Setting Sail

The first night at sea is possibly one of the worst nights of my life. The wind makes the rigging shriek as if the ship has been possesed by demons. The decks rise and fall in the raging storm as I lie in my hammock, incapacitated by seasickness. I expect to be mocked by the pirates but they are surprisingly sympathetic.
"Everyone is seasick m'dear when they first set sail," one of the women tells me, as I retch again, painfully, because by now my stomach is empty."We don;t laugh at anyone - we have all had to go through this."

I am surprised by her compassion. I had thought all pirates to be cruel but so far I have encountered kindness.
"You get what you deserve," she says suddenly.
"Pardon me?"
"You heard."
"But I didn;t say anything."
"Who says you actually have to talk to say anything?"

That makes me stop for a moment.
"Yes, thats right, we can read minds."
"........"
"Yes, anything you can think I can think better....." and she smiles.
"Oh no," I think.
"Oh YES!" she says. "You are quite right - this is going to be interesting."

She climbs out of the cabin door - she needs to climb because by now the storm is so bad the ship lies almost horizontal upon the water. Before she leaves she turns back to me.
"No, we aren;t all going to die. Yes, its a bad storm, but the ship can take it."

I lie in the dark, groaning and wishing for oblivion and, eventually, I fall asleep. When I awake the following morning we are sailing on a turquoise coloured sea under a blue sky. The sun is high and I guess it must be almost noon.
"Correct," shrieks a passing gull.
"Oh no," I groan.
"Oh yes, no privacy at all my dear," shouts a passing flying fish.

I try to gather my thoughts, but hear their echoes all around me, from the pirates, the insects, the birds, dolphins, fish......whatever I think seems to elicit an immediate response.
"You always thought noone listened to you," I think. "Now...."
"We can all hear you," says one of the pirates. He is tall and handsome.
"Thank you," he says. "Nice that you think that."

I wondered why I can't read his thoughts.
"You haven;t learnt to listen yet," he answers. "By the time we have been at sea for a few days you will pick up the knack - if you want to. You do? Good. Then, just watch and listen, and you will start to hear us."
"Oh yes you will," says a passing spider as it scuttles down a hole in the planks.
"No problem," yowls the ships cat as it prepares to pounce on a mouse which is obviously pleading for its life.

The day passes pleasantly enough. The sun rises higher and higher. The heat becomes unbearable. We slow down, and look like a painted ship on a painted ocean. An albatross flies overhead and I stare in alarm.
"You know the poem?" asks one of the women pirates. I nod, knowing the nod to be redundant. "Well, don;t worry. We aren;t sailing into it."

I wondered where we ARE sailing. As dusk falls, the sky paints itself all colours of the rainbow before permitting the sun to disappear into the sea. Silence falls with night. I begin to listen.... carefully.