In the shoes of a pirate - chapter 2

The Royal return

McKay had now been away from his family for 10 years. A renowned adventurer, he had discovered many lands and trade routes. He had developed a particular expertise in the spice trade, collecting flavours and methodically transcribing them into illustrated books. Some say that it was McKay himself who illustrated the first wheel of flavours to make it easier to sell the spices and flower essences he brought back from his explorations. Over time, his reputation grew, and people eagerly awaited the arrival of the "adventurer of taste".

McKay had not returned to his native land. He kept the finest spices, the rarest roots, the tastiest dried fruits, the most exquisite essences, the most delicate powders and hand-crafted cooking accessories in a hidden chest on his ship for his dear mother. He looked forward to the day when he could share this palace of the senses with his mother and take her on a journey through its treasures.

His epic journey continued. One summer's day, he had stopped off on an island off the Atlantic Ocean, in the Caribbean Sea, where he had gone to find a plant called wild oregano. At the end of his day of exploration and satisfactory trade, he settled into a tavern where he had decided to spend the night.

The dining room was flanked by three rows of cedar tables, glossy and sticky with rum spilled by drunken sailors. Two men, who appeared to be seasoned pirates, were seated at one of the tables. Their faces were lit by a line of candles, sealed by the yellowed wax on the table. McKay sat down beside them. They lowered their voices and began to whisper. The words 'mystical beauty', 'bewitched', 'unfaithful king' and 'curse' drifted in and out of their indistinct conversation.

McKay was intrigued by this exchange between the two men. He addressed them and offered them a bottle of the tavern-keeper's best rum, a Barbados nectar. This nectar, round and aged in the tavern's barrels for 12 years, with notes of pineapple and walnut, warmed their palates and loosened their tongues.

"You seemed to be engaged in a conversation. What were you talking about, my friends?" asked McKay.

The second man kicked him so hard that the table shook and the candle flame flickered.

• Shh, we're not going to give him the strings, are we?
• Look how flanqué he is, he's not going to satisfy the queen! I'd love to see that.
• Tell me all about it, folks. And bring your glass closer, the tide is out my friend." McKay encouraged.
• There's an island, a really small island, just across the road. It's so small that with three boats, the harbour is full. But it's a powerful island, and it's said to be a bit magical. Well, not the island, but the queen. There's a king and a queen who live there. They're rich, very, very rich.

The queen has a beauty that would make the biggest whale in the sea pale into insignificance.

• "More than beautiful, I've heard she can bewitch you in the blink of an eye. The second man rejoined, warmed by the roundness of the rum.
• "But she's not smiling. We know something's happened, but we're not sure what. They say she lost her smile after a ship arrived on the island. Her husband tried everything: they say he even tried voodoo.
• "And ever since, her husband has been urging sailors to bring back their treasures. He promised that if a sailor brought back a treasure that would make the queen smile, he would pay triple in gold. Imagine, you give her a ruby, and she smiles at you, he gives you two rubies. Oh no, wait, what were we counting?

The man grabbed the remaining chicken bones from his plate. He placed one on the table and scratched his head with a puzzled expression.

• "We said... Oh yes, that's it".

He lined up the other two bones on the table.

• "If you bring her a ruby and she smiles, you leave with three".
• "And what happens if she doesn't smile? McKay asked.
• "The king guards the treasures. But I hear that you also risk being bewitched by the queen. Some of them never left the island, I hear," whistled the sailor between sips of rum. "I'm surprised they're both rich.

McKay was very intrigued by this story. He asked the men how to get to the island. The second sailor, not very talkative, asked for another bottle in exchange for information. McKay was eager to satisfy his curiosity and accepted the deal. The sailor then handed him a gold coin, stamped with a woman's profile. Breathtakingly beautiful: an aquiline nose, prominent cheekbones, eyes as sharp as daggers. And indeed, an air as hard as the most solid rock. In the loose curls of his hair, you could make out a map. He took out his magnifying glass and looked carefully: he recognised the rocky cut-out through which he had arrived the day before. There was no doubt that, as a seasoned explorer, he would be able to find this mysterious island.

Music: Hoist the colours https://deezer.page.link/coJHWpfVHixqfpVr5

His night was short and chaotic. He could hear a woman's voice speaking to him through warm, watery, sensual breath. The Queen's face appeared in a screen of smoke, and an icy laugh broke her sighs, but he could clearly see her sealed mouth, which could not muster so much as a smile. In a lament, she whispered to him: "Only one gift will satisfy me. My smile will be your pleasure and your quest".

The next day, his mind was made up: he would succeed in satisfying the Queen, and he would devote himself to it day and night. He would devote his life if necessary, but he would succeed in drawing a smile on those delicate lips. Before collecting the most beautiful treasures for the woman who already haunted his nights, he wanted to fulfil his first wish: to bring the chest of flavours back to his mother.

Music: Tukumulu https://deezer.page.link/BWBuEhjgJQF4tHrk7

He packed up his belongings and weighed anchor, heading for his homeland. The vision of the Queen haunted him, and he felt a flame rekindle in him with each of his tormented dreams. He had already started collecting treasures for his muse. During his stopovers, he used his commercial skills to barter his rarest spices for necklaces adorned with precious stones and sparkling goblets. Over time, he built up a crew who followed him eagerly, thanks to his daring and natural authority.

After several months of travelling, he saw the outlines of his native land, which he knew so well he could have drawn them in the sand. His holds were full of gleaming treasures and exotic scents. The roll of the waves made the coins in the chests jingle, and if you ventured into steerage during the day, the diamonds and pearls were so sparkling that a ray of light was enough to blind you. But McKay's most prized treasure was his mother's chest, hidden away at the back of the hold.

The boat struck land so hard that McKay felt his heart race against his ribs. He could smell the freshly caught shellfish filling his nostrils, the aroma of the acacia fritters he had devoured as a child on the beach while waiting for his father. In the distance, he could see the roof of his father's workshop, but it had been repainted.

The beach was much busier than she remembered from childhood. Women lifted their linen dresses to retrieve oval shellfish and throw them into large baskets. Others worked on nets, their thick black hair pulled up at the nape of their necks.

He walked along the beach towards the workshop. As he rounded the bend in the beach, he could clearly see his father's workshop. The letters "McKay Navigator" had been replaced by "Marinero & Sons". Inside the hangar, which had doubled in size, he no longer recognised a face. Ships were parked like cloves of dried garlic.

He turned to a worker busy sanding a mast:

• "Where is my father? The man who runs the workshop?"

The worker pointed to a man dressed in white linen clothes with a gold belt around his waist.

• "An older man. Long beard, short stature, brown eyes?"
• "Ho. Gone with the disease. He worked until the end but it took him."

McKay felt his legs turn to cotton and his stomach twist. The muffled sounds of tools grew louder around him until they were deafening, the din of planes and files seemed to pierce his head. He turned and ran out of the workshop.

His steps mechanically led him to his family home to seek answers from his mother. The house was there, the scent of rosemary and thyme still wafting around the edge of the dwelling. The fence had been replaced and a clay sign read 'Henderson Family'. A woman with her back to the garden, her hair plaited, sat on a teak bench, weaving a basket.

• "Mother!"

The woman turned around, but he saw the surprised face of a woman much younger than his mother.

• "Where's my mum?" said McKay, "Is she unwell? This is my home!"

She looked at him intensely for a few seconds, taken aback, then her face suddenly softened.

• "Oh. You're the McKay boy. Sit next to me. the woman replied.

She gently squeezed his hand and continued in a kind tone.

• "A few years ago, we were struck by an illness. An illness that came with a ship. A lot of the family went. Your father looked after the ship, and he fell ill very quickly. He was one of the first to leave." "Your mother looked after your brothers on her own, but she never got over the tragedy. She left a few years later, convinced that you and your father were waiting for her on the other side," she said in an emotional tone. She squeezed McKay's hands tenderly, as if reassuring a wounded child. "Your brothers sold us the house before they left the city.

At that moment, McKay felt his heart dry up like a reef at low tide. A throbbing, piercing pain seemed to pulse with the rhythm of his pulse.

He returned to his ship and entered the hold. He assembled his crew, unfolded his navigational chart and rolled the gold coin bearing the profile of the Queen that the man had given him in the tavern. He drew his dagger and stabbed it savagely into a mark on the map.

"This is where we're going".

With its holds full of the finest treasures, it docked on the Queen's Island one full moon.

Music "The Magna Carte https://deezer.page.link/bwgzj8kkTrrpJHkEA