Over the ocean with the wind in their sails went Harry and Maisie without a care in the world . Living the dream and at home with the sea with plenty of space to hide from the world and all the everyday demands of life .
There was always a new place to explore with lots of adventures still awaiting to be found . Life was good as breakfast was being served . The fresh ai does wonders for your appetite all right and the smell of bacon and eggs on the pan was a great welcome for the new day .
Then a pirate ship came into view and soon it made its way towards them .
The ship pulled up alongside and the captain was a small funny looking chap with lots of straggly hair on his head . He called out to Harry and Maisie and said ,
‘We could smell your cooked breakfast for miles away . I don’t suppose you could spare us a rind or two of that bacon and a few of those eggs on the go “:
Most of his teeth were missing and in between words he stuck his tongue between the gaps in his teeth. like a baby slabbering to be fed .
His voice was harsh and squeaky and he stood on the wooden rails of this ship barefooted and in need of a bath .
Maisie shouted back to the captain.
“An egg or two we’ll give to you with a little bacon rolled up in some bread “
As Maisie tossed the Bacon and egg roll in a bag from the yacht the pirate captain stood there with his eyes fixed and leaning forward, he caught the food as if his life depended on it .”
All the pirates cheered and applauded . With a great big smile the captain said ,
‘
“Well, here we are bucko’s , Ha Ha beside a take away café in the middle of God knows where “
Everyone laughed .
“Maisie rolled up a few more of her flying bacon and egg rolls that were caught by the pirate crew and then Harry asked ,.
“Are you really pirates :
The captain re[plied.
‘That we are , me bucko . We’re the happy go lucky pirates and we just love having fun at sea . If you could spare us something to drink then we’ll be on our way “
Harry threw two bottles of wine that were well caught on the pirate ship and the captain said ,
“ That will do us very nicely . Ha Ha . Safe travels good folk and may the wind be good to you and take you to places filled with mystery and adventure “
At that moment a whale surfaced and lifted the pirate ship on its back and swam aways to the cheering of all the pirates .
Maisie and Harry turned to each other and just burst out laughing .
Then they ate what was left in the pan and Maisie said
“Maybe we could go into business with a floating take away cafe son .“
Harry laughed
“Yeah Mammy , sure doesn’t food cooked on a boat at sea always taste special “
“We could have gimmicky food on the menu , like a pirate’s platter or a seaman’s stew “
Harry went on.
“What about Bucko burgers or Me Hearty’s beef soup .”
Maisie said ,
“I’m sure it would be a popular place”.
Harry replied
“ One of a kind Mammy “
Just another hungry hump back whale surfaced with its mouth open wide so Maisie tossed a loaf into the big open gap of the whales mouth and the whale disappeared below the surface .
Maisie said
“I love the way some of the creatures of the sea just pop up now and then to say hello . “
“ Just like those funny sea pirates Mammy . It’s sure a different way of life, isn’t it ?”
She nodded her head and said .
“Sure, son , It’s different but good .“
Harry continued .,
“You know what Mammy , I think those pirates deserve to have a part in our series of stories . “
“Great idea son . I’ll take the wheel for a while now , if you want to get some thoughts together and start their story :
Harry went below and started to write about the food pirate’s café .
On a ship of their own that had become their home a jolly old pirate called Roger and his funny pirate crew went on an adventure to find some food to satisfy their hunger and quench their thirst . They followed the trail of a humpy back whale who jumped up and down every now and then looking for snacks to fill its big blubbery belly ,
The funny crew of pirates knew that whales had a way to find the best food available in the ocean .
They needed no map and they trusted the whales who always brought them to the best catch of the day that filed their empty pirates bellies to the full .
To the east and the west and eventually they stopped in a secret location on the sea where a floating package sat still in one piece and they hauled it over to their ship and brought it onboard and opened it up to find boxed and tins of nonperishable food that were all still in date to eat .
The pirates and the whale were now ready for a feast that had fallen overboard from some ship at sea .
After they all were full, they sailed away to the East and hoisted the happy as Larry flag on their ship . Roger was delighted and all his crew were bursting with joy as they sang their sea shanties to the rising of the moon . Then just moon hung around with the stars in the sky a whisper in the wind caught their attention .
They heard a woman singing in the distance and the sound of her voice filled them with wonder with her song about the Take away Sea café.
The pirates set off in the direction of the singing that drew them near to the place e where she was on the edge of the horizon lay an island café called ,
The Taste From Another World .
The anchored their ship and lowered their lifeboats to the café that stood of the Isle and one by one they made their way into the café filled with smugglers galore .
Some of them were hungry and some of them were dangerous but all of them had one thing in common , they were all in a trance of the songs that were sung by the lady who was cooking in the kitchen .
The more that she sung they hungrier they’d become but all they could do was stand there motionless as if frozen in time in this mystical café underneath the moon on some deserted island where they had never been .
The lady fed each and every one of them all by hand and the food was the most beautiful taste any of them had ever had.
They were all happy and content to be there but knew that they had places to go and adventures to find but as hard as they tried, they were unable to leave the café .
So, there they had all had to stay , captivated by the singing lady of the island café .
Some more ships were drawn to the island and joined those who were there and tasted the food from another world . They were comfortable and happy but imprisoned in a trance to the singing lady of the Island café .
It was a sad situation without a doubt . Suddenly the started to become choppy and then a pod of whales beached themselves all around the café . They all started singing together drowning out the sound of the lady singing in the café . The longer the whales kept on making noise the easier it became for the smugglers and pirates to move and break free from the trance . Then they were able to get back on their ships and leave the island . When everyone was out of the café more whales beached themselves until the café was demolished and swept away by the rising waves into the ocean . The island was also claimed by the ocean and the whales made their way back into the depths of the sea once again . .
One of the pirate ships that escaped , caught the aroma of bacon and eggs being cooked and the jolly old captain , Roger made a course to where the small was coming from and soon caught sight of a yacht nearby where they went and begged for some food . Soon after eating normal food again the effect of the food from another world wore off and the captain and his crew returned back again to normal .
Second in The Chronicles of Illúmaril series, author Gary Caplan's The Return of the Ancient Ones is a distinct tale that illustrates how one's fiercest enemy can become one's most aggressive ally.
Winner 2012 NABE Pinnacle Book Award in Fan
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