that damn banging

I awoke from a uneven and disturbed sleep.

I felt an inner dread , somewhat as if one had been drinking

for days on end.Then I realised I hadn`t been drinking.

Slowly my consciousness arrived, I was clear headed,

sober,healthy, and then I remembered the reason for my inner

anxiety. It was the banging on the hull that had been

disturbing my sleep all night.

I wanted to go back to sleep and hide in my unconsciousness,

but after five minutes or so it was obvious my stomach had

no intention of settling and would not let me drift back

into the beautiful oblivion that was sleep.

I threw on my clothes and shoes with a finite decision:

I would check out that bloody noise. I had had enough.

I walked down the narrow corridor that led me to the stairs

which would take me to the deck.

The sun hit me on the face, for the first time in days and

days, it felt good , at last we were in calm seas and

sunshine. I thought briefly, `God help me! This is what I am

here for, sun, sea, fun, none of this weird shark hunting

crap gone pear shaped`.

Anyhow why is the deck deserted, has everyone been hiding

below, not wanting to know what the banging was , like bunch

of ostriches? It appeared so, no-one was to be

seen.Superstition was rife on boats like ours; it was taken

for granted. Often times it seemed you could be playing a

peaceful game of poker down below,and while all seemed calm

and happy , little did you realise you were as safe as if

you were walking on the edge of a volcano, one wrong word

said, and you could end up with a load of red hot flaming

lava on your face , so to speak.

So first, I picked up my lucky knife.

I made my way to the source of the banging, it seemed to be

emanating from the bow on the starboard side. I plucked up

my nerve , there was no-one around, my fear and curiosity

had the better of me , I just had to know for sure what it

was.I already knew, and I wanted to go back and hide with my

churning stomach. But I knew I had to see it.Maybe when I

had seen the terrifying truth , I could rest easy, in the

certainty that the claws of nature would never forgive, and

would hunt one down for eternity. But at least I would know

for sure.

As I approached, the steady irregular banging got louder and

louder. This was the moment, it was now I would at last know

the inescapable truth.He was after revenge , there was no

stopping him, this was it. We kill him or he kills us.

I pulled all the courage I had into one big stomach churning

lump, and cautiously peered over the bow. Just as I did, I

saw the heavy unattached anchor swaying.It swung and hit the

side of the boat with a big bang.

Oh my God, what a relief! It was like a huge weight had been

lifted from me.I had my life back.It was a huge hit of

endorphins straight to my inner cortex."My God!" I thought

"I can finally get some real sleep."The second thought was,

"I need a drink fast.This is Christmas with tinsel and presents".

I then thought of the irony of the other tough piratical

sailors on board , all hiding below, all fearing their worst

nightmare. I thought, "They will never live this down, I

will see to it.Yahoo! Quelle blague!"

I swaggered back to go and get some proper down time ,

joyeuse in my magnificent bravery. A shiny sweet sparkle

from the happy sun caught my jubilant eye. I wandered

drunken with relief toward it, with pure nonchalant

curiosity, thinking "Maybe today is the best day in the

world, and now I have found a diamond!" I got closer, it was

bigger than a diamond.It was much bigger than a diamond!

Then all of my insides suddenly fell like a stone from a cliff, into

a dark deep icy black lake.

 It was Jonny`s hook, still attached to the rest of his false arm.

Strangely,It occurred to me that the stomach acid of a shark

could easily outsell Duraglit or Brasso.

Maybe I had a future after all.