Dear Makai: Did you know that there are other worlds that live inside our world? There is the world of everyday life; being with Mom and Dad, Tayva and Rayelle, G and Kyle. You go to school, help Mom out at home, practice wrestling with Dad. All those real things. But within your real world, inside your mind, exist countless worlds of imagination! Your imagination! In your world of imagination, you can be whoever you want to be: A dance fighter, a scientist, the destroyer of Baba Yaga, or…. a PIRATE!
OH, ONCE THERE WAS AND ONCE THERE WAS NOT, a five-year-old boy named Lakai who lived with his mother, his father, and his two little sisters in a small town by the sea. Lakai was bold and smart, but also sensitive, and kind. Sometimes, he was even dramatic! His one true wish was to go to sea and learn to be a skilled sailor and have adventures all over the watery world.
“Just think Mom,” he begged, ” all the things I would learn! I’d learn to cast giant nets to catch oodles of fish, to steer the ship, to outrun a storm and return to port with the treasures I’d found! All the fish I caught would be packed in ice in the hold! I could sell the fresh fish! Think of the money I would earn to bring home to our family. Think of the fun I would have!”
Lakai’s mother, Fascia, loved her bright boy for his sense of adventure, but was fearful for him. She knew the sea was an unpredictable and dangerous place.
“No, Lakai, we need you here. Life at sea is too dangerous and you are too young. Plus, Ava and Joyelle would miss you SO much, just as your father and I would! So, I must say no.”
Lakai’s father Biller, who had been a warrior himself and still taught battle skills to growing children and young soldiers, thought differently.
That is, he agreed with everything Fascia said about the danger and Lakai’s youth. He knew how deeply the family would miss Lakai while he was away, but he also knew that inside his son, there was ambition and courage and the desire to be a man.
One night when the children were in bed, he had a quiet talk with his wife.
“Fascia, my love, I think we should let Lakai go to sea. He is young, but I see in him a powerful destiny. We can let him go in a protected way.”
Biller told Fascia his plan. Fascia was reluctantly convinced. So, Biller arranged for a sailing Captain that he knew well to take Lakai on as cabin boy on the three-masted sailing schooner, the Sea Ghost. A reliable cargo vessel, the Sea Ghost transported mail and packages, silver bars, bolts of precious fabric, and many other goods back-and-forth between Florida and England. Lakai could learn seamanship there as the first step towards his dream.
On the day that Lakai departed, his family came to the St. Augustine dock to see him off.
“Take good care of my son, Captain Kahm,” said Lakai’s dad gruffly, shaking the Captain’s hand.
“Yes, please!” implored his mother, fighting back tears.
His two little sisters were excited to be on the docks, especially Ava.
His sisters barely understood that this was a serious farewell. They kissed Lakai goodbye, but were clearly distracted by all the salty sailors, creaky bobbing boats, and loud voices. The air was filled with bickering in many languages. Sweaty men were loading the ships. The pier was a busy place.
Lakai’s parents gave him a last hug and kiss and he was aboard!
Captain Kahm was kind, and the schooner was in Bristol condition. Still, the first few days were a little rough. He had to get up early and work hard. Lakai had some sea sickness, and some homesickness too (although he would never admit it). He was kept very busy learning the many tasks of a cabin boy.
He had some of the dirtiest jobs, scrubbing the decks and the toilets. He had to set traps for mice in the galley and then dispose of their tiny bodies by throwing them overboard or feeding them to Boo Boo, the ship’s cat. He ran endless errands for Captain Kahm, the old Cook, and the ship’s odd lady doctor, Dr. Lionheart.
He learned that the ropes of the ship and rigging were called lines, and the bathroom was called “the head”. He learned to handle the coarse lines of the schooner and grease the capstan wheel with thick black grease.
Lakai was excited and he learned quickly. He also made friends with the two other cabin boys. Jacob was very near-sighted and wore thick glasses, but he was tall and strong and had a great sense of humor. Edward was smaller than Lakai, and often needed help with the heavier tasks, which Lakai and Jacob were glad to give. The three boys did have some time off and in that time they played lots of games. One of the best was hide and seek through the dark holds and long narrow passages that separated cabins on the ship.
But their absolute favorite and most dangerous game was to run up the lines of the rigging in races to see who was the fastest and strongest!
Once, they played on a very windy day, when the lines of the rigging swayed and sang in the stiff breeze. As Lakai was climbing back down from the highest point in the rigging, an elderly albatross flying by was blown by a crosswind and blundered into the rigging. The big bird struck the lines that Lakai was hanging on to and the boy’s grip slipped. He began to fall!
Seeing this, Jacob and Edward cried out in fear. Lakai desperately grabbed at the lower lines of the rigging as he plummeted. He could touch them for an instant, but his speed made him lose grip again and again! But doing this helped Lakai to slow his fall.
However, when he landed he stuck one of the deck hatch edges a glancing blow with his head and opened a big cut right in the center of his forehead! There was blood everywhere!
The other cabin boys were horrified at the at the sight of blood and screamed for help. Lakai wasn’t too happy about the blood himself, but he tried to be brave. Of course, he was very frightened, and he cried, as was only natural. His two friends followed as one of the crew’s main sailors, Nate, carried him speedily to the doctor’s cabin. The worried Captain Kahm met them there, and let Lakai sit on his lap while the doctor examined him.
“You’re gonna be fine, my son,” said Captain Kahm encouragingly.
Dr. Lionheart was kind, but also quite business-like. She splashed whiskey in his cut to disinfect it. It stung! Lakai screamed loudly!
” That’s the way, my brave boy, scream out the pain, yell away your fear and it will help chase away the germs!” she said cheerfully.
She sewed the cut quick as lightning and wrapped his forehead with clean strips of linen. Afterwards, she praised him for holding still and being brave. Lakai didn’t feel very brave, just upset and scared.
The doctor knew this and gave him a hug and a pat on the back. That helped a bit. She also gave him two sips of peach brandy to ease pain and as a reward for having faced and endured this ordeal. Normally forbidden to cabin boys, this was a grown-ups’ special treat!
“No ice cream or candy on board ship, me son! This medicinal brandy will have to do!”
It burned his tongue a bit, but it was sweet, spicy, and warm. It made him feel pleasantly sleepy and calm. It also eased the pain in his now bandaged forehead.
Dr. Lionheart reported to Captain Kahm that Lakai would be fine but could do no more work that day. Captain Kahm himself walked Lakai to the cabin he shared with the other two cabin boys. He tucked Lakai into his berth in fatherly fashion, then left, closing the door softly.
Lakai’s cut healed well. His courage and the fact that he survived this serious fall and shocking injury added to his street cred with the other cabin boys and the crew.
Still, he was a little self-conscious about his scar, right? His hair was curly, dark and long, which hid much of the scar, most of the time. However, it was often windy and then his hair blew and his forehead and scar showed.
One day, Nate, the crew member who had carried him to the doctor, saw Lakai trying to tie a rag over his forehead to hide his scar before going up on the windy deck.
“Hey, petit garçon!” he called pleasantly enough in a lilting Haitian accent.
“Yo, you, garçon!”
Lakai turned to look at him. Nate put a firm hand on his head and spoke seriously.
“Don’ hide’ dat ‘ting on your forehead, man! It is a mark of survival! It is a sign of courage, my friend, of overcomin’ bad ‘tings. Plis, it make you look tough, man! Nenpòt, nobody, who see it will mess with you, man! You tough guy!”
That helped Lakai feel much better. After that, he and Nate were friends too!
On the night of the next full moon, a big storm came. The gale tossed the schooner around like a bathtub toy. Lakai, along with Edward and Jacob, helped the rest of the sailors to lash down anything that was likely to fall off the deck. Then they all went below and waited, wet and anxious. They were all pitched and heaved about by the Sea Ghost’s yawing and wallowing.
It was a frightening time until the storm finally blew itself out just before dawn. The seas calmed. When there was just light enough to see, the crew ran above decks. They quickly checked the old brass compass and saw that they had been blown far by the wind and pushed hard by the sea. They were way off course!
Worse, a pirate ship loomed in the near distance. It was also a wooden schooner, bigger than the Sea Ghost and painted black and gold. The Jolly Roger flew from the mast and whipped in the remaining wind. Captain Kahm instantly recognized it. It was the fearsome pirate ship, the Forever Furious!
” Prepare for battle!” cried Captain Kham!
As the distance between the two ships closed, Lakai could see the pirate crew. There were at least ten very rough-looking characters in pirate garb, making menacing gestures from the deck of the other ship. Lakai grabbed a broadsword from the deck armory, intending to use it to defend the Sea Ghost, but it was way too heavy to lift, much less fight with.
Thinking quickly, he ran down to the galley and came back with a big rolling pin that was much more his size!
The pirates swung aboard the Sea Ghost with the help of ropes tied to grappling hooks. They cast these lines onto The Sea Ghost, hooked them hard into the deck, and pulled the two ships together! Pirates leaped aboard the Sea Ghost and the battle commenced.
It was like many battles, full of noise, smoke, bad smells and confusion. The cannons boomed. Swords clanged. Both the pirates and the sailors yelled and swore. Some sailors farted in fear! Pirates and sailors struck out at each other, dealing blows that sometimes landed, but mostly missed. Lakai smartly rapped several pirates across the shins with his rolling pin! Lots of energy was spent, but I am happy to say little blood was spilled, and no one was killed or seriously injured.
Finally, Captain Kham cried,
“Parley!” at the top of his lungs.
In sailor and pirate talk, this means that you want to stop fighting and make a deal. Both the pirates of the Forever Furious and the men of the Sea Ghost put down their swords and knives. Lakai dropped his rolling pin to the deck. The two Captains began to bargain.
Turns out that the pirates wanted the huge pile of silver bars, of course. But they had no use for the mail, packages or the elegant fabrics.
In exchange for the silver bars, the last two cases of Dr. Lionheart’s peach brandy, and a beautiful parrot originally destined to be delivered to the London Zoo from the Florida Keys, the pirates made a deal. The pirates agreed to kill no one and made no one walk the plank. Also, they agreed not to set fire to the Sea Ghost as they often did to ships they plundered.
“Arrrgh, but there’s one last thing,” growled the pirate captain, the dreaded Captain Bile.
“We need a cabin boy. We had three, but one ran away, one became sick and had to go back to shore for treatment, and one slipped overboard and became a meal for the sharks.”
The three cabin boys looked at each other in terror. Lakai thought quickly. Edward was the youngest and quite small and thin. He wasn’t strong. Lakai didn’t think he would last on the rough pirate ship.
Jacob, the strong, tall, nearsighted cabin boy had a black eye. Worse, his thick glass lenses had been broken in the fight. He held the broken glasses in his hand. He squinted, but it was clear he could hardly see what was going on.
Lakai was afraid, but he thought about his own strong limbs, his quick reflexes and good eyesight. He thought he had the best chance to survive among the pirates. He was about to volunteer. But he never had the chance.
The pirate captain pointed at Lakai, grabbed the hair that covered his forehead and lifted it (fairly gently for a pirate, I might add).
“We’ll take this one,” the pirate captain growled. He traced his dirty calloused finger over Lakai’s scar.
“He looks strong and he has the mark of a pirate upon him, already!”
He grinned at Lakai, approvingly.
“Yes, me lad, a fine pirate you will make!”
“No!!” cried Captain Kahm.
Two pirates grabbed him when he yelled, and he struggled against them.
“Lakai is like a grandson to me, and I promised his parents I would bring him home safe!”
“Aye,” replied the pirate, stroking his beard thoughtfully,
“We will do the same, but we will make a pirate of him along the way.” He barked a short laugh.
And Lakai’s life changed again.
Surprisingly, he found that life on the pirate ship was not all that different than life on the Sea Ghost. At least, that was, as far as Lakai’s chores went. The pirates were rough, coarse men, but by and large they were not cruel. Lakai was surprised.
They did teach him to swear and to play poker, and to dance to the hornpipe and play the Jew’s Harp. He liked all those things. But he didn’t like when the pirates got drunk, smashed things and fought amongst themselves.
Sometimes they made him taste sips of rum, for a laugh. He hated it. Peach brandy was good, but the rum was harsh and burned his tongue. The pirates got a kick out of the grossed-out faces he made when he tasted it!
Overall, he didn’t really mind the pirates, but he really missed his cabin boy friends, Edward and Jacob. He missed Nate the sailor, the doctor and Captain Kahm. He missed his family too, very much, but he missed them quietly and kept his memories of them locked deep in his heart.
However, it went hard against his grain when he saw the pirates board another ship and plunder it. It made him sick to his stomach. Sometimes they even took passengers from the plundered ships as captives for ransom!
He was assigned to clean the captain’s quarters and polish his boots. Captain Bile, for all his fierce looks and pirate ways, was fair with Lakai. When the captain returned to his cabin to eat his dinner, Lakai acted as waiter and cleaned up after. Captain Bile would inspect his cabin and look at his shined spare boots. If he was pleased with Lakai’s work, and the day of piracy had gone well, he would toss a small silver coin to Lakai.
“Here, lad, here’s your pay,” he would say, as he picked his teeth with a thin sharp knife.
Lakai saved every single coin in a small satchel he wore tied about his waist.
After two weeks at sea, the Forever Furious docked at Bermuda to take on supplies and sell some booty. Captain Bile himself took Lakai ashore as his errand boy, to accompany him to various shops. There were businesses where the pirate both bought gear for the ship and sold booty taken from other ships plundered on the high seas.
Lakai was surprised to find his legs were as wobbly and unbalanced on the firm dock as they had been for two days when he first boarded the Seas Ghost so many months ago.
Captain Bile laughed and slapped him lightly on the back.
“Just got your sea legs and now you need your land lubber legs again! You’ll be yerself in thirty minutes. While you adjust, let’s get you some good grub,”
He walked the dizzy Lakai into a rugged saloon and sat him at the bar. A pretty barmaid approached.
“Why you scurvy dog, Bile!” she cried, “This ‘uns the handsomest and youngest cabin boy yet! Did you snatch him away from his Mama’s bosom?”
Lakai frowned. He was no baby!
But Captain Bile only laughed and kissed the barmaid’s pretty hand. She blushed.
“Now Glenda, he is no baby, but a a right brave lad, proved himself both in battle and on ship and carries the mark of a pirate besides!”
Glenda apologized, “Forgive me young sailor, l am impressed! Bile don’t give praise lightly.”
She brought Lakai a plate heaping with good food. Lakai thanked her and while he bolted his mutton and biscuit, the pirate conversed with Glenda. They stood together, smiling. Then Captain Bile left them to bargain with other pirates.
“Why do you know and talk to such evil pirates?” Lakai asked.
“Lor’! Bile ain’t evil, just a bit rough and has a tough life. He’s a fair man, and truth be told, he’s me husband! Though heaven knows we get little enough time together, him bein’ at sea most of the year.”
Lakai didn’t believe her, so she surreptitiously pulled out a silver chain that hung round her neck, hidden underneath the top of her blouse.
She showed him their wedding photo, which was kept in a locket on the chain.
“Wow, he gave you a beautiful ring!” exclaimed Lakai, looking at the shimmering band of diamonds that hung on the necklace next to the locket.
“Shush,” Glenda said softly, tucking both ring and locket into her bodice and looking around. “It don’t do to call attention to treasure in this place”.
“But the Captain doesn’t wear his ring!” Lakai was affronted on sweet Glenda’s behalf.
“Look with sharp eyes, lad. His ring be disguised as a small hoop earring. Our marriage is a secret, for both our safety’s sake. Once he saves enough to leave the sea, we’ll slip away together to make a new life in Turks and Caicos, have some young ones of our own. He’ll leave the pirate life behind.”
But what about the captives and the plunder? What could Lakai do? When Captain Bile and his pirate crew sailed into port and left the schooner tied up at the docks they would go into town for a night of drunken partying. They left trustworthy Lakai in charge of the ship. Since the ship was tied up, all he had to do was raise the alarm if someone else tried to board the boat, take the stolen booty or steal back the captives.
One night, alone on the ship while the pirates were in town, he could stand it no more. Captain Bile was holding for ransom the small girl child of an English duke. He had stolen her when the pirates attacked the ship on which the Duke and his family were passengers. She was kept in a small room in the hold and would stay there until her father came up with one thousand English pounds ransom money. The child was frightened and alone. Lakai could hear her crying. All he could think of was Ava and Joyelle. What if someone captured them, and they were the ones lonely and afraid?
He shook his head. This was wrong in every way. A feeling like a steel sword growing in his heart strengthened him and made him act bravely. His scar prickled. His breath came short and quick.
His heart pounded as he cut the tiny girl’s bonds with his small, sharp knife. He comforted her and walked her silently down the long parasol to the dock.
At the last minute, he took off his precious satchel of silver coins and tied it around her waist, under her apron. The coins were hidden there.
“These will help you buy a cruiser’s ticket to find your way home to England,” explained Lakai.
Lakai pointed out the dock policemen and told her to run to them. He hoped they would help her find her way home. He watched a policeman take her hand and lead her to safety. He sighed. He returned to the ship. He thought hard about what to do next.
Lakai carefully made a tiny cut into the hidden part of his upper arm with his own small knife. He rubbed the few drips of blood on his face, and put salt water in his own eye, so it would look red and sore. THEN, he raised the alarm! He rang the ship’s bell as hard and loud as he could!
When the drunken sailors reached the ship’s deck after rushing from the bars, poker games and “ladies of negotiable affection¹” they were greeted by the sight of Lakai, lying flat and spread-eagled on his back, apparently unconscious. His left eye was swollen and his face was smeared with blood. As a last-minute touch before the pirates arrived, Lakai had laid a full, corked bottle of rum on the deck beside him and put a bit of blood on that too.
Captain Bile knelt beside him, looking carefully at the scene. Then he shook Lakai “awake” roughly.
“Aaargh! What happened here, young swabby?”
Lakai’s heart pounded, but he lied as if his life depended on it. It did!
“A gang of men rushed aboard! One hit me! They ran below decks. I managed to ring the alarm bell. Then, I guess I just passed out!”
The pirate crew ran to search for the intruders and inspect the entire ship and its booty.
Captain Bile stood and looked down at Lakai, who was now sitting up, trying to look concussed. The pirate’s piercing blue eyes narrowed and his gaze skewered Lakai. Captain Bile pulled thoughtfully at the tip of his silver beard but said nothing.
A pirate ran up from below decks, yelling,
“The captive, the little English Miss is gone!” he yelled.
“Aye and what other loss or damage?” barked Captain Bile.
The pirate crew, regrouping from their search, were shaking their heads, looking non-plussed.
“Only took the poppet, sir. Ain’t that odd?” wondered the first mate.
Lakai was sweating. He hasn’t thought that far ahead. Would suspicion fall on him despite his dramatic theatric presentation?
Surprisingly, Captain Bile laughed a bitter laugh and pronounced,
“No worries, men. This smells of a prank by Ugly Gus. He holds a grudge against me for spanking him in poker a fortnight ago in Nassau.”
One of the pirates, an old one with a missing hand, piped up:
“Aye, Cap’n! Thar goes his rat bucket ship, the Purulent Pustule, sailing out of port now!”
He pointed with the index finger of his remaining hand at a vessel beating out of the harbor.
“Never mind, me boys, we’ll get him next time. You men are too sloshed to sail after him now. We’ll take more captives next leg of our journey.”
But the Captain, although a coarse man with criminal ways, wasn’t stupid. He said nothing to Lakai. But he knew that no pirate who was stealing a captive would have left a full bottle of rum on the deck after they hit his cabin boy with it. They would have drunk it or stolen it altogether.
He treated Lakai the same as ever, and Lakai continued to work hard and learn skills. By the time they returned to Bermuda from their final stop in London, they had taken another set of captives, two grown men this time from another plundered ship. The men were tied up in the lower parts of the ship, waiting for ransom to be arranged.
The pirate crew and officers all left the ship that night as a laughing, noisy group. They were looking forward to a night of carousing. Lakai stood watch as usual.
However, Captain Bile ducked away from his crew and officers a few yards down the dock. He silently returned to the ship and stayed in the shadows. From his hiding place he saw and heard all that went on between Lakai and the captives. He stayed hidden even when the captives bolted.
Lakai was standing on the deck, watching the captives run down the dock into the town when Captain Bile stepped out from his hiding place.
“So, this be the way of it, lad, eh?” He walked towards Lakai menacingly.
Lakai knew it was his time to die. He stood boldly on the deck and faced the pirate captain.
“I did what was right. It is a sin to take people captive.”
The captain approached him grimly, and Lakai closed his eyes, waiting for the feel of the captain’s sword in his heart, spilling his blood. Lakai’s breath came fast and short, and his hands were clenched into sweaty fists at his sides.
But then he heard the rough, amused laugh of Captain Bile. Lakai opened his eyes, astonished.
“Boy, you have the strength and the wits and the boldness to be a pirate, but alas, you’re too pure in your soul.”
He rubbed his bearded chin.
“I promised Captain Kahm I would return you to your family, and even a pirate must keep his word. Plus, Glenda would divorce me if I harmed a hair of your head. She took quite a shine to ye.”
The Captain paused, frowning and thinking.
“You get off ship here boy, in Bermuda, right now, and see if you can get yourself home.”
He reached into his pocket, pulled out a a gold doubloon!
He gave it to Lakai, who stood there with his mouth open. To his surprise, the pirate captain gave another coarse laugh.
He tousled Lakai’s hair and once again looked at his scar.
“Ye worked hard and well for our crew, and you stole our captives away as a proper pirate would, just for a different reason. Ye have the mark of a pirate but the soul of an angel. Just promise me when you become a man, you’ll not choose piracy.”
Lakai promised, ran to his cabin and packed his few things. He ran off the ship before Captain Bile could change his mind.
As he ran, Lakai made a plan. As a now fully trained cabin boy, and seasoned seaman, he knew he could earn passage on a ship bound for St. Augustine. He would find Glenda and see if she could help him get home. He tied his gold doubloon tightly in his satchel and hid the satchel under his shirt. He would bring it home to his family. He squared his shoulders, reassured himself that his small knife was still in his pocket and went to find the dock master, who knew the routes of all the ships in port, and could give directions to Glenda’s saloon.
THE END…FOR NOW
Want to hear about Lakai’s further adventures on the high seas and in exotic ports on his way home? If so, let me know, and Lakai’s oceanic adventures and his quest to return home will continue!
Priscilla Lionheart MD (ships’s doctor and historian)
March 7, 2025
¹This phrase was coined by Sir Terry Pratchett and made famous in his awesome series of Discworld books.