High Seas and Highest Hopes

I am still examining the penny in my hand when Hope flings open the door; I have never seen her so off center, it looks almost as though a bead of sweat is dripping from her brow. She steps back upon seeing someone at her door, but breathes deeply when she sees it is me. All at once she feels collected again but now just a little... lighter? It's hard to describe, nothing particularly physical or obvious here, just a sense slightly different than before. "I said I would be back tomorrow!" She opens her mouth immediately as if to respond but then pauses, eyes darting up and left, and then down at the penny I am still mindlessly holding in my palm between us. Her eyes then lock onto the penny like prey and she bites her tongue. She now locks eyes with me as if to convey the importance of this moment, and slowly opens her door fully as she asks "Can I see it?" She extends one hand out toward me slowly, noticeably at the same pace the door opens. Directly behind her I see on the wall holiday decorations, a string of red and green Christmas lights, and another orange and black for Halloween. Between the two cleverly shaped strings a message is plain, although not entirely clear: "Say No To Me." It feels counterintuitive, it feels rude, it feels downright against my nature and intention for being here, but alas, I know I am not fully aware of the mechanics of this place, mechanics she seems savvy and polite enough to illuminate when needed. Seconds pass as we both stand, eyes locked and fingers almost touching, as I wrestle back my good intentions; finally my empathetic puzzle instincts win out. What is The Bard without a little flair though, eh? Timing motion with speech, I close my hand and snatch it away as if she were making a sudden unwelcome grab "NO! It's mine!" I sense the tiny crack of a smile and following suit she looks down and to the side, feigning disappointment, as if explicitly poorly for my benefit. Hope snaps her fingers as if she's been thwarted and says "Ah nerts! Okay, be right back." I pocket the coin as she closes the door and a split second later Hope is back just like I had seen her the day (two days?) before, beaming at me. She swings the door wide once more, and I notice the decorations have been replaced by a pumpkin and very lifelike looking black cat with a Christmas hat on. Something about the sign's absence intrinsically sets me at ease, though on the surface it seems such a minor thing. A sensation permeates me now, one I am not sure I can justify from this unlikely position, but it feels like the game has just been won. 

 

I recover from this uncanny reflection, best left for another time, and don my persona of the day. Pulling out a pair of pirate hats I plop them on both of our heads, and in a most animated fashion introduce the adventure "Yar matey! Today it is to the high seas we go, perhaps returning nevermore. For what are the tides besides a capricious beast? Leviathan to be reckoned with by us sailors, but never tamed?" Her eyes go wide at my introduction, I recall from our prior adventures that she is no stranger to the sea, nor to ships, but I am unsure if she has ever been on one of seafaring size properly; it's nice to think she enjoys my theatrics though. Continuing with the show, I pull out eye patches and place mine over an eye, handing her one as well. "And now our preparations are nearly complete, the open ocean is what we shall meet, with a trusty sloop beneath our feet, this voyage will keep you at the edge of your seat." While still on board with the pirate theme, I can tell Hope has her reservations about the eye patch; it's hard for me to gauge, but perhaps this is a hint of teenage tendencies? I break character for just a minute and add. "You know, pirates didn't wear eye patches because they were all missing eyes. Eyes patches were used so they could always have one eye open to get around, adjusted to the light of the ship; but they also had one eye closed, so if they ever needed to look out into the darkness of the sea they could lift the patch and see clearly right away." I close my open eye, playing the "cool kids" angle, and I can tell she is just about on my side of the fence. "Now did I just wink or blink? You'll never know! When extolling pirates I wonder if anyone ever thought to mention this added ease of expression." She sighs and puts hers on over an eye, but not before giving me her best "You are the biggest dork" eye roll. I reply to her sassy unspoken sentiment as if audible "Yar! Who better than to escort tiny Hope on a marine excursion?" "I'm not a little kid!" she says with a half joking stomp. "Right you are. To the high seas!"

 

As we exit the halls, we emerge directly onto the deck from down below. The ocean air fills my lungs, how long has it been since I've smelled this? Anemoia sets in, but perhaps somewhere lost to my conscious it is hiraeth. I let the scene wash over me like a flood for a minute, as I see Hope excitedly scanning the ship. Then I remember one final flourish I had in mind for today. "Polly want a cracker?" So as not to be called a liar I procure a cracker from my coat pocket. A parrot flies to my shoulder out of the unknown and squawks "My name's Paul, dork!" "Gosh, the salt in the air is seeping into everyone today I see!" Hope rolls her eyes in jest as the parrot still happily take my cracker. "Paul, this is Hope. Hope, Paul." Hope just stares mouth agape at the bird "Hello!" "Hope, did you want Paul to keep you company today?" She nods excitedly, without any sense of fear for this curious beaked, winged little thing. "Excellent! Then it's settled." Paul flies to her shoulder and she does a pretty fair job at keeping calm amidst flapping wings as he perches and settles. I hand her the bag of crackers and survey the sea, whose roaring calmness graciously invites, near'y politely demands, a Piece of Eight, clearing my throat and loosening my tongue.

 

"A polarized term

The Bard's Tongue full of nonsense

But where has it gone?

 

Slipped between pages

No matter how you craft it

Slipped between temples

 

In memory shared

In memoriam forgot

Body unburied

 

For feet never ceased

Call them white, red, black, or pale

Danced even alone

 

To sword and heartbeat

A halving is a having

Palpitat){e}ions) {un})paired)

 

'"When chest grows weary

Throw the yoke off your shoulders

And rest in my arms."'

 

Treasures aplenty

Too much power to brandish

So let (voltage/vessels) (split\splice)

 

< [Time] (an( )is a) (agreement( )blessing) >

Must you regret?Regret this:

These eyes yet unmet."

 

I feel my Piece of Eight land amidst the waves, sinking and spreading far and wide. "An even trade," I consider, fiddling with the penny still in my pocket. Suddenly I get the sense though that some may disagree. Cinematically the skies darken, clouds moving interposed as if by no earthly wind. Hope does her best to look anxious, though the stars remaining in her unpatched eye betray her excitement. "Quick! Scan the seas!" We both head to the rails, side by side, lift our eye patches in unison, and scan the horizon from the ship, conveniently already well lit. The sea remains quiet for now, the ominous calm before the storm I have heard tale of. I take advantage of it though and whisper "See? I told you they would come in handy." Hope shoulder bumps me and suddenly I remember. "Batten down the hatches! For real this time!" I still hardly know what I mean, but it seems Hope has since studied this curious phrase and simply responds with a salute "Aye aye!" Like a lithe gymnast she takes to the mast, bringing down the sails and otherwise securing the ship for rough weather as Paul flies circles around her, no stranger to this process either. I do what I can to not look out of place in the preparation stage; though a sailor I am not, I do think fast on my feet.

 

The ship is fully secured, and we all regroup. As if waiting for their cue in this play that has taken shape from our day, lightning suddenly strikes, and thunder speaks from the sky. In the sudden flash of light I catch a glimpse of something, but wait with heart pounding for a second flash to confirm. "Giant squid!!" Hope shoots me an excited glance before shifting to echo my nervous demeanor. A tentacle falls to the deck with a thud, now gripping us from underneath. A second wraps around the mast and we lurch to the side, followed by others securing its hold. Fortunately it is not the most giant squid I can imagine, but it is still certainly a match for our 40 foot sloop, given enough time. I feel a glimmer of fear now taking hold in Hope as she tugs at my sleeve, and I refuse to believe we bit off more than we can chew. Time slows for me and I am overcome with determination; it is in these moments I am at my best, although how that looks to one who observes The Bard I cannot say for sure. In a realm of agreement so tightly intertwined, I consider that it is our fears, in part, that now threaten to drown us. By agreement we fall, but by agreement we stand. "I've got it! Well, what do you think, do you want to go with slimy or gross?" Hope squints suspiciously at me through the storm, but then it seems she has some idea what I mean, and is at least game enough to pick one under the circumstances. "Slimy." she says, in a quite final way. "Slimy it is!" As tentacles grip and crash all around, threatening every passing moment to take our ship down, I regale Hope with a tale entrancing, based on a true story for whatever that's worth here. I speak of Deonis infiltrating the stronghold of a powerful entity and his encounter with an illogically slick vent, interwoven with another yarn starring Kal'Drel, grease, a sloped passageway, a handful of goblins, and a portable hole. In between well illustrated encounters I see her eyes and attention locked solely on me, stars dancing with flame as I act out scene by scene. Soon enough I finish with "Who greases an airshaft!?" and she falls down laughing. Recovering a sense of our surroundings we wonder at the relative calmness of our craft, when compared to just a minute before. We both turn just in time to see a large tentacle fly up from the water to grip our stern once again, and *WOOP* off it slips into the sea. We both laugh as several more times the beast tries to reestablish its hold *WOOP* *WOOP* and then finally gives up, giant squid returning from whence it came. "Slimy was a good choice, I think it would have been tough to find something the squid found gross that we didn't. Now all we have to do is avoid the sides until we reach shore." She nods, looking proud and amused and relieved all at once. She feeds Paul another cracker and, as if echoing her unspoken sentiment, he adds "Gar!"

 

We sit watching the sun set over clear blue water, the storm having passed. Soon enough night sets in; we blow out the lanterns, remove our eye patches and fancy pirate hats, and just lay on the deck, letting the ship sail on in darkness as we watch the stars, coming up with our own stories of what the many constellations represent. At this perfect end to a certainly adventurous day, laying with my hands behind my head, on the edge of my lim, I speak to the audience, toward the sky.

 

"I'd never leave you if I could help it

But this breaking heart leads me to believe

These violet snaps make violet heart fit

And it is done with nothing up my sleeve

 

So mind adrifts to golden hind regrets

And how turning to be healed may be worse

Than learning to live separate with some debts

But stave off the day novel becomes verse

 

So fractal words make mountain of molehill

In hope that Hope's secrets can remain theirs

So that blood and vine freeze in a cold chill

In certain gaps between our hearts and stairs

 

I promise (please forgive this ignorance)

Nothing but starry eyes and heart to dance."

 

We lay in the silence, now descending on us like a blanket, the stories of the day blooming in our hearts but no longer carried on the breeze. As I feel I might drift off to sleep I hear Hope say "I'm ready to go back now." I nod and stand and stretch and gather my things. "Oh, we are back at shore anyway!" I point dead ahead and in the not too far distance a light spins rhythmically.

 

We head back below and then through the halls, but the sound of the sea can still be heard beneath the soft music. The halls are now that perfect level of quiet, I think, with just enough sound so thoughts do not scream at sound's absence, but that they can still wander the beach. "I hope it never ends." This unexpected twist as the music plays cuts deep, but still I am filled with determination. For what is a journey's end but another's beginning? And with clever minds and same same hearts, who is to say forever might not bend just enough to allow two to walk together again? As this train of thought still carries me to a place I hope is home, we arrive at her door. "Thank you for joining me today. I'll be back tomorrow." She gives me a hug, and as we separate says "You are quite welcome. As far as my two cents goes..." She holds out a clenched fist toward me, and I put my open palm underneath. She clasps my hand tight and I feel a metallic coldness in between our palms, bringing back memories of last night, confirming that if it was a dream, it was one shared and at least in this place brought to life. She gives me a wink, and then sashays into her room, closing the door behind her, leaving me with my fist still clenched tight around her gift. I open my hand, palm face up, and find myself surprised twice over; in my hand I see nothing, though I still feel the faintest tingle of a coin against my skin. It is as if my mind is trying to reconcile sight and touch by removing its presence, but my conscious mind insistently persists on the coin's tangibility. I close my hand quickly once more, and drop Hope's secret coin into my pocket with the other, or at a minimum pantomiming its dropping, for the sake of the audience of none. What can I say, I like a good show of things myself, though a soft jingle seems to suggest that this is something more.