The Treasure of Mermaid Island

   The Treasure of Mermaid Island

It was a steaming hot day on the Pacific Ocean. The wind was dull, listless and the pirate ship, The Mermaid’s Quest was reeling. The sea salt penetrated the senses of taste and smell. A skeleton crew manned it through the doldrums, while the captain and most of the crew were below trying to stay cool. In the far distance, Bootleg, sitting in the crow’s nest saw it.

“Call the Captain, I’ve spotted Mermaid Island.”

One of the deck hands ran off nearly breaking a leg on the freshly swabbed deck.

His name was Captain Bloodlust. He had sailed the seven seas with a gusto and power that made the others shiver at the mere mention of his name. He had raised the ire of the authorities, but they had never mustered the courage to go after him. Despite the resume written in blood and sweat there was one thing that had eluded his entire long, colourful, eventful career: the treasure of Mermaid Island.

Long before he was the commander of his own dark vessel, the young sea apprentice had served under infamous Captain Silverhook, one of the bloodiest pirates in the annals of history. It was during a run through the Indian Sea that the he first learned of the treasure of Mermaid Island.

It was late at night and they were cruising along when the Captain opened up a bottle of his best rum. His men had defeated Captain Hardheart in a bloody, vicious battle that had feared crew taking no prisoners. Captain Bloodlust had performed above the call of duty. Silverhook decided that they were entitled to some type of reward.  

“There is an island somewhere in the South Pacific that you will never find direction to. But, as my name is Silverhook, the place exists and on it is the finest treasure that has ever been created in the history of human flesh. Ye who finds it, shall reap rewards that are inconceivable to the greatest of human minds.”

The place wasn’t on any map; only a courageous pirate with the gift of navigation in his gut could find it. Captain Bloodlust had searched high and low for Mermaid Island, but it seemed the closer he got the further it moved away.

There had been half a dozen close calls. Once, he had been able to hear the mermaids singing, but a storm erupted out of the bright blue sky and ricocheted them off course. Another time, they had been a mere mile away when something hit their ship. The distraction caused them to hit a rock and forget their orientation. They woke up prisoners on another ship.

The obsession of finding the treasure grew as the years rolled on. He had accomplished everything creating a reputation that was second to none. He was like a professional athlete that had won every individual award possible, but had never grasped the championship ring.

But, this time they were ready. Captain Bloodlust had gone to the most renowned soothsayer and had obtained the greatest amulet available. It had cost him a finger.

He was ready. His men were ready. This was it.

The Captain, a beefy man with hard cold eyes and a good start on a menacing, dark beard, looked through the eye scope and remained stoic.

“Straight ahead she blows.”

“Uhm, Captain, we are in the doldrums.”

“Make it happen.”

He left.

The entire crew was perplexed why he had gone down below when the object that he had coveted his entire career was within striking distance. They knew that disappointing him was not a good thing. But, there was no way of getting out of the doldrums.

A few minutes later, he emerged with the amulet.

“I didn’t think you scallywags could get things going. Now let’s see if it was worth a finger.”

He waved it back and forth following the directions of the Soothsayer.  

There was a moment of nothing and then the wind began to pick up and the ship started to move again.

“To Mermaid Island!”

The crew broke out of its semi-trance.

The ship cut through the water with purpose and distinction. The island, some distance away, grew bigger and bigger.

“This is it! I can feel it.”

A group of sharks appeared circling the ship banging into it.

“Get rid of those fin monsters.”

Some of the men started to spear the sharks and they quickly disappeared.

“It is a beautiful island.”

They could hear faint voices.

“The angelic voices of the mermaids are calling us.”

“Captain, what treasure do you think we are going to find?”

“I am not sure but I think we are going to discover them right now.”

At last, after years of dogged pursuit and complete disappointment, they were a hundred feet from the island. As soon as the ship stopped so did the singing.

“Man the lifeboat, we are going down.”

A lifeboat was thrown overboard and the Captain looked around. All the men wanted to be part of the adventure, but not all of them could go on. He looked down at his well-used boots and shrugged the broad shoulders.

“You make this too hard.”

He didn’t want to choose any of them.

“We do this in waves. The men that have been with me the longest get on the lifeboat. This is fair.”

Some of the men were very disappointed.

The senior members of the crew went on, but didn’t gloat.

“I said that everyone will get a chance. I might be a cutthroat and a stern captain, but I am fair.”

The men all nodded their heads.

They left on the lifeboat while the others watched and bid their time.

They landed on the island and looked around.

“Where do you think the mermaids are?”

“Hiding, ‘cause they’ve never seen such a group of handsome sea dogs.”

The men all laughed.

They walked around the island for a few minutes.

“So where is the treasure, Captain?”

“I am not sure. Blacklegs, go and fetch the others.”

“You are going to leave the ship unguarded?”

“The ship is cursed. If anyone tries to steal it then their fate is sealed.”

The men smiled.

Some time later, the rest of the men had joined the others.

“My orders are very simple. Fan out in pairs and go and find the treasure. If you have to shoot first and ask questions later. Do not take any chances.”

They spent six months on the island and never found the treasure. They dug up ever inch of the place. But, they had more fun than they had in years. Every day, some of the men went back to check on the ship.

The island was a paradise.  The fruit was so succulent that it made one’s mouth water just looking at it. There was vegetation that the men had never tasted or heard of that was eager for the tasting. The roasted pigs dripped with deliciousness.  

There were no dangers on the island. There were no snakes or quicksand or poisonous plants.  

At night, after darkness set in, the mermaids sang lullabies that allowed the men to drift off to sleep happily. Although, they could never see them despite searching and searching, the lovely ladies were present.

Eventually, the men left the island. They had found no treasure in the form of gold bullion or silver coins. Instead, they had found a different time of treasure—escapism.