The Pirate Tim

Tim ascended the rickety stairs from below deck. In the August heat, it was unbearably stuffy to remain inside the boat. The boat rocked softly as the wind and waves steered them through the endless skies of sea. Many of the ship hands had already stripped down to a bare chest and a bit of vain covering fabric. Some were even bold enough to go about their jobs stark naked. No one seemed to care.

Tim twisted about at the sound of a crewmember calling for assistance. The winds had finally begun to stir after three days of being becalmed. The men were having a difficult time tying down the flying jib that had ripped loose. The free corner of the sail flapped like the long wings of the gulls, which glided close to the ship. Tim’s smaller frame could more easily walk the dangerous plank of the Bowsprit to secure the canvas. Tim stopped halfway along the spar when a short man with tight curls of orange hair came to the prow to watch. Tim immediately dropped and continued to crawl forward by shuffling upside-down like a sloth.

"You can’t fool me with that a second time," said the man. "I could follow you with my eyes closed."

Tim gripped onto the figurehead and rested for a moment. "What do you want Horis?"

"To see you. To be near you."

The long time at sea made many men desperate for any type of companionship, even if there were seventy other men on board. Tim made a face of complete disgust and mortification before continuing to shuffle over the wooden boards of the ship.

"Why do you make such a effort to avoid me?"

"I will give you a choice, either you leave me be or I will nail your chest to the deck and make you dance till your entrails fall out. It is your choice." Tim watched as the seabirds swooped low to catch fish, which were excited to the surface by the boat’s wake. "Make yourself good for something. Report to the captain that there are more birds in the area. Land must be near."

"Get back in the boat," he said leaning over. A hand reached up and tossed the startled sea rover overboard.

"I said to get the captain!" Tim yelled, watching Horis flail in the water.

"I am here," said a deep voiced man. He had a deep, unkept, black beard and small inset eyes but his rose-colored chubby cheeks overplayed it all, casting him in an amiable light.