Everything that happened on that first cruise around South America--even the good parts--had a disturbing quality. That is because there were so many coincidences that confused me and contradicted my belief system. I tend to think that coincidences often happen without having any meaning other than being odd occurrences. In the books I talk about why that is, including the bit about the word currents appearing in every title in the series. In this case, there were too many related incidents involving my life and past, and the scientist in me knew these could not all be attributed to chance.

 

Something or somebody seemed to be playing a dangerous game with me. Was it my new-found love, Mick, or my new exotic friend, Suzanne? Or was it someone else waiting in the shadows on the ship or in a port to take me down? That nearly happened in Brazil. If Don and Charlie had not happened upon my attempted abduction in Salvador da Bahia, well, I don't know what would have happened to me. 

 

After I was accosted everything seemed to take a turn for the worst. I realized my new love interest, Mick, had another liaison underway on the ship. Much worse than learning of his apparent deception was the fact that the other woman was someone from my past whose presence on the ship and link with Mick completely baffled me. Gradually with a lot of angst the truth revealed itself to be far different than it first seemed. 

 

Another crew member was lost at sea and as a result, we, and the ship's security chief finally identified a culprit of sorts. A convoluted series of events on and off the ship led to this person being ousted from the cruise. At the same time, in the mother of all coincidences, I met a person--again from my past--in Buenos Aires who fundamentally changed my life for the better.

 

After that we thought all would be well. If only we had realized the true evil still lurking onboard. Before the cruise ended in Valparaiso, Chile, another crew member disappeared, and Mick, myself, and others suffered horrendous loss and injury. Finally, I could explain at least some of the mysterious coincidences. Enough of that part of the story, except to say that these events caused a number of lives to intertwine not only through the following stories, but forever. Next time I'll begin the tale of our second unexpected trip on the Sea Nymph.