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O C E A N W A V E S
& P I R A T E S H I P S
Colin threw a rock a the ocean. He threw another and another. Finally, he tried to lift a bigger rock sitting nearby. But he couldn’t lift it. He yelled in frustration and anger, not even saying real words. When he was tired out he sat on the sand watching the waves roll and bounce.
The Celtic Sea. Colin’s favorite place in the world was always there. But now, he seemed angry at even the ocean. He wanted to scream at anyone who touched him. He suddenly stood up and threw another stone as far as he could. But it floated back and he realized it was only a shell and not a stone. Colin felt furious. “It isn’t fair.” He told himself. “Nothing’s fair. Nothing ever is fair.” He tried to see past the line where the ocean and sky meet, but there was no use. It probably went on forever.
“You took Papa. You took Mama! You took everything!” He looked up at the sky, that was now greying more and more. Dark clouds hid the sun and little raindrops began falling.
Colin was now soaked to the skin, but he really didn’t care one bit. Out here was where he could be alone. Where he felt just a glimpse of what freedom feels like.
“Colin.” Fiona laid her hand on his shoulder.
Colin turned away. “Leave me alone.”
“Colin. We only have each other.”
Colin looked back to the sea. “I miss Mama and Papa. Without them…” He looked at Fiona. “We’re orphans.”
“We’ll soon run out of money to survive. They won’t let me get a job and you—well you’re as skinny as a pitchfork.”
Colin sighed. “I missed my father’s funeral. I won’t miss Mama’s.”
People from the village gathered around a certain spot in the forest. A man carried Mama’s wrapped up lifeless body and placed her into a wooden pine box. She was laid into the ground, never to be seen again, along next to Papa.
When everyone left, Colin and Fiona stayed. Fiona put a handful of wildflowers on Mama’s grave. She only had a small rock that marked the place where she was buried. And on that rock was engraved,
HERE LIES MAGGY O’BRIEN BRAYGAN. A WIFE. A SISTER. AND THE KINDEST MAMA GOD COULD GIVE.
Colin cried. It was the first time since her death. Earlier that day, it had just been screams of anger, but now—it was just a long, hard sob.
Fiona wrapped her hands around his shoulder in a motherly way. She cried also, but of the two, she was a bit more mature, despite her being a bit too blunt.
Time passed. Two weeks had gone by and those two weeks were not particularly pleasant. The money was running out and Colin couldn’t find a job. Also, a rat snuck into the sheep’s pen and many other pens and poisoned the food. Animals were dying.
Colin didn’t know what to do. Everything was going wrong.
He often saw Fiona in the small bedroom by her bed, kneeling and talking. She was praying.
Colin didn’t feel like praying. He didn’t feel like talking to the God who took not one, but both of his parents. Or the God who let all the animals die.
Fiona noticed him sometimes watching her, but she didn’t care.
“You’ve got to have faith, sometime lad.” She said.
“Only God knows the answers and futures of us all. If you call his name…if you knock on the door…” She smiled, and a few tears swelled up in her eyes. “He’ll be sure to answer.”
That night, Colin awoke to a start. Someone was ringing the giant bell in the tower and people were blowing their horns, shouting, “Pirates! The Barbary Pirates are attacking!”
Colin jumped to his feet and awakened Fiona.
“Wake up! We’re being attacked by pirates!”
“It’s nearly dawn, yet.” Fiona mumbled in her sleep.
“Fiona, get up!”
Fiona sat up. “What?”
“Pirates!”
People scurried all around, running to the mountains and forests.
The boats were getting closer and closer.
Colin ran through the town, holding Fiona’s hand, trying to get to their secret hidden place in the forest. There was a hole in the ground that led to a little room in the deep part of the forest. Papa had built that in case of emergency.
“Run, Fiona, run!”
The boats pulled in and hundreds of men came running from the boats with swords and cutlasses.
Colin and Fiona ran through the woods and soon slowed down. Just then, they heard a noise. A rustling sound. They heard screaming also. Colin covered Fiona’s ears.
The moment he stopped and turned his head—whack!
Everything went black and Colin couldn’t remember anything other then the touch of Fiona’s hand being dragged away from reach.
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