In READ Magazine's pirate issue (yar), we asked you to write the conclusion to a story called The Pirate's Life For Me. To read the first part of that story, click here. To read Sara Verbanas' conclusion... keep reading.
The Pirate's Life For Me (Part II)
- By Sara Verbanas
"That it be boy-o!" Uncle Petey glared at me and motioned with the flick of his hand to come along "Now, we meet your father." I felt my throat tighten as I strolled one step behind Uncle Petey, feeling the eyes of the crew glaring at me with interest and awe.
We came upon a wooden door that led to the captain's cabin. "Come on lad don't be shy now! We ain't got all day ya know!" Petety rapped his knuckles on the door, and then a voice sounded within.
"Who goes there me-hearty?"
Petey pushed open the door and across the room a figure emerged from the shadows of the corner, to reveal a tall, strongly built, bronze-skinned man. His attire contained a black hat with a pair of old, grungy-looking pair of boots and his hair was braided just like Petey's (except this guy had some beads in his).
Petey turned to me and looked me up and down. "Aye but he gots the heart of a pirate, Captain."
"Well then," My pirate-father said, "Don't you be tryin' any tricks now. There ain't no where else to go besides the deep blue yonder where you'll be eaten alive by sharks." Petey grabbed my arm and pulled me closer to my long lost father. "Well, you aint the buffest lad to take the job, but we can make you as greedy and heartless as we here pirates!" I felt his arm place itself heavily on my left shoulder, causing my body to tilt sideways. "Now, we will start breaking you of your proper habits and mold you into a strong and dirty pirate!"
The captain led me out of the cabin and brought me up to the top of the deck. The crew went on with their own duties as if they hadn't noticed I was there. "Now how bout you be gettin' to work, son?" I was handed a bucket of dirty water along with a scrubbing brush. "This here deck needs a good scrubbing, you best be getting it done before dark or you'll miss eatin'."
* * * *
There were plenty of times I went to bed without dinner, but I eventually figured out a way so that I would get done with all my chores and was then able to eat while my food was still hot on the table. If I were to get up early enough, then I could get done with the deck so it would dry before the crew woke up and walked all over it and made it dirty again.
Over the years, I became musuclar and my skin began to turn from a young boy's pale white to a young man's bronze.
Eventually, I discarded all ideas of escape from my mind. After hard labor and deathly trials I finally won the respect and approval of the crew. My father and I became great companions. I was told that because of my cold-heartedness and my exceeding greed, I would become the co-captain of the ship! One day, my father will be dead and I will become sole captain of his ship.
Aye, tis' truly a pirate's life for me!
Yar.
Remember Me