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Wednesday, December 16, 2009
A Pirate's Christmas Carol: The Ghost of Christmases Yet to Come
Three chimes. I didn’t have the stomach to go through this again. But I knew I had no choice. I needed to see this through.
In front of me, the ghost loomed, somehow darker than the others, as if the void inside the hood was deeper and blacker than the darkness around it. On the robe, flames ignited and flared out in a random pattern, sparking the air around the figure.
This wasn’t a frail, sweet Bronte sister or DeFoe. This was creepy. “Who are you?”
He didn’t answer, just smoldered.
“Please don’t.” I pressed a hand to my aching chest. “I can’t take this again.”
He raised a white, skeletal hand and pointed to the door. There was nothing to do but follow, to see what he had to show me. I followed out the door and up the stairs to deck.
A cool breeze fluttered against my skin, but even that held a hint of danger. The soft December sunlight didn’t fully light the deck, leaving ominous shadows in the corners and around the dusty bar.
Dust? Since when have a bunch of pirates let a bar sit idle enough to go dusty? As the Ghost of Christmases Yet to Come floated past the bar, dust and ash stirred into the air and ignited, then slowly drifted back down to sizzle against the wood. Where was the string of penis lights? Where was our collection of rum bottles from around the world? But no decorations remained. Not the framed pictures of Playgirl layouts, not even the glitter-covered fireman’s pole. No sign of our old raucous ways.
“Where is everyone?”
A bird squalled overhead, circled twice, and descended fast toward the ghost. I took another giant step backward, but the bird only landed on the ghosts shoulder.
“What is that? A crow? In the ocean?” Then I looked closer. It was a raven. A fucking raven. “Oh shit. You’re Edgar Allen Poe.”
He thumped the deck of the ship with a cane in a perfect “ba-bum, ba-bum” heart-beat rhythm. “A simple yes would have done the trick,” I muttered. Where’d he even get the cane anyway?
He pointed again, below deck.
The wenches were below?
Probably keeping busy with the hotties. I smiled. That was more like it.
But as the ghost, raven on the shoulder and all, drifted down the stairs toward the cabins, there was no trace of sassy giggling or lewd innuendo. Instead, the soft hum of typing was the only sound in the air.
Each of the wenches was in their cabins, hunched over their desks, as page after page flew from the rollers of printers nearby. Paper littered the floor everywhere: stacks lined the wall, throw-away sheets crumpled into balls, and shreds drifted down the hallway like forsaken tumbleweed.
Wait. They’d finally followed my directions and gone below to write?
I clapped a hand over my mouth. “They did it! Look how much they’ve all written!”
But the ghost just continued to drift and kept pointing.
“What is this? I need to keep looking?” The scene didn’t change. Keys tapped, papers floated down to land on stacks already leaning precariously to the side. The clacks of the keys mixed with the splash of the waves, creating the soundtrack I’d always loved most.
But every time I’d achieved that perfect sound, it’d been broken by laughing pirates or smashing bottles or screeching undead monkeys, by some new distraction waiting to drag me from my work.
Suddenly, the silence seemed obscene.
I looked over at Ghost-man, but he was no help. A sheet of paper fluttered past my face. I snatched it out of the air and smoothed out the crinkles. Words, and words, and words.
But that’s all they were. Words. This wasn’t a story. There was no emotion, no spark.
Just words.
I watched as Sin kept typing. The passion in her face, the passion for the story, was gone. She stayed hunched over, typing word after word. “What happened to you?”
No answer. She only typed. I checked each of the other cabins. I could barely find Lisa, Terri, and Marn past their stacks of paper. Mo and Hal were writing by hand, and Santa and JP were hunched over one typewriter, collaborating.
They’d finally done as I’d asked.
And I’d killed their laughter, their creativity. Their passion.
“This can’t be right. This isn’t what I wanted, not what I asked for.”
My hand shook as I turned the knob of my cabin, pushing the door open. Its creak told me how long it’d been since I’d had company.
Inside, the stacks of paper, the crumpled discards, were deeper and higher than the other pirates. And in the deep recesses of the room, by the light of lone candle, I sat tapping on my laptop. The sexy corset I’d worn for Jack—in tatters and covered in ink smudges. My sassy haircut? Grown out.
“Where’s Jack?”
No response. And I knew. Gone. Jack was gone, off to find his bliss somewhere else.
I dropped down on a teetering stack of papers. “This can’t be what I asked them for. I just wanted them to write more, not lose themselves in their writing.” My head got heavy and I cradled it in my palms. “There is no story without our voices, without our laughter. There’s no joy in what we do if we have no joy ourselves. I know I’ve said that before. I’m sure I did. Didn’t I?”
This time, when I got no response, I knew the answer. Maybe not enough. But that was going to change.
“I’m going to change. It’s important we write, but it’s just as important that we stay who we are, that we embrace the things that make us pirates, make us wenches, make us fierce!” I shot to my feet and took the stairs to the upper deck two at a time.
The bar was still dusty and unused, undecorated. The ghost hovered behind me. “Never again. I slapped the bar and left a handprint in the dust. “Take me back, Eddie. I’ve got work to do.”
The raven crowed and flew into the air, the smoke around Poe swirled, the clocks chimed, and I was back in my cabin. There were a few grains of sand on the keyboard of my laptop, and two crumpled sheets of paper lie at my feet.
It’d been real. And now I had work to do.
Question for you wenches! If you could see Christmas five years from now, what would it look like? Who'd show it to you? What moment are you most looking forward to this year -- the presents, the food, the stockings, the Mass, what?
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41 comments:
Five years from now? Well, I'll be on a sailboat, with me DH...two books out... Havin' spent a week wit' family, now it's time fer us... Under full sail, warm weather, totally relaxed... Who would show it ta me?
Well, she ain't dead...but Jane-o. Because she has the total confidence in me ta point me in the right direction fer me heart's desire.
What am I lookin' forward ta the most this year? Takin' Bonnie ta the great dogpark less than a mile from me Mum's house. Because nothin' beats dogs playin' ta brighten the heart.
And me stockin'... Who knows what the DH has planned this year? ;)
Dickens would be envious Marnee.
I'm glad that I got up early to read it all! :D
At first I thought it would be a smoker's nightmare, with the flames and sizzling and all. Then I anticipated some apocalyptic vision of a dying world. But no, I had momentarily forgotten that this is Marnee's story. Your boundless 'Joi de vivre' came shining through like a beacon!
Wonderful story Marnee, I'm ready for work now!
Oh, nearly forgot the questions as I basked in the reflected glory of that story .... and finished my sausage.
OK If I could see into the future with any reliability I would make repeated killings on the stock market. I would use the profits to banish poverty and stop the earth over heating, after buying a new Morgan sports of course! I would expect the ghost of Adam Smith to advise me. *grin*
This year I'm most looking forward to seeing my young grand daughter's eyes light up as she opens the huge parcel that I am preparing to place under the Xmas tree. She will open it after tasting my amazing Christmas dinner!
As for my stocking, I'm half hoping to see Sin! :lol:
Wonderful Job Marnee!! I love it!
Hmm five years from now, I would love to see a grandchild or two playing in my living room at Christmas! Everyone healthy and happy in my family!
Im Honored once again in Chances's belief in me!! You are a great friend!
This year I look forward to just enjoying the entire holiday season, no stess, no rush, just enjoying each event that comes along with the season!
What would like in my Christmas stocking... a ticket to France!! (how about you Chance?)
Expect to see me in all my black gossamer glory, Q.
Five years from now, I just want to be healthy and happy.
Great job Hal and Marn! You two rocked this out :)
Awh, thanks guys, but I can't take all the credit here. I'm just sharing my day with Hal. She and I wrote this together. :)
Chance - 2 books out, huh? I'm just hoping for one but I like your overachiever mentality. LOL!! And the dogpark is your bright spot? I like that.
Q - thanks for the compliments. And I think you hit something about both Hal and I's writing. Our stuff can be dark but I think we're pretty optimistic in the end. I guess that's why we write romance and not something more depressing.
I hope that your granddaughter has a fabulous Christmas (and you too!)
Jane - grandchildren! Yay! That sounds like lots of fun! And I love your suggestion for the stocking. I wanna go to France too....
Thanks guys. I can't wait to see how Terri and J Perry pull it all together tomorrow.
Chance, I adore the sight of dogs playing together. There's something about their complete abandon of happiness that makes me happy.
Five years from now? Finished, published, and contracted for at least three more books. Living in some little bungalow near a beach (a warm beach), with a cat named Crookshanks. On my huge screen TV, I'd be watching Harry Potter as I write. And after I jog five miles on the beach (hey, it's my fantasy, right?) I come back and write 10 pages before doing the other things I need to do for the day. Clearly I have fallen into some sort of inheritance to achieve this. *LOL*
What do I want to see in my Christmas stocking? tickets to a sunny warm beach...and Hogwarts.
just enjoying the entire holiday season, no stess, no rush, just enjoying each event that comes along with the season!
Jane, that sounds amazing! I hope I'm stress-free this year too!
Q - That better be one long stocking. And Hal had a hand in writing this as well. These two are the perfect collaboration team.
Wonderful job, ladies. The raven was a lovely touch. Christmas in five years? Hmmmm... Kiddo will be 15 (I shiver at the thought!) so I guess I see lots of new clothes scattered around my living room and empty gift boxes everywhere.
And kiddo and I in our own place, settled into a real home. With roots and warmth and charm. With a fat orange cat who no longer cares about climbing the tree. And maybe a puppy too.
I'm not sure who would show it to me, but I can picture it as clear as day.
I want to add: I agree that you guys have totally rocked this out. I was totally depressed that my nagging had turned out such horrible results!
All the ghosts have been depressing. (Great job you all!) I'm so glad this is going to be turned around in the end and we all have a splendid pirate time!
Don't be giving away spoilers!
LOL!
I forgot to say what I want in my stocking. My first choice would be an awesome job offer in Nashville to kiddo and I could move there. My second would be a Netbook (so not happening.) My third would be a note that says my parents have finally won the lottery! I'm sure that sounds generous of me, but you have no idea how much better that would make life.
I've been reading every day, guys, and I'm sorry I've been MIA on commenting. Reading so late makes comments seem redundant, but I have loved each installment of A PIRATE"S CHRISTMAS CAROL. Cheers for all of you!
Five years from now the three oldest grands will be teenagers. That thought paralyzes my imagination, but I hope I'll be healthy and published and still writing--and reading books by all the pirates and other writer friends.
Don’t be giving away spoilers!
Spoilers? Who hasn't seen The Christmas Carol, Bo'sun? It's Dickens. That's him MO. 400 pages of grim gloom and doom, last page of HEA. What exactly are we giving away?
That was sarcasm, dear. You should recognize that being it's your MO. LOL!
I have to say, this is the first time Marn and I have collaborated, and I was floored at how smooth it went. I wrote the first half, just kind of sketched it out. She filled in and kept going forward. Then I filled out her section and kept going forward a bit....and voila. I still sort of know which sections were written by which of us, but I'll bet nobody else can tell.
as long as I don't see another rejection letter before Christmas Day, I will take *anything* in my stocking. :)
That was sarcasm, dear. You should recognize that being it’s your MO. LOL!
And what part of "I forgot my diet mountain dew this morning" was incomprehensible to you? Don't you understand what that means, Miss Water Drinker? Some of us don't function without caffeine.
Some of us don’t function without caffeine. Year Ter. How is it you only drink water? I'm on my second cup of coffee and my eyes are barely open *g*
I've had my one cup of coffee already. Of course, that's 1/3 coffee, 1/3 hot water, a dollop of cold water, and a generous splash of flavored creamer.
What? I like water!
and P.S. - flavored creamer is the bomb. We only have 1/2 and 1/2 at work, and it's just not the same.
LMAO! I love that you have a whole recipe for it. *g* I tease, but I love water too. After my morning two cups of coffee, I usually chug water all day.
And I didn't even list the two Splenda packets. LOL! I can't drink coffee without flavored creamer. If it's not available, I drink water. :)
I must admit a quick stop at Starbuck's Christmas mornin' be part a' me ritual. I always feel bad that they be open, but I know they be makin' good pay fer the half day, and I tip generously!
Ticket ta France, Jane-o? I'd rather a super ticket that lets me fly all over the country to pop in on unsuspectin' pirates... Though I know what yer hintin' at, ya randy wench!
Marn - Aye, the dogpark. Mum's will be nice, no argument. The food will be good, but fer pure smiles and merriment? Me dog at this dogpark, hands down. It's all grass...size of half a football field, sunny... She goes apeshit... Jus' hope it ain't rainin'...
Hellie - I love your cat's name! And the ideas of a house on a beach and the contracted work. I should have thought of that too....
When does the Hogwarts park open? (I suspect you know the day...)
Bo'sun - Your future sounds great. A fifteen year old though? Ugh. LOL!! And I hope you guys find just the perfect house in the next years. :) And I like your stocking too.
Janga - I would love to see us all reading books by one another by then too! I think that isn't too far-fetched. I'm glad you're enjoying our Christmas Carol. Thanks for the publicity, PS.
I also want to agree with Hal.... This is the first time we worked together but I think it was smooth and turned out great. I also think no one else but us will be able to tell which parts I wrote and which parts she wrote and that's kinda cool. :)
What? I like water!
I like HOT water. Colored my hair this morning and discovered NO HOT WATER just when it was time to rinse. A bit of panic there. Time's up! My hair is is going to fry? (don't know but don't want to find out) No choice but to dunk my head under cold water. All I can say...refreshing! (Have to figure out what happened with my water heater...sigh.)
Anyways! Loved the next to last installment. :) Very creepy! And, no, I couldn't figure out which parts were Hal or Marnee's. Can't wait for the happy ending tomorrow!
I love the five years into the future question. So many things can happen! With my earnings from my published books that are flying off the shelves, I see myself fresh from a week (at least - heck, make that a month) at the spa made all beautiful and looking fit and younger than I did five years ago (which would be today - but hey, no gray showing for the moment! LOL).
Melissa - sorry about the no hot water. That sucks it. And I'm glad we creeped you out. LOL!!
Ohhh... a spa trip. that sounds fabulous.
Five years from now my youngest (still incubating in my gut) will be almost ready to go to elementary school. How insane is that?
I'll be preparing for driving lessons and you'll be preparing for kindergarten. That does not sound fair. LOL!
Melissa - I washed my hair in cold water one time and that was enough! But I can see the hair color dilemma. Which reminds me, I HAVE to color my hair tonight. Can't have this silver for the fancy parties over the next couple nights.
Having enough money to take a month long vacation in December sounds like perfection. If that month is spent in Scotland, all the better.
They have not given a specific day for Hogwarts opening. They keep saying Spring 2010.
The upside to rinsing your hair in cold water is that the color won't come out brassy (my colors always did--even if I did dark brown--and my ex boyfriend said it was because I used hot water to rinse. Yes, he dyed his hair.)
This has been so fun to follow and a great one today you guys! Fabulous collaboration. I need to jump into the comments before I miss all the fun.
I had no tea this morning and just about died in my morning meeting. The caffeine addiction is still strong despite the fact that I haven't had a pop since Thanksgiving.
I'd like to be with my family in 5 yrs but perhaps celebrating at my place or something. I also hope that at that point I have a tree and a cat that behaves itself near the tree. (Terri, I'm looking at your cat as I type this...) As for Christmas wishes, just the little thing of an agent, a book deal, and wild publishing success. That's not too much to ask for, right? Right????
The upside to rinsing your hair in cold water is that the color won’t come out brassy...
I think you're right, Hellie. It turned out a little darker than usual, but maybe it was supposed to and my "usual" has been a little brassy!
Terri - good luck with your color results!
I'm sure cats must think the tree is put up as their present. I think mine is getting very comfortable in it and will be upset when it comes down!
Steph - Definitely not too much to ask. And if my cat keeps this up, he could find himself shipped off to Texas and you'll get your wish sooner than you think. LOL!
Melissa - I color my hair every 5 to 6 weeks so you'd think I'd have it down. But no. Never get the same color or even the same brand half the time. All I care about is covering the silver roots. Brassy isn't really a concern. LOL!
Ah. Shoppin' done. Even made it by the adult toy store and got the necessaries fer me DH's stockin' stuffin'...
Where's the rum? I deserve a Holy Mackarel Unmocktail.
Me friend had a cat, used ta perch in her Christmas tree...took a picture a' this little cat face peekin' out a' the branches... I maintain havin' no tree is better than a tree all over the house.
Ter? Ya could try hangin' it upside from the ceilin'... Drive the buggers nuts tryin' ta figure out how ta climb it!
Melissa - I washed me hair in ice cold water when backpacking... Damn! Wakes one up, I'll say that fer it! Better than caffeine...
Sabrina - I wish all a' that fer ya and more.
So, one comment about an adult toy store and the holidays and bam! Dead blog.
No, Chance, I think the blog had dwindled before the adult store stuff. Besides adult store commentary usually gets questions going. *LOL* There are lots of things in an adult store I woudn't mind getting in a stocking.
They had some nice things... Includin' a little nasty duck dolled up fer a trip ta Paris... I thought a' Jane...but we aren't that close!
Hel - Ya get the recipe?
Yes! They sound yummy, but I don't think my asian market sells lumpia wrappers. Hmmm. But I'll scout around. *LOL*
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