A young man pays for passage across the sea, but the boat gets attacked by pirates, and he's taken hostage. From there, the pirates force him to work, and give him nothing to eat but stale bread and sour water. Now it so happened that the area they kept him in at night was right up at the bow of the ship. It wasn't the most comfortable of places, true, but he usually stayed dry, and the ocean dew that gathered on his skin eventually became nothing more than a nuisance.
He didn't mind a bit though, because where he slept, he could see the ship's figurehead through a big crack in the wood. It was carved into a beautiful woman dressed in a seal’s skin- a sea princess, or a selkie, he liked to think. His mother had told him many stories about the seal people- women forever bound to their magical seal pelts, which enabled them to turn into seals. As a child, he’d often wished that they were real, and would clamber off around the tide pools to try and find them.
Every day, when he lay down to sleep, he'd stare at her, admiring her face and memorizing every detail. After sometime, he grew tired of just his small view, and widened the crack in the wood a bit with his hands. He was very happy with this, but he quickly noticed that despite her beauty, she did not have the smile he'd imagined she'd have. Instead, he found that she looked very, very sad. Still, he grew to love her. He’d tell her his troubles after every hard day, and when the pirates were particularly cruel to him, he’d dream that the selkie would come and comfort him.
(Later); A storm occurs, all the pirates running around frantically to save themselves, instead boy climbs down to protect the figurehead from approaching rocks. The boy cries, and his salty tears trigger the breaking of a spell, making the wood peel away just in time, revealing a woman who immediately leaps away from the approaching rocks, turns into a seal, and brings him safely to shore. There, the boy professes his love, and the woman sadly tells him that though she loves him, she can never leave the water. The pirates had caught her in their nets and dragged her on board, where she'd turned into wood and they'd carved her into a figurehead. The boy, after some thought, siphons off a tiny bit of her seal fur, and swallows it. From there he turns into a permanent seal, and throws himself into the water to live with his selkie forever.
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Many years ago, there once was a young man who needed passage across the ocean. He had money and his youth, and that's all he thought he needed. But he was lacking in wisdom, and was just coming to the age where he thought he knew everything. So when he found he had to sail across the sea, he looked forward to it eagerly, not a thought of danger in his head. Every sailor in the harbor knew that he had money, and each and every one of them was prepared to take advantage of it. He boarded and paid the first ship he saw, eager just to leave land.
But when the ship left sight of the harbor, the crew knocked him once upside the head, emptied his pockets, and threw him below deck. When the youth finally woke, he was confused, cold, and penniless. At first, he struggled and yelled, but after a while, he grew too weak to resist. A crew member brought him bread and stale water once a day, and left him in the constant darkness the rest of the time. Well, almost constant darkness. From where he slept on the floor, he could see a tiny sliver of light through a wooden crack in his prison. After growing frustrated at his situation, he tore at the crack, widening it a bit.
It wasn’t much, but it worked, and at least now he could see around a bit. The sailors had thrown him into a little room right up in front, at the bow of the ship. Through his little window, he could see only the smooth expanse of water- and the ship’s figurehead. It was carved into a beautiful woman, dressed in a seal’s skin- a selkie, he thought it was. His mother had told him stories as a child about selkies. They were seal-people; their seal skins turned them from women to seals and back again, forcing them to forever be bonded to their sea.
It wasn’t much, but it worked, and at least now he could see around a bit. The sailors had thrown him into a little room right up in front, at the bow of the ship. Through his little window, he could see only the smooth expanse of water- and the ship’s figurehead. It was carved into a beautiful woman, dressed in a seal’s skin- a selkie, he thought it was. His mother had told him stories as a child about selkies. They were seal-people; their seal skins turned them from women to seals and back again, forcing them to forever be bonded to their sea.
While other people might have grown bored of view ages ago, it never grew old to the boy. In his eyes, the selkie was a work of art- something to be adored and respected. It seemed that every time he looked at her, there was something new. Every day, he’d stare at her, admiring her face and memorizing every detail. Gradually he saw her flaws too, but grew to accept them as part of her, appreciating the way they worked together on such a lovely face. But despite her beauty, she never looked happy. Her face didn’t hold a single trace of joy. Every time he looked, all he saw was regret, fear, and sadness.
Still, he began to love her. In his dreams, she would come to life and listen to his fears, and soothe them away. She would never laugh or smile though, always looking as sad as she did in real life. He wished he could do something to help her, or at least find out why she looked like she did, but what can be done to make a wooden statue smile?
Still, he began to love her. In his dreams, she would come to life and listen to his fears, and soothe them away. She would never laugh or smile though, always looking as sad as she did in real life. He wished he could do something to help her, or at least find out why she looked like she did, but what can be done to make a wooden statue smile?
Hours turned into days, and days turned into weeks.
