by Ian Newton
Chapter 6
The Lady Marie
Each night while their bodies rested comfortably, their spirits returned to the island. As a team with a plan, their nights became working sessions. They discussed problems, strategized different outcomes and went back to their respective lives each day with renewed purpose.
Twenty years into their new lives, with their bodies fast asleep, they sat on the beach of the island.
“Who wished for that?” Kaya asked, looking at the ship on the horizon.
“It wasn’t me,” Jacob shrugged.
“Well don’t look at me,” Andrew said. “I don’t need a ship.”
There was no breeze to speak of, but the tall masts held huge, billowing, rectangular sails. Instead of anchoring off the coast, the ship beached itself in the soft sand of the breaker waves.
“Ahoy,” yelled Father, from over the side. “I’ll lower the ladder.”
“Brilliant,” Jacob exclaimed, jumping to his feet.
Andrew scooped up Kaya’s hand, and they all ran into the surf like children.
“I wish the sun would come up,” Kaya said, sending the moon into retreat as the sun leaped into the sky.
The ship’s hull, all its rigging, and even its sails shimmered with the luster of pure gold.
Wading through the water, Jacob whistled admiringly and ran his fingers along the ship.
“Ladies first,” Jacob said, holding the golden ladder hanging from the deck.
“She’s beautiful!” Kaya exclaimed. “What’s her name?” she called to Father, but as the words left her mouth, she realized she already knew.
“The Lady Marie,” Andrew whispered to Jacob.
“Marie?” Jacob asked.
“Our daughters’ name, or at least it will be.”
“Oh, I didn’t know you’d settled on a name yet.”
“Now you do,” Andrew said, starting up the ladder.
“You never did see the Lady Celeste, did you?” Jacob asked.
“When would I have seen that?”
“It was toward the end of her diary, but you never made it that far.”
“I don’t think I was even halfway through when we got to the Kingdom.”
“Can you believe that was more than a hundred years ago?” Jacob asked, stepping onto the ladder.
“What are you talking about?” Andrew laughed, “It hasn’t even happened yet.”
When they were all standing on deck, Father said, “Welcome, to the Lady Marie.”
“Please, tell us all about her,” Kaya said.
Father stroked his beard thoughtfully, and said, “Marie will be born on…”
“No! Don’t tell me that!” Kaya interrupted.
“I was only joking,” Father said, with a smile that sent love rippling through them. “I would never spoil that surprise.”
“Darn,” Jacob said, “I wanted to know.”
“First of all, this is not the actual Lady Marie,” He said, sweeping His arms wide. “She’s close, but not exact.”
“What’s she missing?” Andrew asked.
“We’ll get to that in a moment. For now, let’s talk about what this amazing ship can do.”
“She’s unsinkable,” Jacob said to himself.
“That’s correct Jacob, she is literally unsinkable.”
“That’s a nice quality in a boat,” Andrew said, running his hand along one of the countless golden ropes that made up her rigging.
“She’s also invisible, at least to those who cannot see her.”
“I don’t take your meaning,” Kaya said.
“She’s always in two places at once,” Jacob added.
“You got me on that one,” Andrew said, rubbing the side of his head.
“And no one will ever spend a single day or night on this ship except for her captain.”
Jacob’s grin had spread to a smile. “Just like the Lady Celeste,” he said dreamily.
“They are one and the same,” Father agreed.
“What’s her purpose?” Kaya asked.
“Jacob?” Father asked encouragingly.
“This magnificent ship is both a beacon and a bridge,” Jacob said, running his fingers along the railing, “and we can sail her to any port we wish. Anyone who can see her is welcome to come aboard.”
“Neither of you is helping very much,” Andrew said, sounding irritated.
Jacob started walking around the main mast with his eyes closed, lightly brushing his fingers against it.
“One of us, any of us,” he said smiling, “will Captain this unsinkable ship to any port or any sea we choose. And only those who may be welcomed into the Kingdom will see the Lady Celeste, I mean the Lady Marie, gleaming like the sun itself.
They may arrive by ladder or gangplank, but they will never board this ship.”
“How is that possible?” Andrew asked desperately.
“Because my dear friend, they will not be boarding this ship, they will be boarding the Lady Marie docked just beyond the City of Light; because this ship is always in two places at once.”
“That’s fantastic!” Kaya announced.
“She sails by her own wind, and even if run aground, she will reverse her course when willed to do so by her captain,” Father added.
“So what’s missing?” Kaya asked again.
“The two places at once thing,” Father said. “There’s no point in it right now.”
“So she won’t sink, she doesn’t need the wind, she can’t be seen by anyone who would want to harm her, and nobody who comes aboard actually comes aboard; they just appear on the ship in the harbor outside of the City?” Andrew asked.
“How many must you gather?” Father asked, trying to add some perspective.
“Half the world,” Jacob thought aloud.
“And who will Captain this ship when the three of you are gone?”
Andrew started to say Marie, but stopped short, realizing Marie could never leave the City once the three of them were gone.
“No one,” he answered.
“Then how long do you have to sail her?”
“Five hundred years,” Kaya whispered, looking down at the deck.
“Don’t be sad,” Father said, lifting her chin and meeting her eye’s. “These are all gifts. Magnificent, imaginative, thought provoking, dream inspiring, gifts.
Oh, I almost forgot,” He said, with a smile. “Each of you gets one of these.”
“One of what?” Jacob asked.
“Oh, where did I put those silly things? I thought I had them right here,” Father said, looking around the base of the mast.
“Those, over there?” Andrew asked, pointing at four shepherd hook walking staffs lying in a jumble toward the bow of the ship.
“Yes, that’s what I’m looking for,” He said, holding up His hand and calling them into it.
Handing one to each of them, He said, “I brought them along because I thought they might help.”
“The staff of The Wanderer,” Kaya said excitedly.
“The what?” Andrew asked.
“Tell them, Kaya,” Father said, holding the fourth staff in His hand.
“It’s one of the oldest stories among my people,” she said, staring into the large looping hook on the staff. Her eyes were wide, and a smile snuck onto her face. “This is the staff of The Wanderer.”
“I thought you were a Wanderer,” Andrew said, looking at the staff in his hand. “But you never had a stick like this. Did you?”
“No, of course not. Nobody did except The Wanderer.”
Turning to Jacob, Andrew asked, “Are you getting any of this?”
Jacob was poking his finger at the image of the City hovering within the loop of the shepherd hook. “That’s amazing!” he said, sticking h
alf his arm into the hole. “Magic, right?” Jacob asked, looking up at Father.
“Any technology far enough beyond what you currently understand is usually perceived as magic.”
“So how does it work?” he asked.
“The image of the City, floating in the loop of your staff, is there to be seen just like the Lady Marie.” Father held up a single finger toward Jacob’s forehead, and said, “If you wish to burden yourself with the subatomic constructs of the forty-two dimensions simultaneously combining to create the space-time continuum that is “now”, and how this image is projected into it, I am willing to share.”
“Nope,” Jacob said, pulling his arm out of the loop, “magic is fine by me.”
“That is wise.”
“See,” he said, patting Andrew on the back, “this whole life experience thing is paying off.”
“None of this is helping,” Andrew said. “Are we to be shepherds or sailors or caregivers or glorified greeters at the gate of our own home?”
“Yes,” Father answered. “All of those things plus much, much more if you wish to succeed.”
“Succeed at what?” Andrew asked. “At imprisoning our daughter for thousands of years? At making the City permanent? For what?”
“You have all debated this for some time now, and you already know the answer to your questions.”
“But the answer isn’t logical,” Kaya spoke up. “It’s just another riddle we don’t understand.”
“What’s behind the door?” Jacob asked.
“If the City of Light stands for three thousand years or half the world’s population comes to live within its walls, then yes, the City will live forever. The rules change a little,” He said, waving His hand dismissingly, “but that’s nothing to worry about. Then there is the matter of the door.”
“Do you know what’s behind the door?” Kaya asked.
“What I know is it’s not what lies behind the door that will lead you to success.”
“Why not,” Andrew asked. “Is it more magic?”
“Yes and no,” He said, tugging at His beard. “The door is a gateway to a place I must go, and only you can unlock it.”
Intrigued, Jacob asked, “Why do you have to go there?”
“For the same reason, you must succeed.”
“And what reason is that?” Andrew pleaded.
“Because this is our last chance.”
