This is a little chapter I had written a couple months ago. It was part of a fictional journal I created for the Narrative module on my degree. This piece was inspired by Alice and Wonderland by Lewis Caroll and Cat O' Nine tails by Julia Goulding. It was a fun piece to write and I have decided to share it on here! I am not sure I'll ever carry this piece forward but I did enjoy writing it.
Coral Ali
It did not take me long to realise that I was not like other girls. Now I look back, all the signs were there. At the age of four at the fancy dress parties, all the girls would come dressed as princesses and I insisted on coming as a pirate. Every single time. I did not care, I loved dressing up as different fictional pirates. I remember the day trips my parents took me on, I always wanted to visit the beach. I did not care much for dolls, instead I was far more intrigued by boats and treasure. I had always been fascinated with pirates and the sea, I am still unsure where this fascination has stemmed from but at a young age, I decided I wanted my own ship and to sail the sea with my crew. I wanted to be a real-life pirate. I got my first job at sixteen, minimum wage at the docks. This was where my pirate days began to come to life. I began helping load cargo, washing down some of the boats that came in every week. It was here where I bet a boy, a boy who later became my best friend and sailing partner. The boy was called Joe Shield, he thought I was mad. We both became apprenticed on the same ship together at the same time, she was called Coral Ali. She was small but a beauty, we were the only apprentices of the owner, Timmy Redding. We didn’t see much of him, he told us what to do and let us get on with it. Joe and I became close quickly, I told him about my dream of owning my own ship and having my crew. Joe wasn’t a very imaginative guy but asked if he could tag along, help me with my crew and to mend the ship if it needed it. His home life was a wreck, and I figured he needed an escape just as much as me. Together on board of the Coral Ali we learned how to maintain a boat, how to fix any occurring problems. Timmy only taught Joe how to sail though, he did not think it was a girl’s job. He was not a huge fan of me, I think he only hired me because I was the only other person to accept the low pay job alongside Joe. I began to hate Timmy quickly, but I respected him. He would let us travel on the boat with him sometimes, I witnessed him making hundreds of trades. He is a tough man, built well but stern. He would let no man mess him around, and he became my inspiration as a captain. Our dislike for each other fuelled me to work harder, Joe was a good guy, but I managed to further myself as an apprentice quicker than he. I did help him when I could, he was never salty. We both enjoyed each other’s company. Later Joe taught me to sail, everything Timmy taught him he taught me, I will always be grateful for that. We worked on board of Coral Ali for a good three years, until Timmy went off the rails and crashed her, smashing poor Coral into smithereens. Joe and I were heartbroken. Timmy snapped at us.
“I am done with her, you two do as you please with her remains. Your apprentice is done, we are through,” Timmy had given up and lost all his passion. That hurt my heart. To this today I still could not imagine the heartache of losing your love for something.
Even though we were both upset by the termination of our apprenticeship, we soon found something new. Together we decided it was time to live out my dream, and that’s when we took Timmy’s words with us. We took Coral’s remains, she looked damaged beyond repair. There was no way we could have fixed her, instead, we decided we were going to build a whole new ship entirely.
