and more than once, he had blown up the lab. He was happy and had been able to give both Private and Rico a warm home. The younger boy had been studying hard and Rico had found a job as a minesweeper, for the government too. And still, every night, when he had put Private to sleep after convincing him that their friend was alright, he still heard the sobs of his other friend before he would go into another night of dreaded insomnia.

And there, in the setting sun, they saw the last recognizable piece of Marlene, her long and filthy sail. It drove past them, waving on the waves as a friend who said goodbye for the last time. Private clenched his hands tighter around the wooden railing. A splinter made its way into his flesh, sinking deep and leaving a small drip of blood at the point it had come in. "Maybe... Maybe it has just ripped off... Maybe he is still okay..." He said silently, watching the ship and the sail distancing from each other.

"I doubt it... I really do..." Kowalski said as he looked at the boy. "I think we better turn the ship... I know enough." He said before walking off to Rico.

The younger boy looked with tear filled eyes at the sea. "Skipper..." He whispered silently. "Goodbye..." He turned around and walked away from the sight of the violent and murderous sea, away from the memories and his feelings. "Friend..."

I hope you liked this story and I would like to thank everybody for reading, faving, following and reviewing :)