Days

DAYS


I have been living here for many days now, don’t know how I have been able to survive this long. The only thing I have eaten for these last ten days have been these small, squarish red juicy berries, well at least I think they were berries, these brown button shaped mushrooms that made me throw up for an hour, never eating them again. This island is bitter sweet. When I was younger I always thought that having your own personal island would be the best but being here isn’t all that glorious. Lying on the sand I feel a spider crawl along my arm and descend onto the clean white sand and scurry into the lush green forest like it is being chased by a rabid bird. It was exciting and relaxing for the first day or so, and then the loneliness set in and the boredom. I sleep and forage for berries, all day everyday. I’m not going to make it off this island.

Startled awake from my slumber as the drapes are ripped open. The maid standing there, she almost blocks the sun as she throws the contents of the chamber pot out of the window. Sluggishly pulling on my clothes, I stumble down the stairs, all fifty three of them. I loathe this house. It is just to perfecto for me. I pace into the dining room with the long table in the middle, my mother down one end staring distastefully down the other end of the table. That’s where my father is sitting, with his rich clothes and gentleman like posture, he always thought he was superior to everyone else, even her. He didn’t care about anything except how he and his family looked compared to everyone else. He wanted to be seen as perfect. He didn’t want anyone to see a flaw in anything associated with him, unfortunately that was me included.
Trying to sneak out without him sensing me, creeping passed the back of the table behind where he is gazing. I think I’m going to make it away this time. I grin and wave to my mother. I hang my head and face palm as she raises her hand and waves back.
I hear the chair scraping along the white tiled floor as he rises to his feet. I look into his dark eyes, not being able to tell the difference between the iris and the pupil. His moustache is growing just that little bit long, one wrong move of his mouth and he will poke his eye out. I snicker. Damn it. The death stare.
“Where are you going?”
“Out”.
“What are you wearing?”
“Hmm I don’t know. A hemp sack”. Wrong move. I sense myself strike the floor. Wiping the blood away from my lip, I stand up in front of him. Mother is standing motionless at the far end of the room.
Clearing my throat “Clothes sir. A shirt, leggings and boots sir.” Fighting the urge to click my heels together, stand up straight and salute.
“Tuck in that shirt, put on a vest, brush your hair, then you may go, but make sure you are back before dark.”
I walk past the massive iron gate on the way out of this torture house. Picking up the daily telegraph on the way out, the only thing I notice is the date. 28th of August 1768. I was meant to remember something today.
Walking down by the docks, my favourite place. Watching the ships sail in and out, watching the crews working while the captain barks orders from the bridge. How I have longed to be a pirate. Everyday I walk down here and watch the pirates rummage through their booty with expressions of pure ecstasy. I want to be one of them, celebrating over finding buried treasure, sailing the seven seas. The simplicity of the ways of the pirates appears to be impressive. Pirates are so noble, they are the knights of the modern day.
The day is drawing to a close as the sun slowly starts to descend below the horizon. I notice the crew of a ship leaving their vessel. I rush on board. Running from the deck to the cabins below, bewildered at all the treasures around, from magnificent portraits of royal looking women to the finest china I have ever laid eyes on. Startled by noise on the deck above I hurriedly jump into a brown trunk with shiny gold plated finish and just wait.
The pirates stumble down the stairs. I daren’t even breathe. Their harsh abrupt voices pierce the silence. As they settle themselves into the bunks I feel the jolt of the ship as it starts to set sail. I start to fall asleep with the gentle movement of the ship as it rises and falls with the movement of the calm ocean.

I run into the cool deep blue ocean to clear my head, I have been reliving that time in my dreams since I arrived on this island, that and the events that happened after it. That was the point in time that my life did a somersault and landed on its head. Sitting down and letting the white washed waves crash around me. A school of fish rush past me, instinct tells me to spear my hand into the water. Miraculously, I grab a small fish. Dinner is on tonight. Starting the fire I realised I had no idea how to cook. Everything had been done for me when I lived at home. I didn’t have to do anything. Eating the fish, which is burnt, of course, but at least it was better than berries. Peeling away the skin revealing the nice white flakes of fish, I don’t know what type of fish it is but it is delicious. Even the innards. For the first time I will fall asleep on a full stomach.

Waking up, I try to stretch out but the box isn’t big enough. Resting my hand down it lands on something that resembles a shoe. Horror strikes me as I realise that this is their dressing trunk. I sit in silence as I listen to the dull roars of the pirate’s snores. Thinking about how I’m going to return, it suddenly becomes quiet. As light pours in from the cabin I have to slam my eyes shut to shield them from the sheer brightness. Being lifted up out of the box and placed on my feet on the floor, I immediately collapse as my legs are asleep. Eyes trying to get used to the sunlight I gaze up at pirate. My jaw drops as I see the pirate, with long brown hair, deep brown eyes. Trying to stand up, I realise the pirate is just shorter than what I am. I never pictured that a girl would be a pirate.
“Off to the cap’ain with you”. She pushes me up the stairs and toward the bridge, I don’t know how I am walking, I’m so petrified.
“What are they going to do to me?”
“That all depends on the cap’ain”. It kind of calmed me down when she said that. Anyone else and I would have taken it as a death threat. At the wheel of the ship stood a man. He was smaller than the girl as well as thinner. I don’t understand how he could run a ship or be a successful pirate. He wouldn’t be able to dig up a chest of treasure even if he tried. “Straight line” is all I heard but it was in the deepest most abrupt and bitter voice imaginable and it came from the captain in front of me. I leap backwards when I hear the command, almost knocking over the girl. I turn around to apologise but she is already up and running to the rest of the crew who, as commanded, are standing in a straight line. The captain turned around, with the nastiest scar across his left eye. He just looked at me and I knew that I must follow him. With his friendly eyes I still didn’t want to get on the evil side of him.
He stood in front of his crew, people varying in characteristics.
“Boys, meet our new stowaway. He is going to be the deckhand, so all those jobs you don’t really want to do pass them over to him.”
The crew began cheering as the captain turned to me. His friendly eyes gone. A smirk of pure evil on his face. As he laughed in my face his scar looked like a snake slithering toward its prey.
“I’ll show him his quarters”.
Spinning around I notice that she has taken a step forward. With a nod from the captain she begins to stroll toward the trap door, on her way hitting me across the head, hard.
Below the deck is the smallest part of the ship, she positions a pillow near the wall. Sighing, she lowers herself to the floor. I go and lean against the wall and slump down next to her. I open my mouth to speak.
“Kylie, boy, out here now”.
Feeling my arm being yanked out of the socket she is already sprinting up the steps to the deck. The captain was standing at the wheel, his chin just peeking over the thick wooden rim.
“Kylie, man the wheel while I sleep. And you boy, you scrub the deck so that when I wake up I can see my shoes in it.”
The sun is reaching the zenith of the sky when I finish the scrubbing. It was the hardest manual labour I have done. I raise my eyes to the elevated section near the stern. Except the wheel is being steered by a man. He would be seven feet tall and ten times as muscular as me. He completely overshadows the wheel.
“You. Help me raise these sails. We need to be there by morning”
“Be where? What’s happening tomorrow?”
“You’ll find out.” She chuckled as she said this as if she was toying with me.
As the day wore on all I was doing was the other crews’ chores. Some even just sat there and snickered as they ordered me around, they loved the fact that they had a new slave to push around.
I was glad when the crew went into the captain quarters to drink all the ale and rum they could muster. This gave me the opportunity to sneak into my room and sleep. I was so weary from the days work, I don’t think I have every worked that hard in my life. Lying on the floor with my head resting on the pillow, I hear the creak of the door being opened as a thin stream of moonlight comes rushing into the room.
“Can I join you? I don’t like ale” she laughs at the thought “A pirate who doesn’t like ale.” Realising that the pirate voice and the harsh tone were just an act in front of the other crew members all I can muster to say is “Sure.” She sits down next to me.
“I don’t normally have anyone that is my age on this ship, not since my brother died.” Tears welling in her eyes.
“What happened to him?”
“Well, ever since he was a little kid, he wanted to be a pirate. Always covering one eye and screaming “ARGGH” while he was running around the house with a stuffed parrot on his shoulder. He finally got his wish when he walked up to a pirate and asked to be his apprentice. I couldn’t let him go alone so I joined as well. It was all fun and games with him, travelling the world, getting shimmering gold and clean cut gems. Then it all went wrong. The ship caught fire. The blaze spread quickly towering above everything. I didn’t think that such little wood could create such a big fire. There was nothing that any of us could do. But he, as he always did, had to try to save the ship. It meant everything to him. He threw a hose over the side and tried to pump water onto the fire. It was working to. The other crew members just stood back in awe as they watched him battle the fire by himself. None of them knew the fire was underneath the deck as well. The floor collapsed under him as he fell to the lower level. I jumped after him and managed to pull him out but it was too late. The flames had scorched his body to much. Collapsing there I, too, fell unconscious, I was burnt myself.” Lifting her shirt, revealing burn scars along her stomach. I wince in pain as I stare at the scars. “I have stayed a pirate in his memory. I will always be a pirate now. We are all here for a reason and we cannot change that.”
When I finished telling her my story all she could do is burst out laughing. For some reason I was laughing there with her even though I couldn’t see the humour in my mundane life. As she was walking out I couldn’t help but feel a new found respect for her. She was my only friend here and back at home. She became a pirate to keep the memory of her brother alive. I became a pirate to try to rid myself of the memories of my father.
“Your father was a good man”.
“I know”. Hanging my head. “I know”.
I woke up with the sun blazing on my face. The door must have opened during the night. On the deck the crew was running around all over the place. Stopping Kylie as she was barking orders to people, turning to me “Follow me.” She raced down to the front of the boat, rushing after her I help heave up the sails. Wiping the sweat away from my forehead I glance up toward the horizon. There in the distance was another boat. I don’t understand why everyone is in such a commotion if it is just a ship. I question Kylie about it but all she did was cackle in my face “You really are naïve aren’t you?”
As the other ship drew nearer I started to wonder what exactly was going to take place. “Man the cannons” the order was barked with sheer menace. Everyone started rushing toward a cannon. Horror struck me like I had just been hit by my father again. This isn’t what I thought being a pirate was like. I didn’t realise they fought each other. Questions where running through my head but they had to stop because we were now parallel with the other vessel. The sound of cannons being fired was deafening, I drop to the deck as both ships bombard each other with cannon balls. With the sensation of rising I realise that I am being lifted to my feet. She is standing next to me “It’s time” she throws a grappling hook over the other ships mast and swings across. Throwing the rope across the captain is standing there ready to catch it, as he is swinging across I run to the same spot as he was standing mere seconds ago. Reaching toward the rope as it comes flying back to me I start swinging across to the vessel. While I am swinging I glance around at the other crew members. All standing behind cannons. Loading them up and firing across to the other ship. I watch a ball being fired. It launches into a cannon on the other ship. The cannon goes flying over the rails. Landing on the deck, hard, the momentum forces me to run. Noticing Kylie’s hair disappear through a door I start to follow. She slowly backs out of the cabin.
“Don’t get in their way.” I peer into the cabin and see captain versus captain in what appears like an intense battle. Swords in hand. They duck and strike each other with unforgivable relentlessness. The chink of the swords as they clash together is ear piercing. The pirates circle each other as they make their way around the room. Our captain lifts a lamp and hurls it. The other ducks, the lamp flies to through the window sending glass all over the floor. The captain of the other ship edges back. Slipping on the glass underfoot. His sword flings out of his hand as he tumbles to the ground. Kylie runs to pick it up. Standing over a cowering figure is the captain and Kylie. Sword in the hand of the captain he turns to me and hands me the sword. “If you want to become a crew member now is your time. Do it.” I thought pirates were noble people but here I am with a sword being asked to kill an unarmed man. I'm not a murderer and I didn’t assume pirates were either. I drop the sword and leave the room.
Back on our ship I stoop to the floor. Watching the crew bring over chests full of gold, so that’s where they receive their riches, the captain and Kylie following, the captain is carrying something wrapped in a sheet. “It’s over.”
He strolls up to me looks me in the eyes. His expression similar to that of my fathers. “You have committed treason, by refusing to follow orders you must be punished.”
Standing on the railings of the ship I look back at the crew. The captain is standing but seeing my fathers face snicker, I realise even here I'm not perfect in their eyes. He lunges forwards and thrusts me overboard. I slap the water with so much force I lose all breath. Scrambling to the surface I see a door floating in the water beside me, I search the ship. Standing in a hole, obviously made by a cannon, she was standing there with a look of sorrow in her eyes. I can imagine that all she is thinking is “Lost another one.” The only person she connected with since her bother, now leaving her. Clambering onto the door, watching the ship sail away I wonder if this is truly reality or just a wild dream. I lie down on the door willing for sleep.

The fire is still smouldering when I rouse. Rolling over into the remains of the fish that I devoured last night I groan and slowly make my way toward the water. Putting more wood onto the fire I stand and start walking along the beach. Why did I want to get away from reality? It made no sense. My father was exceptionally disciplinary toward me. He just wanted me to change. You can’t make people change even though I tried. Kneeling down in the shallows I douse my face in water. Looking into a small pool I see my father staring back at me. Making sure I'm not hallucinating I gaze down at the pool again. I can still see him but it is my reflection. My father wasn’t happy with the way I was and I wasn’t happy the way the pirates were.
I am exactly like him. This is reality.

WC 3,214