Three Drabbles
From Live Journal's Drabble Community Challenges

by Biz
September4, 2003

Challenge: Free to choose theme week

~ Freedom ~

Freedom. Captain Jack Sparrow stood behind the wheel of his ship. Repairs had finally been completed on her and she was now more seaworthy than ever. He checked his compass and hummed the pirate ditty that Elizabeth had taught him. He had no idea where they were going, but reveled in the freedom of not knowing.

Jack took a deep breath of the salty sea air and smiled as he watched his crew. He was happy. Happier than he could ever remember he'd been. He had his ship back. He had his crew back. He had his freedom back.

~.~

~ Black Treasure ~

Bootstrap Bill Turner finally loosened the last of his bindings and was free. He smiled. Finally. He can get off the bottom of this godforsaken ocean and begin to live, somewhat, again. He grabbed the fin of a passing shark and joked, "to the surface, mate."

He broke the surface and took a good long gulp of air, not that it was necessary, but it felt good to do so. He began to swim, hoping he'd come across a ship to take him to Tortuga. Soon he saw the distant shadow of a ship. It was black. For a moment he panicked, hoping it wasn't the Pearl. As it came closer, he realised he did not recognize the ship. Lifting his eyes to the sky thankfully, he began to flag down the ship.

He was pulled onto the ship, which turned out to have a Buccaneer crew. He knew he could get to Tortuga with these men. The captain took his hand and gave him a blanket to dry himself with. "Welcome to the Black Treasure, mate. Where can we be takin' ye?"

Bootstrap replied, glancing toward the horizon. "To Tortuga. I'm looking for a friend."

~.~

Challenge: Write a story about a proverb

~ Bitter/Sweet ~
Who has never tasted what is bitter does not know what is sweet.

The weather worn and haggard form of Captain Barbossa sat in his quarters and stared at the bowl full of fresh apples on his table. His mouth watered at the thought, of taking a bite and feeling the juices dribble down his chin. But he can't take that bite. He can't taste the sweet succulent juices.

Barbossa was a cursed man. He'd led the raid to Isla de la Muerta and stolen the cursed gold of Cortez. The men laughed at the very idea that the gold had been cursed. Laughed and spent the gold shamelessly, until they realized that the port they drank was not quenching their thirsts and the food they ate was not sating their appetites. The moonlight had shown the curse in physical form, but the longing for food and drink illustrated it better than any moonbeam could.

Barbossa stared at the bowl of fruit and imagined the moment when he'd finally be able to taste that apple. He began to laugh madly with the irony; He'd never liked apples and now, the one thing he wanted to taste more than anything else in the world was a bloody hated apple.

~.~

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