The Wonderful Roundabout

Nothing will change. I will leave you with that thought. When you’re done call for Phoebus.’

  He turned around and left without another word. I sat on the chair and held my head in my hands, feeling abandoned and alone. The map was stretched out across the table in front of me, so I glanced at it from time to time.

  The lines were moving faster than before. They began in the south and moved in a block, towards the northeast. After going about three quarters of the way, they made a turn to the southwest and started moving faster. In a few moments, they turned yet again, only this time heading back east. This led them right to the center of the map, where they seemed to just drift for a while. Then the cycle was repeated.

  Somehow, the pattern seemed familiar. It was like the flight of birds when they gathered to fly south. It was not the flight itself that I was trying to remember though, but why they did it. It was like they were following an unseen path. That was when I realized… It was the wind. They were moving with the wind.

  The lines on the map showed a current and, most likely, safe passage to the island. The strange letters weren’t even writing. They were drawings of rocks and cliffs the boat had to avoid. I turned around to call for Phoebus. But when I saw what was behind me I jumped back, fell over the chair, and started yelling. I was scared out of my senses.

  THE PIRATE’S TALE

  PPart VII

  Behind me I saw a giant, dark figure. I thought it was going to attack me. Had it decided to, there was no way I could fight it. It was twice as tall as me and three foot wide. After I fell backwards, it started to walk towards me slowly. When it got closer, it leaned towards me and extended its hand.

  It was Phoebus. His skin was dark, he was dressed in black and his hands were covered in black grease. He was even taller than the Captain.

  ‘Peter? Are you alright? I didn’t want to scare you… Forfax just told me you need me. I’m Phoebus.’ He had a warm and honest voice.

  ‘You found the way to the island, so now you have to sail us there. The way is too complicated for the Nemesis to handle all by herself. Besides, now we don’t have no main mast either, so we have to be really careful. The foremast should do for this journey, but once we get to the island we’re fixin’ the Nemesis good as new.’

  ‘Phoebus, I’ve never sailed a ship with no mast before.’

  ‘I have a few times, before I built the Nemesis. Don’t worry, she’ll do just fine. Now let’s get going. We got to get to the island by morning.’

  So we sailed. It was as if every little line on the map was branded into my head. I knew exactly where to go and what to do, like I’d been there a hundred times before. When the sun started to rise we were so close to the island that I could make out the shapes of the trees. I could see rivers running from the top of the island towards the sea-shore, tens of them, and the blue torrent still climbing to the sky. Forfax had mentioned I had to meet the spirit of the island. But what for? I went down to the Captain’s cabin and knocked.

  ‘I know why you came to see me. I can’t fully answer your question right now. What I can tell you is that every man on this ship had to pass a test to be admitted in the crew. You are no exception.’

  ‘How do you always know what I want to say?’

  ‘Forfax told you about how every man has a skill. He understands the stars, seas and winds. I understand thoughts. I can’t read thoughts or hear them, I just can tell what people want, hope and expect.’

  ‘Is that why you’re the captain?’

  ‘Sometimes I think so. Truth is, who can tell? You have to go back to the deck now. Alistair is waiting for you. He’ll go with you to the island. The rest of us will wait for you here.’

  ‘Is the island dangerous?’

  ‘Depends on the man treading on it. You should know that better than anybody. Hurry now.’

  Outside the door I met Alistair. He looked slender and sharp, like an elf. He only said that he was in charge of defending the ship and its crew. Nothing more. We sailed towards the island in a small boat in complete silence. We hoisted the boat up onto the beach. Alistair proceeded to lead me to a path between the trees. It zig-zagged across the rivers. We had to jump from rock to rock, holding on to the lower willow branches or using poles to steady ourselves. I could hear birds all around us, but after over two hours on the island, I had yet to see a single one.

  It was early morning. The sunlight was clear and transparent, illuminating the mess of green all around us. The water was full of willow branches and leaves, and sparkled gold and silver. Green lizards were scurrying under rocks. I felt like I’d dreamed about this place when I was a child. We walked all day. The path went higher and higher along the river valleys and the ground was getting steeper.

  When the sun started to set, we walked into a clearing. It was beautiful and silent, like nothing I’d ever seen. You couldn’t hear the birds or the water there. It seemed to be suspended in time. In the middle of the clearing stood a strange formation of rocks – a round, larger one that looked like a table and seven smaller ones, like chairs.

  ‘I will wait for you here.’ Alistair said. ‘The way was difficult but you did not complain or stop and nothing else came to stop us. This means you have a good heart, a heart the island chooses to protect. You will go through those trees and after a short climb you will meet the spirit. Go now.’

  I felt calm and at ease and climbed without rush or concern. I knew that, whatever happened, arriving there was more than any man could hope for. When I hoisted myself up a rocky ledge and was able to see the water running up towards the sky, a mere six feet away from me, I could ask for no more. I turned around, sat on the ledge and looked at the sunset.

  ‘Dreadfully beautiful, isn’t it?’ a female voice said. ‘Can I sit with you?’

  ‘Of course. Yes, it is. The sunsets are even better here than they are on the mainland. The water turns red, white and gold. I love that. It’s as if the sky turns upside down so you feel like you’re sailing on it. But I noticed this water here never changes color. Why?’

  ‘Well, this water here is the essence of the world. It doesn’t have to change.’

  ‘And you are the spirit of the island.’

  ‘I am. And I am said to fulfill wishes.’

  ‘And do you really do that?’

  ‘It depends. There are two types of people. Those who fight to fulfill their own wishes and those who don’t. The first ones I can’t do much for. The others either wish for things that shouldn’t belong to them, or just don’t try hard enough. So I can’t really help them either. It is not the way of the spirit to provide for the lazy or greedy. So I am actually pretty much of no use to anybody.’

  ‘That makes sense. Do you know what I’m doing here?’

  ‘I do. You are here because you wanted to make this journey. You wanted to meet Captain de Ville, sail the Nemesis and reach Willow Island. So you did it. There is nothing more I can do for you.’

  ‘But wasn’t that just luck? I didn’t even know how to fire a cannon.’

  ‘Luck comes to people for a reason. You once said to the old man that you’re not one to back down. That has something to do with it. Now you have to go back to Alistair. Together you’ll get back to the ship and set sail. You’ll meet the rest of the crew and become the captain’s second.’

  ‘But what will happen to Forfax?’

  ‘Forfax wants to go home. The Nemesis will sail forever but the people on it have hopes and dreams outside a lifetime of sailing. One day you will leave too. You will want a home on the ground with a yard and children running around it. And

  that will be good.’

  ‘I will see my home again?’

  ‘You will. Now go back to Alistair. I have nothing more to say.’

  I went back and everything was as she said. And now here I am, telling you this story.

  ‘Mr. Brown… It’s the best story I’ve ever heard in my entire life. Can we please be friends? Will you tell me more stories?’

&nb
sp; ‘Yes, Tommy, we can. I will.’

  ‘Can I tell the other kids this story?’

  ‘Yes, you can. And if they come and ask me I’ll tell them it’s true. And we can go fishing anytime you like.’

  ‘Do we go home now?’

  ‘Yes, we go home now. It’s getting dark.’

  THE BOY WHO CHASED THE SUNSET

  PPart I

  ‘I think this is it. Yup. We are so stuck here!’

  ‘Come ooon! No, we’re not!’

  ‘Danny, there’s a field of corn in front of us. The road just stops. Where do we go from here?’

  ‘We keep going. Follow me!’

  So off he went through the corn, with Rosie following him.

  ‘What are you doing!? Danny! Let’s go back! Let’s go home!’

  ‘Look, if you want to go, stop whining. If not, turn around. All I know is I’m not stopping.’

  Now where were they going you might wonder? Well, it’s a really lovely story. When Danny was a boy, he got lost in the forest. The magical forest next to his village. He was chasing a fox that always came into his yard and looked at him, like it wanted to say something. Then, after a few moments of inquisitive staring, it went back under the fence and into the forest. Danny became more and more curious until he couldn’t stop himself anymore and followed it. He wasn’t supposed to leave the yard, but he just thought the fox wanted to show him something. At first he tried to count the trees he’d passed but how could one manage such a thing inside a forest? So when the fox disappeared behind a