Captain Ella Horn: Periwings and Scary Creatures of the Deep

July 22, 1940

Dear Diary,

            Today I became the privileged companion of the young periwing, Nylene.  You see, periwings aren’t all bad.  They will always be tricksters but while they are young, they select someone to be their companion whom they help and guide throughout their lives.  This morning, when everyone woke up, my crew started heading towards the water, getting ready to jump in and search for the gold, but I wouldn’t let them.  I told them that they could pick one person to go in and search for it.  I didn’t want my whole crew getting attacked by some unseen, mysterious creature that might lurk in the depths of that water.  They decided on Karter, the newest member of my crew.  They wanted this to be like his initiation into the crew of The Aurora.  As soon as his bare foot touched the water, a periwing flew over to me, frantically waving in my face to get my attention.

            “Don’t let him do this!” she said.  “Anyone who goes down there to try to retrieve the treasure dies!  No one has come out of there alive!”

            I could tell by her size that this periwing wasn’t very old and most likely didn’t have a companion yet.  I decided to trust her and pushed through the crowd to the edge of the water, but I was too late.  As soon as Karter’s head went underwater, something grabbed him and started pulling him down.  Quickly, I ordered my crew to find a rope and throw it down as I dove into the water.  I grabbed the back of Karter’s shirt and tried to swim away but the creature that was pulling him down was too strong.  After what seemed like eternity, the rope appeared.  I tied the rope around Karter’s waist and held onto him and the rope as my crew pulled us up.

            When we finally emerged out of the water, the young periwing flew over to me again.  “Wow!” she exclaimed.  “My name is Nylene.  Would you like to be my companion?”

            Of course I agreed and after we gathered some fresh water for our journey, we set off on The Aurora to continue our adventures.

Captain Ella Horn