Alessandro jumped from the prow. After a week at sea, he surrendered to it. Wearing only a pair of soot-stained khaki shorts, he longed to float, and it seemed that he flew through the air for hours. His arms were spread in complete abandon, he exhaled, he spun on the wind like a leaf. Then he broke the glassy surface of the sea into fountains of white foam, pulling the air deep down with him until it rebelled and pushed him back up into the wind. The other men hit the water like artillery shells, and as Alessandro dived down, shut his eyes, and did weightless acrobatic turns, he listened to
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