The Mermaid Riot
Excerpt
Monday, 24 February 2025
The Mermaid Riot
Excerpt
The Arabella bobbed in the water at the farthest end of the docks near the warehouses. Tobi stuck his hands in his pockets and trotted along the wharf in the rain. His clothes had been wet, then dry, then wet again since early morning. He didn’t care that the rain and wind had picked up again. It seemed to be the way of things the last couple of days.
On the ship, which was quiet on account of the rain, he sat down in the captain’s cabin, thankful for the warm stove. He took off his wet cap and hooked it on the corner of a wooden crate then scooted it near the coal stove hoping to dry it out.
“You look like a drowned rat, son.”
Tobi snickered and brushed his wet hair back with his his hands. “Been caught by the rain today.”
“Yes, the rain is a might concerning. We needed sunshine today to screw cotton and fill the hold. Wanted to ship out early tomorrow but that’s not going to happen now,” Captain Beck said, offering Tobi a cup of hot coffee.
He realized it was the first thing he’d put into his stomach since dinner last night. The loud gurgle of his internal organ prompted the captain to hand over a biscuit too.
“Can’t have you die of starvation in front of me,” he said. “What brings you on board when you don’t have to work?”
Tobi’s mouth was full. He’d taken a huge bite of the biscuit. He chewed and washed it down with a slug of strong coffee. “Remember when Wood Carr swore he saw three mermaids on the rocks while out on a run with the Aberdeen’s Revenge?”
“Uh, huh,” Captain Beck said nodding.
“You ever seen mermaids when you’ve been out to sea, Captain?”
The captain sighed and walked over to the port side window. “A lot of sailors claim to have seen something they say looks like a half-naked woman with long hair in the water or on the rocks. Seamen for hundreds of years, in fact, claim to have witnessed mermaids in every body of water on Earth.”
“But have you ever seen a mermaid?”
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I hope you enjoyed this snippet from the story! It’s available for purchase at most online book retailers.
https://books2read.com/u/47vApE
Be well, write well!
~Joy
Excellent choice for an excerpt. I feel as though I am there.
Thank you for those sweet words, Barb and for getting the comments started! I love the excerpts you regularly post from you work https://barbarajeanmiller.substack.com/p/impostors-10b Have a great day!