The Ship

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Abstract

of a ship in a library book and takes it home. He sketches out an outline on a page of the little book Mum gave him last year. The book says “Autographs” on the cover, as if Daniel is surrounded by the famous. As if he knows enough people to fill its pages, famous or not.“I thought you and your friends could pass it around,” Mum had said, and he’d thought What friends? He’s got a few, but not many. And they aren’t the sentimental types, which is how Daniel likes it.The photograph is rather dark and gets Daniel thinking that a silhouette of the ship would be most striking, and so he slowly fills in the sails with black ink.A tiny bit of gray ink gives dimension to the water and to the flag hanging off the back of the ship. Daniel can practically see the sunlight glinting off of the water as he carefully dabs on the highlights. He imagines looking ahead, seeing

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a new and unknown land rising on the horizon as he watches from the bow. His tongue is between his lips as he concentrates on going over the fine lines of the ropes.“Oh, very nice!” He hadn’t heard Mum come up behind him, and she startles him so much he almost knocks over an ink bottle. He bites back a curse word.“What’s that? Pirate ship?” she asks.He sighs. “No. It’s just a ship.” She thinks he’s still a little boy. She hasn’t yet realized that everything isn’t about pirates with him anymore.“Where’s it going, then?” she says.He doesn’t answer her. But as he stares out the window at all the dreary little houses drenched in the rains that seem to settle in over the town for weeks at a time, the same sight that’s greeted him since he was tall enough to look out over the sill, he thinks Anywhere but here.</article></body>

The Ship

Photo by Nicole Willson; drawing by D. Harron, 1936. I wish my crummy photo did justice to all the little details in this drawing; it’s an amazing piece of work given that this book isn’t much larger than a deck of cards.

(Autograph Book Story #2. The introduction to this series is here.)

Daniel loves looking at pictures of tall ships. In his dreams, he stands proudly on their decks, breathing in the salty air and feeling the sea roll beneath him as he travels to yet another adventure.

He finds a good picture of a ship in a library book and takes it home. He sketches out an outline on a page of the little book Mum gave him last year. The book says “Autographs” on the cover, as if Daniel is surrounded by the famous. As if he knows enough people to fill its pages, famous or not.

“I thought you and your friends could pass it around,” Mum had said, and he’d thought What friends? He’s got a few, but not many. And they aren’t the sentimental types, which is how Daniel likes it.

The photograph is rather dark and gets Daniel thinking that a silhouette of the ship would be most striking, and so he slowly fills in the sails with black ink.

A tiny bit of gray ink gives dimension to the water and to the flag hanging off the back of the ship. Daniel can practically see the sunlight glinting off of the water as he carefully dabs on the highlights. He imagines looking ahead, seeing a new and unknown land rising on the horizon as he watches from the bow. His tongue is between his lips as he concentrates on going over the fine lines of the ropes.

“Oh, very nice!” He hadn’t heard Mum come up behind him, and she startles him so much he almost knocks over an ink bottle. He bites back a curse word.

“What’s that? Pirate ship?” she asks.

He sighs. “No. It’s just a ship.” She thinks he’s still a little boy. She hasn’t yet realized that everything isn’t about pirates with him anymore.

“Where’s it going, then?” she says.

He doesn’t answer her. But as he stares out the window at all the dreary little houses drenched in the rains that seem to settle in over the town for weeks at a time, the same sight that’s greeted him since he was tall enough to look out over the sill, he thinks Anywhere but here.