This piece of writing was inspired by a prompt provided by Margaret. I was struggling with a subject to write about in the absence of a prompt and Margaret suddenly said "Sink or Swim!"
Image © Copyright John and Margaret
SINK OR SWIM
by John Yeo
Mary was a well known, well liked figure in the village, she was a fountain of knowledge in all things green and natural. Many people had reason to thank Mary for her magical herbal remedies and tonics she produced in her small cottage garden and kitchen.
In her younger days, Mary was responsible for bringing many of the younger villagers into this world in her role as the local nurse and midwife.
People said Mary was blessed with supernatural powers, some even said she had the power to read minds and communicate over vast distances, simply by mind-power.
Jed her husband was a sea-captain, shipping tea from the Caribbean to England, aboard the good ship Mary-Jane. He was often away from home for many weeks at a time. Although he was sceptical about the stories, many times he swore Mary was there with him in spirit, guiding him in whatever he did.
The tea clipper left an exotic port overloaded with as much cargo as the crew were able to pack into the hold. The price of tea was at its lowest level ever and the company had ordered every square inch of the hold to be loaded with tea.
Captain Jed was uneasy about this and he informed his first mate of his fears. "Rolly, I don't like this, I feel very uneasy about our buoyancy as we are overloaded!"
"Yes sir," said the first mate, "The crew are restless, and I think they would be mutinous if it wasn't for the promised bonus."
That night Jed woke with a start to find Mary in his cabin, a vision that stirred every nerve in his system.
"What are you doing here Mary? Why have you suddenly appeared here?"
"I have come to be with you my husband, at your side, facing the danger you are in. There is a hurricane heading your way and I am here to be at your side when the storm breaks. We will sink or swim together if the ship goes down," said Mary.
"Are you serious? I will alter course and head for a safe haven until the storm has passed." Captain Jed spoke to an empty cabin, as Mary had disappeared.
Captain Jed ordered Rolly to change course and they headed to an uninhabited island nearby with a sheltered lagoon and weighed anchor.
Later that day, a fearsome storm blew up, a typhoon wind that ripped trees from the ground and blew them around like straws. Huge waves swamped the small island and flooded the tiny lagoon, where the tea clipper was moored, sending the ship on to the shore where it landed to get jammed on its side, on a sandy hilly beach. Many of the crew were injured and thrown into the water, Captain Jed and Rolly escaped injury and began to rescue and transport as many of the crew to the shore as they could.
Jed had a vision of Mary, when they were fortunately rescued by a passing ship several days later. Mary was smiling and laughingly said, "I was with you all the time, my husband. We would never sink, so we swam together!"
Jed or Mary never publicly referred to their joint escape again, ever.
Rumour has it that many further joint mysterious adventures have taken place, never to be revealed to a sceptical world.
Copyright (c) Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved.
by John Yeo
Mary was a well known, well liked figure in the village, she was a fountain of knowledge in all things green and natural. Many people had reason to thank Mary for her magical herbal remedies and tonics she produced in her small cottage garden and kitchen.
In her younger days, Mary was responsible for bringing many of the younger villagers into this world in her role as the local nurse and midwife.
People said Mary was blessed with supernatural powers, some even said she had the power to read minds and communicate over vast distances, simply by mind-power.
Jed her husband was a sea-captain, shipping tea from the Caribbean to England, aboard the good ship Mary-Jane. He was often away from home for many weeks at a time. Although he was sceptical about the stories, many times he swore Mary was there with him in spirit, guiding him in whatever he did.
The tea clipper left an exotic port overloaded with as much cargo as the crew were able to pack into the hold. The price of tea was at its lowest level ever and the company had ordered every square inch of the hold to be loaded with tea.
Captain Jed was uneasy about this and he informed his first mate of his fears. "Rolly, I don't like this, I feel very uneasy about our buoyancy as we are overloaded!"
"Yes sir," said the first mate, "The crew are restless, and I think they would be mutinous if it wasn't for the promised bonus."
That night Jed woke with a start to find Mary in his cabin, a vision that stirred every nerve in his system.
"What are you doing here Mary? Why have you suddenly appeared here?"
"I have come to be with you my husband, at your side, facing the danger you are in. There is a hurricane heading your way and I am here to be at your side when the storm breaks. We will sink or swim together if the ship goes down," said Mary.
"Are you serious? I will alter course and head for a safe haven until the storm has passed." Captain Jed spoke to an empty cabin, as Mary had disappeared.
Captain Jed ordered Rolly to change course and they headed to an uninhabited island nearby with a sheltered lagoon and weighed anchor.
Later that day, a fearsome storm blew up, a typhoon wind that ripped trees from the ground and blew them around like straws. Huge waves swamped the small island and flooded the tiny lagoon, where the tea clipper was moored, sending the ship on to the shore where it landed to get jammed on its side, on a sandy hilly beach. Many of the crew were injured and thrown into the water, Captain Jed and Rolly escaped injury and began to rescue and transport as many of the crew to the shore as they could.
Jed had a vision of Mary, when they were fortunately rescued by a passing ship several days later. Mary was smiling and laughingly said, "I was with you all the time, my husband. We would never sink, so we swam together!"
Jed or Mary never publicly referred to their joint escape again, ever.
Rumour has it that many further joint mysterious adventures have taken place, never to be revealed to a sceptical world.
Copyright (c) Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved.
Image © Copyright John and Margaret
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