The Little Pirate

 

The Little Pirate

The sun was exceptionally bright that Saturday afternoon. Salty sea breeze wafted in from time to time, bringing with it a faint smell of Junipers. A hint of anise mingled with their pungent scent courtesy the abundant Tickseed shrubs growing nearby. 

The small seaside town was quiet this time of day. Kids were home for the summer - lounging around in shorts, selling lemonade on corner stands, slurping on as many ice creams as they could sneak in when their parents weren't watching. Which was easy, as most parents were inside their homes, watching the telly and trying to keep their post lunch drowsiness at bay.  

On the corner of a little lane, tucked in between rows of Hibiscus and Bougainville and some yellow flowers whose name no one seemed to know...stood a merry looking house with sprawling green lawns surrounding it.

A small figure crouched next to a freshly groomed golden retriever, whispering excitedly. Little Eric was dressed as a pirate today. Blue striped shirt, red shorts and a pointy red paper hat that he had hand painted sat with pride on his wavy hair. The hat had the words 'B.I.G.H.U.R.T.' scrawled on one side, and a large black 'X' made of two swords on the other. 

"Catch!" he yelled, swinging his racquet with all his might. Thwack! The ball hit the middle of the strings and shot out across the garden, a flurry of gold chasing it. 

"Get it Barney, go faster!" urged Eric, starting to run after the ball himself. 

Barney promptly got to the ball and trotted back, half his tongue rolling out the side of his mouth. He dropped the ball at Erics' feet and looked up at him, panting.

"Good boy!" said Eric, picking the ball up, carefully avoiding the parts Barney had slobbered over. 

"Want to go again?" he asked Barney. 

"Woof", he replied, perking his tail up. 

"Okay, this time I'll throw it as far as I can" said Eric. He bounced it twice on the ground, then raised his right hand backwards for a wide swing. 

"Go!", he yelled, and swung his hand with all his might, opening his hand like an elegant butterfly.

"Thaaawack".  Specks of drool flew from the ball as it spun in a wide arc, a flash of gold close behind. Spinning across the blue sky, the ball raced over the lawn, across the flower beds, and clean over the wooden fence into their neighbours' garden. 

"Woof! Woof! Wooof woof wood woooof!" Barney threw himself at the fence, pushing against it with all his might. "Woof woof woof" he barked, trying to leap across. 

"Oh no!" The little pirate grimaced to himself and ran towards the fence. Jumping across the flower beds, he rushed towards Barney who was continuing in his efforts to break the fence down. " Shush, be quiet!!" Eric tried pulling Barney away from the fence to no avail. The dog had a will of his own, and no mighty fence was going to come between him and his precious toy. Eric put his hands on the edge of the wood and hauled himself up, trying to look over. Last time his ball went over, he almost got in trouble with the grumpy old man next door. Something about his huge silvery moustache had told Eric he wasn't a man to be trifled with. 

Hoping that the coast was clear, he gazed across the yard of the house next door, trying to spot his ball. And spot it he did. 

From under a bushy brow, his old neighbour stared at Eric, holding a glass jug of what appeared to be half drunk orange juice with lots of ice and a yellow ball floating on the top of it. 

"Oh no" thought Eric. He was sure to get into trouble now. Just last week the old man had complained to his mom about Barney sneaking into his yard and digging up his freshly watered flowerbeds. 

"He thought he buried his bone there, he was just trying to get it outttt." Eric tried explaining to his mother, but she was not in a mood to listen. 

"She never does", Eric mused to himself. 

"Well young man, is this yours?" Boomed a deep voice. Glaring at Eric, the old man made his way towards them.

One time, Eric had bitten into an apple only to find half a worm in it. Feeling much the same way as he had done then, Eric looked back at the moustached man. 

"Yes, Sir" he replied, slumping his shoulders a bit. 

"And what is it doing in my juice?" Frowned the man.

"Appears to be floating, sir" 

"And why exactly is it floating in my juice, boy?"

"Because it's made of rubber sir, rubber balls don't sink"

The man furrowed his brows at Eric, then burst into laughter.

Eric looked up hopefully at him. Maybe this time he wouldn't get into trouble. 

"May I have it back, sir?" he opened his eyes wide, trying his best to look innocent. 

"No" 

"Please? Mom won't let me have another, she says I break too many things" Eric tried appealing to the man's kinder nature. 

" I'll tell you what... You can come and clean up the mess you made, and then you can have it back. " 

" Oookay" grinned Eric, jumping down from the fence, glad that his mom would not be involved in this particular episode.

" And while you are at it, you can also weed out my garden for me. Spend some of that energy productively. Little kids should... "

Eric grimaced and zoned out. He hated being told to do something as a matter of principle. He was a pirate, noone tells a pirate what to do. 

"... go around the back gate, it's open" finished the man. 

Looking down, he saw Eric was already scrambling under a loose plank at the edge of the fence, with Barney jumping expectantly at his backside. 

"When did that come loose?" asked the man

"No idea, sir". Eric thought it might not be prudent to let on that it was infact him and Barney who had spent an entire afternoon loosening the plank just enough that they could scoot over to the man's yard in case of emergencies. 'The less they know, the better' was his unspoken motto for dealing with adults. 

Squeezing himself under the plank, he got on his elbows to crawl ahead. He grabbed hold of a bit of grass and pulled himself forward one motion and got up. Barney stuck his nose under the plank, then his paws, and wriggled on his tummy like a quick duck, emerging victorious on the other side. New places to smell! His doggie mind excited, he leapt up at Eric, licked his nose, and trotted off to discover new things. 

The old man sighed. 

"Over there." he pointed towards a long wrought iron yard table, with benches on both sides. " You can find the cleaning supplies in the deck closet..."

The table was piled high with a jumble of things. Newspapers, letters, a towel, a slightly chipped vase with dried out flowers, a chess board, a pack of cards, some coupons and other adult knick knacks Eric had no interest in. On the ground next to the table was a sticky mess which he assumed was the reason why he was there. Looked like his ball had knocked a toureen of soup over, mixed with broken china and a dash of orange juice. 

"Doesn't look so bad." he thought to himself. His eyes wandered back to the plate of cookies. It had been almost 20 minutes since his mum had given him a snack. A veritable lifetime ago, as far as he was concerned. 

"... and make sure you clean it well!" continued the old man, settling himself down at the table. He drew the chess board towards him, and lightly tapped one piece as if to lift it up. 

Eric walked around to the closet and fetched a rather stringy broom, a forlorn looking raggedy cloth and a small bucket which he filled with water from a hoze. He squatted down next to the table and began cleaning up. Picking up the pieces of broken china, he carefully put them all to a side. 

Five minutes passed, then ten. Old Man seemed lost in thought, frowning over the chess board. Eric was busy scrubbing the floors, wondering when it would be snack time. He was already tiring of this monotonous job, but once he began something, he liked to finish it well. Barney came bounding back to them, his paws and nose suspiciously brown. He sniffed at Eric, then at the ground and immediately tried licking the spot where Eric was cleaning. 

"Ugh... Getoffff, you are making it dirty again" cried Eric, trying to shove Barney aside. "Woof", said Barney loudly, wagging his tail, leaving deep brown splotches in his wake. 

"Aaaahhhh" Eric was frustrated. 

"What's going on?" asked Old Man, snapping out of his reverie. 

"Barney is hungry" Eric responded. 

"Would he like a cookie?"

"Yes, two please" came the prompt reply. 

"Here" the old man offered them the plate.

"Wha’re you doofink?" asked Eric, stuffing his mouth immediately. Chocolate chip cookies were his favourite. He held one out to Barney who gobbled it up in a single bite. Content, Barney sat down comfortably in a sunny patch. 

"Playing chess" replied the old man. "Do you know how to?" 

"Buff you aa jus’ sittin’ there" replied Eric. 

"I'm thinking about this position" 

Eric glanced at the board. The white pieces were facing him. Swallowing the rest of his cookie, he leaned over the board, trying to understand the progress of the game. 

"Do you know how to play?" asked old man, surprised at the interest Eric was showing. Thus far, he had assumed kids were only interested in one thing and that was causing mayhem wherever they went. Eric, in particular, seemed like a master of chaos. 

"Yes, my grandfather taught me when I was little. He used to beat me till I was 5, so I decided to learn it by myself last year. Now whenever we play, he loses. He still says he can beat me, but I haven't let him yet." grinned Eric, the memory of his last victory fresh in his mind. 

Old Man raised his bushy brows.

"So, what would you play for black next?" He asked. 

Eric looked at the board, immersed in thought. He reached across to pick up the knight. 

"You can only lift the pieces if you are going to play a move with that piece" interrupted Old Man. 

"Ohhh... Uhhmmm" Eric stopped midway, his hand hovering over the board. He slowly drew it back and continued staring at the board. “If I give up my knight for that pawn, then move my bishop here, can I attack his king?” he mumbled to himself. Craning his neck sideways, he tried to visualise what the board might look like for the line of play he had in mind.

“My son used to play chess” Old man said.

“Could he beat you?”

“Yes, but not until he was much bigger than you” smiled the old man. “He loved chess, and space. He wanted to be an astronaut. Did you know space is only 62 miles away from us? That’s closer than going to the next state, but you just have to go upwards” old man pointed.

“Even I want to be an astronaut.”

“I thought you are a pirate.”

“I can be both”

“A space pirate? What would you do there, most of it is empty”

“I’ll go to the moon”

“The moon? You know… when the first astronauts went to the moon, they caught the flu? Now, you may wonder how that can be, since there are no viruses in space. And the astronauts were all suited up, booted up. These weren’t just ordinary suits, these were space suits, specially designed. Tested, state of the art. Top of the line. Nothing could get through! Everyone was shocked. How did this happen? Did we discover new life? Was there life on the moon? All the scientists were excited. They did many, many tests to find out why the astronauts fell ill. And you know what they found? You wouldn’t believe it, it would blow your mind. They found out that moon dust…”

“ ohhhmm… but no, that doesn’t work. And none of his pieces are out yet. So, I should get mine out before he can. It’s a race! I bet I’m faster!! So, if I play my knight here, and even if he castles, I can start attacking his king quickly. He won’t know what hit him.” thinking out loud, Eric moved his knight to the f3 square.

“is actually so small and sharp and pointy, it can get through their space suits! And the astronauts - they breathed it in. Went straight into their lungs it did, making teeny tiny scratches along the way. That is how they fell sick! Imagine that - all that state-of-the-art equipment, and dust still got in! Like my wife used to say – ‘Dust always finds its way.’ Only cuz she didn’t like cleaning I suspect. Lord, she was a blessed woman, she was, but could not keep a tidy house. ‘A messy home is the sign of a happy home.’ And boy! Our house was a mess alright! Old Man’s eyes glistened as he spoke.

“It’s your turn”

“What? Oh…” he replied, and castled his king as Eric had accurately predicted.

 “…maybe if I move the h pawn next?” Eric fell into a trance again.

Old Man looked at Eric.

“You know, you remind me a lot of my boy. He was a good lad, he was. Very bright, and always had his head in a book. Was going to be a scientist, he used to say “Pa, I’m going to grow up and build robots. I’ll make one for you. You can stay home and send it to work.” He loved them bots. Nifty with his hands too. Took every darn thing I bought apart. “Need to see how it works” he would tell me. Ruined my best transistor, and my wife’s new electric fondue set. Boy, was she mad or what?” he reminisced. “Wife always said he loved me more than he loved her. I think he loved her more, how could he not? She was an angel. Never did make me breakfast in bed though. ‘Sleep in the kitchen, if you want breakfast in bed’ says my woman…”

“ so then if I go here, and then take his g6 pawn? He has to take my pawn back and then I can attack him from the h-file”

Eric was immersed in his quest for check-mate. He moved his h pawn up, going for the black king.

Old man looked at the board and played his queen pawn to the d6 square.

“Too slow!” exclaimed Eric, pushing his pawn to h5. “You’ll see!” he grinned at Old Man

“Will I?” laughed Old Man.

Old man brought his bishop out to pin Erics’ knight.

“That won’t do anything”

“A tell-tale sign of youth is a proclivity for extreme optimism.”

“Huh?”

“Eric! What are you doing there?” A woman’s voice rang out over the yard.

Startled, Eric looked up, only to see his mom’s face frowning at him across the fence.

“Has he been bothering you again?” she asked Old Man.

“Oh no, no, no no. No bother at all. Just playing a game…”

Her eyes narrowed, she looked at the messy spot Eric had abandoned cleaning.

“Did he break something?”, she questioned, her eyebrows raising into an arch.

“Uhm” the old man mumbled.

“See, she scares you too.” Eric whispered. “Don’t tell her what I did.”

“Wait right there, I’m coming to see what you have been up to”

His mum strode off towards her gate, as the two lads watched her helplessly. With a quick gait, she crossed over to the backyard and bore down upon them majestically in a way only mothers on a fact-finding mission can.

“So, what have you been upto?” his mom asked.

“Nothing at all mooom. Just playing a gaaame.” Eric threw his hands up, opening his eyes wide, his pirate hat perking up against the sky. “Seeee!” he said, pointing at the chess board, his face assuming an expression of righteousness.

That look only served to tell her that he had, indeed, been up to something.

“Well?” she turned to Old Man.

“Erm…”

“It’s okay, you can tell me.”

“No, no. It’s nothing serious, I just spilled some food you know… Getting on in years… boy was only helping me. Good kid you have there… very well behaved…”

Eric’s mom snorted.

“Well behaved!” she exclaimed. “Noone has ever called my son well- behaved. Troublemaker, loud, bratty… those are the words I’m used to.”

Old Man smiled sheepishly.

“We were just playing a game of chess. The young lad is quite good.”

“Oh, is he? My father taught him to play. They spend a lot of time together, especially during the holidays. He hasn’t been keeping well lately, so Eric has been stuck at home with me.”

“I can beat Grandpops now, mom.” Eric chimed in.

“I’m sure your father loves being around him. Nothing warms an old heart like the exuberance of the young. Kafka once said: ‘Youth is happy because it has the capacity to see beauty. Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old.’”

Eric diverted his attention back to the board, promptly falling back in thought. His mum looked at Old Man, her expression softening. She took in his light blue eyes, now buried under a mound of wrinkles, the gentle curve of his mouth and the expression of mild nostalgia on his kindly old face.

“Do you have grandkids?” she asked.

“I used to have a wife and a son.” His eyes misting over, as if recalling a memory that is both distant and cherished.

Eric’s mum replied softly. “I’m so sorry to hear that. You live here alone then, I presume?”

“Aye. It’s alright now. Been many years. You get used to it eventually.”

“We just moved in a next door a little while ago. It’s been a busy few months for us, trying to settle in. Getting Eric to school, fixing up the house… we haven’t had the time to call on any neighbours so far. But you must come to dinner sometime this week. If you are free of course.”

“Why, yes, yes. Of course! I would love to. My wife used to love hosting dinners and barbeques for all our friends. She was loved by them all…Always in the middle of things, always laughing. I was a lucky man, to have found an angel like her. What she saw in me, I do not know. 33 years we were together… until that one day when…” the old man reminisced, a hint of tears clouding his eyes.

A squirrel ran across the yard as they were talking. “Wooff, woof woof woof woof” Barney perked up at the sight of the animal, immediately chasing it. The startled squirrel ran up the table and Barney promptly leapt on top to follow it. Books, papers, jug all went flying across the yard, both animals oblivious to the pandemonium. With a great leap, Barney managed to land right in the middle of the table, knocking over the chess board Eric was staring at all this while. Pieces scattered everywhere. “Nooooo!!! AAAaahhhhhhh” Eric yelled. The sudden interruption snapped him out of his trance. “I was just about to win! Barney, you silly ass! Bad Dog! What the hell are you doing?” he shouted, balling up his fists. He was enraged. “Why can’t you ever sit still? Argh! Why were you both talking so loudly?” he raged at his mother and old man.

“Eric!”

“No, mom! It’s not fair. I was just about to win and now you all have gone and ruined it!” Eric was besides himself. “And now it’s all lost, all of it!” He kicked out at a paper that had floated down near his foot.

“Eric, behave yourself!” his mom snapped.

“Tell Barney to behave himself” His fists still balled up. His face turned a deep red with the effort to stop himself from shouting more. “I was doing nothing, just sitting there, I was about to win!” he repeated. “I almost had you!” he rounded on the old man, eager to impress upon him the importance of his victory.

“ahh”

“Yes, see if I just moved my…” As Eric looked up at him, he was suddenly aware of the tears in Old Man’s eyes. Confused, he stopped mid-sentence. He looked towards his mom, who was perplexed and then back at Old Man. He had never seen an old man crying before, and it made him deeply uncomfortable for some reason. His rage vanished in a second, to be replaced by embarrassment and unease. He didn’t know what to say. Barney tucked his tail between his legs, aware that he was the cause of the ruckus. All four of them stood by in silence.

“Well, you don’t have to cry if you lose. Mom says it’s okay to cry, but still…” his voice trailed off. He didn’t like seeing Old Man this way.

“Barney can be a bit naughty sometimes, but he is a good dog you know.” He continued earnestly. At least, he isn’t a lobster.” He informed Old Man.

“A Lobster?”

“Yeah. Lobsters are really gross you know.”

“I like eating lobsters…” said old man.

“But they pee out of their faces. Just straight up! If you drink lobster soup, how do you know if it didn’t pee in the soup first?”

“Whaaat”

The old man threw back his head and started to laugh.

“That can’t be true!” he replied.

“It is! I went to sea world, and the keeper their told us. He said they just shoot pee out of their face at other animals. I would too, if I could. At all my enemies.”

“Yuck” said his mom, beginning to smile herself. “I won’t let you back in the house if you start doing things like that.”

“I’d love to see that” Old Man chimed in too.

“Gross. Boys are just gross.” His mom mumbled.

Both the men looked at her and smiled.

“Here, bring the board and get the pieces, I’ll show you something.” Old man told Eric

Obediently, Eric collected all of them and placed them back on the table.

“Geddoff” he pushed Barney, who was sitting peacefully on the board and picked it up too.

With deft fingers, Old Man set up the board to the last played position.

“There, now you can try to beat me” he said, with a twinkle in his eye.

“Wait… how did you do that? How did you know where to put them all?” Eric cried, stunned at this ability.

“Memory is a great thing” the Old Man smiled. “I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve too, youngling.”

Eric grinned. “That means I can learn them too. Will you teach me?”

“Only if you beat me this game.”

“Oh, Absolutely! See if I now take your g6 pawn with my bishop… ”

The pirate and the old man hunched across the board again, deep in discussion.

 ~

The End

Written by Me!