Chapter 2 - Journey In A Glass Bottom Boat

 

Journey In A Glass Bottom Boat

A novel

By Paul McCann

 

Chapter 2

 

Beyond The Horizon  

 

Once in a brand-new day Harry and Maisie work up in their new home filled with French perfumes and designer clothes and fluffy poofies to put their feet up to rest and watch their favourite TV shows. The highly polished floors with antique chiffoniers in their perfect place underneath the hanging chandeliers that sparkled with a decadence they had never seen .

As they looked at each other, they felt that something was missing . They had just been commissioned a contract to write a series of books by a leading book publisher who had given them a large amount of money to proceed with the project of writing and illustrating the follow up to the very popular Harry and The Glass Bottom Boat . So, everything was put in place for them to create new adventures on the open sea .

Deep down Harry and Maisie were feeling the same . It was like they had become prisoners in a beautiful jail doing time , for a crime they didn’t commit Their inspiration had come to an end . Their recent wealth and comfortable life had made its toll on their creativity .

Harry scribbled down ideas and Maisie made up characters that had no life or story to tell . As the days passed their ability to find an escape from the beautiful jail increased and in desperation Maisie approached her son and said ,

“Harry remember the day I once said to you I was wanting to apply for a job on that ship you worked on “

Harry looked at her and nodded his head,

“Sure, I do Mammy but that was back when we were poor , now we have lots of money so you don’t need to work ?’

She kissed his cheek and replied .

“ Harry my little sailor boy we need to kiss goodbye to our comfortable lifestyle.

So, we can discover that world to recapture that world and find the adventures that await on the open seas .“

Hary smiled and said ,

“Come then , let’s go then where no one had ever been , to see things that no one had ever seen , you and I on board a glass bottom boat beyond the horizon “

They both had a good laugh and later in the day they made plans to buy a  yacht and with Harry’s navigation skills they would set sail on a voyage beyond the horizon to discover whatever was out there on the water and underneath the sky away from it all in the open spaces where seagulls fly and times passes by in front of your eye like a raindrop in the ocean where all your cares are cast away on a little glass bottom boat .

After some research and with help from some seamen friends Harry and Maisie purchased a suitable yacht with a deep keel to handle rough seas and with wind in their sails, they were ready for their voyage of discovery ,

Harry was the captain  and his mother was the crew and they both went off to sea , like two hermits with all the permits and so many things to explore .

Out on the ocean with a crack between the sea and the sky and a new horizon to find .  With dolphins beside them skipping alongside and the dreams of sailors in their heart they made their way day by day happy to be out at sea .

With the first sight of land, they made their way to an island that wasn’t too far away . They passed two tall rocks standing in the sea like two pillars standing there above the waves , gazing at the face of the sea .

Dropping anchor . a small dingy boat was dropped from the boat to the  water over and they swiftly made their way to the shore where they stood together there on the sand like two pioneers in a new world .

On the island they found a stone staircase that was steep and high to climb .  Maisey decided to sit it out and let her son do the climb by himself while she was happy to sit in the shade of the palm trees with her sketch pad and pencils .

Harry climbed up the steps to the top where he saw an altar in front of a hot spring pool  . He slipped off the top step and fell to the ground , bumped his head and scraping his elbow as he fell on the sandstone path around the pool IAs he started to bleed he went to the pool and washed his wounds in the hot springs  and immediately his wounds were miraculously healed ,

He was amazed at what had just happened .

Meanwhile far below on the ground Maisie was looking through her binoculars checking the surrounding view when she spotted a plane overhead in the sky passing by that dropped something from a parachute that landed out on the ocean . She thought maybe it was some food for the sharks of whales or other  creatures of the sea and smiled at the thought behind that .

Meanwhile Harry was checking out the site above around the altar and the healing pool . There were some wooden hand carved statues and some necklaces made from pearly shells . Then he saw a small  garden with wildflowers still growing there .

A voice called out to him , 

“Hello there . I am Father Aloisios  from the Remote Island community of hermit priests . Welcome to the sanctuary of the sea , the island where miracles are found . For what reason are you visiting  here ? ”

Harry turned around and saw an old man with a weather-beaten face and a  smile reaching out his hand .

Harry shook his hand and said ,

“Hello Father , I’m Harry . Mammy and I are on a voyage of discovery . We have been commissioned to write stories and illustrate with free expression some of the experiences we find “

“Well, that is really amazing Harry . Will you be including this island and myself in your book ?

:” I was hoping to if that’s  ok Father “

Aloisios  thought for a moment then he replied ,

“Well, you must be here for a reason so its ok as long as you don’t mention the location of sanctuary island , just in case people would come and overrun with the place in desperation to be cured . We are trying to protect this place and keep it as a sanctuary . There is a steady pilgrimage of people that are allowed to come after applications are made to our community . “

Happy replied

‘Sure , I promise to keep the location of the island safe  “

Aloisios  replied ,

“Another reason we don’t want too many people coming here is because of the underwater volcano close to the island and it could erupt anytime without warning “

Harry replied ,

:So that’s where the hot springs come from?”

“Why of course but for everyone who has been here call the pool the waters of new life “

“ They sure are Father; I fell over and cut myself but when I bathed my wounds in the hot springs, they stopped bleeding and closed up :. I have to return Mammy is waiting on the beach and we have other places to go “

They both said goodbye ,

When Harry made his way back down the steps m his Mammy was asleep under in the shade of the trees  in a little while she awoke and they left in their  dingy to the yacht and set sail for the horizon .

The next stop they made was at a place known as Tigross .

Harry kept regular communication with the authorities everywhere he went and was informed by some of his guides that most of the tribe on Tigross.

had already left the island because it was sinking into the ocean and it was only a matter of time before the entire island would be claimed by the rising sea .

As Harry navigated through a cluster of barren rocks near the island of Tigross they saw a lone fisherman on raft with a fishing net and a spear .

When he saw the yacht approaching, he gave them a friendly wave and soon they dropped anchor and said hello   .

The islander was able to speak English and he said he was the last of the tribe on the island .   He remained there because it was only home, he had ever known and he didn’t want to leave then he invited Harry and Maisie to spend the night there with him in his little hut on the island . So, they  accepted .his invitation and that evening Powah , the fisherman cooked them some fish  and shared some of the tribal tea he had made .

Harry asked about the barren of rocks near the island and he told them the story his mother and Father had told him about these huge octopus creatures who once lived on the land and in the sea . These creatures were known as the Octojumbo guardians who placed the rocks there to protect the island from the raging sea that once battered the seashore , The Octojumbo’s were very strong and could leap high in the air on land and also dive deep into the sea . There were some stories about them finding treasure chests from sunken ships lying at the bottom of the sea but as yet none of the tribe had ever  discovered any of the treasure chests or maybe they did but to this day no one had ever said anything about that .

Harry and Maisie enjoyed the fish that was cooked by Powah . Harry accepted the tea that was offered but Maisie politely refused .

After Harry drank the tea, he began to feel very tired . In a very relaxed state, he had a dream that he was joined by a small group of strange creatures that looked like squid . The creatures seemed to giggle and squiggle and introduced themselves as Sea Squididdles who had come to have some fun and to run a race on the sandy track with the Octojumbos and the jumping  sea horses . Then another group creatures arrived looking for a place to sit and watch the race . There were sea dragons with no wings and jelly fish with long pointed feet at the end of their tentacle’s , then there were crustations.

with huge legs and nippers and some sea snakes with wings that hovered in the air .

In the dream Harry was sitting with all the spectators as the Octojumbos and Squididdles lined up for the race that began with a sharp whistle from the  multicoloured parrot perched on top the starting post .

Off the went jumping and squiggling , slipping and sliding , around the sandy track , there was jeering and cheering among the spectators .

The rain and jumped as high and as fast as they could with was an exciting event for all who had gathered around the track .

Up and down and around and around they went , with three steps forward and four steps back getting further away from the finish line as they went . Everyone there was giggling and wriggling and laughing in a wild celebration as the winner  of the race was announced .

First place in the race went to Squidillleedee and the second place was awarded to Octojumpee however there was protest and they decision was reversed which made everybody laugh even more when they both agreed to call the race a draw between both competitors who each got a gold medal for their efforts .

That’s when Harry woke up from the dream and realised, he must have imagined it all but it still seemed so clear in his mind . Then he remembered once a story an old drunken sailor had told him about some of the tea that was drunk by tribes on the remote islands . Some of the sailors had mentioned that the tea had brought wild hallucinations but when the effects wore off afterwards there was further symptoms of illness .

 

The next day when Harry and Maisie were leaving the island Powah offered some of the tea as a gift to Harry who politely refused . Strangely enough Harry felt rested and inspired and began to write a story called.

Beyond The Horizon  in A Glass Bottom Boat .

 

When he had finished the story, he gave it to his Mammy who was able to start illustrating some of the characters and places in the story .

In the story there was a race with many starters to find treasure chests that had been placed in different places around the Island that lay beyond the horizon where no ship had ever been before . The winner of the race would be given all of the treasures that had been found .was a Near the island was an underwater volcano and to prevent it from erupting frequent offerings had to be made to the ocean everyday by the tribe who lived there . They dropped food parcels and  treasures that went to the bottom of the sea to appease the volcano and keep it calm .  Mystery Island had many strange creatures living on the land and in the water and the Island also had a faith healer there called King Wishus who kept everyone young and happy with the pool of wellsprings that had magic healing properties in a pool . The hot spring waters rejuvenated people anyone who were sick and tired of life . After bathing in the spring waters, they would be completely healed .

 

No one ever seemed to grow old on Mystery Island and visitors were not able to come there . The only way to get to the island is by an invitation from the King who receives applications put inside glass bottles from those who live on the other side of the horizon .

 

 

End Of Chapter 2

 

Link To Chapter 3

https://www.abctales.com/story/mcscraic/chapter-3-journey-glass-bottom-boat

Journey In A Glass Bottom Boat

A novel

By Paul McCann

.