A. L. Kaplan

Tag: sailing

  • Sea Dog

    Salty flicked her ears as the humans went ashore, eager to instigate her escape plan. It was all she could do to keep from yipping in joy. The lazy mutineers gave themselves shore leave again for the last time. That crew took a nap every hour and didn’t know how to scrub down the deck properly. She pried the door of the brig open and looked around to be sure no one was watching, then jumped to the dock and pulled the mooring lines free. It took only seconds to start the small prop engine on the sailing vessel with the push button start. The humans were none the wiser as Capt’n Salty took the helm and steered the boat away from the dock and out to sea.

    The rise and fall of the waves made Salty’s heart soar. Those scurvy humans could enjoy their shore leave for as long as they liked. There was no way Salty would be sent to the brig on her own ship again. She checked the charts as the isle of St. Lucia disappeared from view, smelling the salty air as it blew by. The larder was well stocked. The ocean breeze was brisk, and the sky a clear crisp blue. All Salty had to do was keep her course. Martinique was only twenty-five nautical miles away. She’d make port there and take on a new crew. Humans were easy. All a dog need do was wag her tail and look cute.

  • Salt and Sails

    Cool spray caresses my face and the salt tastes sweet on my lips. The scent of sea air permeates my being. This is my first and only love. I close my eyes and feel the brig as it cuts through the calm waters of the bay. The rise and fall of the waves still send shivers of joy down my spine. Here is where I belong, not bound to the hard unmoving land.

    I clutch the two gold bands that hang from my neck. My parents told me I was born in the churning waves of a storm, among the sugar cane and indigo of the hold. They were only passengers on that voyage, and fled the rocking of the ship as soon as they made landfall. But my destiny was established.

    Forty years have passed since I ran to my lover disguised as a boy, only days after my parents died. I was twelve, and have never left the embrace of the ocean. Now, as Captain, I sail the same route that bore me, delivering new shipments from the islands to these costal ports.

    The days of the brig are almost gone, overtaken by newer ships with smaller crews. But this is my life, my ship. There are no regrets. My heart races through the water like a dolphin and I long for the challenge of sailing into those crimson seas at dawn. Perhaps I’ll leave this world the way I entered, on the roiling waves of the sea.